Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Extension, 9128-9131 [06-1649]
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 35 / Wednesday, February 22, 2006 / Notices
and/or operational parameters of each
system. The Commission is seeking
information on non-subscriber locations
and operating characteristics of BRS
receivers and other system
characteristics of BRS incumbents
(including operations by lessees) not
currently collected on FCC Form 601 for
this service. The Commission does not
plan on incorporating this reporting
requirement into the FCC Form 601
because it is a one-time collection.
Respondents would submit the
information as a separate attachment to
their FCC 601 application.
This one-time collection is necessary
because BRS Channels 1 and/or 2/2A
are currently licensed at 2150–2150/62
MHz, which the Commission has
designated for Advanced Wireless
Services (AWS). The Commission also
has announced that it intends to auction
AWS licenses for 2150–2155 MHz,
among other bands, as early as June
2006. Future AWS licensees will be
obligated to relocate incumbent BRS
operations in the 2150–2160/62 MHz
band to comparable facilities, most
likely within the newly restructured 2.5
GHz band. The Commission is currently
reviewing comments filed in response to
the Fifth Notice and considering the
details of this relocation process in ET
Docket No. 00–258 (FCC 05–172).
However, in the Order, the Commission
concluded that reliable, public data on
each incumbent BRS system that will be
subject to relocation is essential well in
advance of this planned spectrum
auction and that neither the
Commission nor the public has reliable,
up-to-date information on the
construction status and/or operational
parameters of these BRS systems.
Accordingly, the Commission ordered
licensees of BRS Channels 1 and/or 2/
2A to submit information, listed in the
Order, after the staff issued Public
Notice(s) setting forth the specific data
required, deadlines, and the procedures
for filing this information electronically
on the Commission’s Universal
Licensing System (ULS), where it will
be available to the public. To assist in
determining the scope of the new AWS
entrants’ relocation obligations, the
Commission ordered BRS licensees in
the 2150–2160/62 MHz band to provide
the required data within 60 days and
120 days of the effective date of its
Order, noting that these dates would
correspond to OMB approval of the
information collection, i.e., PRA
requirements for the ULS.
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Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6–2486 Filed 2–21–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712–01–P
FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
Formations of, Acquisitions by, and
Mergers of Bank Holding Companies
The companies listed in this notice
have applied to the Board for approval,
pursuant to the Bank Holding Company
Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1841 et seq.)
(BHC Act), Regulation Y (12 CFR part
225), and all other applicable statutes
and regulations to become a bank
holding company and/or to acquire the
assets or the ownership of, control of, or
the power to vote shares of a bank or
bank holding company and all of the
banks and nonbanking companies
owned by the bank holding company,
including the companies listed below.
The applications listed below, as well
as other related filings required by the
Board, are available for immediate
inspection at the Federal Reserve Bank
indicated. The application also will be
available for inspection at the offices of
the Board of Governors. Interested
persons may express their views in
writing on the standards enumerated in
the BHC Act (12 U.S.C. 1842(c)). If the
proposal also involves the acquisition of
a nonbanking company, the review also
includes whether the acquisition of the
nonbanking company complies with the
standards in section 4 of the BHC Act
(12 U.S.C. 1843). Unless otherwise
noted, nonbanking activities will be
conducted throughout the United States.
Additional information on all bank
holding companies may be obtained
from the National Information Center
Web site at www.ffiec.gov/nic/.
Unless otherwise noted, comments
regarding each of these applications
must be received at the Reserve Bank
indicated or the offices of the Board of
Governors not later than March 17,
2006.
A. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
(Andre Anderson, Vice President) 1000
Peachtree Street, N.E., Atlanta, Georgia
30303:
1. Security Bank Corporation, Macon,
Georgia; to merge with Neighbors
Bancshares, Inc., and thereby indirectly
acquire Neighbors Bank, both of
Alpharetta, Georgia.
B. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
(Glenda Wilson, Community Affairs
Officer) 411 Locust Street, St. Louis,
Missouri 63166-2034:
1. American Founders Bancorp, Inc.,
Frankfort, Kentucky; to become a bank
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holding company by acquiring 100
percent of the voting shares of American
Founders Bank, Inc., Frankfort,
Kentucky. American Founders Bancorp,
Inc., also proposes to acquire 100
percent of the voting shares of First
Security Bancorp, Inc., Lexington,
Kentucky, and thereby indirectly
acquire First Security Bank of
Lexington, Inc., Lexington, Kentucky.
In connection with this application,
Applicant also has applied to acquire 50
percent of the voting shares of Peoples
Secure, LLC, Lexington, Kentucky, and
thereby indirectly engage in data
processing activities, pursuant to
section 225.28(b)(14)(i) of Regulation Y.
