Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 158 / Thursday, August 14, 2008 / Notices 47635 

provided that are in addition to, rather 

than duplicative of, services provided 

pursuant to the advisory agreement of 

any investment company in which the 

Applicant Fund may invest. 

Applicants’ Legal Analysis 

1. Section 12(d)(1)(A) of the Act 

provides that no registered investment 

company (‘‘acquiring company’’) may 

acquire securities of another investment 

company (‘‘acquired company’’) if such 

securities represent more than 3% of the 

acquired company’s outstanding voting 

stock or more than 5% of the acquiring 

company’s total assets, or if such 

securities, together with the securities of 

other investment companies, represent 

more than 10% of the acquiring 

company’s total assets. Section 

12(d)(1)(B) of the Act provides that no 

registered open-end investment 

company may sell its securities to 

another investment company if the sale 

will cause the acquiring company to 

own more than 3% of the acquired 

company’s voting stock, or cause more 

than 10% of the acquired company’s 

voting stock to be owned by investment 

companies. 

2. Section 12(d)(1)(G) of the Act 

provides that section 12(d)(1) will not 

apply to securities of an acquired 

company purchased by an acquiring 

company if: (i) The acquired company 

and acquiring company are part of the 

same group of investment companies; 

(ii) the acquiring company holds only 

securities of acquired companies that 

are part of the same group of investment 

companies, government securities, and 

short-term paper; (iii) the aggregate sales 

loads and distribution fees of the 

acquiring company and the acquired 

company are not excessive under rules 

adopted pursuant to section 22(b) or 

section 22(c) of the Act by a securities 

association registered under section 15A 

of the Exchange Act or by the 

Commission; and (iv) the acquired 

company has a policy that prohibits it 

from acquiring securities of registered 

open-end management investment 

companies or registered unit investment 

trusts in reliance on section 12(d)(1)(F) 

or (G) of the Act. 

3. Rule 12d1–2 under the Act permits 

a registered open-end investment 

company or a registered unit investment 

trust that relies on section 12(d)(1)(G) of 

the Act to acquire, in addition to 

securities issued by another registered 

investment company in the same group 

of investment companies, government 

securities, and short-term paper: (i) 

Securities issued by an investment 

company that is not in the same group 

of investment companies, when the 

acquisition is in reliance on section 

12(d)(1)(A) or 12(d)(1)(F) of the Act; (ii) 

securities (other than securities issued 

by an investment company); and (iii) 

securities issued by a money market 

fund, when the investment is made in 

reliance on rule 12d1–1 under the Act. 

For the purposes of rule 12d1–2, 

‘‘securities’’ means any security as that 

term is defined in section 2(a)(36) of the 

Act. 

4. Section 6(c) of the Act provides that 

the Commission may exempt any 

person, security, or transaction from any 

provision of the Act, or from any rule 

under the Act, if such exemption is 

necessary or appropriate in the public 

interest and consistent with the 

protection of investors and the purposes 

fairly intended by the policy and 

provisions of the Act. 

5. The Applicants state that the 

proposed arrangement would comply 

with the provisions of rule 12d1–2 

under the Act, but for the fact that the 

Applicant Funds may invest a portion of 

their assets in Other Investments. 

Applicants request an order under 

section 6(c) of the Act for an exemption 

from rule 12d1–2(a) to allow the 

Applicant Funds to invest in Other 

Investments. The Applicants state that 

permitting the Applicant Funds to 

invest in Other Investments as described 

in the application would not raise any 

of the concerns that the requirements of 

section 12(d)(1) of the Act were 

designed to address. 

Applicants’ Condition 

The Applicants agree that any order 

granting the requested relief will be 

subject to the following condition: 

Applicants will comply with all 

provisions of rule 12d1–2 under the Act, 

except for paragraph (a)(2), to the extent 

that it restricts any Applicant Fund from 

investing in Other Investments as 

described in the application. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Investment Management, under delegated 

authority. 

