[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 164 (Friday, August 25, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58312-58316]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-18276]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employee Benefits Security Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities; Request for Public 
Comment

AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), Department of 
Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (the Department), in accordance with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act, provides the general public and Federal 
agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing 
collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact 
of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's 
reporting burden. It also helps the public understand the Department's 
information collection requirements and provide the requested data in 
the desired format. The Employee Benefits Security Administration 
(EBSA) is soliciting comments on the proposed extension of the 
information collection requests (ICRs) contained in the documents 
described below. A copy of the ICRs may be obtained by contacting the 
office listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice. ICRs also are 
available at reginfo.gov (http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain).

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office shown in the 
ADDRESSES section on or before October 24, 2023.

ADDRESSES: James Butikofer, Department of Labor, Employee Benefits 
Security Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room N-5718, 
Washington, DC 20210, or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Current Actions

    This notice requests public comment on the Department's request for 
extension of the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of 
ICRs contained in the rules and prohibited transaction exemptions 
described below. The Department is not proposing any changes to the 
existing ICRs at this time. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a 
person is not required to respond to, an information collection unless 
it displays a valid OMB control number. A summary of the ICRs and the 
burden estimates follows:
    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Suspension of Pension Benefits Pursuant to Regulations 29 
CFR 2530.203-3.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0048.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
    Respondents: 39,457.
    Responses: 171,221.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 132,639.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $48,524.
    Description: Section 203(a)(3)(B) of the Employee Retirement Income 
Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) governs the circumstances under which 
pension plans may suspend pension benefit payments to retirees who 
return to work or to participants who continue to work beyond normal 
retirement age. This section sets forth the circumstances and 
conditions under which such benefit payments may be suspended. In order 
for a plan to suspend benefits pursuant to the regulation, it must 
notify the affected retiree or participant during the first calendar 
month or payroll period in which the plan withholds payment that 
benefits are suspended. Requests for such reviews may be considered in 
accordance with the claims procedure adopted by the plan pursuant to 
section 503 of the Act and applicable regulations. The notice must 
include the specific reasons for such suspension, a general description 
of the plan provisions authorizing the suspension, a copy of the 
relevant plan provisions, and a statement indicating where the 
applicable regulations may be found, i.e., 29 CFR 2530.203-3. In 
addition, the suspension notification must inform the retiree or 
participant of the plan's procedure for affording a review of the 
suspension of benefits.
    The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under 
OMB Control No. 1210-0048. The current approval is scheduled to expire 
on January 31, 2024.
    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Prohibited Transaction Exemption 1981-8, Class Exemption 
Covering Certain Short-Term Investment.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0061.
    Affected Public: Not-for-profit institutions, Businesses, or other 
for-profits.
    Respondents: 95,170.
    Responses: 413,320.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 103,330.

[[Page 58313]]

