56536 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 179 / Thursday, September 16, 2010 / Notices 

1The 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). 

set forth in paragraph 7 of the Act (12 

U.S.C. 1817(j)(7)). 

The notices are available for 

immediate inspection at the Federal 

Reserve Bank indicated. The notices 

also will be available for inspection at 

the office of the Board of Governors. 

Interested persons may express their 

views in writing to the Reserve Bank 

indicated for that notice or to the offices 

of the Board of Governors. Comments 

must be received not later than October 

1, 2010. 

A. Federal Reserve Bank of 

Minneapolis (Jacqueline G. King, 

Community Affairs Officer) 90 

Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis, 

Minnesota 55480–0291: 

1. The Margaret E. Thelen Revocable 

Trust dated January 5, 2000, Margaret E. 

Thelen, Trustee, Baxter, Minnesota, 

individually, and with John A. Thelen, 

Jr., Baxter, Minnesota; Nancy M. 

Shipman, Brainerd, Minnesota; Sharon 

M. Watland, Baxter, Minnesota; Robert 

T. Thelen, Baxter, Minnesota; Michael J. 

Thelen, Nisswa, Minnesota; Kathryn M. 

Stalheim, Oviedo, Florida; Steven D. 

Thelen, Tampa, Florida; Luke D. 

Shipman, Brainerd, Minnesota; Daniel J. 

Shipman, Brainerd, Minnesota; 

Elizabeth A. Shipman, Breezy Point, 

Minnesota; and Adam J. Shipman, 

Brainerd, Minnesota, as a group acting 

in concert; to retain control of American 

Bancorporation of Minnesota, Inc., 

Brainerd, Minnesota, and thereby 

indirectly retain control of American 

National Bank of Minnesota, Baxter, 

Minnesota. 

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 

System, September 13, 2010. 

Robert deV. Frierson, 

Deputy Secretary of the Board. 

[FR Doc. 2010–23109 Filed 9–15–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6210–01–S 

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Proposed Collection; 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission 

(‘‘FTC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’). 

ACTION: Notice. 

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. § 3502(3), 5 CFR 

§ 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 § 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 rules1 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. 

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 

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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 179 / Thursday, September 16, 2010 / Notices 56537 

3The 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). 

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. 

5The wage rate used in this Notice reflect recent 

data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics National 

Compensation Survey. 

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

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)). 

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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56538 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 179 / Thursday, September 16, 2010 / Notices 

1The 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). 

Total annual capital or other nonlabor 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 

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 

[File No. 101 0093] 

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.; 

Analysis of Proposed Agreement 

Containing Consent Orders to Aid 

Public Comment 

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission. 

ACTION: Proposed Consent Agreement. 

SUMMARY: The consent agreement in this 

matter settles alleged violations of 

federal law prohibiting unfair or 

deceptive acts or practices or unfair 

methods of competition. The attached 

Analysis to Aid Public Comment 

describes both the allegations in the 

draft complaint and the terms of the 

consent order — embodied in the 

consent agreement — that would settle 

these allegations. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before October 12, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are 

invited to submit written comments 

electronically or in paper form. 

Comments should refer to‘‘Air Products, 

Inc., File No. 101 0093’’ to facilitate the 

organization of comments. Please note 

that your comment — including your 

name and your state — will be placed 

on the public record of this proceeding, 

including on the publicly accessible 

FTC website, at (http://www.ftc.gov/os/ 

publiccomments.shtm). 

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 

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 FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 

46(f), and Commission 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).1

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 weblink: (https:// 

ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/ 

airproducts) 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://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ 

ftc/airproducts). 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 ‘‘Air Products, Inc., 

File No. 101 0093’’ 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 D), 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 Federal Trade Commission Act 

(‘‘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). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Gregory P. Luib (202-326-3249), Bureau 

of Competition, 600 Pennsylvania 

Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20580. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant 

to section 6(f) of the Federal Trade 

Commission Act, 38 Stat. 721, 15 U.S.C. 

46(f), and § 2.34 the Commission Rules 

of Practice, 16 CFR 2.34, notice is 

hereby given that the above-captioned 

consent agreement containing a consent 

order to cease and desist, having been 

filed with and accepted, subject to final 

approval, by the Commission, has been 

placed on the public record for a period 

of thirty (30) days. The following 

Analysis to Aid Public Comment 

describes the terms of the consent 

agreement, and the allegations in the 

complaint. An electronic copy of the 

full text of the consent agreement 

package can be obtained from the FTC 

Home Page (for September 9, 2010), on 

the World Wide Web, at (http:// 

www.ftc.gov/os/actions.shtm). A paper 

copy can be obtained from the FTC 

Public Reference Room, Room 130-H, 

600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, 

Washington, D.C. 20580, either in 

person or by calling (202) 326-2222. 

Public comments are invited, and may 

be filed with the Commission in either 

paper or electronic form. All comments 

should be filed as prescribed in the 

ADDRESSES section above, and must be 

received on or before the date specified 

in the DATES section. 

Analysis of Agreement Containing 

Consent Order to Aid Public Comment 

I. Introduction 

The Federal Trade Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’) has accepted from Air 

Products and Chemicals, Inc. (‘‘Air 

Products’’), subject to final approval, an 

Agreement Containing Consent Orders 

(‘‘Consent Agreement’’), which is 

designed to remedy the anticompetitive 

effects resulting from Air Products’ 

proposed acquisition of Airgas, Inc. 

(‘‘Airgas’’). Under the terms of the 

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