C. Federal Reserve Bank of
Minneapolis (Jacqueline G. King,
Community Affairs Officer) 90
Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis,
Minnesota 55480-0291:
1. Westbrand, Inc., Minot, North
Dakota; to acquire 100 percent of the
voting shares of First Western Bank,
Eden Prairie, Minnesota, a de novo
bank.
D. Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas
City (Donna J. Ward, Assistant Vice
President) 925 Grand Avenue, Kansas
City, Missouri 64198-0001:
1. KansasLand Bancshares, Inc.,
Quinter, Kansas; to become a bank
holding company by acquiring 87
percent of the voting shares of Flint
Hills Financial Services Corporation,
and thereby indirectly acquire Americus
State Bank (to be known as KansasLand
Bank), both of Americus, Kansas.
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System, February 16, 2006.
Robert deV. Frierson,
Deputy Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. E6–2458 Filed 2–21–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210–01–S
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Proposed Collection;
Comment Request; Extension
Federal Trade Commission
(‘‘FTC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’).
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The FTC has submitted to the
Office of Management and Budget
(‘‘OMB’’) for review under the
Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C.
3501–3520 (‘‘PRA’’) information
collection requirements contained in its
proposed revision of the Pay-Per-Call
Rule (‘‘Rule’’).1 The FTC is seeking
1 The FTC is seeking an extension of approval for
the Rule’s existing requirements and for the
proposed amendments in advance of their adoption.
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public comments on the proposal to
extend through December 31, 2009 the
current PRA clearance. That clearance
expires on February 28, 2006.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on
or before March 24, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties are
invited to submit written comments.
Comments should refer to ‘‘Pay-Per-Call
Rule: FTC File No. R611016’’ 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, with two complete
copies, to the following address: Federal
Trade Commission, Room H 135 (Annex
J), 600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC 20580. Because paper
mail in the Washington area and at the
Commission is subject to delay, please
consider submitting your comments in
electronic form, (in ASCII format,
WordPerfect, or Microsoft Word) as part
of or as an attachment to e-mail
messages directed to the following email box: paperworkcomment@ftc.gov.
However, if 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.’’ 2
All comments should additionally 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. All timely and responsive
public comments will be considered by
the Commission and will be available to
the public on the FTC Web site, to the
extent practicable, at https://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
Web site. More information, including
routine uses permitted by the Privacy
Act, may be found in the FTC’s privacy
2 Commission 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 Commission Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR
4.9(c).
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policy at https://www.ftc.gov/ftc/
privacy.htm.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Requests for additional information or
copies of the proposed information
requirements should be sent to
Elizabeth Hone, Attorney, Division of
Marketing Practices, Bureau of
Consumer Protection, FTC, 600
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20580, (202) 326–3207.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On
October 30, 1998, the Commission
published a Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking (‘‘NPRM’’), 63 FR 58524, to
amend its Pay-Per-Call Rule 16 CFR part
308.3 The Rule, which implements
Titles II and III of the Telephone
Disclosure and Dispute Resolution Act,
15 U.S.C. 5711–14, 5721–24, requires
the disclosure of cost and other
information with regard to pay-per-call
services and establishes dispute
resolution procedures for telephonebilled purchases (i.e., charges for payper-call services or other charges
appearing on a telephone bill other than
telecommunications charges). As
explained in the NPRM, the Rule
contains certain reporting and
disclosure requirements that are subject
to OMB review under the PRA.4
Accordingly, the FTC submitted the
Rule with proposed amendments to
OMB (see 64 FR 70031, Dec. 15, 1999)
for its approval, which was granted
until December 31, 2002 (OMB control
number 3084–0102). Upon expiration of
OMB’s approval, the FTC again
submitted these information collection
requirements for an extension of the
clearance (see 67 FR 77066, Dec. 16,
2002), including the proposed revisions
of these requirements, which was
granted through February 28, 2006. At
this time, because the Commission has
not yet adopted the proposed rule
changes, the FTC is requesting an
extension of the clearance for the Rule
and the proposed rule changes through
February 28, 2009.
As required by the PRA, the
Commission’s NPRM, 63 FR at 58556–
57, invited public comment on the
Rule’s information collection
requirements and proposed
amendments prior to submission to
3 The Rule was originally promulgated as the
‘‘Trade Regulation Rule Pursuant to the Telephone
Disclosure and Dispute Resolution Act of 1992’’ and
was known as the ‘‘900–Number Rule.’’ In its
NPRM, the Commission refers to the Rule as the
‘‘Trade Regulation Rule Concerning Pay-Per-Call
Services and Other Telephone-Billed Purchases’’
and in this document it will be referred to as the
‘‘Pay-Per-Call Rule.’’
