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###### Federal Trade Commission

# AGENCY: 

Federal Trade Commission. 

# ACTION: 

Notice. 

      ( print page 57103)    

# SUMMARY: 

The information collection requirements described below will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or “Commission”) is seeking public comments on its proposal to extend through October 31, 2011, the current OMB clearance for the information collection requirements contained in its Negative Option Rule. That clearance expires on October 31, 2008. 

# DATES: 

Comments must be filed by October 31, 2008. 

# ADDRESSES: 

                        Interested parties are invited to submit written comments. Comments should refer to “Negative Option Rule: FTC File No. P789003” to facilitate the organization of comments. A comment filed in paper form should include this reference both in the text and on the envelope and should be mailed or delivered to the following address: Federal Trade Commission/Office of the Secretary, Room H-135, Annex J, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20580. The FTC is requesting that any comment filed in paper form be sent by courier or overnight service, if possible, because U.S. postal mail in the Washington area and at the Commission is subject to delay due to heightened security precautions. Moreover, because paper mail in the Washington area and at the Agency is subject to delay, please consider submitting your comments in electronic form, as prescribed below. If, however, the comment contains any material for which confidential treatment is requested, it must be filed in paper form, and the first page of the document must be clearly labeled “Confidential.”[1] 

                        Comments filed in electronic form should be submitted via the following weblink: (                        *https://secure.commentworks.com/​ftc-NegativeOptionpra2*) (and following the instructions on the web-based form). To ensure that the Commission considers an electronic comment, you must file it on the web-based form at the weblink: (                        *https://secure.commentworks.com/​ftc-NegativeOptionpra2*). If this notice appears at                         *www.regulations.gov*, you may also file an electronic comment through that website. The Commission will consider all comments that regulations.gov forwards to it.                     

Comments should also be submitted to: Office of Management and Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for the Federal Trade Commission. Comments should be submitted via facsimile to (202) 395-6974 because U.S. Postal Mail is subject to lengthy delays due to heightened security precautions. 

                        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 that it receives, whether filed in paper or electronic form. Comments received will be available to the public on the FTC website, to the extent practicable, at                         *www.ftc.gov*. As a matter of discretion, the FTC makes every effort to remove home contact information for individuals from the public comments it receives before placing those comments on the FTC website. More information, including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, may be found in the FTC's privacy policy at (                        *http://www.ftc.gov/​ftc/​privacy.shtm*).                     

# FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information should be addressed to Jock K. Chung, Attorney, Division of Enforcement, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, NJ-2122, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580, (202) 326-2984. 

# SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

                    Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (“PRA”), 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520, federal agencies must obtain approval from OMB for each collection of information they conduct or sponsor. On July 10, 2008, the FTC sought comment on the information collection requirements pertaining to the Commission’s Negative Option Rule (OMB Control Number 3084-0104).[2]                                          No comments were received. Pursuant to the OMB regulations that implement the PRA (5 CFR Part 1320), the FTC is providing this second opportunity for public comment while seeking OMB approval to extend the existing paperwork clearance for the Commission’s Amplifier Rule. All comments should be filed as prescribed in the                     **ADDRESSES**                     section above, and must be received on or before October 31, 2008.                 

The Negative Option Rule governs the operation of prenotification subscription plans. Under these plans, sellers notify subscribers that they will ship merchandise, such as books, compact discs, or tapes, automatically and bill the subscribers for the merchandise if the subscribers do not expressly reject the merchandise beforehand within a prescribed time. The Rule protects consumers by: (a) requiring that promotional materials disclose the terms of membership clearly and conspicuously; and (b) establishing procedures for the administration of such “negative option” plans. 

**Estimated annual hours burden:**                     13,000 hours rounded to the nearest thousand.                 

Staff estimates that approximately 158 existing clubs each require annually about 75 hours to comply with the Rule’s disclosure requirements, for a total of 11,850 hours (158 clubs × 75 hours). These clubs should be familiar with the Rule, which has been in effect since 1974, with the result that the burden of compliance has declined over time. Moreover, a substantial portion of the existing clubs likely would make these disclosures absent the Rule because they have helped foster long-term relationships with consumers. 

Approximately 7 new clubs come into being each year. These clubs require approximately 120 hours to comply with the Rule, including start up-time. Thus, the cumulative PRA burden for new clubs is about 840 hours. Combined with the estimated burden for established clubs, the total burden is 12,690 hours or 13,000, rounded to the nearest thousand. 

**Estimated annual cost burden:**                     $511,000, rounded to the nearest thousand (solely related to labor costs).                 

                    Based on recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics found here: (                    *http://www.bls.gov/​news.release/​pdf/​ocwage.pdf*), the average compensation for advertising managers is approximately $44 per hour. Compensation for office and administrative support personnel is approximately $15 per hour. Assuming that managers perform the bulk of the work, while clerical personnel perform associated tasks (e.g., placing advertisements and responding to inquiries about offerings or prices), the total cost to the industry for the Rule’s paperwork requirements would be approximately $510,510 [(65 hours managerial time x 158 existing clubs × $44 per hour) + (10 hours clerical time × 158 existing clubs × $15 per hour) + (110 hours managerial time × 7 new clubs × $44 per hour) + (10 hours clerical time × 7 new clubs × $15)].                 

                    Because the Rule has been in effect since 1974, the vast majority of the negative option clubs have no current start-up costs. For the few new clubs                           ( print page 57104)                        that enter the market each year, the costs associated with the Rule’s disclosure requirements, beyond the additional labor costs discussed above, are de minimis. Negative option clubs already have access to the ordinary office equipment necessary to achieve compliance with the Rule. Similarly, the Rule imposes few, if any, printing and distribution costs. The required disclosures generally constitute only a small addition to the advertising for negative option plans. Because printing and distribution expenditures are incurred to market the product regardless of the Rule, adding the required disclosures results in marginal incremental expense.                 

David C. Shonka, 

Acting General Counsel. 

# Footnotes

1.                                 FTC Rule 4.2(d), 16 CFR 4.2(d). The comment must be accompanied by an explicit request for confidential treatment, including the factual and legal basis for the request, and must identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from the public record. The request will be granted or denied by the Commission's General Counsel, consistent with applicable law and the public interest.                             *See*                             FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).                         
        Back to Citation      

2.                             73 FR 39700.                     
        Back to Citation      

[FR Doc. E8-23036 Filed 9-30-08: 8:45 am] 

[Billing code: 6750-01-S]