[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 249 (Monday, December 30, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71980-71981]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-28045]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption for 
Certain Transactions Between Investment Companies and Employee Benefit 
Plans (PTE 1977-4)

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, ``Prohibited Transaction Class 
Exemption for Certain Transactions Between Investment Companies and 
Employee Benefit Plans (PTE 1977-4),'' 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). Public 
comments on the ICR are invited.

DATES: The OMB will consider all written comments that agency receives 
on or before January 29, 2020.

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 website at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=201909-1210-005 (this link will only become active 
on the day following publication of this notice) or by contacting 
Frederick Licari by telephone at 202-693-8073, 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: Frederick Licari by telephone at 202-
693-8073, 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 Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption for Certain Transactions 
Between Investment Companies and Employee Benefit Plans (PTE 1977-4) 
information collection. Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) 77-4 
provides relief from the restrictions of section 406 of ERISA and from 
the sanctions resulting from the application of section 4975 of the 
Code, for an employee benefit plan's purchase or sale of shares of an 
openend investment company registered under the Investment Company Act 
of 1940 (mutual fund) when an investment advisor for the mutual fund or 
its affiliate is: (1) A plan fiduciary; and (2) not an employer of 
employees covered by the plan. Section II(d) of PTE 77-4 contains 
certain conditions for the exemptive relief and provides, in pertinent 
part, that: A second fiduciary with respect to the plan, who is 
independent of and unrelated to the fiduciary/investment adviser or any 
affiliate thereof, receives a current prospectus issued by the 
investment company, and full and detailed written disclosure of the 
investment advisory and other fees charged to or paid by the plan and 
the investment company, including the nature and extent of any 
differential between the rates of such fees, the reasons why the 
fiduciary/investment adviser may consider such purchases to be 
appropriate for the plan, and whether there are any limitations on the 
fiduciary/investment adviser with respect to which plan assets may be 
invested in shares of the investment company and, if so, the nature of 
such limitations. Delivery of a ``summary prospectus'' may be used to 
satisfy the condition in section II(d) of PTE 77-4 requiring the 
delivery of a mutual fund's prospectus to the second fiduciary if the 
summary prospectus meets the requirements of the Securities and 
Exchange Commission's (SEC) revised disclosure provisions for mutual 
funds including a summary prospectus rule that were published in 2009. 
Pursuant to the SEC's revised disclosure provisions, mutual funds also 
are required to send the full prospectus to the investor upon an 
investor's request and to provide the full prospectus on-line at a 
specified internet site.
    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 the OMB under the PRA approves it 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 1210-0049.
    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 December 31, 2019. 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 March 27, 2019 (84 FR 
11573).
    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

[[Page 71981]]

appropriate consideration, comments should mention OMB Control Number 
1210-0049. 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: Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption for 
Certain Transactions Between Investment Companies and Employee Benefit 
Plans (PTE 1977-4).
    OMB Control Number: 1210-0049.
    Affected Public: Private Sector: Not-for-profit institutions; 
Businesses or other for-profits.
    Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 846.
    Total Estimated Number of Responses: 279,653.
    Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 23,728 hours.
    Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $117,954.

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

     Dated: December 20, 2019.
Frederick Licari,
Departmental Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2019-28045 Filed 12-27-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P