[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 168 (Thursday, August 31, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41428-41429]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-18476]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; Employee Retirement Income Security Act 
Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 1981-8, Investment of Plan 
Assets in Certain Types of Short-Term Investments

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Employee 
Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) sponsored information 
collection request (ICR) titled, ``Employee Retirement Income Security 
Act Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 1981-8, Investment of Plan 
Assets in Certain Types of Short-Term Investments,'' 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. 
Public comments on the ICR are invited.

DATES: The OMB will consider all written comments that agency receives 
on or before October 2, 2017.

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=201706-1210-003 (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 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: Michel Smyth by telephone at 202-693-
4129, TTY 202-693-8064, (these are not toll-free numbers) or by email 
at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This ICR seeks to extend PRA authority for 
the information collection requirements contained in Employee 
Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) Prohibited Transaction Class 
Exemption (PTE) 1981-8, Investment of Plan Assets in Certain Types of 
Short-Term Investments, which permits the investment of ERISA covered 
plan assets that involve the purchase or other acquisition, holding, 
sale, exchange, or redemption by or on behalf of an employee benefit 
plan of certain types of short-term investments. The PTE requires two 
basic disclosure requirements. Both affect only the portion of the 
exemption dealing with repurchase agreements. The first requirement 
calls for the repurchase agreements between the seller and the plan to 
be in writing. The repurchase agreements have a duration of one year or 
less and may be in the form of a blanket agreement that covers the 
transactions for the year. The written agreement is intended to put the 
plan on notice of possible fees associated with the redemption of open-
end mutual fund shares. The second requirement obliges the seller of 
such repurchase agreements to provide the most recent financial 
statements to the plan at the time of the sale and as the statements 
are issued. The seller must also represent, either in the repurchase 
agreement or prior to each repurchase agreement transaction, that, as 
of the time the transaction is negotiated, there has been no material 
adverse change in the seller's financial condition since the date the 
most recent financial statement was furnished that has not been 
disclosed to the plan fiduciary with whom the written agreement is 
made. Internal Revenue Code of 1986 section 4975(c) and ERISA section 
408 authorize the information collection activities. See 26 U.S.C. 
4975(c) and 29 U.S.C. 1108.
    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 1210-0061.
    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 August 31, 2017. 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

[[Page 41429]]

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 May 22, 2017 (82 FR 23303).
    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 1210-0061. 
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: Employee Retirement Income Security Act 
Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 1981-8, Investment of Plan 
Assets in Certain Types of Short-Term Investments.
    OMB Control Number: 1210-0061.
    Affected Public: Private Sector--businesses or other for-profits 
and not-for-profit institutions.
    Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 82,664.
    Total Estimated Number of Responses: 413,320.
    Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 103,330 hours.
    Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $93,770.

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

    Dated: August 27, 2017.
Michel Smyth,
Departmental Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2017-18476 Filed 8-30-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4510-29-P