90290 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 221 / Friday, November 15, 2024 / Notices 

banks reporting under $5 billion in total 

assets on the latest June 30 Call Report 

be given the option to report as of the 

first Wednesday of each month. 

Approximately 495 of the current 696 

domestically chartered commercial 

banks would be eligible to report on a 

one week per month basis. This change 

in frequency of reporting follows the 

favorable treatment given smaller 

institutions on the FFIEC 051 Call 

Report. Monthly reporting would not be 

available for foreign-related institutions. 

Frequency: Weekly, monthly. 

Respondents: Domestically chartered 

commercial banks, U.S. branches and 

agencies of foreign banks. 

Total estimated number of 

respondents: 850. 

Estimated average hours per response: 

2.45. 

Total estimated change in burden: 

(57,722). 

Total estimated annual burden hours: 

50,568. 

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 

System, November 12, 2024. 

Benjamin W. McDonough, 

Deputy Secretary and Ombuds of the Board. 

[FR Doc. 2024–26704 Filed 11–14–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6210–01–P 

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 

[Docket No. 9427] 

H&R Block; Analysis of Proposed 

Consent Order To Aid Public Comment 

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission. 

ACTION: Proposed consent agreement; 

request for comment. 

SUMMARY: The consent agreement in this 

matter settles alleged violations of 

Federal law prohibiting unfair or 

deceptive acts or practices. The attached 

Analysis of Proposed Consent Order to 

Aid Public Comment describes both the 

allegations in the complaint and the 

terms of the consent order—embodied 

in the consent agreement—that would 

settle these allegations. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before December 16, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file 

comments online or on paper by 

following the instructions in the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 

below. Please write ‘‘H&R Block; Docket 

No. 9427’’ 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, please mail your comment to the 

following address: Federal Trade 

Commission, Office of the Secretary, 

600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Mail 

Stop H–144 (Annex T), Washington, DC 

20580. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Claire Wack (202–326–2836), Attorney, 

Division of Marketing Practices, Bureau 

of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade 

Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue 

NW, Washington, DC 20580. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant 

to section 6(f) of the Federal Trade 

Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and 

FTC Rule § 2.34, 16 CFR 2.34, notice is 

hereby given that the above-captioned 

consent agreement containing a consent 

order to cease and desist, having been 

filed with and accepted, subject to final 

approval, by the Commission, has been 

placed on the public record for a period 

of 30 days. The following Analysis to 

Aid Public Comment describes the 

terms of the consent agreement and the 

allegations in the complaint. An 

electronic copy of the full text of the 

consent agreement package can be 

obtained at https://www.ftc.gov/newsevents/commission-actions. 

You can file a comment online or on 

paper. For the Commission to consider 

your comment, we must receive it on or 

before December 16, 2024. Write ‘‘H&R 

Block; Docket No. 9427’’ on your 

comment. Your comment—including 

your name and your State—will be 

placed on the public record of this 

proceeding, including, to the extent 

practicable, on the https://

www.regulations.gov website. 

Because of heightened security 

screening, postal mail addressed to the 

Commission will be subject to delay. We 

strongly encourage you to submit your 

comments online through the https://

www.regulations.gov website. If you 

prefer to file your comment on paper, 

write ‘‘H&R Block; Docket No. 9427’’ on 

your comment and on the envelope, and 

mail your comment to the following 

address: Federal Trade Commission, 

Office of the Secretary, 600 

Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Mail Stop 

H–144 (Annex T), Washington, DC 

20580. 

Because your comment will be placed 

on the publicly accessible website at 

https://www.regulations.gov, you are 

solely responsible for making sure your 

comment does not include any sensitive 

or confidential information. In 

particular, your comment should not 

include 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 your 

comment does not include 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 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 be filed in paper form, 

must be clearly labeled ‘‘Confidential,’’ 

and must 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 on the 

https://www.regulations.gov website—as 

legally required by FTC Rule § 4.9(b)— 

we cannot redact or remove your 

comment from that website, unless you 

submit a confidentiality request that 

meets the requirements for such 

treatment under FTC Rule § 4.9(c), and 

the General Counsel grants that request. 

Visit the FTC website at https://

www.ftc.gov to read this document and 

the news release describing the 

proposed settlement. The FTC Act and 

other laws 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 it 

receives on or before December 16, 

2024. For information on the 

Commission’s privacy policy, including 

routine uses permitted by the Privacy 

Act, see https://www.ftc.gov/siteinformation/privacy-policy. 

Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To 

Aid Public Comment 

The Federal Trade Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’) has accepted, subject to 

final approval, a proposed stipulated 

Decision and Order (‘‘Proposed Order’’) 

to resolve In the Matter of H&R Block 

Inc., HRB Digital LLC, and HRB Tax 

Group, Inc. (collectively, 

‘‘Respondents’’). The Proposed Order 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 221 / Friday, November 15, 2024 / Notices 90291 

1 In re H&R Block Inc., HRB Digital LLC, and HRB 

Tax Group, No. 9427, Complaint at ¶¶ 56–62. 

