Proposed Collection; Comment Request

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501

et seq.) (PRA), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is inviting comments

on proposed three year extensions of Paperwork Reduction Act clearance

for information collection requirements associated with five Commission

rules. The FTC is also inviting comments on the extension of clearance

for collections of information associated with FTC administrative or

procedural tasks.

This request is solely for extensions of current collections of

information; no amendments or changes to these rules or the collection

requirements contained therein are being proposed by this notice. Any

adjustments to burden hours are due solely to changes in the market-

place or the practices of the industries involved.

DATES: Comments must be filed by (60 days from the date of this

publication).

ADDRESSES: All comments should be identified as responding to this

notice and should be sent to Elaine W. Crockett, Attorney, Office of

the General Counsel, Room, 598, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., 20580.

Telephone: (202) 326-2453. Fax: (202) 326-2477. E-mail:

[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or

copies of the proposed extensions of the information requirements

should be addressed to Elaine W. Crockett at the address listed above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As required by 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), the FTC

is seeking comments concerning the proposed extensions in order to: (1)

Evaluate whether the proposed collections of information are necessary

for the proper performance of the functions of the FTC, including

whether the information will have practical utility; (2) Evaluate the

accuracy of the FTC's estimates of the burdens associated with each

proposed collection of information, including the validity of the

methodologies and assumptions used; (3) Enhance the quality, utility,

and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) Minimize the

burden of the collections 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., permitting electronic submission of

responses.

1. Title: FTC Hart-Scott-Rodino (``Premerger Notification'') Rules

and Form, 16 CFR Parts 801-803--(OMB Control Number 3084-0005)--

Extension

The Antitrust Improvements Act Notification and Report Form

(``Report Form'' or ``Form'') implements the notification requirement

contained in the Premerger Notification Rules, 16 CFR parts 801-803

(1998) and section 7A of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. 18a. Under the Act

and its associated rules, certain parties contemplating acquisitions of

a specified size must notify the FTC and the Antitrust Division of the

Department of Justice (``the enforcement agencies'') and wait for 30

days (or, in the case of a cash tender offer, 15 days) before

consummating the transaction. The FTC has established the Report Form

as the means for accomplishing the notification mandated by the Act.

The Report Form provides the enforcement agencies with the information

needed to make prompt, preliminary determinations of the antitrust

implications of the reported transactions.

On June 14, 1994, the FTC published a Federal Register Notice in

which it proposed certain changes to the Report Form. 59 FR 30545. At

that time, the FTC requested comments on any paperwork burdens imposed

by those changes. Id. at 30588. Based on comments received in response

to the Notice, as well as other input from interested parties, the

enforcement agencies are continuing their review of the Report Form.

Any future proposal to change the Form as a result of this review will

include a request for comments on any paperwork burdens imposed by the

proposal.

[[Page 1204]]

This request is for an extension of the Rules and the Form as they

currently exist. This notice proposes no amendments or changes to the

Rules of the Form, nor does it address any of the changes proposed in

1994. The purpose of this notice is simply to comply with those PRA

requirements that will allow the Report Form to be used in its current

format pending any amendments to the Rules or Form.

Estimated Annual Burden Hours: The total estimated burden

associated with completing and filing the Form is 260,443 hours (based

on fiscal year 1997 figures). We have estimated that, depending on a

number of different factors, it takes anywhere from 8 to 160 hours to

complete and file the Form.\1\ The average, based on historical

experience, is approximately 39 hours. In certain circumstances, only

an index or copies of filings made with another regulatory agency are

required to be submitted to the FTC in lieu of the Form (``index

filing''). We have estimated that 2 hours is needed to comply with the

filing requirement in these instances. The enforcement agencies

received notice of 3622 transactions in 1997, of which 59 were reported

to other regulatory agencies. Thus the total 1997 burden was (3517

transactions x 39 hours) + (59 transactions x 2 hours), or 260,443

hours. The increase from the 1994 estimated burden of 107,985 hours

(when OMB clearance was last sought regarding the Form and regulations)

is solely a function of the increase in filings since 1994. Although

the number of reported transactions totaled 3,622 in 1997, because of

variations in the number of filings required for each transaction, the

total number of filings received for these transactions is

approximately 6,734.\2\

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\1\ These factors include the extent of the filing person's

United States operations; the number of different industries in

which the filing person is engaged; the firm's prior experience and

familiarity with the premerger notification program; the existence

of horizontal overlaps or vertical relationships in the businesses

in which the parties to the transaction derive revenue; and the

organizational structure and recordkeeping system of the reporting

entities.