Florence E. Harmon, 

Acting Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E8–18802 Filed 8–13–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8010–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. IC–28354; File No. 812–13532] 

Prudential Annuities Life Assurance 

Corporation, et al.; Notice of 

Application 

August 8, 2008 

AGENCY: Securities and Exchange 

Commission (‘‘SEC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’). 

ACTION: Notice of application for an 

order under Section 6(c) of the 

Investment Company Act of 1940, as 

amended (the ‘‘1940 Act’’) granting 

exemptions from the provisions of 

Sections 2(a)(32), 22(c), and 27(i)(2)(A) 

of the 1940 Act and Rule 22c–1 

thereunder. 

APPLICANTS: Prudential Annuities Life 

Assurance Corporation (‘‘PALAC’’), 

Prudential Annuities Life Assurance 

Corporation Variable Account B 

(‘‘Account’’), and Prudential Annuities 

Distributors, Inc. (‘‘PAD,’’ and 

collectively with PALAC, and the 

Account, the ‘‘Applicants’’). 

SUMMARY OF APPLICATION: Applicants 

seek an order under Section 6(c) of the 

1940 Act to the extent necessary to 

permit, under specified circumstances, 

the recapture of credits applied to 

purchase payments made under the 

Advanced Series XTra Credit Eight 

variable annuity contract (‘‘Contract’’), 

as well as other contracts that PALAC 

may issue in the future through the 

Account or any other separate account 

established in the future by PALAC that 

support variable annuity contracts that 

are substantially similar in all material 

respects to the Contract. 

FILING DATE: The application was filed 

on May 7, 2008 and amended on July 

15, 2008. 

HEARING OR NOTIFICATION OF HEARING: 

An order granting the application will 

be issued unless the Commission orders 

a hearing. Interested persons may 

request a hearing by writing to the 

Secretary of the Commission and 

serving Applicants with a copy of the 

request, personally or by mail. Hearing 

requests should be received by the 

Commission by 5:30 p.m. on September 

2, 2008, and should be accompanied by 

proof of service on Applicants, in the 

form of an affidavit or, for lawyers, a 

certificate of service. Hearing requests 

should state the nature of the requester’s 

interest, the reason for the request, and 

the issues contested. Persons who wish 

to be notified of a hearing may request 

notification by writing to the Secretary 

of the Commission. 

ADDRESSES: Secretary, SEC, 100 F Street, 

NE., Washington, DC 20549–1090. 

Applicants, c/o C. Christopher Sprague, 

Esq., The Prudential Insurance 

Company of America, 751 Broad Street, 

Newark, NJ 07102–2992. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michelle Roberts, Staff Attorney, or 

Joyce M. Pickholz, Branch Chief, Office 

of Insurance Products, Division of 

Investment Management, at (202) 551–

6795. 


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1PALAC also offers a ‘‘private label’’ version of 

the Contract, called Optimum XTra, which is sold 

through Linsco/Private Ledger Corp. References to 

the ‘‘Contract’’ in this application are intended to 

include that private label version. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

following is a summary of the 

application. The complete application 

may be obtained for a fee from the SEC’s 

Public Reference Branch, 100 F Street, 

NE., Washington, DC 20549–1090 (tel. 

(202) 551–8090). 

Applicants’ Representations 

1. The Contract 1 is a ‘‘bonus annuity’’

that offers a credit of up to 8% of 

purchase payments (‘‘Contract Credits’’). 

Applicants propose to recapture the 

Contract Credits under the following 

circumstances: (a) If the Contract is 

returned during the free look period, (b) 

if the Contract Credit was applied 

within 12 months prior to death (except 

that PALAC will not recapture the 

Contract Credit to the extent that the 

death benefit is equal to the account 

value, but after the recovery of all or a 

portion of the Contract Credit, the death 

benefit would be equal to less than 

purchase payments minus proportional 

withdrawals), and (c) if the Contract 

Credit was applied within 12 months 

prior to the exercise of the medicallyrelated surrender of the Annuity. 