4 Neither the Rule nor the proposed amendments
contain any recordkeeping requirements that would
be subject to the PRA.
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9129
OMB. The Commission received no
comments directly responding to the
Commission’s specific PRA questions.
However, the Commission received one
comment, from US West, Inc., stating
that its current cost for making an
annual disclosure of dispute resolution
procedures under the Rule was $53,000
and that this annual cost would increase
to $819,000 if the disclosures were
required with every billing cycle under
a proposed amendment to
§ 308.20(m)(1). The FTC staff is
considering this comment and others
(available on the FTC’s Web site,
http:
//www.ftc.gov) in determining whether
to recommend the adoption of some or
all of the proposed amendments.
Pursuant to the OMB regulations that
implement the PRA (5 CFR Part 1320),
the FTC is providing this opportunity
for public comment while seeking OMB
approval to extend the existing
paperwork clearance for the Rule. All
comments should be filed as prescribed
in the ADDRESSES section above, and
must be received on or before March 24,
2006.
Brief description of the need for and
proposed use of the information: The
reporting and disclosure requirements
are mandated by statute to help prevent
unfair and deceptive acts and practices
in the advertising and operation of payper-call services and in the collection of
charges for telephone-billed purchases.
The information obtained by the
Commission pursuant to the reporting
requirement is used for law enforcement
purposes. The disclosure requirements
ensure that consumers are adequately
informed of the costs they can expect to
incur in using a pay-per-call service,
that they will not be liable for
unauthorized non-toll charges on their
telephone bills, and that they have
certain dispute resolution rights and
obligations with respect to such
telephone-billed purchases.
Likely respondents, including
estimated number and proposed
frequency of response: Respondents are:
telecommunications common carriers
(subject to the reporting requirement
only, unless acting as a billing entity);
information providers (vendors) offering
one or more pay-per-call services or
programs; and billing entities. In its
submission in 2002, the FTC staff
estimated that it would request
information pursuant to the reporting
requirement from no more than
approximately 29 common carriers per
year, and that the disclosure
requirements would apply to 23,250
information vendors and 1646 billing
entities. See 67 FR 77,066–68 (Dec. 16,
2002). In the present submission, the
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FTC staff is decreasing its burden
estimates to account for changes in the
industry since 2002.5
Estimated annual reporting and
disclosure burden: The total estimated
annual hours burden of the information
collection requirements of the Rule,
including the proposed amendments, is
4,401,000 (rounded to the nearest
thousand). This burden consists entirely
of reporting and disclosure
requirements; as explained earlier (n. 4),
there are no recordkeeping
requirements. As detailed below, the
burden hour estimate for each reporting
and disclosure requirement has been
multiplied by a ‘‘blended’’ wage rate
(expressed in dollars per hour), based
on the particular skill mix needed to
carry out that requirement, to determine
the total annual cost of that
requirement. The blended rate
calculations are based on the following
skill categories and average wage rates:
$250/hour for professional (attorney)
services; $20/hour for skilled clerical
workers; $25/hour for computer
programmers; and $50/hour for
management time. Annual burden hour
estimates (and the estimated total cost of
those hours) have been provided below.
The burden estimates do not contain
a separate set of figures for other annual
‘‘cost’’ burdens, if any—i.e., (a) capital
and start-up costs or (b) operation,
maintenance and purchase of outside
services not already reflected in the
above burden hour estimates and
associated annual costs. Capital or startup costs are generally subsumed in
activities otherwise undertaken in the
ordinary course of business (e.g.,
business records from which only
existing information must be reported to
the Commission, pay-per-call
advertisements or audiotexts to which
cost or other disclosures are added,
etc.). To the extent that entities incur
operating or maintenance expenses, or
purchase outside services to satisfy the
Rule’s requirements, staff believe those
expenses are also included in (or, if
contracted out, would be comparable to)
the burden hours and estimated annual
5 Since 2002, the number of registered 900
numbers has decreased by approximately 35%.
Accordingly, the FTC staff reduced its estimate of
the number of affected information vendors by
35%. The staff reduced its estimate of the number
of affected billing entities by only 15%, however,
because (1) billing statement disclosures are used
for all telephone-billed purchases and not
exclusively pay-per-call services and (2) because of
a recent increase in the direct billing of such
services. The staff reduced its estimate of affected
common carriers by more than half because of the
35% decrease in pay-per-call services as well as the
infrequency with which the FTC has sought the
subject information from common carriers in the
past. The FTC seeks public comment or data on
these estimates.