\2\ For example, of the 3622 transactions reported, 164 were

joint ventures, (c)(6) transactions or (c)(8) transactions; only one

filing is required for each transaction. Of the remaining 3458,

approximately 80 percent, or 2766, require two filings per

transaction: one each from the acquiring person and the acquired

person. The other 20 percent (692) represent certain transactions

for which the consideration given is voting stock. A typical example

of these transactions is the acquisition of company B's voting stock

by company A. As payment for the B stock, A will give the B

sharholders certain shares of company A stock. A shareholder of B

will acquire an amount of company A stock that will require the B

shareholder to submit a separate filing as an acquiring person. For

HSR purposes, the company A/company B filings make up one

transaction, and the B shareholder/company A filings comprise a

second transaction. However, company A generally needs to submit

only one filing for the two transactions. Therefore the two

transactions require three filings, computed as 1.5 filings per

transaction (The 1.5 figure is a slight overestimation, since in

some cases more than one shareholder of company B has a filing

obligation as an acquiring person. Each shareholder's notification

is trated as a separate transaction, and company A's filing as an

acquiring person serves as the acquired party's filing for each of

the shareholder transactions. Thus, for example, four transactions--

a primary transaction with three related shareholder transactions--

may have a total of only five filings.)

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Estimated Labor Costs: Using the burden hours estimated above, the

total cost associated with the Rule and Form would be approximately

$78,132,000 (260,443 hours x $300 hour). To verify this cost

estimate, staff conducted an informal survey of actual billings by

several antitrust practitioners for preparation of the Form.\3\ These

estimates, based on the type and complexity of each filing \4\ closely

approximated our estimate, based on burden hours. This information is

summarized below. Only the first category, the index filing, has been

determined on an hourly fee basis. The remaining figures are calculated

on the following basis: 6734 filings minus 59 index filings=6675.

\3\ The $45,000 Hart-Scott-Rodino filing fee is not included in

these cost estimates because the fee does not fall within either of

the two cost categories defined by OMB: (1) Total hour burden and

annualized costs of hour burden (labor), and (2) non-labor costs,

consisting of total capital and start-up costs and total operation

and maintenance costs. See OMB Instructions for Completing OMB Form

83-I.

\4\ The survey was based on number of filings because each side

to a transaction is represented by a different law firm. Therefore,

practitioners do not have cost information relating to an entire

transaction.

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Index filing: 59 x $600 (2 hours @ $300/hr)=$35,400

Simple filings ([35% x 6675] x $2000)=4,672,000

Moderately complex filings ([60% x 6675] x $15,000) = 60,075,000

Very complex filings ([5% x 6675] x $50,000) = 16,700,000

Total: $81,482,400

This estimate is comparable to, although slightly higher than, our

estimate of $78,132,000. We conservatively have adopted the $81,482,400

estimate as the total annual labor cost.

Estimated Capital or Other Non-Labor Costs: The rule imposes no

current start-up costs and minimal capital costs. The Rule first took

effect in 1979, so law firms and companies already have incurred any

necessary start-up costs associated with filing the Form. Moreover, law

firms already have access, for other business purposes, to the ordinary

office equipment needed for compliance, and the Rule has no

consequential effect on the cost of operating and maintaining that

equipment.

