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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 249 / Wednesday, December 30, 2009 / Notices 69103 

Dated: December 24, 2009. 

Karen V. Gregory, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E9–30962 Filed 12–29–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 

Charges For Certain Disclosures 

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission. 

ACTION: Notice Regarding Charges for 

Certain Disclosures. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Trade 

Commission announces that the ceiling 

on allowable charges under Section 

612(f) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act 

(‘‘FCRA’’) will decrease from $11.00 to 

$10.50 effective January 1, 2010. Under 

1996 amendments to the FCRA, the 

Federal Trade Commission is required 

to increase the $8.00 amount referred to 

in paragraph (1)(A)(i) of Section 612(f) 

on January 1 of each year, based 

proportionally on changes in the 

Consumer Price Index (‘‘CPI’’), with 

fractional changes rounded to the 

nearest fifty cents. The CPI increased 

33.98 percent between September 1997, 

the date the FCRA amendments took 

effect, and September 2009. This 

increase in the CPI, and the requirement 

that any increase be rounded to the 

nearest fifty cents, results in a maximum 

allowable charge of $10.50 effective 

January 1, 2010. 

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Federal Trade Commission, 

Washington, DC 20580. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Clarke W. Brinckerhoff, Bureau of 

Consumer Protection, 202-326-3208, or 

Keith B. Anderson, Bureau of 

Economics, Federal Trade Commission, 

Washington, DC 20580, 202–326–3428. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 

612(f)(1)(A) of the Fair Credit Reporting 

Act, which became effective in 1997, 

provides that a consumer reporting 

agency may charge a consumer a 

reasonable amount for making a 

disclosure to the consumer pursuant to 

Section 609 of the Act.1 The law states 

that, where a consumer reporting agency 

is permitted to impose a reasonable 

charge on a consumer for making a 

disclosure to the consumer pursuant to 

Section 609, the charge shall not exceed 

$8.00 and shall be indicated to the 

1This provision, originally Section 612(a), was 

added to the FCRA in September 1996 and became 

effective in September 1997. It was relabeled 

Section 612(f) by Section 211(a)(1) of the Fair and 

Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (‘‘FACT 

Act’’), Public Law 108-159, which was signed into 

law on December 4, 2003. 

consumer before making the disclosure. 

Section 612(f)(2) states that the Federal 

Trade Commission (‘‘the Commission’’) 

shall increase the $8.00 maximum 

amount on January 1 of each year, based 

proportionally on changes in the 

Consumer Price Index, with fractional 

changes rounded to the nearest fifty 

cents. 

Section 211(a)(2) of the Fair and 

Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 

2003 (‘‘FACT Act’’) added a new 

Section 612(a) to the FCRA that gives 

consumers the right to request free 

annual disclosures once every 12 

months. The maximum allowable 

charge established by this Notice does 

not apply to requests made under that 

provision. The charge does apply when 

a consumer who orders a file disclosure 

has already received a free annual 

disclosure and does not otherwise 

qualify for an additional free disclosure. 

The Commission considers the $8.00 

amount referred to in paragraph (1)(A)(i) 

of Section 612(f) to be the baseline for 

the effective ceiling on reasonable 

charges dating from the effective date of 

the amended FCRA, i.e., September 30, 

1997. Each year the Commission 

calculates the proportional increase in 

the Consumer Price Index (using the 

most general CPI, which is for all urban 

consumers, all items) from September 

1997 to September of the current year. 

The Commission then determines what 

modification, if any, from the original 

base of $8.00 should be made effective 

on January 1 of the subsequent year, 

given the requirement that fractional 

changes be rounded to the nearest fifty 

cents. 

Between September 1997 and 

September 2009, the Consumer Price 

Index for all urban consumers and all 

items increased by 33.98 percent – from 

an index value of 161.2 in September 

1997 to a value of 215.969 in September 

2009. An increase of 33.98 percent in 

the $8.00 base figure would lead to a 

new figure of $10.72. However, because 

the statute directs that the resulting 

figure be rounded to the nearest $0.50, 

the maximum allowable charge should 

be $10.50. 

The Commission therefore determines 

that the maximum allowable charge for 

the year 2010 will be $10.50. 

By direction of the Commission. 

Donald S. Clark 

Secretary 

[FR Doc. E9–30982 Filed 12–29–09: 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6750–01–S 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Decision To Evaluate a Petition To 

Designate a Class of Employees for 

the Lawrence Berkeley National 

Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, To Be 

Included in the Special Exposure 

Cohort 

AGENCY: National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health 

(NIOSH), Department of Health and 

Human Services (HHS). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: HHS gives notice as required 

by 42 CFR 83.12(e) of a decision to 

evaluate a petition to designate a class 

of employees for the Lawrence Berkeley 

National Laboratory, Berkeley, 

California, to be included in the Special 

Exposure Cohort under the Energy 

Employees Occupational Illness 

Compensation Program Act of 2000. The 

initial proposed definition for the class 

being evaluated, subject to revision as 

warranted by the evaluation, is as 

follows: 

Facility: Lawrence Berkeley National 

Laboratory. 

Location: Berkeley, California. 

Job Titles and/or Job Duties: All 

employees of the Department of Energy, 

its predecessor agencies, and their 

contractors and subcontractors. 

Period of Employment: August 13, 

1942 through December 31, 1961. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Stuart L. Hinnefeld, Interim Director, 

Office of Compensation Analysis and 

Support, National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health 

(NIOSH), 4676 Columbia Parkway, MS 

C–46, Cincinnati, OH 45226, Telephone 

513–533–6800 (this is not a toll-free 

number). Information requests can also 

be submitted by e-mail to 

OCAS@CDC.GOV. 

John Howard, 

Director, National Institute for Occupational 

Safety and Health. 

[FR Doc. E9–30984 Filed 12–29–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4163–19–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Decision To Evaluate a Petition To 

Designate a Class of Employees for 

the Westinghouse Electric 

Corporation, Bloomfield, NJ, To Be 

Included in the Special Exposure 

Cohort 

AGENCY: National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health