    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $114,109.
    Description: PTE 81-8 permits the investment of plan assets that 
involve the purchase or other acquisition, holding, sale, exchange, or 
redemption by or on behalf of an employee benefits plan in certain 
types of short-term investments. PTE 81-8 covers five types of short-
term investments: banker's acceptances, commercial paper, repurchase 
agreements, certificates of deposit, and bank securities. Without the 
exemption, certain aspects of these transactions might be prohibited by 
ERISA section 406. In order to grant an exemption under ERISA section 
408 and Code section 4975(c)(2), the Department must determine that the 
exemption is: administratively feasible, in the interests of the plan 
and its participants and beneficiaries, and protective of the rights of 
participants and beneficiaries of such plan.
    The Department requires minimal information collection pertaining 
to the affected transactions and two basic disclosure requirements. 
Both disclosure requirements affect only the portion of the exemption 
dealing with repurchase agreements. The first requirement calls for the 
repurchase agreements between the seller and the plan to be in writing. 
The second requirement obliges the seller of such repurchase agreements 
to furnish the plan with the most recent available audited statement of 
its financial condition as well as its most recent available unaudited 
statement at the time of the sale and as the statements are issued. The 
seller must also represent, either in the repurchase agreement or prior 
to each repurchase agreement transaction, that as of the time the 
transaction is negotiated, there has been no material adverse change in 
the seller's financial condition since the date the last financial 
statement was furnished that has not been disclosed to the plan 
fiduciary with whom the written agreement is made.
    The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under 
OMB Control No. 1210-0061. The current approval is scheduled to expire 
on January 31, 2024.
    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Prohibited Transaction Exemption 1996-62, Class Exemption to 
Permit Certain Authorized Transactions Between Plans and Parties in 
Interest.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0098.
    Affected Public: Not-for-profit institutions, Businesses, or other 
for-profits.
    Respondents: 7.
    Responses: 3,515.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 88.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $30,156.
    Description: PTE 96-62 provides accelerated approval of an 
exemption permitting a plan to engage in a transaction which might 
otherwise be prohibited following a demonstration to the Department 
that the transaction is substantially similar to either transactions 
described in at least two prior individual exemptions granted by the 
Department and that provided relief from the same restriction(s) within 
the 60-month period ending on the date of the filing of the written 
submission; or one individual exemption that was granted by the 
Department, and provided relief from the same restriction(s), within 
120-month period ending on the date of filing of the written submission 
and at least one transaction that has received final authorization 
pursuant to PTE 96-62 within a 60-month period ending on the date of 
the filing of the written submission. In addition, there must be 
little, if any, risk of abuse or loss to a plan's participants and 
beneficiaries as a result of the transaction. An applicant for an 
exemption must submit the necessary documentation as described in the 
class exemption to the Department for the Department to make an 
informed determination regarding an application for accelerated 
approval. Following tentative authorization, the applicant must provide 
written notice to interested persons in a manner that is reasonably 
calculated to result in the receipt of such notice by interested 
persons, to ensure that participants and beneficiaries are informed of 
the application for an exemption and the date of the expiration of the 
comment period and have an opportunity to comment.
    The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under 
OMB Control No. 1210-0098. The current approval is scheduled to expire 
on January 31, 2024.
    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Prohibited Transaction Exemption 98-54, Class Exemption 
Relating to Certain Employee Benefit Plan Foreign Exchange Transactions 
Executed Pursuant to Standing Instructions.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0111.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
    Respondents: 35.
    Responses: 420,000.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 4,200.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $0.
    Description: PTE 98-54 permits employee benefit plans to engage in 
foreign exchange transactions with banks or broker-dealers which are 
trustees, custodians, fiduciaries, or other parties in interest with 
respect to such plans pursuant to a standing instruction. The 
exemption's conditions contain the following information collection 
requirements: (1) the bank or broker-dealer maintains at all times 
written policies and procedures regarding the handling of foreign 
exchange transactions for plans with respect to which the bank or 
broker-dealer is a trustee, custodian, fiduciary or other party in 
interest or disqualified person which assure that the person acting for 
the bank or broker-dealer knows that they are dealing with a plan, a 
partial copy of which prior to the execution of certain transactions is 
provided to the plan's independent fiduciary; (2) the covered 
transaction is performed under a written authorization executed in 
advance by the fiduciary of the plan whose assets are involved in the 
transaction, which plan fiduciary is independent of the bank or broker-
dealer engaging in the covered transaction or any foreign affiliate 
thereof; (3) the bank or broker-dealer engaging in the covered 
transaction furnishes to the independent fiduciary a written 
confirmation statement with respect to each covered transaction not 
more than five business days after execution of the transactions; and 
(4) recordkeeping requirements.
    The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under 
OMB Control No. 1210-0111. The current approval is scheduled to expire 
on January 31, 2024.
    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2020-02, Improving 
Investment Advice for Workers & Retirees Prohibited Transaction 
Exemption.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0163.
    Affected Public: Individuals or Households.
    Respondents: 11,782.
    Responses: 1,755,959.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 401,251.