2. Title--Negative Option Plans by Sellers in Commerce (``Negative

Option Rule'') 16 CFR Part 425--(OMB Control Number 3084-0104)--

Extension

The Negative Option Rule protects consumers who participate in

negative option plans (e.g., record or book ``clubs''), contractual

arrangements whereby a seller periodically ships merchandise to

subscribers without an affirmative order by the subscriber. The Rule

requires sellers to send an advance notice to subscribers describing

merchandise offered for sale. The subscriber may instruct the seller,

in accordance with the terms of the plan, to refrain from shipping the

merchandise. The Rule also requires that promotional materials disclose

the terms of membership clearly and conspicuously, and establish

procedures for the administration of such ``negative option'' plans.

Estimated Annual Burden Hours: The Rule's estimated annual burden

is approximately 14,375 hours per year. We estimate that approximately

175 existing clubs spend about 75 hours each to comply with the Rule's

disclosure requirements, for a total of 13,125 per year (175 clubs x

75 hours).

We have revised the number of hours from 125 to 75 hours per year

for each existing club to comply with the information collection

requirements contained in the Rule. These clubs should be familiar with

the Rule, which has been in effect since 1974, so their ``burden'' of

compliance has diminished over the years. Also, comments provided to

the FTC indicate that a substantial portion of the existing clubs

likely would now make these disclosures absent any regulatory

requirement because the Rule has assisted in fostering long-term

relationships with consumers.

In addition, approximately 10 new clubs come into existence each

year. These clubs spend about 125 hours complying with the Rule, making

the total hours that new clubs spend per year 1,250 (10 new clubs x

125 hours). For new clubs, we have retained the estimate of

approximately 125 hours to comply with the rule (including start-up

time). The total of 14,375 hours per year for both existing and new

clubs is a reduction from 15,500 burden hours that the FTC estimated in

1995.

Estimated Labor Costs: Total labor costs are approximately $367,697

per

[[Page 1205]]

year. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average

compensation for advertising managers is $27.88 per hour. Compensation

for clerical personnel is approximately $10,00 per hour. Assuming that

managers perform the bulk of the work, while clerical personnel perform

some associated tasks, such as placing advertisements and responding to

inquiries about offerings or prices, the total cost to the industry for

the Rule's paperwork requirements would be approximately $367,697 (65

hours managerial time x 175 existing negative options plans x

$27.88 per hour = $317,135) plus (10 hours clerical time x 175

existing negative options plans x $10.00 per hour = $17,500) plus

(115 hours managerial time x 10 new negative options plans x $27.88

per hour = $32,062) plus (10 hours clerical time x 10 new negative

options plans x $10.00 per hour = $1,000).

Estimated Capital or Other Non-Labor Costs: Because the Rule has

been in effect since 1974, the vast majority of the negative option

clubs have no current start-up costs. For the few new clubs that enter

the market each year, the capital and start-up costs associated with

the Rule's disclosure requirements, beyond the additional labor costs

discussed above, are de minimis. Negative option clubs already have

access to the ordinary office equipment necessary for compliance with

the Rule.

Similarly, the Rule imposes few, if any, printing and distribution

costs. The required disclosures generally constitute only a small

addition to the materials that a prospective subscriber sends to the

seller to solicit enrollment in a negative option plan. Because

printing and distribution costs are incurred anyway to market the

product, inserting the required disclosures constitutes only a de

minimis incremental expense.

3. Title: Power Output Claims for Amplifiers Utilized in Home

Entertainment Products, 16 CFR Part 432--(OMB Control Number 3084-

0105)--Extension

The Amplifier Rule assists consumers by requiring disclosure of

four performance characteristics whenever representations are made

concerning power output, power band or power frequency, and distortion

characteristics of home audio equipment. The Rule also specifies the

test conditions to be used to obtain the FTC disclosures.

Estimated Burden Hours: The annual burden is approximately 1,500

hours. The Rule's provisions require affected entities to test the

power output of amplifiers in accordance with specified FTC protocol.