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burden estimates provided below
(where such expenses are labor-related),
or are otherwise included in the
ordinary cost of doing business (where
the expenses are other than laborrelated).
Reporting requirement: The Rule
provides that common carriers must
make available to the Commission, upon
written request, any records and
financial information maintained by
such carrier relating to the arrangements
between the carrier and any vendor or
service bureau. See proposed
§ 308.19(a); current § 308.6. FTC staff is
reducing the estimated annual cost of
this requirement by more than half
because of the infrequency with which
the Commission has sought the subject
information from common carriers and
because of a decrease in the use of payper-call services. Accordingly, the
previous estimated hours burden for
this reporting requirement (i.e., to
provide certain information to the
Commission upon request), 147 hours
annually (based on 29 common carriers
each spending 5 hours annually), is
being reduced to 70 hours annually
(based on 14 common carriers each
spending 5 hours annually), at a
blended wage rate of $73.50/hour (30
percent computer programming, 20
percent attorney services, 30 percent
skilled clerical workers, 20 percent for
management time) for a total annual
cost of $5,145.
Disclosure requirements: (1)
Advertising. The advertising disclosure
requirements of the current Rule would
be consolidated into §§ 308.3, 308.4 and
308.7 of the Rule, as amended. FTC staff
estimates that the annual burden on the
industry for these requirements is
84,084 hours. Due to a recent reduction
in the use of pay-per-call services, this
figure reflects a 35% reduction from the
staff’s 2002 estimate of 129,360 burden
hours. The estimate reflects the burden
on approximately 15,571 vendors who
must make additional disclosures if the
advertisement is directed to individuals
under 18 (50 percent of the ads) or
relates to certain pay-per-call services
(30 percent of the ads). The total
estimated annual cost of these burden
hours is $6,054,048 using a blended
wage rate of $72/hour (20 percent
attorney services, 60 percent skilled
clerical workers, and 20 percent for
management time).
Two proposed amendments,
§§ 308.4(a)(1)(iii)(B) and 308.6(b),6
would add 20,639 annual burden hours
to the total, or a total annual cost of
6 The PRA discussion in the NPRM erroneously
referred to this provision as ‘‘308.7(b).’’ See 63 FR
at 58556.
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$1,486,008 using the $72/hour blended
wage rate discussed above. The first of
these amendments, requiring
disclosures when a call is billed on a
variable time rate basis, assumes that 20
percent of the estimated 45,864
advertised pay-per-call services would
need to contain such a disclosure,
thereby accounting for 9,173 burden
hours at an annual cost of $660,456. The
burden associated with the second
amendment, requiring an audio signal to
indicate (i.e., disclose) the end of free
time used to advertise certain pay-percall services, is estimated at 11,466
burden hours, assuming this
requirement applies to 25 percent of
advertised pay-per-call services, or an
annual cost of $825,552.
(2) Preamble. The Rule’s existing
preamble disclosure requirement, set
forth in § 308.9, imposes an estimated
burden of 10 hours annually per service,
for an annual burden of 458,640 burden
hours based on 45,864 advertised payper-call services. The cost associated
with these burden hours is $33,022,080,
using a blended wage rate of $72/hour
(i.e., similar to the blended rate used for
advertising disclosures). As explained
in the NPRM, the estimated burden of
a proposed amendment requiring
additional disclosures,
§ 308.9(a)(2)(iii)(B), is one additional
hour for approximately 30 percent of the
advertised pay-per-call services, or an
estimated 13,759 burden hours at $72/
hour, for a total annual cost of $990,648.
(3) Telephone-billed charges in billing
statements. This requirement is
currently set forth in § 308.5(j) of the
Rule, which the Commission has
proposed to redesignate and incorporate
into § 308.18, as amended. The blended
rate used to calculate the cost of these
disclosures is $61.75/hour (15 percent
attorney services, 40 percent skilled
clerical workers, 25 percent computer
programming, and 20 percent for
management time). The estimated
annual burden of this disclosure
requirement is 23,990 hours (i.e., 10
percent of 19,992 vendors making spot
checks at 12 hours per spot check), with
an annual cost of $1,481,382.50. As
explained in the NPRM, no additional
burden is anticipated from any
proposed amendments of this
requirement.