[[Page 58314]]

    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $92,063.
    Description: PTE 2020-02 permits investment advice fiduciaries 
(i.e., registered IAs, BDs, banks, and insurance companies) to receive 
compensation and engage in principal transactions that would otherwise 
violate the prohibited transaction provisions of ERISA and the Code. 
The prohibited transaction provisions of ERISA and the Code generally 
prohibit fiduciaries with respect to employee benefit plans (Plans) and 
individual retirement accounts and annuities (IRAs) from engaging in 
self-dealing and receiving compensation from third parties in 
connection with transactions involving the Plans and IRAs, and from 
purchasing and selling investments with the Plans and IRAs when the 
fiduciaries are acting on behalf of their own accounts (principal 
transactions).
    To qualify for the exemption, investment advice fiduciaries are 
required to comply with the following information collection 
requirements: (1) make disclosures to inform retirement investors of 
their fiduciary status, services offered, and material conflicts of 
interest; (2) establish, maintain, and enforce written policies and 
procedures designed to ensure that they and their investment 
professionals comply with the Impartial Conduct Standards; (3) document 
the specific reasons for any rollover recommendation and show that the 
rollover is in the best interest of the retirement investor and provide 
the documentation to the retirement investor; (4) conduct an annual 
retrospective review that is reasonably designed to prevent violations 
of the PTE's Impartial Conduct Standards and the institution's own 
policies and procedures and provide a written report that is certified 
by a senior executive officer; and (5) maintain records so that parties 
relying on an exemption can demonstrate, and the Department can verify, 
compliance with the conditions of the exemption. Investment advice 
fiduciaries may choose to self-correct certain violations if, among 
other things, the financial institution notifies the Department of 
Labor and the person(s) responsible for conducting the retrospective 
review.
    The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under 
OMB Control No. 1210-0163. The current approval is scheduled to expire 
on February 29, 2024.
    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0089.
    Affected Public: Not-for-profit institutions, Businesses or other 
for-profits.
    Respondents: 10,350.
    Responses: 10,350.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 518.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $778,718.
    Description: Under Title I of ERISA, the administrator of each 
welfare plan and each pension plan, unless otherwise exempt, is 
required to file an annual report with the Secretary containing the 
information set forth in section 103 of ERISA. The statutory annual 
reporting requirements under Titles I and IV of ERISA, as well as the 
Internal Revenue Code (the Code), are satisfied generally by filing the 
appropriate annual return/report (the Form 5500).
    On April 27, 1995, the Department implemented the Delinquent Filer 
Voluntary Compliance Program (the DFVC Program) in an effort to 
encourage annual reporting compliance. Under the DFVC Program, 
administrators otherwise subject to the assessment of higher civil 
penalties are permitted to pay reduced civil penalties for voluntarily 
complying with the annual reporting requirements under Title I of 
ERISA.
    The only information collection requirement included in the DFVC 
Program is the requirement of providing data necessary to identify the 
plan along with the penalty payment. This data is the only means by 
which each penalty payment is associated with the relevant plan. With 
respect to most pension plans and welfare plans, the requirement is 
satisfied by sending, along with the penalty payment, a copy of the 
delinquent annual report (without attachments or schedules) which is 
filed with the Department at a different address under the EFAST 
system. In the event that the plan administrator files the delinquent 
annual report using a 1998 or prior plan year form, a paper copy of 
only the first page of the Form 5500 or Form 5500-C, as applicable, 
should be submitted along with the penalty payment.
    Certain pension plans for highly compensated employees, commonly 
called ``top hat'' plans, and apprenticeship plans may file a one-time 
statement in lieu of annual reports. With respect to such plans, 
information collection requirements of the DFVC Program are satisfied 
by sending a completed first page of an annual report form along with 
the penalty payment. The one-time statements are required to be sent to 
a different address within the Department. The DFVC Program is designed 
to allow the processing of all penalty payments at a single location 
within the Department.
    The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under 
OMB Control No. 1210-0089. The current approval is scheduled to expire 
on March 31, 2024.
    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Request for Assistance from the Department of Labor, 
Employee Benefits Security Administration.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0146.
    Affected Public: Individuals or Households.
    Respondents: 5,582.
    Responses: 5,582.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 2,791.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $0.
    Description: The Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security 
Administration (EBSA) maintains a program designed to provide education 
and technical assistance to participants and beneficiaries as well as 
to employers, plan sponsors, and service providers related to their 
health and retirement plan benefits. EBSA assists participants in 
understanding their rights, responsibilities, and benefits under 
employee benefit law and intervenes informally on their behalf with the 
plan sponsor in order to assist them in obtaining the health and 
retirement benefits to which they may have been inappropriately denied, 
which can avert the necessity for a formal investigation or a civil 
action. EBSA maintains a toll-free telephone number through which 
inquirers can reach Benefits Advisors in ten Regional Offices. EBSA has 
also made a request for assistance form available on its website for 
those wishing to obtain assistance in this manner. Contact with EBSA is 
entirely voluntary.
    The collection of information is an intake form for assistance 
requests from the public. This information includes the plan type, 
broad categories of problem type, contact information for responsible 
parties, and a mechanism for the inquirer to attach relevant documents. 
Summary data from the existing intake form has also been used, in 
accordance with section 513 of ERISA, to respond to requests for 
information regarding employee benefit plans from members of Congress 
and governmental oversight entities, and to inform the policy 
formulation process.