Approximately 300 new amplifiers and receivers come on the market each

year. Since high fidelity manufacturers routinely conduct performance

tests as part of any new product development, the Rule imposes

incremental costs only to the extent that the FTC protocol is more

time-consuming than alternative testing procedures. Specifically, a

warm up (``precondition'') period that the Rule requires before

measurements are taken may add approximately one hour to the testing

entails. Thus, we estimate that the Rule imposes approximately 300

hours (1 hour x 300 mew products) of added testing burden annually.

The Rule requires disclosures if an advertisement makes a power

output claim. Assuming that ten advertisements per magazine are placed

each month in ten existing magazines carrying audio equipment

advertisements, we estimate that approximately 1,200 magazine

advertisements annually would be required to carry the FTC disclosures.

The cost of these disclosures is limited to the time needed to draft

and review the language pertaining to power output specifications.

Because this Rule became effective in 1974, and because members of

the industry are familiar with its requirements, compliance is less

burdensome today. Accordingly, we estimate the time involved for this

task to be a maximum of 1 hour per advertisement, for a total burden of

1,200 hours. The total annual burden imposed by the Rule is therefore

approximately 1,500 burden hours. (300 testing hours + 1,200 disclosure

hours). This is a reduction from 2,700 burden hours estimated in 1995.

Estimated Labor Costs: According to staff at the Bureau of Labor

Statistics, the average hourly compensation for electronics engineers

in the industry is $28.73, and the average hourly compensation for

marketing, advertising and public relations managers is $27.88.

Generally, electronics engineers perform the testing of amplifiers and

receivers (300 hours x $28.73 = $8,619.00), and marketing,

advertising or public relations managers prepare advertisements

(including required disclosures) (1,200 hours x $27.88 = $33,456.00).

Based on this information, we estimate the cost to the industry for the

Rule's paperwork requirements to be $42,075.00 per year ($33,456.00 +

$8,619.00).

Estimated Capital or Other Non-Labor Costs: The Rule imposes no

capital or other non-labor costs because its requirements are

incidental to testing and advertising done in the ordinary course of

business.

4. Title: Disclosure Requirements and Prohibition Concerning

Franchising and Business Opportunity Ventures (``Franchise Rule''),

16 CFR Part 436--(OMB Control Number 3084-0107)--Extension

The Franchise Rule requires franchisors and franchise brokers to

furnish to prospective investors a disclosure document that provides

information relating to the franchisor, the franchisor's business, and

the nature of the proposed franchise relationship, as well as

additional information about any claims concerning actual or potential

sales, income, or profits for a prospective franchisee (``earnings

claims''). Franchisors must also preserve the information that forms a

reasonable basis for such claims. The Rule is designed to help

potential investors protect themselves from fraudulent claims.

Estimated Annual Burden Hours: The estimated annual burden imposed

by the Rule is 33,500 hours. Based upon our review of trade

publications and information from state regulatory authorities, we

estimate there are approximately 5,000 American franchise systems,

consisting of 3,500 business format franchises and 1,500 business

opportunity sellers.

Approximately 10% of all franchisors, or 500 franchisers, sell

exclusively in states that do not impose franchise disclosure

requirements comparable to those of the Rule. These firms are subject

to compliance burdens imposed solely by the Commission's Rule. These

firms may spend anywhere from 3-100 hours to comply with the Rule's

disclosure requirements, which require, among other things, the

disclosure of information about the business experience of the

franchisor and the franchisor's directors and key executives; the

litigation history of the franchisor and its directors and key

executives; and the money required to be paid by the franchisee to

obtain or start the franchise. We estimate the Rule compliance requires

an average of 30 hours annually for each of these 500 franchisors,

resulting in a total burden of approximately 15,000 hours.

On the other hand, a number of states impose requirements similar

to those of the Rule. In these instances, the Commission's Rule creates

little additional regulatory burden on most major franchisors. The Rule

requires that such firms need only provide an ``FTC'' cover sheet that

identifies the franchisor, the date the document is issued, a table of

contents, and a notice that tracks language specifically provided in

the Rule. This additional

[[Page 1206]]

compliance burden is de minimis. Language supplied by the government

for the purpose of disclosure to the public is excluded from the

definition of ``collection of information'' under the PRA. 5 CFR

1320.3(c)(2). Nonetheless, we estimate that any additional time imposed

by the remaining required disclosures can be handled by clerical staff

and would be no more than 3 hours per year, for a total of 13,500

burden hours (4.500 franchisors x 3 hours = 13,500).