(4) Dispute resolution procedures in
billing statements. This disclosure
requirement is currently set forth in
§ 308.7(c), to be redesignated § 308.20,
as amended. The blended rate being
used for these disclosures is $51/hour
(40 percent computer programming, 10
percent attorney services, 30 percent
skilled clerical workers, and 20 percent
for management time). The estimated
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hour burden for the annual notice
component of this requirement is 7,000
burden hours (based on 1,400 billing
entities taking 5 hours to review, revise
and provide disclosures annually), or a
total cost of $357,000. An additional
2,499,000 burden hours would be
associated with specific notices in those
cases where a customer reports a billing
error (i.e., 5 percent of approximately
49,980,000 calls), or $127,449,000
annually. The additional burden hours
for proposed amendments to § 308.2(i)
and (j), requiring new disclosures of
certain information regarding personal
identification numbers issued to
customers for access and billing
purposes, have been estimated at 44,625
hours or an annual cost of $2,275,875
(44,625 audiotext services spending one
burden hour each). The additional
burden hours for proposed amendments
to require certain new disclosures in
connection with billing dispute
resolution, § 308.20(n)(2) and
§ 308.20(n)(4), would entail 1,249,500
hours for an annual cost of $63,724,500
(5 percent of approximately 49,980,000
calls require responses to billing errors;
30 minutes of time per call required to
comply with both disclosure
requirements).
William Blumenthal,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 06–1649 Filed 2–21–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Office of the Secretary
[Document Identifier: OS–0990–0129] [30day notice]
Agency Information Collection
Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request
Office of the Secretary, HHS.
In compliance with the requirement
of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the
Office of the Secretary (OS), Department
of Health and Human Services, is
publishing the following summary of a
proposed collection for public
comment. Interested persons are invited
to send comments regarding this burden
estimate or any other aspect of this
collection of information, including any
of the following subjects: (1) The
necessity and utility of the proposed
information collection for the proper
performance of the agency’s functions;
(2) the accuracy of the estimated
burden; (3) ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to
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AGENCY:
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be collected; and (4) the use of
automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology to
minimize the information collection
burden.
Type of Information Collection
Request: Regular Clearance, Extension
of a currently approved collection;
Title of Information Collection: HHS
Acquisition Regulation HHSAR Part
370, Special Programs Affecting
Acquisition
Form/OMB No.: OS–0990–0129;
Use: This request for clearance covers
the requirement of the Accessibility of
Meetings, Conferences, and Seminars to
Persons with Disabilities clause. It is the
policy at the Health and Human
Services, as a result of a Secretarial
initiative, that all meetings, conferences,
and seminar sites be accessible to
individuals with disabilities.
Frequency: Recordkeeping, Reporting,
on occasion;
Affected Public: Business or other forprofit, not-for-profit institutions, and
Federal government;
Annual Number of Respondents:
1,242.
Total Annual Responses: 1,420;
Average Burden per Response: 2
hours;
Total Annual Hours: 10,556;
To obtain copies of the supporting
statement and any related forms for the
proposed paperwork collections
referenced above, access the HHS Web
site address at https://www.hhs.gov/ocio/
infocollect/pending/ or e-mail your
request, including your address, phone
number, OMB number, and OS
document identifier, to
naomi.cook@hhs.gov, or call the Reports
Clearance Office on (202) 690–6162.
Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collections must be
received within 30 days of this notice
directly to the Desk Officer at the
address below: OMB Desk Officer: John
Kraemer, OMB Human Resources and
Housing Branch, Attention: (OMB 0990–
0129), New Executive Office Building,
Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503.
Dated: February 10, 2006.
Robert E. Polson,
Office of the Secretary, Paperwork Reduction
Act Reports Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. E6–2462 Filed 2–21–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4151–17–P
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9131
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Office of the Secretary
[Document Identifier: OS–0990–0130] [60day notice]
Agency Information Collection
Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request
Office of the Secretary, HHS.
In compliance with the requirement
of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the
Office of the Secretary (OS), Department
of Health and Human Services, is
publishing the following summary of a
proposed collection for public
comment. Interested persons are invited
to send comments regarding this burden
estimate or any other aspect of this
collection of information, including any
of the following subjects: (1) The
necessity and utility of the proposed
information collection for the proper
performance of the agency’s functions;
(2) the accuracy of the estimated
burden; (3) ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and (4) the use of
automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology to
minimize the information collection
burden.
Type of Information Collection
Request: Regular Clearance, Extension
of a currently approved collection;
Title of Information Collection: HHS
Acquisition Regulation HHSAR Part
352, Solicitation Provisions and
Contract Clauses
Form/OMB No.: OS–0990–0130;
Use: This request for clearance covers
the Key Personnel clause in HHSAR
352.270–5. This clause requires
contractors to obtain approval before
substituting key personnel which are
specified in the contract.
Frequency: Reporting, on occasion;
Affected Public: Business or other forprofit, not-for-profit institutions, and
Federal government;
Annual Number of Respondents:
1,921.