[[Page 58315]]

    The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under 
OMB Control No. 1210-0146. The current approval is scheduled to expire 
on March 31, 2024.
    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Alternative Method of Compliance for Certain Simplified 
Employee Pensions.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0034.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
    Respondents: 35,560.
    Responses: 67,930.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 21,227.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $3,223.
    Description: Section 110 of ERISA relieves sponsors of certain 
Simplified Employee Pensions (SEPs) from ERISA's Title I reporting and 
disclosure requirements by prescribing an alternative method of 
compliance. These SEPs are, for purposes of this information 
collection, referred to as ``non-model SEPs'' because they exclude 
those SEPs which are created through use of Internal Revenue Service 
(IRS) Form 5305-SEP, and those SEPs in which the employer influences 
the employees as to their choice of IRAs to which employer 
contributions will be made, and that also prohibit withdrawals by 
participants.
    This information collection requirement generally requires timely 
written disclosure to employees eligible to participate in non-model 
SEPs, including specific information concerning: participation 
requirements; allocation formulas for employer contributions; 
designated contact persons for further information; and, for employer 
recommended IRAs, specific terms of the IRAs such as rates of return 
and any restrictions on withdrawals. Moreover, general information is 
required that provides a clear explanation of: the operation of the 
non-model SEP; participation requirements and any withdrawal 
restrictions; and the tax treatment of the SEP-related IRA. 
Furthermore, statements must be provided that inform participants of: 
any other IRAs under the non-model SEP other than that to which 
employer contributions are made; any options regarding rollovers and 
contributions to other IRAs; descriptions of IRS disclosure 
requirements to participants and information regarding social security 
integration (if applicable); and timely notification of any amendments 
to the terms of the non-model SEP.
    The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under 
OMB Control No. 1210-0034. The current approval is scheduled to expire 
on April 30, 2024.
    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Procedures Governing the Filing and Processing of Prohibited 
Transaction Exemption Applications
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0060.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
    Respondents: 20.
    Responses: 4,899.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 632.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $551,422.
    Description: ERISA sections 406 and 407 and Code section 4975(e) 
prohibit various transactions between a plan and certain related 
parties and certain transactions by a plan fiduciary unless a statutory 
or administrative exemption applies to the transaction. The Department 
has authority under Reorganization Plan No. 4, pursuant to section 408 
of ERISA and section 4975(c)(2) of the Code to grant either individual 
or class exemptions. In order to grant an exemption under ERISA section 
408 and Code section 4975(c) (2), the Department must determine that 
the exemption is: administratively feasible, in the interests of the 
plan and its participants and beneficiaries, and protective of the 
rights of participants and beneficiaries.
    In order to make such a determination, the Department requires full 
disclosure of information regarding all aspects of the proposed 
transaction, and the parties and the assets involved. Sections 2570.34 
and 2570.35 of the exemption procedure regulation describe the 
information that must be supplied by the applicant, such as: 
identifying information (name, type of plan, EIN number, etc.); an 
estimate of the number of plan participants; a detailed description of 
the exemption transaction and the parties for which an exemption is 
requested; a statement regarding which section of ERISA is thought to 
be violated and whether transaction(s) involved have already been 
entered into; a statement of whether the transaction is customary in 
the industry; a statement of the hardship or economic loss, if any, 
which would result if the exemption were denied; a statement explaining 
why the proposed exemption would be administratively feasible, in the 
interests of the plan and protective of the rights of plan participants 
and beneficiaries; and several other statements. In addition, the 
applicant must certify that the information supplied is accurate and 
complete.
    The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under 
OMB Control No. 1210-0060. The current approval is scheduled to expire 
on April 30, 2024.
    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Investment Advice Participants and Beneficiaries.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0134.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
    Respondents: 11,396.
    Responses: 23,033,030.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 2,423,391.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): 
$318,912,816.
    Description: Under ERISA, providing ``investment advice'' is a 
fiduciary act. A fiduciary who advises participants about plan 
investment opportunities that pay the adviser fees or commissions may 
be subject to liability under the Employee Retirement Income Security 
Act of 1974 (ERISA) prohibited transaction rules. The Pension 
Protection Act of 2006 (Pub. L. 109-280) amended the ERISA and the 
Internal Revenue Code (Code) to include a statutory exemption for 
providing investment advice to participants and beneficiaries in self-
directed defined contribution individual account ERISA-covered plans 
(Plans) and beneficiaries of individual retirement accounts, individual 
retirement annuities, Archer MSAs, health savings accounts and 
Coverdell education savings accounts (collectively IRAs) described in 
the Code. The statutory exemption provides relief from the prohibited 
transaction provisions of ERISA, and the parallel provisions of the 
Code.
    The information collections that are conditions of the regulation 
include, third-party disclosures, recordkeeping, and audit 
requirements. With one exception, the regulation does not require any 
reporting or filing with the Federal government, but the designated 
records must be made available upon request. The exception is the 
requirement that the fiduciary adviser is required under certain 
circumstances to forward the audit report which is also a required 
disclosure under the regulation to the Department.
    The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under 
OMB Control No. 1210-0134. The