2. Applicants seek an order pursuant 

to Section 6(c) of the 1940 Act 

exempting them from Sections 2(a)(32), 

22(c), and 27(i)(2)(A) of the 1940 Act 

and Rule 22c–1 thereunder to the extent 

necessary to permit PALAC to recapture 

the Contract Credits under the scenarios 

described above. Applicants request that 

the order apply to any separate account 

established in the future by PALAC 

(‘‘Future Account’’) that supports 

variable annuity contracts offered by 

PALAC in the future that are 

substantially similar in all material 

respects to the Contract (‘‘Future 

Contracts’’). Applicants also request that 

the order extend to any FINRA member 

broker-dealer controlling, controlled by, 

or under common control with PALAC, 

whether existing or created in the 

future, that serves as a distributor or 

principal underwriter of the Contract 

offered through the Account or any 

Future Account (‘‘Broker-Dealers’’). 

Applicants also request that the order 

extend to any broker-dealers that are 

FINRA-registered and not affiliated with 

PALAC or the Broker-Dealers (the 

‘‘Unaffiliated Broker-Dealers’’). Each 

Unaffiliated Broker-Dealer will have 

entered into a dealer agreement with 

PAD or an affiliate of PAD prior to 

offering the Contract. 

3. The Contract is a flexible premium 

deferred variable annuity contracts that 

is registered on Form N–4 (file no. 333–

150220). The minimum initial purchase 

payment is $10,000, and any additional 

purchase payment must be at least $100 

(except for contract owners who 

participate in certain periodic purchase 

payment programs). The maximum 

issue age for the Contract is 75, meaning 

that (a) the owner must be 75 or 

younger, or (b) for a Contract that is 

entity-owned, the annuitant must be 75 

or younger. 

4. There are various insurance 

features under the Contract and charges 

associated with those features. There is 

a mortality and expense risk charge 

equal to 1.60% annually, and an 

administration charge equal to 0.15% 

annually. There is a maintenance fee 

equal to the lesser of $35 or 2% of 

account value, which is assessed 

annually on the Contract’s anniversary 

date or upon surrender. PALAC imposes 

no fee with respect to the first 20 

transfers in an annuity year, but after 

the 20th such transfer, currently 

imposes a fee of $10 per transfer ($15 

maximum). There is a contingent 

deferred sales charge (‘‘CDSC’’) under 

the Contract, the amount of which is 

based on the number of years that have 

elapsed since the issue date of the 

annuity. The CDSC begins at 9% in year 

one, and each year thereafter is equal, 

respectively, to 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 

4%, 3%, 2%, 1%, with no CDSC in 

years 11 and later. No CDSC is imposed 

on the portion of a withdrawal that can 

be taken as part of the free withdrawal 

feature of the Contract. The maximum 

free withdrawal amount available in 

each annuity year is equal to 10% of all 

purchase payments that are subject to a 

CDSC. Earnings are not subject to any 

CDSC, and thus are not considered part 

of the free withdrawal. No CDSC is 

imposed in any situation in which 

Applicants recapture a Contract Credit. 

5. A Contract owner may select one or 

more of several optional living benefits. 