The Rule also contains some recordkeeping provisions. Any

recordkeeping effort that would be incurred in the ordinary course of

business does not constitute ``burden'' under the PRA. 5 CFR

1320.3(b)(2). This would usually be the case; however, there may be

some recordkeeping effort that is incurred solely because of the Rule.

We estimate that firms would spend no more than 1 hour per year on any

additional compliance burden, for a recordkeeping burden of 5,000

hours. The total burden for the Rule, therefore, is 33,500 hours.

Estimated Annual Labor Costs: The estimated annual labor cost is

approximately $3,935,000, consisting of $3,885,000 for disclosure

requirements ($250 per hour attorney time x 15,000 hours); $135,000

for the FTC cover sheet (13,500 hours per year x $10.00 per hour

clerical time); and $50,000 for recordkeeping costs (5,000 hours per

year x $10.00 per hour clerical time).

Estimated Capital and Other Non-Labor Costs: The estimated capital

and other non-labor costs are approximately $1,500,000, consisting

entirely of printing costs ($25.00 per document x 100 copies x 500

franchisors = $1,250,000) + ($.50 per FTC cover sheet x 100 copies

x 4,500 firms=$250,000). Besides these costs, compliance with the Rule

imposes few or no additional non-labor cost burdens beyond what

franchisors ordinarily spend in the course of operating their business

(such as purchasing computer equipment) or to comply with state

disclosure laws (such as the costs to prepare audited financial

statements).

In 1995, the agency requested a burden estimate of 36,000 burden

hours. We have revised that figure to 33,500 hours because a review of

the 1995 submission revealed that some hours were inadvertently

assigned to burden solely attributable to state requirements.

5. Title: Labeling and Advertising of Home Insulation (``R-Value

Rule''), 16 CFR Part 460--(OMB Control Number 3084-0109)--Extension

The R-Value Rule establishes uniform standards for the

substantiation and disclosure of accurate, material product information

about the thermal performance characteristics of home insulation

products. The R-value of an insulation product signifies the

insulation's degree of resistance to the flow of heat. This information

tells consumers how well a product is likely to perform as an insulator

and allows consumers to determine whether the cost of the insulation is

justified.

Estimated Annual Burden Hours: The Rule's requirements include

product testing, recordkeeping, and third-party disclosures on labels,

fact sheets, advertisements and other promotional materials. These

requirements apply to certain manufacturers and their testing

laboratories; home insulation installers; new home sellers who make

energy savings claims; and retailers who sell home insulation for do-

it-yourself installation by consumers.

Based on information provided by members of the insulation

industry, staff estimate that the Rule affects: (1) 150 insulation

manufacturers and their testing laboratories; (2) 1,500 installers who

sell home insulation; (3) 130,000 new home builders/sellers of site-

built home and approximately 7,000 dealers who sell manufactured

housing; and (4) 25,000 retail sellers who sell home insulation for

installation by consumers.

Manufacturers and Testing Laboratories: Under the Rule's testing

requirements, manufacturers must test each insulation product for its

R-value. The test takes approximately 2 hours. Approximately 15 of the

150 insulation manufacturers in existence introduce one new product

each year. The total annual testing burden is therefore approximately

30 hours (15 manufacturers x 2 hours per test).

As for third-party disclosure requirements in advertising and other

promotional materials, staff estimate that most manufacturers spend an

average of approximately 20 hours per year to comply with this

requirement. Only the five or six largest manufacturers require

additional time (approximately 80 hours each). Thus, the annual third-

party disclosure burden for manufacturers is approximately 3,360 hours

(144 manufacturers x 20 hours + 6 manufacturers x 80 hours).

