[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 198 (Monday, October 16, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48085-48087]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-22335]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'').

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The information collection requirements described below will 
be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, 
as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). The FTC seeks public 
comments on its proposal to extend, for three years, the current PRA 
clearance for information collection requirements contained in its 
Trade Regulation Rule entitled Power Output Claims for Amplifiers 
Utilized in Home Entertainment Products (Amplifier Rule or Rule) (OMB 
Control Number 3084-0105). That clearance expires on January 31, 2018.

DATES: Comments must be submitted by December 15, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper by 
following the instructions in the Request for Comments part of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``Amplifier Rule: FTC 
File No. P974222'' on your comment, and file your comment online at 
https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/amplifierrulepra1 by following 
the instructions on the web-based form. If you prefer to file your 
comment on paper, mail your comment to the following address: Federal 
Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., 
Suite CC-5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your comment 
to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the 
Secretary, Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW., 5th Floor, Suite 
5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 20024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information 
should be addressed to Jock K. Chung, Attorney, Division of 
Enforcement, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 
Mail Code CC-9528, 600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20580, 
(202) 326-2984.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3521, federal 
agencies must obtain approval from OMB for each collection of 
information they conduct or sponsor. ``Collection of information'' 
means agency requests or requirements that members of the public submit 
reports, keep records, or provide information to a third party. 44 
U.S.C. 3502(3); 5 CFR 1320.3(c). As required by section 3506(c)(2)(A) 
of the PRA, the FTC is providing this opportunity for public comment 
before requesting that OMB extend the existing clearance for the 
information collection requirements contained in the Commission's 
Amplifier Rule, 16 CFR part 432 (OMB Control Number 3084-0105). The FTC 
invites comments on: (1) 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; (2) 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; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 
clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways to 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.
    The Amplifier Rule assists consumers by standardizing the 
measurement and disclosure of power output and other performance 
characteristics of amplifiers in stereos and other home entertainment 
equipment. The Rule also specifies the test conditions necessary to 
make the disclosures that the Rule requires.

[[Page 48086]]

Amplifier Rule Burden Statement

    Estimated annual hours burden: 450 hours (300 testing-related 
hours; 150 disclosure-related hours).
    The Rule's provisions require affected entities to test the power 
output of amplifiers in accordance with a specified FTC protocol. The 
Commission staff estimates that approximately 300 new amplifiers and 
receivers come on the market each year. High fidelity manufacturers 
routinely conduct performance tests on these new products prior to 
sale. Because manufacturers conduct such tests, the Rule imposes no 
additional costs except to the extent that the FTC protocol is more 
time-consuming than alternative testing procedures. In this regard, a 
warm-up period that the Rule requires before measurements are taken may 
add approximately one hour to the time testing would otherwise entail. 
Thus, staff estimates that the Rule imposes approximately 300 hours (1 
hour x 300 new products) of added testing burden annually.
    In addition, the Rule requires disclosures if a manufacturer makes 
a power output claim for a covered product in an advertisement, 
specification sheet, or product brochure. This requirement does not 
impose any additional costs on manufacturers because, absent the Rule, 
media advertisements, as well as manufacturer specification sheets and 
product brochures, would contain a power specification obtained using 
an alternative to the Rule-required testing protocol. The Rule, 
however, also requires disclosure of harmonic distortion, power 
bandwidth, and impedance ratings in manufacturer specification sheets 
and product brochures that might not otherwise be included.
    Staff assumes that manufacturers produce one specification sheet 
and one brochure each year for each new amplifier and receiver. The 
burden of disclosing the harmonic distortion, bandwidth, and impedance 
information on the specification sheets and brochures is limited to the 
time needed to draft and review the language pertaining to the 
aforementioned specifications. Staff estimates the time involved for 
this task to be a maximum of fifteen minutes (or 0.25 hours) for each 
new specification sheet and brochure for a total of 150 hours (derived 
from [300 new products x 1 specification sheet) + (300 new products x 1 
brochure)] x 0.25 hours).
    The total annual burden imposed by the Rule, therefore, is 
approximately 450 burden hours for testing and disclosures.
    Estimated annual cost burden: $23,463.
    Generally, electronics engineers perform the testing of amplifiers 
and receivers. Staff estimates a labor cost of $14,967 for such testing 
(300 hours for testing x $49.89 mean hourly wages). Staff assumes 
advertising or promotions managers prepare the disclosures contained in 
product brochures and manufacturer specification sheet and estimates a 
labor cost of $8,496 (150 hours for disclosures x $56.64 mean hourly 
wages). Accordingly, staff estimates the total labor costs associated 
with the Rule to be approximately $23,463 per year ($14,967 for testing 
+ $8,496 for disclosures).\1\
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    \1\ The wage rates for electronics engineers and advertising and 
promotions managers are based on recent data from the Bureau of 
Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics Survey at 
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.htm.
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    The Rule imposes no capital or other non-labor costs because its 
requirements are incidental to testing and advertising done in the 
ordinary course of business.

