[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 167 (Wednesday, August 30, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59925-59927]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-18766]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; Extension

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'') is 
seeking public comments on its proposal to extend for an additional 
three years the current Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA'') clearance for 
information collection requirements contained in the Fair Packaging and 
Labeling Act regulations (``FPLA Rules''). That clearance expires on 
March 31, 2024.

DATES: Comments must be filed by October 30, 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. Write ``FPLA Rules, PRA 
Comment, P074200'' on your comment, and file your comment online at 
https://www.regulations.gov by following the instructions on the web-
based form. 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-5610 (Annex J), 
Washington, DC 20580.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jock Chung, Attorney, Division of 
Enforcement, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 
Room CC-9543, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580, (202) 
326-2984.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title of Collection: Regulations Under Section 4 of the Fair 
Packaging and Labeling Act (FPLA), 16 CFR parts 500-503.
    OMB Control Number: 3084-0110.
    Type of Review: Extension without change of currently approved 
collection.
    Abstract: The Fair Packaging and Labeling Act, 15 U.S.C. 1451 et 
seq., was enacted to enable consumers to obtain accurate package 
quantity information to facilitate value comparisons and prevent unfair 
or deceptive packaging

[[Page 59926]]

and labeling of consumer commodities. Section 4 of the FPLA requires 
packages or labels to be marked with: (1) A statement of identity; (2) 
a net quantity of contents disclosure; and (3) the name and place of 
business of the company responsible for the product. The FPLA 
regulations, 16 CFR parts 500-503, specify how manufacturers, 
packagers, and distributors of ``consumer commodities'' must comply 
with the Act's labeling requirements.
    Affected Public: Private Sector: Businesses and other for-profit 
entities.
    Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 7,436,580.
    Estimated Annual Labor Costs: $188,799,893.
    Estimated Annual Non-Labor Costs: $0.
    As required by section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A), the FTC is providing this opportunity for public comment 
before requesting that OMB extend the existing clearance for the 
information collection requirements contained in the FPLA Rules.

Burden Estimates

    Estimated Number of Respondents: 743,658.
    FTC staff estimates there are approximately 743,658 retailers, 
wholesalers, and manufacturers that sell consumer commodities that are 
subject to the FPLA Rules' labeling requirements.\1\
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    \1\ FTC staff based this estimate on a combination of U.S. 
Census Bureau (``Census'') data and information from the North 
American Industry Classification System (``NAICS''). FTC staff 
identified categories of retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers 
under its jurisdiction that supply consumer commodities as defined 
in the FPLA Rules. FTC staff estimated the number of retailers 
(317,973) based on 2021 Census data compiling NAICS subsector codes 
445, 452, and 453, respectively, for food and beverage stores, 
general merchandise stores, and miscellaneous store retailers. See 
https://data.census.gov/
table?n=445:452:453&tid=CBP2021.CB2100CBP&nkd=EMPSZES~001,LFO~001. 
FTC staff estimated the number of wholesalers (354,180) using 2021 
Census data concerning the number of firms covered by NAICS subset 
code 42 for merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers' sales 
branches and offices (NAICS subsector code 425). See https://
data.census.gov/
table?n=42&tid=CBP2021.CB2100CBP&nkd=EMPSZES~001,LFO~001 (reflecting 
that NAICS subset code 42 covers 390,842 entities); https://
data.census.gov/
table?n=425&tid=CBP2021.CB2100CBP&nkd=EMPSZES~001,LFO~001 
(reflecting that NAICS subsector code 425 covers 36,662 entities). 
FTC staff estimated the number of covered manufacturers (71,505) by 
compiling the estimated number of manufacturing entities covered by 
NAICS codes 321999, 322220, 322299, 324191, 324199, 325520, 3256, 
325992, 325998, 326111, 326130, 326140, 326199, 327910, 331315, 
339999. See https://www.naics.com/six-digit-naics/?v=2022&code=31-33.
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    Burden Hours: 7,436,580 hours.
    FTC staff estimates that covered entities spend approximately 10 
hours per year to comply with the FPLA Rule's labeling requirements. As 
a result, the FTC estimates that the total burden hours attributable to 
FTC requirements is 7,436,580 hours (743,658 respondents x 10 hours).
    Labor Costs: $188,799,893.
    FTC staff derives labor costs by applying estimated hourly cost 
figures to the burden hours described above. Commission staff estimates 
the hours spent to comply with the FPLA Rules' labeling requirements 
will break down as follows: 1 hour of managerial and/or professional 
time per covered entity, at an hourly wage of $59.07,\2\ 2 hours of 
graphic design support, at an hourly wage of $31.01,\3\ 7 hours of 
clerical time per covered entity, at an hourly wage of $18.97,\4\ for a 
total of $188,799,893 \5\ ($253.88 blended labor cost per covered 
entity x 743,658 entities).
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    \2\ Based on the mean hourly wage rate for ``General and 
Operations Managers'' ($59.07), available from Bureau of Labor 
Statistics, Economic News Release, April 25, 2023, Table 1, 
``National employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment 
Statistics survey by occupation, May 2022'' (``BLS Table 1''), 
available at https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.htm.
    \3\ This wage estimate consists of work time for graphic 
designers who design the appearance and layout of product packaging, 
including the appropriate display of the disclosures required by the 
FPLA Rules. The corresponding wage estimate is based on mean hourly 
wages for ``Graphic designers'' ($31.01). See BLS Table 1.
    \4\ See id. The clerical wage estimate is based on the mean 
hourly wages for ``data entry and information processing workers'' 
($18.97).
    \5\ Rounded from $188,799,893.04.
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    Capital/Non-Labor Costs: $0.
    Commission staff believes that the FPLA Rules impose negligible 
capital or other non-labor costs, as the affected entities are likely 
to have the necessary supplies and/or equipment already (e.g., offices 
and computers) for the information collections discussed above.

Request for Comment

    Pursuant to Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, the FTC invites 
comments on: (1) whether the disclosure and recordkeeping requirements 
are necessary, including whether the information will be practically 
useful; (2) the accuracy of our burden estimates, including whether the 
methodology and assumptions used are valid; (3) ways to enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and 
(4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information.
    For the FTC to consider a comment, we must receive it on or before 
October 30, 2023. Your comment, including your name and your state, 
will be placed on the public record of this proceeding, including the 
https://www.regulations.gov website.
    You can file a comment online or on paper. Due to heightened 
security screening, postal mail addressed to the Commission will be 
subject to delay. We encourage you to submit your comments online 
through the https://www.regulations.gov website.
    If you file your comment on paper, write ``FPLA Rules, PRA Comment, 
P074200'' on your comment and on the envelope, and mail it to the 
following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 
600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite CC-5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 
20580.
    Because your comment will become publicly available at 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 else'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.
    Comments containing material for which confidential treatment is 
requested must (1) be filed in paper form, (2) be clearly labeled 
``Confidential,'' and (3) 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, we cannot redact or remove 
your comment unless you submit a confidentiality request that meets the 
requirements for such

[[Page 59927]]

treatment under FTC Rule 4.9(c), and the General Counsel grants that 
request.
    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 October 30, 
2023. 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.

Josephine Liu,
Assistant General Counsel for Legal Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2023-18766 Filed 8-29-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P