[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 206 (Monday, October 26, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65244-65245]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-27119]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; Acquisition and Sale of Trust Real Estate 
Investment Trust Shares by Individual Account Plans Sponsored by Trust 
Real Estate Investment Trusts

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Employee 
Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) sponsored information 
collection request (ICR) titled, ``Acquisition and Sale of Trust Real 
Estate Investment Trust Shares by Individual Account Plans Sponsored by 
Trust Real Estate Investment Trusts,'' to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for review and approval for continued use, without change, 
in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 
3501 et seq. Public comments on the ICR are invited.

DATES: The OMB will consider all written comments that agency receives 
on or before November 25, 2015.

[[Page 65245]]


ADDRESSES: A copy of this ICR with applicable supporting documentation; 
including a description of the likely respondents, proposed frequency 
of response, and estimated total burden may be obtained free of charge 
from the RegInfo.gov Web site at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=201509-1210-002 (this link will only become active 
on the day following publication of this notice) or by contacting 
Michel Smyth by telephone at 202-693-4129, TTY 202-693-8064, (these are 
not toll-free numbers) or by email at [email protected].
    Submit comments about this request by mail or courier to the Office 
of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for DOL-
EBSA, Office of Management and Budget, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW., 
Washington, DC 20503; by Fax: 202-395-5806 (this is not a toll-free 
number); or by email: [email protected]. Commenters are 
encouraged, but not required, to send a courtesy copy of any comments 
by mail or courier to the U.S. Department of Labor-OASAM, Office of the 
Chief Information Officer, Attn: Departmental Information Compliance 
Management Program, Room N1301, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20210; or by email: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact Michel Smyth by telephone at 
202-693-4129, TTY 202-693-8064, (these are not toll-free numbers) or by 
email at [email protected].

    Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This ICR seeks to extend PRA authority for 
the Acquisition and Sale of Trust Real Estate Investment Trust Shares 
by Individual Account Plans Sponsored by Trust Real Estate Investment 
Trusts information collection. Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 
2004-07 permits an individual account pension plan sponsored by a real 
estate investment trust (REIT) that is organized as a business trust 
under State law (Trust REIT), or by its affiliates, to purchase, hold 
and sell publicly traded shares of beneficial interest in the Trust 
REIT. The relief also covers contributions in kind of REIT shares. 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (Code) section 4975 and Employee 
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) section 406 would 
otherwise prohibit such purchases, holdings, and sales. See 26 U.S.C. 
4975 and 29 U.S.C. 1106. The class exemption requires, among other 
conditions, that the Trust REIT (or its agent) provide the person who 
has authority to direct acquisition or sale of REIT shares with the 
most recent prospectus, quarterly report, and annual report concerning 
the Trust REIT immediately before an initial investment in the Trust 
REIT. The person with such authority may be, under the terms of the 
plan, either an independent fiduciary or a participant exercising 
investment rights pertaining to his or her individual account under the 
plan. Updated versions of the reports must be provided to the directing 
person as subsequently published. The exemption further requires the 
plan to maintain records concerning investments in a Trust REIT, 
subject to appropriate confidentiality procedures, for a period of six 
years and make them available to interested persons including the 
Department and participants and beneficiaries. The confidentiality 
procedures must be designed to protect against the possibility that an 
employer may exert undue influence on participants regarding share-
related transactions, and the participants and beneficiaries of the 
plan must be provided with a statement describing the confidentiality 
procedures in place and the fiduciary responsible for monitoring these 
procedures. Code section 4975(c)(2) and ERISA section 408(a) authorize 
this information collection. See 26 U.S.C. 4975(c)(2) and 29 U.S.C. 
1108(a).
    This information collection is subject to the PRA. A Federal agency 
generally cannot conduct or sponsor a collection of information, and 
the public is generally not required to respond to an information 
collection, unless it is approved by the OMB under the PRA and displays 
a currently valid OMB Control Number. In addition, notwithstanding any 
other provisions of law, no person shall generally be subject to 
penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information that 
does not display a valid Control Number. See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 
1320.6. The DOL obtains OMB approval for this information collection 
under Control Number 1210-0124.
    OMB authorization for an ICR cannot be for more than three (3) 
years without renewal, and the current approval for this collection is 
scheduled to expire on October 31, 2015. The DOL seeks to extend PRA 
authorization for this information collection for three (3) more years, 
without any change to existing requirements. The DOL notes that 
existing information collection requirements submitted to the OMB 
receive a month-to-month extension while they undergo review. For 
additional substantive information about this ICR, see the related 
notice published in the Federal Register on June 17, 2015 (80 FR 
34696).
    Interested parties are encouraged to send comments to the OMB, 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the address shown in 
the ADDRESSES section within thirty (30) days of publication of this 
notice in the Federal Register. In order to help ensure appropriate 
consideration, comments should mention OMB Control Number 1210-0124. 
The OMB is particularly interested in comments that:
     Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
     Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
     Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     Minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting 
electronic submission of responses.
    Agency: DOL-EBSA.
    Title of Collection: Acquisition and Sale of Trust Real Estate 
Investment Trust Shares by Individual Account Plans Sponsored by Trust 
Real Estate Investment Trusts.
    OMB Control Number: 1210-0124.
    Affected Public: Private Sector--businesses or other for-profits.
    Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 52.
    Total Estimated Number of Responses: 109,200.
    Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 5,469 hours.
    Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $346,000.

    Dated: October 20, 2015.
Michel Smyth,
Departmental Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015-27119 Filed 10-23-15; 8:45 am]
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