Total Annual Responses: 1,921;
Average Burden per Response: 8
hours;
Total Annual Hours: 3,842;
To obtain copies of the supporting
statement and any related forms for the
proposed paperwork collections
referenced above, access the HHS Web
site address at https://www.hhs.gov/ocio/
infocollect/pending/ or e-mail your
request, including your address, phone
number, OMB number, and OS
document identifier, to
naomi.cook@hhs.gov, or call the Reports
AGENCY:
E:\FR\FM\22FEN1.SGM
22FEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 35 (Wednesday, February 22, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9128-9131]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-1649]
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection;
Comment Request; Extension
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'').
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The FTC has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget
(``OMB'') for review under the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501-
3520 (``PRA'') information collection requirements contained in its
proposed revision of the Pay-Per-Call Rule (``Rule'').\1\ The FTC is
seeking
[[Page 9129]]
public comments on the proposal to extend through December 31, 2009 the
current PRA clearance. That clearance expires on February 28, 2006.
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\1\ The FTC is seeking an extension of approval for the Rule's
existing requirements and for the proposed amendments in advance of
their adoption.
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DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before March 24, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments.
Comments should refer to ``Pay-Per-Call Rule: FTC File No. R611016'' 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, with two complete copies, to the
following address: Federal Trade Commission, Room H 135 (Annex J), 600
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20580. Because paper mail in the
Washington area and at the Commission is subject to delay, please
consider submitting your comments in electronic form, (in ASCII format,
WordPerfect, or Microsoft Word) as part of or as an attachment to e-
mail messages directed to the following e-mail box:
paperworkcomment@ftc.gov. However, if 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.'' \2\
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\2\ Commission 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 Commission Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).
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All comments should additionally 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. All timely and responsive public comments will be
considered by the Commission and will be available to the public on the
FTC Web site, to the extent practicable, at https://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 Web site. More information, including
routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, may be found in the FTC's
privacy policy at https://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or
copies of the proposed information requirements should be sent to
Elizabeth Hone, Attorney, Division of Marketing Practices, Bureau of
Consumer Protection, FTC, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC
20580, (202) 326-3207.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 30, 1998, the Commission
published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (``NPRM''), 63 FR 58524, to
amend its Pay-Per-Call Rule 16 CFR part 308.\3\ The Rule, which
implements Titles II and III of the Telephone Disclosure and Dispute
Resolution Act, 15 U.S.C. 5711-14, 5721-24, requires the disclosure of
cost and other information with regard to pay-per-call services and
establishes dispute resolution procedures for telephone-billed
purchases (i.e., charges for pay-per-call services or other charges
appearing on a telephone bill other than telecommunications charges).
As explained in the NPRM, the Rule contains certain reporting and
disclosure requirements that are subject to OMB review under the
PRA.\4\ Accordingly, the FTC submitted the Rule with proposed
amendments to OMB (see 64 FR 70031, Dec. 15, 1999) for its approval,
which was granted until December 31, 2002 (OMB control number 3084-
0102). Upon expiration of OMB's approval, the FTC again submitted these
information collection requirements for an extension of the clearance
(see 67 FR 77066, Dec. 16, 2002), including the proposed revisions of
these requirements, which was granted through February 28, 2006. At
this time, because the Commission has not yet adopted the proposed rule
changes, the FTC is requesting an extension of the clearance for the
Rule and the proposed rule changes through February 28, 2009.
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\3\ The Rule was originally promulgated as the ``Trade
Regulation Rule Pursuant to the Telephone Disclosure and Dispute
Resolution Act of 1992'' and was known as the ``900-Number Rule.''
In its NPRM, the Commission refers to the Rule as the ``Trade
Regulation Rule Concerning Pay-Per-Call Services and Other
Telephone-Billed Purchases'' and in this document it will be
referred to as the ``Pay-Per-Call Rule.''
\4\ Neither the Rule nor the proposed amendments contain any
recordkeeping requirements that would be subject to the PRA.
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As required by the PRA, the Commission's NPRM, 63 FR at 58556-57,
invited public comment on the Rule's information collection
requirements and proposed amendments prior to submission to OMB. The
Commission received no comments directly responding to the Commission's
specific PRA questions. However, the Commission received one comment,
from US West, Inc., stating that its current cost for making an annual
disclosure of dispute resolution procedures under the Rule was $53,000
and that this annual cost would increase to $819,000 if the disclosures
were required with every billing cycle under a proposed amendment to
Sec. 308.20(m)(1). The FTC staff is considering this comment and
others (available on the FTC's Web site, http: //www.ftc.gov) in
determining whether to recommend the adoption of some or all of the
proposed amendments.