While the Rule imposes recordkeeping requirements, most

manufacturers and their testing laboratories keep these records of

testing in the ordinary course of business. Staff estimate that no more

than one additional hour per year per manufacturer is necessary to

comply with this requirement, for an annual recordkeeping burden of

approximately 150 hours (150 manufacturers x 1 hour).

Installers: Installers are required to show the manufacturers'

insulation fact sheet to retail consumers prior to purchase. Installers

must also disclose information in contracts or receipts concerning the

R-value and the amount of insulation to be installed. Staff estimate

that two minutes per sales transaction is sufficient for complying with

these requirements. Approximately 835,000 retrofit insulations are

installed by approximately 1,500 installers per year, and therefore,

the annual burden is approximately 27,833 hours (835,000 sales

transactions x 2 minutes). Staff also estimate that one hour per hour

year per installer is sufficient for including required disclosures in

advertisements and other promotional materials. The burden for their

requirement is approximately 1,500 hours per year (1,500 installers x

1 hour).

Also, installers must keep records that indicate substantiation

relied upon for savings claims. The addition time for complying with

this requirement is minimal, approximately 5 minutes per year per

installer, for a total of approximately 125 hours (1,500 installers x

5 minutes).

New Home Sellers: New home sellers must make contract disclosures

concerning the type, thickness and R-value of the insulation they

install in each part of a new home. Staff estimate that no more than

one minute per sales transaction is required to comply with this

requirement, for a total annual burden of approximately 283,333 hours

(1.7 million new home sales x 1 minute).

New home sellers who make energy savings claims must also keep

records regarding the substantiation relied upon for those claims.

Because few new home sellers make these claims, and the ones that do

would likely keep these records anyway in the ordinary course of

business, staff estimate that one minute burden for disclosures would

be more than adequate to cover this recordkeeping requirement, as well.

Retailers: The Rule requires that the approximately 25,000

retailers who sell home insulation make fact sheets available to

consumers prior to purchase. This can be accomplished by i.e., placing

copies in a display rack, or keeping copies in a binder on a service

desk with an appropriate notice. Replenishing or replacing fact sheets

takes approximately one hour per year per retailer, for a burden

estimate of approximately 25,000 annual hours (25,000 retailers x 1

hour).

[[Page 1207]]

The Rule also requires specific disclosures in advertisements or

other promotional materials to ensure that the claims are fair and not

deceptive. This burden is extremely small because retailers typically

use advertising copy provided by the insulation manufacturer, and even

when retailers prepare their own advertising copy, the Rule provides

some of the language to be used. Accordingly, approximately one hour

per year per retailer is sufficient for compliance with this

requirement, for a total annual burden of approximately 25,000 hours.

Retailers who make energy savings claims in advertisements or other

promotional materials must keep records that indicate the

substantiation they are relying upon. Because few retailers make these

types of promotional claims and because the Rule permits retailers to

rely on the insulation manufacturer's substantiation data for any

claims that are made, the additional recordkeeping burden is de

minimis. The time calculated for disclosures, above, would be more than

adequate to cover any burden imposed by this recordkeeping requirement.

To summarize, staff estimates that the Rule impose a total of

366,331 burden hours, as follows: 150 recordkeeping and 3,390 testing

and disclosure hours for manufacturers; 125 recordkeeping and 29,333

disclosure hours for installers; 283,333 disclosure hours for new home

sellers; and 50,000 disclosure hours for retailers. This figure has

been rounded to 366,400 burden hours.

Estimated Annual Labor Costs: The total annual labor costs for the

Rule's information collection requirements is $7,290,030, derived as

follows: $600 for testing, based on 30 hours for manufacturers (30

hours x $20 per hour for skilled technical personnel); $2,750 for

complying with the recordkeeping requirements of the Rule, based on 275

(275 hours x $10 per hour for clerical personnel); $33,360 for

manufacturers' compliance with third-party disclosure requirements,

based on 3,360 hours (3,360 hours x $10 per hour for clerical

personnel); and $7,253,350 for compliance by installers, new home

sellers, and retailers with third-party disclosure requirements, based

on 362,666 hours (362,666 hours x $20 per hour for sales persons).