The Guaranteed Minimum Income 

Benefit, which offers lifetime payments 

based on a guaranteed protected value, 

is subject to a charge of 0.50% per year 

of the average protected income value 

each year. The Lifetime Five Income 

Benefit (which allows the owner to 

withdraw a specified protected value 

through periodic withdrawals or as a 

series of payments for life) is subject to 

a charge of 0.60% annually of the 

average daily net assets in the subaccounts. The Contract also offers a 

variant of the Lifetime Five benefit 

(called ‘‘Spousal Lifetime Five’’) that, 

for a charge of 0.75% annually, 

guarantees income until the second-todie of two individuals married to each 

other. There is yet another variant called 

Highest Daily Lifetime Five, under 

which the protected withdrawal value is 

based on a highest daily account value 

and which bears a charge of 0.60% 

annually. There are other lifetime 

withdrawal benefits called Highest 

Daily Lifetime Seven, Spousal Highest 

Daily Lifetime Seven, Highest Daily 

Lifetime Seven with Beneficiary Income 

Option, Spousal Highest Daily Lifetime 

Seven with Beneficiary Income Option, 

and Highest Daily Lifetime Seven with 

Lifetime Income Accelerator. The 

charges for these benefits range from 

0.60% to 0.95% of the Protected 

Withdrawal Value under the benefit. 

The Contract offers two guaranteed 

minimum accumulation benefits, called 

the Guaranteed Return Option Plus 2008 

and Highest Daily Guaranteed Return 

Option, for which PALAC imposes a 

charge equal to 0.35% annually, applied 

against the account value in the subaccounts. Finally, the Contract offers a 

guaranteed minimum withdrawal 

benefit for a charge of 0.35% annually, 

applied against the account value in the 

sub-accounts. 

6. The Contract offers several optional 

death benefits, including the Enhanced 

Beneficiary Protection Death Benefit for 

a charge of 0.25% annually, the Highest 

Anniversary Value Death Benefit for a 

charge of 0.25% annually, a 

Combination 5% roll-up and Highest 

Anniversary Value Death Benefit for a 

charge of 0.50% annually, and a Highest 

Daily Value Death Benefit for a charge 

of 0.50% annually. 

7. Applicants may add other optional 

living and death benefits to the Contract 

in the future. In addition to the optional 

insurance features, the Contract offers 

several optional administrative features 

at no additional cost (e.g., auto 

rebalancing and systematic 

withdrawals). 

8. The Contract offers variable 

investment options and a companion 

market-value adjustment option that is 

registered on Form S–3 (file no. 333–

136996). At present, the Contract offers 

portfolios of Advanced Series Trust 

(formerly, American Skandia Trust), 

INVESCO AIM Variable Insurance 

Funds, Evergreen Variable Annuity 

Trust, First Defined Portfolio Fund, 

Franklin Templeton Variable Insurance 

Products Trust, Nationwide Variable 

Insurance Trust, and Wells Fargo 

Variable Trust. Under the Contract, 

Applicants reserve the right to add new 

underlying funds and series, and to 

substitute new portfolios for existing 

portfolios (subject to Commission 

approval). 

9. An owner choosing to annuitize 

under the Contract will have only fixed 

annuity options available. Those fixed 


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annuity options include annuities 

offering payments for life, payments 

based on joint lives, payments for life 

with a certain period, and fixed 

payments for a certain period. The latest 

annuitization date is the first day of the 

month coinciding with, or immediately 

following the later of the annuitant’s 

95th birthday or the fifth annuity 

anniversary. 

10. Under the Contract, PALAC will 

apply a Contract Credit to the Contract 

owner’s account value with respect to 

any purchase payment made during the 

first six years that the Contract has been 

in effect. Purchase payments made in 

the seventh year of the Contract and 

later will not receive any Contract 

Credit. The amount of the Contract 

Credit is determined by the year in 

which the purchase payment is made 

and the amount of purchase payments 

that already have been made under the 

Contract (aka ‘‘cumulative’’ purchase 

payments). Once purchase payments 

total $100,000 or more, the Contract 

Credit is 8% in year one of the Contract, 

6% in year two, 4% in year three, 3% 

in year four, 2% in year five, and 1% 

in year six. So long as cumulative 

purchase payments amount to less than 

$100,000, the Contract Credit is 6% in 

year one of the Contract, 5% in year 

two, 4% in year three, 3% in year four, 

2% in year five and 1% in year six. 

PALAC will pay Contract Credits from 

its general account assets. PALAC will 

allocate each Contract Credit to the 

variable investment options in the same 

proportion that the corresponding 

purchase payment is allocated to such 

options. 

