5258 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 20 / Tuesday, February 1, 2005 / Notices 

annual burden of the collection of 

information is 1 hour and $553,477.

Issued in Washington, DC, this 12th day of 

January 2005. 

Stuart A. Sirkin, 

Director, Policy, Research and Analysis 

Department, Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation.

[FR Doc. 05–1844 Filed 1–31–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7708–01–P

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL 

MANAGEMENT 

Comment Request for OMB Review of 

an Extension of the Nonforeign Area 

Cost-of-Living Allowance Price and 

Background Surveys

AGENCY: Office of Personnel 

Management.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 

Office of Personnel Management (OPM) 

seeks comments on its intention to 

request an extension of two currently 

approved information collections. OPM 

uses the two collections, a Price Survey 

and a Background Survey, to gather data 

it uses to determine cost-of-living 

allowances the Government provides to 

certain Federal employees in Alaska, 

Hawaii, Guam and the Northern 

Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the 

U.S. Virgin Islands. OPM conducts Price 

Surveys in the Washington, DC, area on 

an annual basis and once every 3 years 

in each allowance area on a rotating 

basis. Prior to these surveys, OPM 

conducts Background Surveys that are 

similar to the Price Survey, but much 

more limited in scope. OPM uses the 

results of the Background Surveys to 

prepare for the Price Surveys.

DATES: Submit comments on or before 

April 4, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Send or deliver comments 

to Donald J. Winstead, Deputy Associate 

Director for Pay and Performance 

Policy, Office of Personnel Management, 

Room 7H31, 1900 E Street NW., 

Washington, DC 20415–8200; fax (202) 

606–4264, or e-mail: cola@opm.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) 

approval of the Nonforeign Area Cost-ofLiving Allowance (COLA) Price Survey 

and Background Survey will expire on 

May 31, 2005. The Office of Personnel 

Management (OPM) plans to request 

OMB approval for a 3-year extension of 

these currently approved information 

collections and is seeking comments 

prior to submitting the collections to 

OMB for review. 

Comments are particularly invited on 

whether (1) these collections of 

information are necessary for the proper 

performance of OPM functions, (2) they 

will have practical utility, (3) our 

estimate of the public burden of these 

collections of information is accurate 

and based on valid assumptions and 

methodology, and (4) there are ways in 

which we can minimize respondent 

burden of the collections of information 

through the use of appropriate 

technological collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

For copies of this proposal, contact 

Mary Beth Smith-Toomey on (202) 606–

8358, fax (202) 418–3251, or e-mail 

mbtoomey@opm.gov. Please include a 

mailing address with your request. 

Overview of Information Collections 

Title: Nonforeign Area Cost-of-Living 

Allowance Price Survey and 

Background Survey. 

OMB Control Number: 3206–0199. 

Summary: OPM uses the COLA Price 

Survey to collect price data in survey 

areas located in the nonforeign 

allowance areas and in the Washington, 

DC, area. The allowance areas are 

located in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and 

the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto 

Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. OPM 

conducts Price Surveys annually in the 

DC area and once every 3 years in the 

allowance areas on a rotating basis. 

OPM uses the COLA Background 

Survey to collect information to identify 

the services, items, quantities, outlets, 

and locations OPM will survey in the 

Price Surveys. OPM also uses 

Background Surveys to collect 

information on local trade practices, 

consumer buying patterns, taxes and 

fees, and other economic characteristics 

related to living costs. OPM conducts 

Background Surveys annually on a 

limited basis. 

Need/Use for Surveys: The COLA 

Price Survey is necessary for collecting 

living-cost data OPM uses to determine 

COLAs received by General Schedule, 

U.S. Postal Service, and certain other 

Federal employees in the allowance 

areas. OPM uses the survey results to 

compare prices in the allowance areas 

with prices in the Washington, DC, area 

and to derive COLA rates where local 

living costs significantly exceed those in 

the DC area. The COLA Background 

Survey is necessary to determine the 

continued appropriateness of items, 

services, and businesses selected for the 

annual price surveys. OPM uses the 

information collected under the 

Background Survey to identify items to 

be priced and the outlets at which OPM 

will price the items in the Price 

Surveys. 

Respondents: OPM will survey 

selected retail, service, realty, and other 

businesses and local governments in the 

allowance areas and in the Washington, 

DC, area. OPM will contact 

approximately 2,000 establishments in 

each annual Price Survey and 

approximately 100 establishments in 

each annual Background Survey. 

Participation in the surveys is 

voluntary. 

Reporting and Recordkeeping Burden:

Based on experience, OPM estimates 

that the average Price Survey interview 

takes approximately 6 minutes, for a 

total burden of 200 hours. Also based on 

experience, OPM estimates that the 

average Background Survey interview 

will take approximately 6.5 minutes, for 

a total burden of 11 hours.

Office of Personnel Management. 

Kay Coles James, 

Director.

[FR Doc. 05–1728 Filed 1–31–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6325–39–P

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[File No. 500–1] 

Courtside products, Inc.; Order of 

Suspension of Trading 

January 28, 2005 

It appears to the Securities and 

Exchange Commission that the public 

interest and the protection of investors 

require a suspension of trading in the 

securities of Courtside Products, Inc. 

(‘‘Courtside’’). The Commission is 

concerned that Courtside may have 

unjustifiably relied on Rule 504 of 

Regulation D of the Securities Act of 

1933 in conducting an unlawful 

distribution of its securities which 

failed to comply with the resale 

restrictions of Regulation D. Courtside, 

a company that has made no public 

filings with the Commission or the 

NASD, is quoted on the Pink Sheets 

under the ticker symbol CSDP, and has 

recently been the subject of spam e-mail 

touting the company’s shares. 

The Commission is of the opinion that 

the public interest and the protection of 

investors require a suspension of trading 

in the securities of the above listed 

company. 

Therefore, it is ordered, pursuant to 

Section 12(k) of the Securities Exchange 

Act of 1934, that trading in the above 

listed company is suspended for the 

period from 9:30 a.m. e.s.t. January 28, 

2005 through 11:59 p.m. e.s.t., on 

February 10, 2005.