Request for Comment

    You can file a comment online or on paper. December 15, 2017. Write 
``Amplifier Rule: FTC File No. P974222'' on your comment. Your 
comment--including your name and your state--will be placed on the 
public record of this proceeding, including, to the extent practicable, 
on the public Commission Web site, at https://www.ftc.gov/policy/public-comments. Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to 
delay due to heightened security screening. As a result, we encourage 
you to submit your comments online. To make sure that the Commission 
considers your online comment, you must file it at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/amplifierrulepra1 by following the 
instructions on the web based form. If this Notice appears at https://www.regulations.gov, you also may file a comment through that Web site.
    If you file your comment on paper, write ``Amplifier Rule: FTC File 
No. P974222'' on your comment and on the envelope, and mail your 
comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of 
the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Suite CC-5610 (Annex C), 
Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your comment to the following address: 
Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Constitution Center, 
400 7th Street SW., 5th Floor, Suite 5610, Washington, DC 20024. If 
possible, submit your paper comment to the Commission by courier or 
overnight service.
    Because your comment will be placed on the publicly accessible FTC 
Web site at www.ftc.gov, you are solely responsible for making sure 
that your comment does not include any sensitive or confidential 
information. In particular, your comment should not include any 
sensitive personal information, such as your or anyone else's Social 
Security number; date of birth; driver's license number or other state 
identification number, or foreign country equivalent; passport number; 
financial account number; or credit or debit card number. You are also 
solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include 
any sensitive health information, such as medical records or other 
individually identifiable health information. In addition, your comment 
should not include any ``trade secret or any commercial or financial 
information which . . . is privileged or confidential''--as provided by 
Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 
16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)--including in particular competitively sensitive 
information such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, 
patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names.
    Comments containing material for which confidential treatment is 
requested must be filed in paper form, must be clearly labeled 
``Confidential,'' and must comply with FTC Rule 4.9(c). In particular, 
the written request for confidential treatment that accompanies the 
comment must include the factual and legal basis for the request, and 
must identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from 
the public record. See FTC Rule 4.9(c). Your comment will be kept 
confidential only if the General Counsel grants your request in 
accordance with the law and the public interest. Once your comment has 
been posted on the public FTC Web site--as legally required by FTC Rule 
4.9(b)--we cannot redact or remove your comment from the FTC Web site, 
unless you submit a confidentiality request that meets the requirements 
for such treatment under FTC Rule 4.9(c), and the General Counsel 
grants that request.
    Visit the Commission Web site at https://www.ftc.gov to read this 
Notice. The FTC Act and other laws that the Commission administers 
permit the collection of public comments to consider and use in this 
proceeding as appropriate. The Commission will consider all timely and 
responsive public comments that it receives on or before December 15, 
2017. You can find more information, including routine uses permitted 
by the Privacy Act, in

[[Page 48087]]

the Commission's privacy policy, at https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy.

Christian S. White,
Acting General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2017-22335 Filed 10-13-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6750-01-P