Estimate of Capital and Other Non-Labor Costs: There are no

significant current capital or other non-labor costs associated with

this Rule. Because the Rule has been in effect since 1980, members of

the industry are familiar with its requirements and already have in

place the equipment for conducting tests and storing records. New

products are introduced infrequently. Because the required disclosures

are placed on packaging or on the product itself, the Rule's additional

disclosure requirements do not cause industry members to incur any

significant additional non-labor associated costs.

6. Title: FTC Administrative Activities (OMB Control Number 3084-

0047)--Extension

Currently, the FTC has OMB clearance for certain administrative

and/or procedural activities relating to: (1) FTC procurement

activities; (2) the document order form used by the FTC public

reference branch; (3) applications to the Commission, including

applications and notices contained in the Commission's Rules of

Practice (primarily Parts I, II, and IV); and (4) rules governing

claims against the FTC under the Equal Access to Justice Act.

The FTC seeks to delete items (1), (2), and (4). With respect to

item (1), OMB has advised the FTC that it must seek clearance only for

any agency-unique information collections that have been published as a

supplement to the Federal Acquisition Regulations. The FTC has no such

supplement and accordingly, there is no requirements to obtain OMB

approval. Deleting this item eliminates 1,000 of 2,300 hours estimated

in the FTC's 1995 submission for OMB Control No. 3084-0047.

With respect to item (2), FTC Form 14 is excluded from the PRA's

definition of ``information'' because the form asks only for the

respondent's name, address, a description of the records and the number

of copies requested. See 5 CFR 1320.3(h)(1) (the definition of

``information'' excludes an ``affidavit'' or ``certification'' that

asks the respondent for identifying information such as his or her

name, address, the date, and the nature of the instrument); OMB

Implementing Guidance to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

(Preliminary Draft), February 3, 1997 (certain other information, such

as quantity, quality, or location, may also be excluded). Deleting this

item eliminates another 1,000 or 2,300 hours.

With respect to item (4), the ``law enforcement'' exception of the

PRA excludes this category, because it involves collecting information

during the conduct of a Federal investigation, civil action,

administrative action, investigation, or audit with respect to a

specific party, or subsequent adjudicative or judicial proceeding

designed to determine fines or other penalties. See 5 CFR 1320.4(a)(1)-

(3). Deleting this item eliminates another 200 hours of the 2,300 hours

previously estimated for this submission.

With respect to item (3), the FTC is requesting an extension for

those provisions covered by that category. Several of the Commission's

rules contain provisions that allow certain modifications to, or

exemptions from, a rule. For example, part 901 of the Commission's

rules, 16 CFR part 901, implementing the Fair Debt Collection Practices

Act, 15 U.S.C. 1692, sets forth the procedures and standards for

approving petitions received from a state that is requesting permission

to apply state law in lieu of federal standards.

Estimated Annual Burden Hours: Most applications to the Commission

generally fall within the ``law enforcement exception'' discussed

above, and those that are not rare and burden associated with them is

de minimis. For example, over the last decade, the Commission has

received only one application for an exemption under the Fair Debt

Collection Practices Act provisions. Staff has estimated that such a

submission can be completed well within 50 hours. Applications and

notices to the Commission contained in other rules (generally in Parts

I, II, and IV of the Commission's Rules of Practice) are also

infrequent and difficult to quantify. An example is a request for a

waiver of costs for obtaining Commission records. See 16 CFR 4.8(e).

Nonetheless, in order to cover any potential ``collections of

information'' for which we have not otherwise requested clearance, we

are requesting a total of 100 burden hours as an estimate of the time

needed to submit any relevant responses.

Estimated Annual Labor Costs: Based on 100 burden hours, and an

hourly rate of $250 for attorney time, we estimate the annual cost

burden to be no more than $25,000.

Estimated Capital and Start-Up Costs/Operation and Maintenance: Not

applicable.

Debra A. Valentine,

General Counsel.

[FR Doc. 99-384 Filed 1-7-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6750-01-M