2 Id. at ¶ 7. 

3 Ibid. 

4 Id. at ¶¶ 60–61. 

5Petition for Review, Intuit v. FTC, No. 24–60040 

(5th Cir. Jan. 24, 2024), ECF No. 1; Br. for Pet’r at 

34–54, Intuit v. FTC, No. 24–600040 (5th Cir. Apr. 

15, 2024), ECF No. 56. 

6See Br. for Pet’r at 27–30, Intuit v. FTC, No. 24– 

60040 (5th Cir. Apr. 15, 2024), ECF No. 56; compare 

Order Denying Resp’ts’ Mot. To Disqualify the 

Admin. Law Judge, In the Matter of H&R Block Inc., 

Continued 

has been placed on the public record for 

30 days for receipt of comments from 

interested persons. Comments received 

during this period will become part of 

the public record. After 30 days, the 

Commission will again review the 

agreement, along with any comments 

received, and will decide whether it 

should withdraw from the agreement 

and take appropriate action or make 

final the Proposed Order. 

This matter involves Respondents’ 

advertising and design of their online 

tax preparation products (‘‘Online 

Products’’). According to the 

Commission’s complaint, Respondents 

deceptively market their Online 

Products by representing to consumers 

that they can file for free using H&R 

Block. In addition, the Complaint 

alleges that Respondents designed their 

Online Products to encumber 

consumers attempting to downgrade 

from a more expensive Online Product 

to a less expensive or free product, 

through two unfair practices: (1) 

requiring consumers wishing to 

downgrade to first contact customer 

service to request and complete the 

downgrade (‘‘customer service contact 

requirement’’), and (2) upon 

downgrading, deleting all information 

the consumer has entered (‘‘deletion 

requirement’’). Based on the foregoing, 

the Commission alleges that 

Respondents have engaged in, and are 

engaging in, unfair and deceptive 

business practices in the advertising, 

marketing, distribution, and sale of their 

Online Products, in violation of section 

5 of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 45. 

The Proposed Order contains 

injunctive provisions addressing the 

violations alleged in the Complaint and 

$7 million to redress consumers harmed 

by Respondents’ unlawful practices. 

Section I provides for notice to 

consumers and staggered elimination of 

the customer service contact and 

deletion requirements, with full 

elimination of these requirements 

mandated by January 15, 2026. Section 

I.A. requires Respondents to notify 

upgrading consumers by January 15, 

2025, that, if they later choose to 

downgrade, their information will not 

be saved and they will have to start 

over. This provision will be in place 

until the deletion requirements are 

eliminated, January 15, 2026. Section 

I.B. sets forth the consumer notice that 

Respondents must give at the point of 

upgrade, starting January 15, 2026, to 

describe the new downgrading 

practices. Section I.C. requires that 

Respondents allow downgrades to the 

same extent they permit upgrades. 

Section I.D. requires Respondents to 

update their in-product chatbot assistant 

to permit downgrades without requiring 

the participation of a live agent by 

February 15, 2025. Section I.E. of the 

Proposed Order requires Respondents to 

provide another automated means to 

downgrade that is easily noticeable and 

persistently available to the consumer 

within the Online Products by January 

15, 2026. Section I.F. prohibits requiring 

the participation of a live agent to 

effectuate a downgrade by February 15, 

2025. Section I.G. requires that 

Respondents provide to consumers by 

January 15, 2025, clear and easily 

noticeable instructions on how to 

downgrade. Section I.H. sets forth 

required changes to the deletion 

requirement that Respondents must 

implement by January 15, 2026. 

Section II prohibits Respondents from 

representing that their Online Products 

are free unless such products are 

actually free to all consumers, or 

Respondents clearly and conspicuously 

disclose the percentage of taxpayers that 

qualify for the offer. Alternatively, 

Respondents may disclose that the offer 

is not free for a majority of taxpayers. 

Section III prohibits Respondents 

generally from misrepresenting any 

material fact concerning the Online 

Products. Section IV includes $7 million 

to redress consumers who were harmed 

by Respondents’ illegal practices. 

Section V contains ancillary 

provisions necessary to effectuate 

Respondents’ payment of the redress 

amount, while Section VI requires 

Respondents to provide customer 

information needed for the 

administration of consumer redress. 

Section VII requires Respondents, along 

with certain employees and successors, 

to acknowledge receipt of the Proposed 

Order. 

Sections VIII through X of the 

Proposed Order are reporting and 

compliance provisions, which include 

recordkeeping requirements and 

provisions requiring Respondents to 

provide information or documents 

necessary for the Commission to 

monitor compliance with the Proposed 

Order. Section XI states that the 

Proposed Order will remain in effect for 

twenty (20) years, with certain 

exceptions. 