[[Page 58316]]

current approval is scheduled to expire on April 30, 2024.
    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Furnishing Documents to the Secretary of Labor on Request 
Under Employee Retirement Income Security Act Section 104(a)(6).
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0112.
    Affected Public: Not-for-profit institutions, Businesses or other 
for-profits.
    Respondents: 893.
    Responses: 893.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 41.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $721.
    Description: Prior to the enactment of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 
1997 (Pub. L. 105-34, August 5, 1997) (TRA `97), section 104(a) of the 
Employee Retirement Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) required 
administrators of employee benefit plans automatically to file the 
plan's summary plan description (SPD) and any summaries of material 
modification (SMMs) with the Secretary of the Department of Labor (the 
Department). TRA `97 eliminated the requirement that these documents be 
filed automatically with the Department, but added ERISA section 
104(a)(6), requiring a plan administrator to furnish documents related 
to an employee benefit plan to the Department upon request. The 
requirement that administrators furnish the Department requested plan 
documents other than SPDs and SMMs was part of section 104(a) prior to 
enactment of TRA '97; that requirement was moved by TRA '97 to section 
104(a)(6) and consolidated with the new furnishing requirement 
pertaining to SPDs and SMMs.
    Pursuant to the regulation, the Department requests documents under 
section 104(a)(6) when a participant or beneficiary has previously 
requested the documents directly from the plan administrator and the 
administrator has failed or refused to provide them. The Department 
therefore uses the requested information to respond to participants' 
requests to the Department for documents that the participants were 
unable to obtain from their plan administrators.
    The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under 
OMB Control No. 1210-0112. The current approval is scheduled to expire 
on June 30, 2024.

II. Focus of Comments

    The Department is particularly interested in comments that:
     Evaluate whether the collections of information are 
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 
collections 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., by 
permitting electronic submissions of responses.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the ICR for OMB approval of the information 
collection; they will also become a matter of public record.

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 18th day of August 2023.
Lisa M. Gomez,
Assistant Secretary, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. 
Department of Labor.
[FR Doc. 2023-18276 Filed 8-24-23; 8:45 am]
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