Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 74 / Monday, April 20, 2009 / Notices 17987 

Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 

(ERISA) and from certain taxes imposed 

by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

The exemption permits employee 

benefit plans to purchase shares of one 

or more open-end investment 

companies (funds) registered under the 

Investment Advisers Act of 1940 by 

transferring in-kind, to the investment 

company, assets of the plan that are part 

of a collective investment fund (CIF) 

maintained by a bank or plan advisor 

that is both a fiduciary of the plan and 

an investment advisor to the investment 

company offering the fund. 

The exemption requires that an 

independent fiduciary receive advance 

written notice of any covered 

transaction, as well as specific written 

information concerning the mutual 

funds to be purchased. The independent 

fiduciary must also provide written 

advance approval of conversion 

transactions and receive written 

confirmation of each transaction, as well 

as additional on-going disclosures as 

defined in PTE 97–41. These disclosures 

are the basis for this ICR. 

EBSA previously submitted the 

information collection provisions of 

PTE 2002–12 to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

review in connection with promulgation 

of the prohibited transaction exemption. 

OMB approved the information 

collection request (ICR) under OMB 

Control No. 1210–0115. The ICR 

approval is currently scheduled to 

expire on June 30, 2009. 

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 notice requests comments on the 

extension of the ICR included in PTE 

97–41. The Department is not proposing 

or implementing changes to the existing 

ICR at this time. The following 

summarizes the ICR and the current 

burden estimates: 

Type of Review: Extension of a 

currently approved collection of 

information. 

Agency: Employee Benefits Security 

Administration, Department of Labor. 

Titles: Prohibited Transaction Class 

Exemption 97–41, Collective Investment 

Funds Conversion Transactions. 

OMB Number: 1210–0104. 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

households; Business or other for-profit; 

Not-for-profit institutions. 

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 1,756. 

Respondents: 105. 

Frequency of Response: On occasion. 

Responses: 105. 

Total Burden Cost (Operating and 

Maintenance): $282,000. 

Comments submitted in response to 

this notice will be summarized and/or 

included in the request for OMB 

approval of the ICR; they will also 

become a matter of public record. 

Dated: April 13, 2009. 

Joseph S. Piacentini, 

Director, Office of Policy and Research, 

Employee Benefits Security Administration. 

[FR Doc. E9–8908 Filed 4–17–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–20–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Employee Benefits Security 

Administration 

Proposed Extension of Information 

Collection; Comment Request; 

Prohibited Transaction Class 

Exemption 2004–07, Transactions With 

Trust REIT Shares 

AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security 

Administration, Department of Labor. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (the 

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 the 

Department can properly assess the 

impact of its information collection 

requirements on respondents and 

minimize the reporting burden (in both 

time and financial resources) on the 

public and that the public can clearly 

understand the Department’s collection 

instruments and provide the requested 

data in the desired format. Currently, 

the Employee Benefits Security 

Administration (EBSA) is soliciting 

comments on a proposed extension of 

the information collection provisions in 

Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 

(PTE) 2004–07, which concerns publicly 

traded shares of beneficial interest in 

real estate investment trusts structured 

under State law as business trusts. 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 on or before June 19, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments 

to G. Christopher Cosby, Office of Policy 

and Research, Employee Benefits 

Security Administration, U.S. 

Department of Labor, 200 Constitution 

Avenue, NW., Room N–5647, 

Washington, DC 20210. Telephone: 

(202) 693–8410; Fax: (202) 219–4745. 

These are not toll-free numbers. 

Comments may also be submitted 

electronically to the following Internet 

e-mail address: ebsa.opr@dol.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

PTE 2004–07 exempts from certain 

prohibited transaction restrictions of the 

Employee Retirement Income Security 

Act of 1974 (ERISA) and from certain 

taxes imposed by the Internal Revenue 

Code of 1986 (the Code), the acquisition, 

holding, sale, and contribution in kind 

of publicly traded shares of beneficial 

interest in a real estate investment trust 

that is structured under State law as a 

business trust (Trust REIT), on behalf of 

and to individual account plans 

sponsored by the REIT or its affiliates, 

provided that certain conditions are 

met. 

The exemption allows individual 

account plans (Plans) established by 

Trust REITs to offer a beneficial interest 

in the Trust REIT in the form of 

Qualifying REIT Shares, as defined in 

the exemption, to participants in Plans 

sponsored by the REIT or its employer 

affiliates, to require that employer 

contributions be used to purchase such 

shares, and to permit ‘‘contributions in 

kind’’ of such shares to these Plans by 

employers. 

The exemption conditions relief on 

compliance with a number of 

information collection requirements. 

