[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 67 (Monday, April 9, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17585-17586]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-6551]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employee Benefits Security Administration


Proposed Extension of Information Collection Request Submitted 
for Public Comment; Proposed Extension of Information Collection; 
Comment Request; Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 85-68--To 
Permit Employee Benefit Plans To Invest in Customer Notes of Employers

AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (the Department), in accordance with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA 95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), 
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 reporting burden on the public and helps 
the public understand the Department's information collection 
requirements and provide the requested

[[Page 17586]]

data in the desired format. Currently, the Employee Benefits Security 
Administration is soliciting comments on the proposed extension of the 
information collection provisions of Prohibited Transaction Class 
Exemption 85-68. 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 on or before June 8, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Joseph S. Piacentini, Department of Labor, Employee Benefits 
Security Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 
20210, (202) 693-8410, FAX (202) 693-4745 (these are not toll-free 
numbers).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Pursuant to section 408 of ERISA, the Department has authority to 
grant an exemption from the prohibitions of sections 406 and 407(a) if 
it can determine that the exemption is administratively feasible, in 
the interest of participants and beneficiaries, and protective of the 
rights of participants and beneficiaries of the plan. Prohibited 
Transaction Class Exemption 85-68 describes the conditions under which 
a plan is permitted to acquire customer notes accepted by an employer 
of employees covered by the plan in the ordinary course of the 
employer's primary business activity. The exemption covers sales as 
well as contributions of customer notes by an employer to its plan. 
Specifically, the exemption requires that the employer provide a 
written guarantee to repurchase a note which becomes more than 60 days 
delinquent, that such notes be secured by a perfected security interest 
in the property financed by the note, and that the collateral be 
insured. The exemption requires records pertaining to the transaction 
to be maintained for a period of six years for the purpose of ensuring 
that the transactions are protective of the rights of participants and 
beneficiaries. This recordkeeping requirement constitutes an 
information collection within the meaning of the PRA, for which the 
Department has obtained approval from the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) under OMB Control No. 1210-0094. The OMB approval is 
currently scheduled to expire on July 31, 2007.

II. Current Actions

    This notice requests public comment pertaining to the Department's 
request for extension of OMB approval of the information collection 
contained in PTE 85-68. After considering comments received in response 
to this notice, the Department intends to submit an ICR to OMB for 
continuing approval. No change to the existing ICR is proposed or made 
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 ICR and the current burden 
estimates follows:
    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 85-68.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0094.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit; Not-for-profit institutions.
    Respondents: 525.
    Frequency: On Occasion.
    Responses: 1900.
    Average Response time [if applicable]: 1 hour.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 1900 hours.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost: $0.

III. Focus of Comments

    The Department of Labor (Department) is particularly interested in 
comments that:
    <bullet> 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;
    <bullet> 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;
    <bullet> Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
    <bullet> 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 extension of the 
information collection; they will also become a matter of public 
record.

    Dated: April 3, 2007.
Bradford P. Campbell,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Employee Benefits Security Administration.
[FR Doc. E7-6551 Filed 4-6-07; 8:45 am]
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