Pursuant to the OMB regulations that implement the PRA (5 CFR Part
1320), the FTC is providing this opportunity for public comment while
seeking OMB approval to extend the existing paperwork clearance for the
Rule. All comments should be filed as prescribed in the ADDRESSES
section above, and must be received on or before March 24, 2006.
Brief description of the need for and proposed use of the
information: The reporting and disclosure requirements are mandated by
statute to help prevent unfair and deceptive acts and practices in the
advertising and operation of pay-per-call services and in the
collection of charges for telephone-billed purchases. The information
obtained by the Commission pursuant to the reporting requirement is
used for law enforcement purposes. The disclosure requirements ensure
that consumers are adequately informed of the costs they can expect to
incur in using a pay-per-call service, that they will not be liable for
unauthorized non-toll charges on their telephone bills, and that they
have certain dispute resolution rights and obligations with respect to
such telephone-billed purchases.
Likely respondents, including estimated number and proposed
frequency of response: Respondents are: telecommunications common
carriers (subject to the reporting requirement only, unless acting as a
billing entity); information providers (vendors) offering one or more
pay-per-call services or programs; and billing entities. In its
submission in 2002, the FTC staff estimated that it would request
information pursuant to the reporting requirement from no more than
approximately 29 common carriers per year, and that the disclosure
requirements would apply to 23,250 information vendors and 1646 billing
entities. See 67 FR 77,066-68 (Dec. 16, 2002). In the present
submission, the
[[Page 9130]]
FTC staff is decreasing its burden estimates to account for changes in
the industry since 2002.\5\
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\5\ Since 2002, the number of registered 900 numbers has
decreased by approximately 35%. Accordingly, the FTC staff reduced
its estimate of the number of affected information vendors by 35%.
The staff reduced its estimate of the number of affected billing
entities by only 15%, however, because (1) billing statement
disclosures are used for all telephone-billed purchases and not
exclusively pay-per-call services and (2) because of a recent
increase in the direct billing of such services. The staff reduced
its estimate of affected common carriers by more than half because
of the 35% decrease in pay-per-call services as well as the
infrequency with which the FTC has sought the subject information
from common carriers in the past. The FTC seeks public comment or
data on these estimates.
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Estimated annual reporting and disclosure burden: The total
estimated annual hours burden of the information collection
requirements of the Rule, including the proposed amendments, is
4,401,000 (rounded to the nearest thousand). This burden consists
entirely of reporting and disclosure requirements; as explained earlier
(n. 4), there are no recordkeeping requirements. As detailed below, the
burden hour estimate for each reporting and disclosure requirement has
been multiplied by a ``blended'' wage rate (expressed in dollars per
hour), based on the particular skill mix needed to carry out that
requirement, to determine the total annual cost of that requirement.
The blended rate calculations are based on the following skill
categories and average wage rates: $250/hour for professional
(attorney) services; $20/hour for skilled clerical workers; $25/hour
for computer programmers; and $50/hour for management time. Annual
burden hour estimates (and the estimated total cost of those hours)
have been provided below.
The burden estimates do not contain a separate set of figures for
other annual ``cost'' burdens, if any--i.e., (a) capital and start-up
costs or (b) operation, maintenance and purchase of outside services
not already reflected in the above burden hour estimates and associated
annual costs. Capital or start-up costs are generally subsumed in
activities otherwise undertaken in the ordinary course of business
(e.g., business records from which only existing information must be
reported to the Commission, pay-per-call advertisements or audiotexts
to which cost or other disclosures are added, etc.). To the extent that
entities incur operating or maintenance expenses, or purchase outside
services to satisfy the Rule's requirements, staff believe those
expenses are also included in (or, if contracted out, would be
comparable to) the burden hours and estimated annual burden estimates
provided below (where such expenses are labor-related), or are
otherwise included in the ordinary cost of doing business (where the
expenses are other than labor-related).
Reporting requirement: The Rule provides that common carriers must
make available to the Commission, upon written request, any records and
financial information maintained by such carrier relating to the
arrangements between the carrier and any vendor or service bureau. See
proposed Sec. 308.19(a); current Sec. 308.6. FTC staff is reducing
the estimated annual cost of this requirement by more than half because
of the infrequency with which the Commission has sought the subject
information from common carriers and because of a decrease in the use
of pay-per-call services. Accordingly, the previous estimated hours
burden for this reporting requirement (i.e., to provide certain
information to the Commission upon request), 147 hours annually (based
on 29 common carriers each spending 5 hours annually), is being reduced
to 70 hours annually (based on 14 common carriers each spending 5 hours
annually), at a blended wage rate of $73.50/hour (30 percent computer
programming, 20 percent attorney services, 30 percent skilled clerical
workers, 20 percent for management time) for a total annual cost of
$5,145.
