[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 179 (Thursday, September 16, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56536-56538]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-23171]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'').

ACTION: Notice.

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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 (``PRA''). The FTC 
is seeking public comments on its proposal to extend through January 
31, 2014, the current PRA clearance for information collection 
requirements contained in its Rule Governing Pre-Sale Availability of 
Written Warranty Terms. This clearance is scheduled to expire on 
January 31, 2011.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 15, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments 
electronically or in paper form, by following the instructions in the 
Request for Comments to 60-Day Notice part of the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section below. Comments in electronic form should be 
submitted by using the following Web link: (https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/presaleavailabilitypra) (and following 
the instructions on the web-based form). Comments in paper form should 
be mailed or delivered to the following address: Federal Trade 
Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H-135 (Annex J), 600 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580, in the manner detailed 
in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for copies of the collection 
of information and supporting documentation should be addressed to 
Allyson Himelfarb, Investigator, Division of Marketing Practices, 
Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, Room H-286, 
600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20580, (202) 326-2505.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Proposed Information Collection Activities

    Under the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3521, federal agencies must obtain 
approval from OMB for each collection of information they conduct or 
sponsor. ``Collection of information'' means agency requests or 
requirements that members of the public submit reports, keep records, 
or provide information to a third party. 44 U.S.C. Sec.  3502(3), 5 CFR 
Sec.  1320.3(c). Because the number of entities affected by the 
Commission's requests will exceed ten, the Commission plans to seek OMB 
clearance under the PRA. As required by Sec.  3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, 
the Commission is providing this opportunity for public comment before 
requesting that OMB extend the existing paperwork clearance for the 
information collection requirements associated with the Commission's 
regulations under the FTC's Rule Governing Pre-Sale Availability of 
Written Warranty Terms (the ``Pre-Sale Availability Rule'') (OMB 
Control Number 3084-0112), 16 CFR 702.
    The Pre-Sale Availability Rule is one of three rules\1\ that the 
FTC implemented pursuant to requirements of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty 
Act, 15 U.S.C. 2301 et seq. (``Warranty Act'' or ``Act'').\2\ The Pre-
Sale Availability Rule requires sellers and warrantors to make the text 
of any written warranty on a consumer product costing more than $15 
available to the consumer before sale. Among other things, the Rule 
requires sellers to make the text of the warranty readily available 
either by (1) displaying it in close proximity to the product or (2) 
furnishing it on request and posting signs in prominent locations 
advising consumers that the warranty is available. The Rule requires 
warrantors to provide materials to enable sellers to comply with the 
Rule's requirements and also sets out the methods by which warranty 
information can be made available before the sale if the product is 
sold through catalogs, mail order, or door-to-door sales.
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    \1\ The other two rules relate to the information that must 
appear in a written warranty on a consumer product costing more than 
$15 if a warranty is offered and minimum standards for informal 
dispute settlement mechanisms that are incorporated into a written 
warranty.
    \2\ 40 FR 60168 (Dec. 31, 1975).
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Request for Comments

    The FTC invites comments on: (1) 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; (2) 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; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways 
to 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. All comments should be filed as prescribed 
below, and must be received on or before November 15, 2010.
    Because comments will be made public, they should not include any 
sensitive personal information, such as an individual's Social Security 
Number; date of birth; driver's license number or other state 
identification number, or foreign country equivalent; passport number; 
financial account number; or credit or debit card number. Comments also 
should not include any sensitive health information, such as medical

[[Page 56537]]

records or other individually identifiable health information. In 
addition, comments should not include any ``[t]rade secret or any 
commercial or financial information which is obtained from any person 
and which is privileged or confidential'' as provided in Section 6(f) 
of the Federal Trade Commission Act (``FTC Act''), 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and 
FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2). Comments containing material 
for which confidential treatment is requested must be filed in paper 
form, must be clearly labeled ``Confidential,'' and must comply with 
FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).\3\
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    \3\ 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).
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    Because paper mail addressed to the FTC is subject to delay due to 
heightened security screening, please consider submitting your comments 
in electronic form. Comments filed in electronic form should be 
submitted by using the following web link: (https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/presaleavailabilitypra) (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 web link: (https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/presaleavailabilitypra). If this Notice appears at (http://www.regulations.gov/search/index.jsp), you may also file an electronic 
comment through that website. The Commission will consider all comments 
that regulations.gov forwards to it. You may also visit the FTC Website 
at (http://www.ftc.gov) to read the Notice and the news release 
describing it.
    A comment filed in paper form should include the ``Pre-Sale 
Availability Rule: Paperwork Comment, FTC File No. P044403'' 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 Avenue, 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.
    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 (http://www.ftc.gov/os/publiccomments.shtm). As a matter of discretion, the Commission 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).

