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[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 199 (Friday, October 15, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63476-63478]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-25983]

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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

Agency Information Collection Activities; Request for OMB Review; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission).

ACTION: Notice and request for comment.

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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 December 31, 2013, 
the current PRA clearance for information collection requirements 
contained in its Consumer Product Warranty Rule. Those clearances 
expire on December 31, 2010.

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 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/consumerwarrantypra2) (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

[[Page 63477]]

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).
    On July 1, 2010, the FTC sought comment on the information 
collection requirements associated with the Rule Concerning Disclosure 
of Written Consumer Product Warranty Terms and Conditions (the Warranty 
Rule), 16 CFR part 701. No comments were received. Pursuant to the OMB 
regulations, 5 CFR part 1320, that implement the PRA, the FTC is 
providing this second opportunity for public comment while seeking OMB 
approval to renew the pre-existing clearance for the Rule (OMB Control 
No. 3084-0111). All comments should be filed as prescribed herein and 
must be received on or before November 15, 2010.
    The Warranty 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 Warranty Rule 
specifies the information that must appear in a written warranty on a 
consumer product costing more than $15. The Rule tracks Section 102(a) 
of the Warranty Act,\3\ specifying information that must appear in the 
written warranty and, for certain disclosures, mandates the exact 
language that must be used.\4\ Neither the Warranty Rule nor the Act 
requires that a manufacturer or retailer warrant a consumer product in 
writing, but if they choose to do so, the warranty must comply with the 
Rule.
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    \1\ The other two rules relate to the pre-sale availability of 
warranty terms and minimum standards for informal dispute settlement 
mechanisms that are incorporated into a written warranty.
    \2\ 40 FR 60168 (Dec. 31, 1975).
    \3\ 15 U.S.C. 2302(a).
    \4\ 40 FR 60168, 60169-60170.
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Request for Comments

    Interested parties are invited to submit written comments 
electronically or in paper form. Comments should refer to ``Warranty 
Rules: Paperwork Comment, FTC File No. P044403'' 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 Web site, 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 Federal Trade Commission Act (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).
    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/consumerwarrantypra2 (and following the 
instructions on the Web-based form). If this Notice appears at http://www.regulations.gov, you may also file an electronic comment through 
that Web site. The Commission will consider all comments that 
regulations.gov forwards to it.
    A comment filed in paper form should include the ``Warranty Rules: 
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.
    Comments on any proposed recordkeeping, or disclosure requirements 
that are subject to Paperwork Reduction Act review by the OMB should 
additionally be submitted via facsimile to OMB at (202) 395-5167 and 
addressed as follows: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 
Office of Management and Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for Federal 
Trade Commission. Facsimile submission is preferred over U.S. postal 
mail delivery by the OMB, as the latter type of delivery is subject to 
delays due to heightened security precautions. Still, in case it is 
needed, the OMB mail address is: Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office 
Building, Docket Library, Room 10102, 725 17th Street, NW., Washington, 
DC 20503. The OMB requests that any comment filed in paper form be sent 
by courier or overnight service, if possible.
    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's 
Web site, 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's Web site. 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.
    Warranty Rule Burden Statement: Total annual hours burden: 127,000 
hours, rounded to the nearest thousand.
    In its 2007 submission to OMB, the FTC estimated that the 
information collection burden of including the disclosures required by 
the Warranty Rule was approximately 107,000 hours per year. Although 
the Rule's information collection requirements have not changed, this 
estimate increases the number of manufacturers subject to the Rule 
based on recent Census data. Nevertheless, because most

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warrantors would now disclose this information even if there were no 
statute or rule requiring them to do so, staff's estimates likely 
overstate the PRA-related burden attributable to the Rule. Moreover, 
the Warranty Rule has been in effect since 1976, and warrantors have 
long since modified their warranties to include the information the 
Rule requires.
    Based on conversations with various warrantors' representatives 
over the years, staff has concluded that eight hours per year is a 
reasonable estimate of warrantors' PRA-related burden attributable to 
the Warranty Rule.\5\ This estimate takes into account ensuring that 
new warranties and changes to existing warranties comply with the Rule. 
Based on recent Census data, staff now estimates that there are 15,922 
manufacturers covered by the Rule.\6\ This results in an annual burden 
estimate of approximately 127,376 hours (15,922 manufacturers x 8 hours 
of burden per year).
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    \5\ FTC staff recently contacted two manufacturing 
associations--the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers and 
the National Association of Manufacturers--but we have not received 
any additional information that further clarifies this estimate.
    \6\ Because some manufacturers likely make products that are not 
priced above $15 or not intended for household use--and thus would 
not be subject to the Rule--this figure is likely an overstatement.
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    Total annual labor costs: $16,941,000, rounded to the nearest 
thousand.
    Labor costs are derived by applying appropriate hourly cost figures 
to the burden hours described above. The work required to comply with 
the Warranty Rule--ensuring that new warranties and changes to existing 
warranties comply with the Rule--requires a mix of legal analysis and 
clerical support. Staff estimates that half of the total burden hours 
(63,688 hours) requires legal analysis at an average hourly wage of 
$250 for legal professionals,\7\ resulting in a labor cost of 
$15,922,000. Assuming that the remaining half of the total burden hours 
requires clerical work at an average hourly wage of $16, the resulting 
labor cost is approximately $1,019,008. Thus, the total annual labor 
cost is approximately $16,941,008 ($15,922,000 for legal professionals 
+ $1,019,008 for clerical workers).
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    \7\ Staff has derived an hourly wage rate for legal 
professionals based upon industry knowledge. The clerical wage rate 
used in this Notice is based on recent data from the Bureau of Labor 
Statistics National Compensation Survey.
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    Total annual capital or other nonlabor costs: $0.
    The Rule imposes no appreciable current capital or start-up costs. 
As stated above, warrantors have already modified their warranties to 
include the information the Rule requires. Rule compliance does not 
require the use of any capital goods, other than ordinary office 
equipment, which providers would already have available for general 
business use.

Willard K. Tom,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2010-25983 Filed 10-14-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P
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