The purpose of this analysis is to aid 

public comment on the Proposed Order. 

It is not intended to constitute an 

official interpretation of the Complaint 

or Proposed Order, or to modify in any 

way the Proposed Order’s terms. 

By direction of the Commission. 

April J. Tabor, 

Secretary. 

Concurring Statement of Commissioner 

Andrew N. Ferguson 

Today, the Commission votes to 

accept for public comment the 

stipulated Decision and Order in In re 

H&R Block Inc., HRB Digital LLC, and 

HRB Tax Group, Inc (collectively, ‘‘H&R 

Block’’). H&R Block offers tax 

preparation and filing services to assist 

consumers in filing their taxes. The 

complaint accuses H&R Block of 

engaging in unfair and deceptive 

business practices relating to its 

customer-service-contact requirements, 

data-wiping practices, and marketing 

practices.1

The Commission alleges that H&R 

Block designed its online products to 

increase the burden on consumers who 

wanted to downgrade from a more 

expensive version of its tax-preparation 

product to a less expensive version.2

H&R Block allegedly required 

consumers to contact its customer 

service department either by phone or 

online chat to downgrade their 

products. H&R Block also allegedly 

deleted all the information a consumer 

previously entered if the consumer 

decided to downgrade to a less 

expensive product.3 Finally, the 

complaint alleges that H&R Block 

misleadingly marketed a free version of 

its online tax preparation product while 

knowing that very few consumers were 

eligible to use the free version.4

I concur in the Commission’s order 

accepting for public comment the 

stipulated Decision and Order against 

H&R Block. But I have serious 

reservations about the merits of Count 

III—the deceptive marketing of H&R 

Block’s free version of its online tax 

preparation products. The U.S. Court of 

Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is currently 

reviewing a very similar claim in a 

different case.5 The Fifth Circuit is also 

considering the constitutionality of 

dual-layer removal protections for the 

Commission’s Administrative Law 

Judges, a question presented in this case 

that has divided the Commission.6 I 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
90292 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 221 / Friday, November 15, 2024 / Notices 

et al., FTC Docket No. 9427 (Oct. 18, 2024) and 

Statement of Chair Lina M. Khan, Joined by Comm’r 

Alvaro Bedoya, Concurring in the Denial of the 

Motion, In the Matter of H&R Block, Inc., et al., FTC 

Docket No. 9427 (Oct. 18, 2024), with Statement of 

Comm’r Andrew N. Ferguson, In the Matter of H&R 

Block, Inc., et al., Dissenting in Part and Concurring 

in the Denial of the Motion, FTC Docket No. 9427 

(Oct. 18, 2024). 

withhold my final judgment on the 

lawfulness of the stipulated Decision 

and Order until I have reviewed public 

comments and the Fifth Circuit’s 

decision, if it issues in time. 

[FR Doc. 2024–26695 Filed 11–14–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6750–01–P 

GENERAL SERVICES 

ADMINISTRATION 

[Notice–P–2024–02; Docket No. 2024–0002; 

Sequence No. 52] 

Notice of Availability for a Final 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

and Floodplain Assessment and 

Statement of Findings for the Kenneth 

G. Ward (Lynden) and Sumas Land 

Ports of Entry (LPOE) Modernization 

and Expansion Projects in Lynden and 

Sumas, Washington 

AGENCY: Public Buildings Service (PBS), 

General Services Administration (GSA). 

ACTION: Notice of availability (NOA). 

SUMMARY: This notice announces the 

availability of the Final Environmental 

Impact Statement (EIS), which examines 

potential environmental impacts from 

the modernization and expansion of the 

Lynden and Sumas LPOEs in Lynden 

and Sumas, Washington. The existing 

Lynden and Sumas LPOEs are owned 

and managed by GSA and operated by 

the U.S. Department of Homeland 

Security’s Customs and Border 

Protection (CBP). The Final EIS 

describes the purpose and need for the 

project; alternatives considered; the 

existing environment that could be 

affected; the potential impacts resulting 

from each of the alternatives; and 

proposed best management practices 

and mitigation measures. The Final EIS 

also includes a Floodplain Assessment 

and Statement of Findings due to the 

construction in a floodplain at the 

Sumas LPOE. The Final EIS identifies 

the preferred alternatives, including the 

environmentally preferable alternatives, 

as summarized below (see the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 

this NOA). 

DATES: The Final EIS Wait Period begins 

with publication of this NOA in the 

Federal Register and will last until 

December 16, 2024. Any comments 

regarding the Final EIS must be received 

or postmarked by the last day of the 30- 

day Final EIS Wait Period (see the 

ADDRESSES section of this NOA on how 

to submit comments). After the Final 

EIS Wait Period, GSA will issue the 

Record of Decision (ROD). 

