[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 179 (Friday, September 14, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 46639-46641]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-20048]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

RIN 3084-AA98

16 CFR Part 310


Telemarketing Sales Rule Fees

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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[[Page 46640]]

SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission (the ``Commission'') is amending 
its Telemarketing Sales Rule (``TSR'') by updating the fees charged to 
entities accessing the National Do Not Call Registry (the ``Registry'') 
as required by the Do-Not-Call Registry Fee Extension Act of 2007.

DATES: This final rule (the revised fees) will become effective October 
1, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Copies of this document are available on the internet at the 
Commission's website: https://www.ftc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ami Joy Dziekan, (202) 326-2648, 
Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 600 
Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Room CC-9225, Washington, DC 20580.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: To comply with the Do-Not-Call Registry Fee 
Extension Act of 2007 (Pub. L. 110-188, 122 Stat. 635) (``Act''), the 
Commission is amending the TSR by updating the fees entities are 
charged for accessing the Registry as follows: The revised rule 
increases the annual fee for access to the Registry for each area code 
of data from $62 to $63 per area code; and increases the maximum amount 
that will be charged to any single entity for accessing area codes of 
data from $17,021 to $17,406. Entities may add area codes during the 
second six months of their annual subscription; the fee for those 
additional area codes of data increases from $31 to $32.
    These increases are in accordance with the Act, which specifies 
that beginning after fiscal year 2009, the dollar amounts charged shall 
be increased by an amount equal to the amounts specified in the Act, 
multiplied by the percentage (if any) by which the average of the 
monthly consumer price index (for all urban consumers published by the 
Department of Labor) (``CPI'') for the most recently ended 12-month 
period ending on June 30 exceeds the CPI for the 12-month period ending 
June 30, 2008. The Act also states that any increase shall be rounded 
to the nearest dollar and that there shall be no increase in the dollar 
amounts if the change in the CPI since the last fee increase is less 
than one percent. For fiscal year 2009, the Act specified that the 
original annual fee for access to the Registry for each area code of 
data was $54 per area code, or $27 per area code of data during the 
second six months of an entity's annual subscription period, and that 
the maximum amount that would be charged to any single entity for 
accessing area codes of data would be $14,850.
    The determination whether a fee change is required and the amount 
of the fee change involves a two-step process. First, to determine 
whether a fee change is required, we measure the change in the CPI from 
the time of the previous increase in fees. There was an increase in the 
fees for fiscal year 2018. Accordingly, we calculated the change in the 
CPI since last year, and the increase was 2.25 percent. Because this 
change is over the one percent threshold, the fees will change for 
fiscal year 2019.
    Second, to determine how much the fees should increase this fiscal 
year, we use the calculation specified by the Act set forth above: The 
percentage change in the baseline CPI applied to the original fees for 
fiscal year 2009. The average value of the CPI for July 1, 2007 to June 
30, 2008 was 211.702; the average value for July 1, 2017 to June 30, 
2018 was 248.126, an increase of 17.21 percent. Applying the 17.21 
percent increase to the base amount from fiscal year 2009, leads to a 
$63 fee for access to a single area code of data for a full year for 
fiscal year 2019, an increase of $1 from last year. The actual amount 
is $63.29, but when rounded, pursuant to the Act, $63 is the 
appropriate fee. The fee for accessing an additional area code for a 
half year increases from $31 to $32 (rounded from $31.65). The maximum 
amount charged increases to $17,406 (rounded from $17,405.69).
    Administrative Procedure Act; Regulatory Flexibility Act; Paperwork 
Reduction Act. The revisions to the Fee Rule are technical in nature 
and merely incorporate statutory changes to the TSR. These statutory 
changes have been adopted without change or interpretation, making 
public comment unnecessary. Therefore, the Commission has determined 
that the notice and comment requirements of the Administrative 
Procedure Act do not apply. See 5 U.S.C. 553(b). For this reason, the 
requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act also do not apply. See 5 
U.S.C. 603, 604.
    Pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3521, the 
Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') approved the information 
collection requirements in the Amended TSR and assigned the following 
existing OMB Control Number: 3084-0169. The amendments outlined in this 
Final Rule pertain only to the fee provision (Sec.  310.8) of the 
Amended TSR and will not establish or alter any record keeping, 
reporting, or third-party disclosure requirements elsewhere in the 
Amended TSR.

List of Subjects in 16 CFR Part 310

    Advertising, Consumer protection, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Telephone, Trade practices.

    Accordingly, the Federal Trade Commission amends part 310 of title 
16 of the Code of Federal Regulations as follows:

PART 310--TELEMARKETING SALES RULE

0
1. The authority citation for part 310 continues to read as follows:


    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 6101-6108; 15 U.S.C. 6151-6155.


0
2. In Sec.  310.8, revise paragraphs (c) and (d) to read as follows:

Sec.  310.8   Fee for access to the National Do Not Call Registry.

* * * * *
    (c) The annual fee, which must be paid by any person prior to 
obtaining access to the National Do Not Call Registry, is $63 for each 
area code of data accessed, up to a maximum of $17,406; provided, 
however, that there shall be no charge to any person for accessing the 
first five area codes of data, and provided further, that there shall 
be no charge to any person engaging in or causing others to engage in 
outbound telephone calls to consumers and who is accessing area codes 
of data in the National Do Not Call Registry if the person is permitted 
to access, but is not required to access, the National Do Not Call 
Registry under this Rule, 47 CFR 64.1200, or any other Federal 
regulation or law. No person may participate in any arrangement to 
share the cost of accessing the National Do Not Call Registry, 
including any arrangement with any telemarketer or service provider to 
divide the costs to access the registry among various clients of that 
telemarketer or service provider.
    (d) Each person who pays, either directly or through another 
person, the annual fee set forth in paragraph (c) of this section, each 
person excepted under paragraph (c) from paying the annual fee, and 
each person excepted from paying an annual fee under Sec.  
310.4(b)(1)(iii)(B), will be provided a unique account number that will 
allow that person to access the registry data for the selected area 
codes at any time for the twelve month period beginning on the first 
day of the month in which the person paid the fee (``the annual 
period''). To obtain access to additional area codes of data during the 
first six months of the annual period, each person required to pay the 
fee under paragraph (c) of this section must first

[[Page 46641]]

pay $63 for each additional area code of data not initially selected. 
To obtain access to additional area codes of data during the second six 
months of the annual period, each person required to pay the fee under 
paragraph (c) of this section must first pay $32 for each additional 
area code of data not initially selected. The payment of the additional 
fee will permit the person to access the additional area codes of data 
for the remainder of the annual period.
* * * * *

    By direction of the Commission.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-20048 Filed 9-13-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6750-01-P