Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 15 / Monday, January 24, 2000 / Notices 3741

7(b) of the Occupational Safety and

Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 655, 656),

the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5

U.S.C. App. 2), and 29 CFR Part 1912.

Signed at Washington, DC this 18th day of

January 2000.

Charles N. Jeffress,

Assistant Secretary of Labor.

[FR Doc. 00–1643 Filed 1–21–00; 8:45 am]

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Pension and Welfare Benefits

Administration

Proposed Extension of Information

Collection Request Submitted for

Public Comment and

Recommendations; Notice of Special

Enrollment Rights, Health Insurance

Portability for Group Health Plans;

Correction

AGENCY: Pension and Welfare Benefits

Administration, Department of Labor.

ACTION: Correction.

SUMMARY: In notice document 99–33599

beginning on page 72696 in the issue of

Tuesday, December 28, 1999, make the

following correction:

On page 72697 in the first column in

the second paragraph, the submission

date for written comments was on or

before January 27, 2000. It should be

changed to read on or before February

28, 2000.

Dated: January 19, 2000.

Gerald B. Lindrew,

Deputy Director, Office of Policy and Research

Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration.

[FR Doc. 00–1637 Filed 1–21–00; 8:45am]

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Pension and Welfare Benefits

Administration

Proposed Extension of Information

Collection; Comment Request;

Prohibited Transaction Class

Exemption 78–6

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Department of Labor

(Department), as part of its continuing

effort to reduce paperwork and

respondent burden, conducts a

preclearance consultation program to

provide the general public and Federal

agencies with an opportunity to

comment on proposed and continuing

collections of information in accordance

with the Paperwork Reduction Act of

1995 (PRA 95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

This helps to ensure that requested data

can be provided in the desired format,

reporting burden (time and financial

resources) is minimized, collection

instruments are clearly understood, and

the impact of collection requirements on

respondents can be properly assessed.

Currently, the Pension and Welfare

Benefits Administration is soliciting

comments concerning the proposed

extension of the information collection

provisions of Prohibited Transaction

Class Exemption 78–6. A copy of the

Information Collection Request (ICR)

may be obtained by contacting the office

listed in the addresses section of this

notice.

DATES: Written comments must be

submitted to the office shown in the

addresses section below on or before

March 24, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Gerald B. Lindrew, Office of

Policy and Research, U.S. Department of

Labor, Pension and Welfare Benefits

Administration, 200 Constitution

Avenue, NW, Room N–5647,

Washington, D.C. 20210. Telephone:

(202) 219–4782; Fax: (202) 219–4745.

These are not toll-free numbers.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

Prohibited Transaction Class

Exemption 78–6 allows a multiple

employer welfare benefit plan

maintained for the purpose of providing

apprenticeship or other training

programs (apprenticeship plan) to (1)

purchase personal property and (2) lease

personal property or real property (other

than office space as described in section

408(b)(2) of the Employee Retirement

Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA))

from an employer who makes

contributions to an apprenticeship plan

(contributing employer), from a whollyowned subsidiary of a contributing

employer, or from an employee

organization any of whose members’

work results in contributions being

made to the apprenticeship plan. In the

absence of this exemption, sections

406(a)(1) (A), (C) and (D) of ERISA

might prohibit part or all of these

transactions.

II. Desired Focus of Comments

The Department is particularly

interested in comments that:

• Evaluate whether the proposed

collection of information is 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 burden of the

proposed collection 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., permitting electronic submission of

responses.

III. Current Action

This existing information collection

should be continued because without

this exemption, apprenticeship plans

would have difficulty operating in

accordance with the purposes for which

they were established. For the

Department to grant an exemption,

however, it is required by the provisions

of section 408(a) of ERISA to ensure the

participants and beneficiaries are

protected. It, therefore, included certain

conditions and required that records be

kept for six years from the date of the

transaction so that the Department,

contributing employers and their

employees, the sponsoring employee

organization, and plan participants can

determine whether these conditions

have been met. Without such records,

the Department and other interested

parties would be unable to enforce the

terms of the exemption and ensure user

compliance.

Type of Review: Extension of a

currently approved collection of

information.

Agency: Pension and Welfare Benefits

Administration, Department of Labor

Titles: Prohibited Transaction Class

Exemption 78–6

OMB Number: 1210–0080

Affected Public: Individuals or

households; Business or other for-profit;

Not-for-profit institutions

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 417

Respondents: 1,000

Frequency of Response: On occasion.

Responses: 5,000.

Annual hour burden: 5 minutes.

Total Burden Cost (Operating and

Maintenance): $0.00.

Comments submitted in response to

this notice will be summarized and/or

included in the request for OMB

approval of the information collection

request; they will also become a matter

of public record.

Dated: January 19, 2000.

Gerald B. Lindrew,

Deputy Director, Office of Policy and Research

Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration.

[FR Doc. 00–1638 Filed 1–21–00; 8:45 am]

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