[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 71 (Monday, April 13, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 20453-20454]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-07172]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

16 CFR Part 453


Funeral Industry Practices

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'') is 
extending the deadline for filing comments on its Trade Regulation Rule 
entitled ``Funeral Industry Practices Rule'' (``Funeral Rule'' or 
``Rule'').

DATES: The deadline for comments on the proposed rule published 
February 14, 2020 at 85 FR 8490 is extended. Comments must be received 
on or before June 15, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper by 
following the instructions in the Instructions for Submitting Comments 
part of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``Funeral 
Rule Regulatory Review, 16 CFR Part 453, Project No. P034410,'' on your 
comment and file your comment online through https://www.regulations.gov. 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-

[[Page 20454]]

5610 (Annex B), 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 
B), Washington, DC 20024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patti Poss (202-326-2413), Division of 
Marketing Practices, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade 
Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Comment Period Extension

    On February 14, 2020, the Commission published in the Federal 
Register a Request for Public Comment on the Federal Trade Commission's 
Funeral Industry Practices Rule, with an April 14, 2020, deadline for 
filing comments. 85 FR 8490. The Commission published the proposed rule 
to solicit public comments about the efficiency, costs, benefits, and 
regulatory impact of the Funeral Rule as part of its systematic review 
of all current Commission regulations and guides. Interested parties 
have subsequently requested an extension of the public comment period 
to provide additional time to respond to the request for comment in 
light of the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
    The Commission agrees that allowing additional time for filing 
comments regarding the Funeral Rule would help facilitate the creation 
of a more complete record. The Commission has therefore decided to 
extend the comment period for 60 days, to June 15, 2020. A 60-day 
extension provides commenters adequate time to address the issues 
raised in the Notice.

II. Instructions for Submitting Comments

    You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to 
consider your comment, we must receive it on or before June 15, 2020. 
Write ``Funeral Rule Regulatory Review, 16 CFR Part 453, Project No. 
P034410'' 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 https://www.regulations.gov website.
    We strongly encourage you to submit your comments online through 
the https://www.regulations.gov website. Due to the public health 
emergency in response to the COVID-19 outbreak and the agency's 
heightened security screening, postal mail addressed to the Commission 
will be subject to delay. If you file your comment on paper, write 
``Funeral Rule Regulatory Review, 16 CFR Part 453, Project No. 
P034410,'' 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 B), 
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, please submit your paper comment to the Commission by courier 
or overnight service.
    Because your comment will be placed on the publicly accessible 
website, https://www.regulations.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'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 ``[t]rade secret or any commercial or 
financial information which . . . is privileged or confidential''--as 
provided in 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 publicly at www.regulations.gov--as legally required by FTC 
Rule 4.9(b)--we cannot redact or remove your comment, 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 FTC website to read this request for comment and the news 
release describing it. 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 
June 15, 2020. For information on the Commission's privacy policy, 
including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, see https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy.

    By direction of the Commission.
April J. Tabor,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-07172 Filed 4-10-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6750-01-P