11. With respect to Contracts issued 

on or after the date of the Commission 

order under this application, Applicants 

wish to recapture the full amount of any 

Contract Credit under the scenarios 

identified in the following sentence. 

Specifically, Applicants will recapture a 

Contract Credit if (a) the Contract is 

surrendered during the free look period, 

or (b) the Contract Credit was applied 

within 12 months prior to death (except 

that PALAC will not recapture the 

Contract Credit to the extent that the 

death benefit is equal to the account 

value, but after the recovery of all or a 

portion of the Contract Credit, the death 

benefit would be equal to less than 

purchase payments minus proportional 

withdrawals) or (c) the Contract Credit 

was applied within 12 months prior to 

the surrender of the Contract under the 

medically-related surrender provision 

(e.g., if the owner is diagnosed with a 

‘‘fatal illness’’ and chooses to invoke 

this contract provision on that basis). 

(The medically-related surrender feature 

is not available in New York.) 

Applicants’ Legal Analysis 

1. Section 6(c) of the 1940 Act 

authorizes the Commission to exempt 

any person, security or transaction, or 

any class or classes of persons, 

securities or transactions, from the 

provisions of the 1940 Act and the rules 

promulgated thereunder if and to the 

extent that such exemption is necessary 

or appropriate in the public interest and 

consistent with the protection of 

investors and the purposes fairly 

intended by the policy and provisions of 

the 1940 Act. 

2. Applicants request that the 

Commission, pursuant to Section 6(c) of 

the 1940 Act, issue an order to the 

extent necessary to permit the recapture 

of the Contract Credits under the 

circumstances described above. 

Applicants believe that the requested 

exemptions are appropriate in the 

public interest and consistent with the 

protection of investors and the purposes 

fairly intended by the policy and 

provisions of the 1940 Act. 

3. Applicants submit that the 

recapture of the Contract Credits will 

not raise concerns under Sections 

2(a)(32), 22(c) and 27(i)(2)(A) of the 

1940 Act, and Rule 22c-1 thereunder. 

The Contract Credits will be recaptured 

only if the owner (a) exercises his/her 

free look right, (b) dies within 12 

months after receiving the Contract 

Credit (except as described above), or (c) 

makes a medically-related surrender 

within 12 months after receiving the 

Contract Credit. The amounts 

recaptured equal the Contract Credit 

provided by PALAC from its own 

general account assets. 

4. Applicants argue that when PALAC 

recaptures the Contract Credit, it is 

merely retrieving its own assets, and the 

owner has not been deprived of a 

proportionate share of the Account’s 

assets, because his or her interest in the 

Contract Credit amount has not vested. 

With respect to a Contract Credit 

recaptured upon the exercise of the freelook privilege, it would be unfair to 

allow an owner exercising that privilege 

to retain the Contract Credit under a 

Contract that has been returned for a 

refund after a period of only a few days. 

If PALAC could not recapture the 

Contract Credit during the free look 

period, individuals could purchase a 

Contract with no intention of retaining 

it, and simply return it for a quick 

profit. Applicants also note that the 

Contract owner is entitled to retain any 

investment gain attributable to the 

Contract Credit, even if the Contract 

Credit is ultimately recaptured. 

Furthermore, the recapture of the 

Contract Credit if death or a medicallyrelated surrender occurs within 12 

months after receipt of a Contract Credit 

is designed to provide PALAC with a 

measure of protection against ‘‘antiselection.’’ The risk here is that an 

owner, with full knowledge of 

impending death or serious illness, will 

make very large payments and thereby 

leave PALAC less time to recover the 

cost of the Contract Credit, to PALAC’s 

financial detriment. 

5. Applicants submit that the 

provisions for recapture of the Contract 

Credit does not, and any such Future 

Contract provisions will not, violate 

Sections 2(a)(32) and 27(i)(2)(A) of the 

1940 Act, and Rule 22c-1 thereunder. 

6. The recapture of a Contract Credit 

could be viewed as involving the 

redemption of redeemable securities for 

a price other than one based on the 

current net asset value of an Account. 