Pre-Sale Availability Rule Burden Statement:

    Total annual hours burden: 2,490,000 rounded to the nearest 
thousand. In its 2007 submission to OMB, FTC staff estimated that the 
information collection burden of making the disclosures required by the 
Pre-Sale Availability Rule was approximately 2,328,000 hours per year. 
Although there has been no change in the Rule's information collection 
requirements since 2007, staff has adjusted its previous estimate of 
the number of manufacturers subject to the Rule based on recent Census 
data. Based on that, staff now estimates that there are approximately 
478 large manufacturers and 15,444 small manufacturers subject to the 
Rule. In addition, recent Census data suggests that there are an 
estimated 7,431 large retailers and 452,014 small retailers impacted by 
the Rule.
    In its 2007 submission to OMB, staff took note that some online 
retailers had begun to make warranty information directly available on 
their websites, thereby reducing their paperwork burden under the Rule. 
As e-commerce continues to grow, it is likely that even more retailers 
are posting warranty information online than they were in 2007. 
Nevertheless, because the staff assumes that only a small percentage of 
retailers would be significantly less burdened by posting warranty 
information online - namely, retailers with a large Internet presence 
or whose inventory is mainly composed of warranted products - the staff 
has retained its previous estimates of the hour burden for retailers. 
Therefore, staff continues to estimate that large retailers spend an 
average of 20.8 hours per year and small retailers spend an average 4.8 
hours per year to comply with the Rule.\4\ Accordingly, the total 
annual burden for retailers is approximately 2,315,608 hours ((6,892 
large retailers x 20.8 burden hours) + (452,553 small retailers x 4.8 
burden hours)).
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    \4\ In addition, many online retailers also operate ``brick-and-
mortar'' operations and still provide paper copies of warranties for 
review by customers who do not do business online.
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    Staff also estimates that more manufacturers are beginning to 
provide retailers with warranty information in electronic form in 
fulfilling their obligations under the Rule. Therefore, staff finds it 
necessary at this time to adjust the hour burden for manufacturers as 
it did with retailers in its previous submission to OMB. Applying a 20% 
reduction to its previous estimates, the staff now assumes that large 
manufacturers spend an average of 42 hours per year and that small 
manufacturers spend an average of 10 hours per year to comply with the 
Rule. Accordingly, the total annual burden incurred by manufacturers is 
approximately 174,516 hours ((478 large manufacturers x 42 hours) + 
(15,444 small manufacturers x 10 hours)).
    Thus, the total annual burden for all covered entities is 
approximately 2,490,124 hours (2,315,608 hours for retailers + 174,516 
hours for manufacturers).
    Total annual labor cost: $44,822,000 rounded to the nearest 
thousand.
    The work required to comply with the Pre-Sale Availability Rule 
entails a mix of clerical work and work performed by sales associates. 
Staff estimates that half of the total burden hours would likely be 
performed by sales associates. At the manufacturing level, this work 
would entail ensuring that the written warranty accompanies every 
consumer product or that the required warranty information otherwise 
gets to the retailer. At the retail level, this work would entail 
ensuring that the written warranty is made available to the consumer 
prior to sale. The remaining half of the work required to comply with 
the Pre-Sale Availability Rule is clerical in nature, e.g., shipping or 
otherwise providing copies of manufacturer warranties to retailers and 
retailer maintenance of them. Applying a sales associate wage rate of 
$21/hour to half of the burden hours and a clerical wage rate of $15/
hour to half of the burden hours, the total annual labor cost burden is 
approximately $44,822,232 (1,245,062 hours x $21 per hour) + (1,245,062 
hours x $15 per hour).\5\
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    \5\ The wage rate used in this Notice reflect recent data from 
the Bureau of Labor Statistics National Compensation Survey.

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[[Page 56538]]

    Total annual capital or other non-labor costs: De minimis.
    The vast majority of retailers and warrantors already have 
developed systems to provide the information the Rule requires. 
Compliance by retailers typically entails keeping warranties on file, 
in binders or otherwise, and posting an inexpensive sign indicating 
warranty availability. Manufacturer compliance entails providing 
retailers with a copy of the warranties included with their products.

David C. Shonka,
Acting General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2010-23171 Filed 9-15-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-S