These information collections are to be 

provided or made available to plan 


rmajette on PRODPC74 with NOTICES
17988 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 74 / Monday, April 20, 2009 / Notices 

participants and fiduciaries in order to 

inform them about investments in 

Qualifying REIT Shares and the 

conditions of the exemption permitting 

share transactions. Records sufficient to 

allow them to determine whether the 

exemption conditions are met must also 

be maintained, and made available to 

them upon request, for a period of six 

years. These records must also be made 

available on request to employers and 

employee organizations with employees 

and members covered by a Plan of the 

Trust REIT or one of its employer 

affiliates, and to authorized employees 

and representatives of the Department 

and the Internal Revenue Service. EBSA 

submitted an ICR for the information 

collections in PTE 2004–07 to the Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB) for 

review and clearance in connection 

with proposal of the class exemption, 

which was published in the Federal 

Register on June 3, 2003 (68 FR 33185). 

OMB approved the ICR under OMB 

control number 1210–0124. The ICR 

approval is currently scheduled to 

expire on August 31, 2009. 

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., by permitting electronic submission 

of responses. 

III. Current Action 

This notice requests comments on an 

extension of the information collections 

included in PTE 2004–07. The 

Department is not proposing or 

implementing changes to the existing 

ICR at this time. A summary of the ICR 

and the current burden estimates 

follows: 

Type of Review: Extension of a 

currently approved collection of 

information. 

Agency: Employee Benefits Security 

Administration, Department of Labor. 

Title: Prohibited Transaction 

Exemption 2004–07, Transactions with 

Trust REIT Shares. 

OMB Number: 1210–0124. 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

households; Business or other for-profit; 

Not-for-profit institutions. 

Respondents: 45. 

Frequency of Response: On occasion; 

quarterly; annually. 

Responses: 104,545. 

Estimated Annual Hours: 4,733. 

Estimated Total Annual Cost: 

$40,000. 

Comments submitted in response to 

this notice will be summarized and/or 

included in the request for OMB 

approval of the ICR; they will also 

become a matter of public record. 

Dated: April 13, 2009. 

Joseph S. Piacentini, 

Director, Office of Policy and Research, 

Employee Benefits Security Administration. 

[FR Doc. E9–8910 Filed 4–17–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–29–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Employee Benefits Security 

Administration 

Proposed Extension of Information 

Collection; Comment Request; 

Prohibited Transaction Class 

Exemption 91–38, Bank Collective 

Investment Funds 

AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security 

Administration, Department of Labor. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, 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). This program helps to ensure that 

the Department can properly assess the 

impact of its information collection 

requirements on respondents and 

minimize the reporting burden (in both 

time and financial resources) on the 

public and that the public can clearly 

understand the Department’s 

information collection instruments and 

can provide the requested data in the 

desired format. Currently, the Employee 

Benefits Security Administration 

(EBSA) is soliciting comments on a 

proposed extension of the information 

collection provisions of Prohibited 

Transaction Class Exemption (PTE) 91– 

38, Bank Collective Investment Funds. 

A copy of the Information Collection 

Request (ICR) can 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 

June 19, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments 

to G. Christopher Cosby, Office of Policy 

and Research, Employee Benefits 

Security Administration, U.S. 

Department of Labor, 200 Constitution 

Avenue, NW., Room N–5718, 

Washington, DC 20210, (202) 693–8410, 

FAX (202) 219–4745 (the foregoing are 

not toll-free numbers). Comments may 

also be submitted electronically to the 

following Internet e-mail address: 

ebsa.opr@dol.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

PTE 91–38 provides an exemption 

from the prohibited transaction 

provisions of the Employee Retirement 

Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) for 

certain transactions between a bank 

collective investment fund and persons 

who are parties in interest with respect 

to an employee benefit plan. Without 

the exemption, sections 406 and 407(a) 

of ERISA and section 4975(c)(1) of the 

Internal Revenue Code may prohibit 

transactions between the collective 

investment fund (CIF) and a party in 

interest to one or more of the employee 

benefit plans participating in the 

collective investment fund. Under PTE 

91–38, a collective investment fund 

generally may engage in transactions 

with parties in interest to a plan that 

invests in the fund as long as the plan’s 

total investment in the fund does not 

exceed a specified percentage of the 

total assets of the fund. The PTE also 

contains more limited or differently 

defined relief for funds holding more 

than the specified percentage, for 

multiemployer plans, and for 

transactions involving employer 

securities and employer real property. 

In order to ensure that the rights of 

participants and beneficiaries are 

protected, and that bank collective 

investment funds can demonstrate 

compliance with the terms of the 

exemption, the Department requires a 

bank to maintain records regarding the 

exempted transactions and make them 

available for inspection to specified 

interested persons (including the 

Department and the Internal Revenue 

Service) on request for a period of six 

years. 


rmajette on PRODPC74 with NOTICES