Applicants state that the recapture of 

the Contract Credit does not involve 

either of the evils that Rule 22c-1 was 

intended to address, namely: (a) The 

dilution of the value of outstanding 

redeemable securities of registered 

investment companies through their 

sale at a price below net asset value or 

redemption or repurchase at a price 

above it, and (b) other unfair results, 

including speculative trading practices. 

Applicants assert that the proposed 

recapture of the Contract Credit does not 

pose a threat of dilution. To effect a 

recapture of a Contract Credit, interests 

in an owner’s account will be redeemed 

at a price determined on the basis of the 

current net asset value. The amount 

recaptured will equal the amount of the 

Contract Credit that PALAC paid out of 

its general account assets. Although the 

owner will be entitled to retain any 

investment gain attributable to a 

Contract Credit, the amount of that gain 

will be determined on the basis of 

current net asset value. Therefore, no 

dilution will occur upon the recapture 

of a Contract Credit. Applicants also 

submit that the second harm that Rule 

22c-1 was designed to address, namely 

speculative trading practices calculated 

to take advantage of backward pricing, 

will not occur as a result of the 

recapture of a Contract Credit. 

7. Applicants submit that their 

request for an order that applies to the 

Account or any Future Accounts 

established by PALAC in connection 

with the issuance of Contracts and 

Future Contracts, and underwritten or 

distributed by PAD or other brokerdealers, is appropriate in the public 

interest. Such an order would promote 

competitiveness in the variable annuity 

market by eliminating the need to file 

redundant exemptive applications, 

thereby reducing administrative 


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47638 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 158 / Thursday, August 14, 2008 / Notices 

expenses and maximizing the efficient 

use of Applicants’ resources. Investors 

would not receive any benefit or 

additional protection by requiring 

Applicants to repeatedly seek exemptive 

relief that would present no issue under 

the 1940 Act that has not already been 

addressed in this application. Having 

Applicants file additional applications 

would impair Applicants’ ability 

effectively to take advantage of business 

opportunities as they arise. 

8. Applicants undertake that Future 

Contracts funded by the Account or by 

Future Accounts that seek to rely on the 

order issued pursuant to the application 

will be substantially similar to the 

Contract in all material respects. 

Conclusion 

Applicants submit that their request 

for an order meets the standards set out 

in Section 6(c) of the 1940 Act and that 

an order should, therefore, be granted. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Investment Management, under delegated 

authority. 

Florence E. Harmon, 

Acting Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E8–18801 Filed 8–13–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8010–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF STATE 

[Public Notice 6307] 

U.S. National Commission for UNESCO 

Notice of Partially Closed Meeting 

The U.S. National Commission for 

UNESCO will hold a meeting by 

conference call on Thursday, August 28, 

2008, beginning at 11 a.m. Eastern Time. 

The open portion of the call should last 

approximately fifteen minutes and will 

address the UNESCO Associated 

Schools Project Network. Additional 

topic areas that relate to UNESCO may 

be discussed as needed. The 

Commission will accept brief oral 

comments from members of the public 

during the open portion of this 

conference call. The public comment 

period will be limited to approximately 

ten minutes in total with three minutes 

allowed per speaker. Members of the 

public who wish to present oral 

comments or listen to the conference 

call must make arrangements with the 

Executive Secretariat of the National 

Commission by August 26, 2008. The 

second portion of the teleconference 

meeting will be closed to the public to 

allow the Commission to discuss 

applications for the U.S. National 

Commission for UNESCO Laura W. 

Bush Traveling Fellowship, a fellowship 

funded through privately donated 

funds. This call will be closed pursuant 

to Section 10(d) of the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act and 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(6) 

because it is likely to involve discussion 

of information of a personal nature 

regarding the relative merits of 

individual applicants where disclosure 

would constitute a clearly unwarranted 

invasion of personal privacy. 

