[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 61 (Monday, March 30, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17579-17580]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-06579]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

ACTION: Notice and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The FTC requests that the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) extend for three years the current PRA clearance for information 
collection requirements contained in the Rule Governing Pre-sale 
Availability of Written Warranty Terms. The current clearance expires 
on April 30, 2020.

DATES: Comments must be received by April 29, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Comments in response to this notice should be submitted to 
the OMB Desk Officer for the Federal Trade Commission within 30 days of 
this notice. You may submit comments using any of the following 
methods:
    Electronic: Write ``Pre-sale Availability Rule: PRA Comment, 
P072108,'' on your comment and file your comment online at https://www.regulations.gov, by following the instructions on the web-based 
form.
    Email: [email protected].
    Fax: (202) 395-5806.
    Mail: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of 
Management and Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for the Federal Trade 
Commission, New Executive Office Building, Docket Library, Room 10102, 
725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christine M. Todaro, Attorney, 
Division of Marketing Practices, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal 
Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580, 
(202) 326-3711.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Pre-sale Availability of Written Warranty Terms (Pre-Sale 
Availability Rule or Rule), 16 CFR 702.
    OMB Control Number: 3084-0112.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Abstract: On December 31, 2019, the FTC sought public comment on 
the information collection requirements associated with the Rule. 84 FR 
72362. No germane comments were received.\1\ Pursuant to the OMB 
regulations, 5 CFR part 1320, that implement the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et 
seq., the FTC is providing this second opportunity for public comment 
while seeking OMB approval to renew the pre-existing clearance for the 
Rule.
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    \1\ The Commission received nine non-germane comments.
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    The Pre-sale Availability Rule, 16 CFR 702, is one of three rules 
\2\ that the FTC issued as required by the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act, 
15 U.S.C. 2301 et seq. (Warranty Act or Act).\3\ This Rule requires 
sellers and warrantors to make the text of any written warranty on a 
consumer product costing more than $15 available to the consumer before 
sale. Among other things, the Rule requires sellers to make the text of 
the warranty readily available either by (1) displaying it in close 
proximity to the product or (2) furnishing it on request and posting 
signs in prominent locations advising consumers that the warranty is 
available. The Rule requires warrantors to provide materials to enable 
sellers to comply with the Rule's requirements and also sets out the 
methods by which warranty information can be made available before the 
sale if the product is sold through catalogs, mail order, or door to 
door sales. In addition, in 2016, the FTC revised the Rule to allow 
warrantors to post warranty terms on internet websites if they also 
provide a non-internet based method for consumers to obtain the 
warranty terms and satisfy certain other conditions. The revised Rule 
also allows certain sellers to display warranty terms pre-sale in an 
electronic format if the warrantor has used the online method of 
disseminating warranty terms.
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    \2\ The other two rules relate to the information that must 
appear in a written warranty on a consumer product costing more than 
$15 if a warranty is offered and minimum standards for informal 
dispute settlement mechanisms that are incorporated into a written 
warranty.
    \3\ 40 FR 60168 (Dec. 31, 1975).
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    Likely Respondents: Manufacturers and retailers of consumer 
products.

[[Page 17580]]

    Estimated Annual Hours Burden: 3,069,314 hours (170,417 hours for 
manufacturers + 2,898,897 hours for retailers).

 Manufacturers account for approximately 170,417 hours ((742 
large manufacturers x 21.5 hours) + (30,287 small manufacturers x 5.1 
hours))
 Retailers account for approximately 2,898,897 hours ((8,628 
large retailers x 20.8 burden hours) + (566,549 small retailers x 4.8 
burden hours))

    Estimated Annual Cost Burden: $70,594,222 (which is derived from 
$36,831,768 for sales associates + $33,762,454 for clerical 
workers).\4\

    \4\ The wage rates used in this Notice reflect data from the 
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wages (May 
2018), available at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ocwage.pdf.
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 Sales Associates: (1,534,657 hours) ($24/hour) = $36,831,768
 Clerical Workers: (1,534,657 hours) ($22/hour) = $33,762,454

    Total Annual Capital or Other Non-labor Costs: De minimis.

Request for Comment

    Your comment--including your name and your state--will be placed on 
the public record of this proceeding at the https://www.regulations.gov 
website. Because your comment will be made public, you are solely 
responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any 
sensitive personal information, such as anyone'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.

Josephine Liu,
Assistant General Counsel for Legal Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2020-06579 Filed 3-27-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6750-01-P