[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 134 (Friday, July 14, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45214-45215]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-14913]
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB
Review; Comment Request; Extension
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'')
requests that the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') extend for
an additional three years the current Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA'')
clearance for information collection requirements in its Trade
Regulation Rule on Disclosure Requirements and Prohibitions Concerning
Franchising (``Franchise Rule'' or ``Rule''). That clearance expires on
November 30, 2023.
DATES: Comments must be filed by August 14, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper, by
following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent
within 30 days of publication of this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting
``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using
the search function.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christine M. Todaro, Attorney,
Division of Marketing Practices, Bureau of Consumer Protection, 600
Pennsylvania Ave. NW, CC-8548, Washington, DC 20580, (202) 326-3711,
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title of Collection: Franchise Rule, 16 CFR part 436.
OMB Control Number: 3084-0107.
Type of Review: Extension without change of currently approved
collection.
Abstract: The Franchise Rule ensures that consumers who are
considering a franchise investment have access to the material
information they need to make an informed investment decision and
compare different franchise offerings. The Rule requires franchisors to
furnish prospective purchasers with a Franchise Disclosure Document
(``FDD'') that provides information relating to the franchisor, its
business, the nature of the proposed franchise, and any representations
by the franchisor about financial performance regarding actual or
potential sales, income, or profits. The Rule also requires that
franchisors maintain records to facilitate enforcement of the Rule.\1\
The franchisor must preserve materially different copies of its FDD for
3 years, as well as information that provides a reasonable basis for
any financial performance representation it elects to make.
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\1\ The Rule was amended in 2007 to conform its disclosure
requirements with the disclosure format accepted by states that have
franchise registration or disclosure laws. See 72 FR 15444 (Mar. 30,
2007). The amended Rule has significantly minimized any compliance
burden beyond what is required by state law.
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Affected Public: Private Sector: Businesses and other for-profit
entities.
Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 22,480.
Estimated Annual Labor Costs: $8,386,800.
Estimated Annual Non-Labor Costs: $4,800,000.
Request for Comment
On February 1, 2023, the FTC sought public comment on the
information collection requirements associated with the Franchise Rule.
88 FR 6727 (Feb. 2, 2023). No relevant comments were received during
the public comment period. Pursuant to 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. For more
details about the Rule requirements and the basis for the calculations
summarized below, see 88 FR 6727.
Your comment--including your name and your state--will be placed on
the public record of this proceeding. 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 ensuring 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
[[Page 45215]]
confidential''--as provided in Section 6(f) of the FTC Act 15 U.S.C.
46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16CFR 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. 2023-14913 Filed 7-13-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P