For more information contact Alex 

Zemek, Executive Director of the U.S. 

National Commission for UNESCO, 

Washington, DC 20037. Telephone: 

(202) 663–0026; Fax: (202) 663–0035; Email: DCUNESCO@state.gov. 

Dated: August 7, 2008. 

Alex Zemek, 

Executive Director,U.S. National Commission 

for UNESCO, Department of State. 

[FR Doc. E8–18843 Filed 8–13–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4710–19–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

[Docket No. DOT–OST–2008–0182] 

Office of Small and Disadvantaged 

Business Utilization (OSDBU); Notice 

of Request for Renewal of Data 

Collection by the Office of Small and 

Disadvantaged Business Utilization’s 

(OSDBU) Regional Small Business 

Transportation Resource Centers 

(SBTRCs) 

Notice of Correction 

This Notice of Correction announces 

cancellation of the published 30-day 

notice in the Federal Register (73 FR 

45092–45093) on August 1, 2008. For 

this Notice of information collection, 

refer to the published 60-day notice in 

the Federal Register (73 FR 36368–

36370) on June 26, 2008. 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Request for Comments, 

Renewal and Approval of Information 

Collection(s): Regional Center Intake 

Form (DOT F 4500) and Regional 

Resource Center Monthly Report Form 

(DOT F 4502). 

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, DOT. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The Office of Small and 

Disadvantaged Business Utilization 

(OSDBU) invite the public to comment 

about our intention to request the Office 

of Management and Budget’s (OMB) 

approval to renew information 

collection forms, associated with 

OSDBU. The collection involves the use 

of the Regional Center Intake Form, 

(DOT F 4500) which documents the 

type of assistance provided to each 

small business that is enrolled in the 

program. 

The use of the Regional Resource 

Center Monthly Report Form, (DOT F 

4502) will highlight activities, such as 

counseling, marketing, meetings/ 

conferences, and services to businesses 

as completed during the month. The 

information will be used to ascertain 

whether the program is providing 

services to its constituency, the small 

business community, in a fair and 

equitable manner. The information 

collected is necessary to determine 

whether small businesses are 

participating in DOT funded and DOT 

assisted opportunities with the DOT. 

The Counseling Information Form, 

(DOT F 4640.1) has been eliminated and 

the information contained in that form 

is now consolidated into the Regional 

Resource Center Monthly Report Form 

(formerly titled Monthly Report of 

Operations Form). To eliminate 

duplication and to streamline the data 

collection process, OSDBU revised the 

Monthly Report of Operations Form into 

the Regional Resource Center Monthly 

Report Form. 

We are required to publish this notice 

in the Federal Register by the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. On 

June 26, 2008, OSDBU published a 60- 

day notice in the Federal Register (73 

FR 36368) Docket # OST–2008–0182, 

informing the public of OSDBU’s 

intention to extend an approved 

information collection. 

DATES: Written comments should be 

submitted by: September 15, 2008 and 

submitted to the attention of the DOT/ 

OST Desk Officer, Office of Information 

and Regulatory Affairs, Office of 

Management and Budget, Docket 

library, Room 10102, 725 17th Street, 

NW., Washington, DC 20503 or 

oira_submission @omb.eop.gov (e-mail). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Arthur D. Jackson, 202–366–5344 Office 

of Small and Disadvantaged Business 

Utilization, Office of the Secretary, U.S. 

Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue, SE., Room W56 

462, Washington, DC 20590. Office 

hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Office of Small and 

Disadvantaged Business Utilization 

(OSDBU). 

OMB Control No: 2105–0554; Form 

No.: DOT F 4500, Regional Center 

Intake. 

Form and Form No.: DOT F 4502, 

Regional Resource Center Monthly 

Report Form. 

Affected Public: Representatives of 

DOT Regional Small Business 

Transportation Resource Centers and 


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