Disclosure requirements: (1) Advertising. The advertising
disclosure requirements of the current Rule would be consolidated into
Sec. Sec. 308.3, 308.4 and 308.7 of the Rule, as amended. FTC staff
estimates that the annual burden on the industry for these requirements
is 84,084 hours. Due to a recent reduction in the use of pay-per-call
services, this figure reflects a 35% reduction from the staff's 2002
estimate of 129,360 burden hours. The estimate reflects the burden on
approximately 15,571 vendors who must make additional disclosures if
the advertisement is directed to individuals under 18 (50 percent of
the ads) or relates to certain pay-per-call services (30 percent of the
ads). The total estimated annual cost of these burden hours is
$6,054,048 using a blended wage rate of $72/hour (20 percent attorney
services, 60 percent skilled clerical workers, and 20 percent for
management time).
Two proposed amendments, Sec. Sec. 308.4(a)(1)(iii)(B) and
308.6(b),\6\ would add 20,639 annual burden hours to the total, or a
total annual cost of $1,486,008 using the $72/hour blended wage rate
discussed above. The first of these amendments, requiring disclosures
when a call is billed on a variable time rate basis, assumes that 20
percent of the estimated 45,864 advertised pay-per-call services would
need to contain such a disclosure, thereby accounting for 9,173 burden
hours at an annual cost of $660,456. The burden associated with the
second amendment, requiring an audio signal to indicate (i.e.,
disclose) the end of free time used to advertise certain pay-per-call
services, is estimated at 11,466 burden hours, assuming this
requirement applies to 25 percent of advertised pay-per-call services,
or an annual cost of $825,552.
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\6\ The PRA discussion in the NPRM erroneously referred to this
provision as ``308.7(b).'' See 63 FR at 58556.
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(2) Preamble. The Rule's existing preamble disclosure requirement,
set forth in Sec. 308.9, imposes an estimated burden of 10 hours
annually per service, for an annual burden of 458,640 burden hours
based on 45,864 advertised pay-per-call services. The cost associated
with these burden hours is $33,022,080, using a blended wage rate of
$72/hour (i.e., similar to the blended rate used for advertising
disclosures). As explained in the NPRM, the estimated burden of a
proposed amendment requiring additional disclosures, Sec.
308.9(a)(2)(iii)(B), is one additional hour for approximately 30
percent of the advertised pay-per-call services, or an estimated 13,759
burden hours at $72/hour, for a total annual cost of $990,648.
(3) Telephone-billed charges in billing statements. This
requirement is currently set forth in Sec. 308.5(j) of the Rule, which
the Commission has proposed to redesignate and incorporate into Sec.
308.18, as amended. The blended rate used to calculate the cost of
these disclosures is $61.75/hour (15 percent attorney services, 40
percent skilled clerical workers, 25 percent computer programming, and
20 percent for management time). The estimated annual burden of this
disclosure requirement is 23,990 hours (i.e., 10 percent of 19,992
vendors making spot checks at 12 hours per spot check), with an annual
cost of $1,481,382.50. As explained in the NPRM, no additional burden
is anticipated from any proposed amendments of this requirement.
(4) Dispute resolution procedures in billing statements. This
disclosure requirement is currently set forth in Sec. 308.7(c), to be
redesignated Sec. 308.20, as amended. The blended rate being used for
these disclosures is $51/hour (40 percent computer programming, 10
percent attorney services, 30 percent skilled clerical workers, and 20
percent for management time). The estimated
[[Page 9131]]
hour burden for the annual notice component of this requirement is
7,000 burden hours (based on 1,400 billing entities taking 5 hours to
review, revise and provide disclosures annually), or a total cost of
$357,000. An additional 2,499,000 burden hours would be associated with
specific notices in those cases where a customer reports a billing
error (i.e., 5 percent of approximately 49,980,000 calls), or
$127,449,000 annually. The additional burden hours for proposed
amendments to Sec. 308.2(i) and (j), requiring new disclosures of
certain information regarding personal identification numbers issued to
customers for access and billing purposes, have been estimated at
44,625 hours or an annual cost of $2,275,875 (44,625 audiotext services
spending one burden hour each). The additional burden hours for
proposed amendments to require certain new disclosures in connection
with billing dispute resolution, Sec. 308.20(n)(2) and Sec.
308.20(n)(4), would entail 1,249,500 hours for an annual cost of
$63,724,500 (5 percent of approximately 49,980,000 calls require
responses to billing errors; 30 minutes of time per call required to
comply with both disclosure requirements).
William Blumenthal,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 06-1649 Filed 2-21-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P
