[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 117 (Friday, June 19, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 29149-29150]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-14449]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

16 CFR Part 437


Business Opportunity Rule

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission

ACTION: Extension of period to submit workshop comments.

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SUMMARY: In a Federal Register notice published on April 24, 2009, 74 
FR 18712, the FTC announced a workshop, to be held June 1, 2009, in the 
rulemaking proceeding to amend the Rule on Disclosure Requirements and 
Prohibitions Concerning Business Opportunities, 16 CFR Part 437 (``The 
Business Opportunity Rule''). Among other things, the Notice stated 
that

[[Page 29150]]

workshop comments would be accepted until June 15, 2009. In response to 
a request received on June 11, 2009, for an extension of the comment 
period, the Commission has extended the workshop comment period until 
June 29, 2009.

DATES: Workshop comments in the Business Opportunity Rule amendment 
proceeding must be received on or before June 29, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Comments should respectively refer to ``Business Opportunity 
Rule Workshop--Comment, Project No. P084405. ``A comment may be filed 
electronically or in paper form. 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 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).\1\
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    \1\ 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 
and requests to participate in electronic form. Comments filed in 
electronic form should be submitted by using the following weblink: 
(https://secure.commentworks.com/ftc-businessopportunityworkshop) (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-businessopportunityworkshop). 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 ``Business 
Opportunity Rule Workshop--Comment, Project No. P084405`` reference 
both in the text and on the envelope, and should be mailed or 
delivered, with two complete copies, to the following address: Federal 
Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H-135 (Annex S), 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).
    Comments on any proposed filing, recordkeeping, or disclosure 
requirements that are subject to paperwork burden review under the 
Paperwork Reduction Act should additionally be submitted to: Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget 
(``OMB''), Attention: Desk Officer for Federal Trade Commission. 
Comments should be submitted via facsimile to (202) 395-5167 because 
U.S. postal mail at the OMB is subject to delays due to heightened 
security precautions.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kathleen Benway (202) 326-2024, 
Division of Marketing Practices, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal 
Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Room H-286, Washington, 
DC 20580.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION On April 24, 2009, the Commission announced 
in the Federal Register a workshop, to be held June 1, 2009, in the 
rulemaking proceeding to amend the Rule on Disclosure Requirements and 
Prohibitions Concerning Business Opportunities, 16 CFR Part 437 (``The 
Business Opportunity Rule'').\2\ The announcement indicated that the 
workshop would focus on ``issues relating to the effectiveness of the 
proposed revised Business Opportunities Disclosure Form attached to 
this Notice as a means of conveying material information to prospective 
purchasers of business opportunities.''\3\ The announcement further 
explained that, based on a consultant's copy testing of an earlier 
version of the proposed a one-page pre-sale disclosure document, a 
revised version of the disclosure document, with improved clarity, 
readability, and understandability, was being proposed. The 
announcement stated that written comments would be accepted until June 
15, 2009.
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    \2\ 74 Fed. Reg. 18712 (Apr. 24, 2009).
    \3\ Id. at 18713.
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    As indicated in the announcement, the workshop was conducted on 
June 1, 2009. On June 11, 2009, one of the panelists who had 
participated at the workshop requested a ten-day extension of the 
comment period.
    The Commission believes that a brief extension of the comment 
period will not materially delay the completion of this rule amendment 
proceeding. Accordingly, the Commission has determined to extend the 
workshop comment period until June 29, 2009.
    By direction of the Commission.

Donald S. Clark
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E9-14449 Filed 6-18-09: 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-S