ADDRESSES: Comments concerning the 

Final EIS should be directed to: 

• Email: lyndenlpoe@gsa.gov or 

sumaslpoe@gsa.gov. Please include 

‘‘Lynden and Sumas LPOEs Final EIS’’ 

in the subject line of the message. 

• Mail: ATTN: Patrick Manning, 

Capital Project Manager, Lynden and 

Sumas LPOEs EIS, U.S. General Services 

Administration, Northwest/Arctic 

Region 10, 1301 A Street, Suite 610, 

Tacoma, WA 98402. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Patrick Manning, Capital Project 

Manager, GSA at lyndenlpoe@gsa.gov or 

sumaslpoe@gsa.gov, or at 202–501– 

4755. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Digital 

copies of the Final EIS are available at 

the following GSA project websites: 

www.gsa.gov/lynden and www.gsa.gov/ 

sumas. GSA has considered stakeholder 

input and public comments provided 

during the scoping and Draft EIS 

comment periods and tenant needs at 

the LPOEs to develop the Final EIS and 

determine the preferred alternatives. 

GSA’s preferred alternative for the 

Lynden LPOE is to implement Lynden 

LPOE Alternative 3 (North-South 

Oriented LPOE Expansion) as described 

in the Final EIS. This alternative was 

selected because it would match the 

orientation of the existing LPOE and 

facilitate more efficient traffic flow. GSA 

has identified Lynden LPOE Alternative 

3 as the environmentally preferable 

alternative because the maximum 

proposed limits of disturbance would be 

smaller compared to Lynden LPOE 

Alternative 2 (10.3 acres verses 14.5 

acres) and Lynden LPOE Alternative 3 

would require lower quantities of fill 

because of the smaller project footprint 

and differences in elevation change 

across the project site. 

GSA’s preferred alternative for the 

Sumas LPOE is to implement Sumas 

LPOE Alternative 4 (Multi-Story 

Construction LPOE Expansion) as 

described in the Final EIS. This 

alternative was selected because the 

operational space within the Main 

Building would be consolidated, and 

the building would use a smaller 

footprint within the LPOE allowing 

more space for other LPOE functions 

and increasing LPOE operational 

efficiency. This alternative would also 

add a pedestrian bridge, further 

increasing employee safety. Sumas 

LPOE Alternative 2 (Feasibility Study 

Preferred Alternative), Sumas LPOE 

Alternative 3 (Commercial Inspection 

West), and Sumas LPOE Alternative 4 

(Multi-Story Construction LPOE 

Expansion) would be constructed 

within the same limits of disturbance 

(12.6 acres), with the only noted 

differences being the LPOE’s potential 

alignment, layout, and operating 

efficiency. Therefore, potential 

environmental impacts resulting from 

each of these alternatives are similar 

and each alternative, including GSA’s 

preferred Sumas LPOE Alternative 4, 

could be identified as the 

environmentally preferable alternative. 

Background 

The existing 4.8-acre Lynden LPOE 

serves as the port of entry for people 

and vehicles connecting Lynden, 

Washington to Aldergrove, British 

Columbia, Canada. The Lynden LPOE 

currently operates 16 hours per day, 7 

days per week and processes privately 

owned vehicles (POVs), buses, 

pedestrians, and permitted commercial 

traffic. The existing 4.0-acre Sumas 

LPOE serves as the port of entry for 

people and vehicles connecting Sumas, 

Washington to Abbotsford, British 

Columbia, Canada. The Sumas LPOE 

operates 24 hours per day, 7 days per 

week and processes POVs, buses, 

pedestrians, and commercial traffic. 

The purpose of these expansion and 

modernization projects is for GSA to 

support the CBP mission through 

modernizing and expanding the Lynden 

and Sumas LPOEs. 

Accomplishing this purpose would 

increase the functionality, capacity, 

operational efficiency, effectiveness, 

security, sustainability, and safety of the 

Lynden and Sumas LPOEs. The projects 

are generally needed to update the 

current facilities at the Lynden and 

Sumas LPOEs, which no longer function 

adequately and cannot meet CBP 

current operational needs or Program of 

Requirements. 

The existing Lynden and Sumas 

LPOEs have not undergone major 

improvements since their initial 

construction in the late 1980s and do 

not have sufficient space for 

modernization and expansion. Both 

facilities also have configuration and 

space issues that cause traffic, delays in 

processing times, and safety and 

security issues for inspection personnel. 

Additionally, these facilities do not 

have the ability to incorporate new 

technologies as they become available. 

The projects at the Lynden and Sumas 

LPOEs are analyzed jointly in this Final 

EIS due to their proximity 

(approximately 10 miles) to one another. 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES