Telemarketing Sales Rule Fees, 25512-25516 [E6-6507]

Agencies

• FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 83 (Monday, May 1, 2006)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 25512-25516]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-6507]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

16 CFR Part 310

RIN 3084-0098


Telemarketing Sales Rule Fees

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking; request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission (the ``Commission'' or ``FTC'') 
is issuing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (``NPRM'') to amend the 
Telemarketing Sales Rule (``TSR'') to revise the fees charged to 
entities accessing the National Do Not Call Registry, and invites 
written comments on the issues raised by the proposed changes.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before June 1, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments. 
Comments should refer to ``TSR Fee Rule, Project No. P034305,'' 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/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. Moreover, because paper mail in 
the Washington area and at the Commission is subject to delay, please 
consider submitting your comments in electronic form, as prescribed 
below. Comments containing confidential material, however, must be 
filed in paper form, must be clearly labeled ``Confidential,'' and must 
comply with Commission Rule 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 Commission Rule 4.9(c), 
16 CFR 4.9(c).
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    Comments filed in electronic form should be submitted by clicking 
on the following weblink: https://secure.commentworks.com/ftc-
dncfees2006 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 https://secure.commentworks.com/
ftc-dncfees2006 weblink. If this notice appears at https://
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. You may also visit the FTC Web site at 
https://www.ftc.gov/opa/2006/04/dncfees2006.htm to read the Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking and the news release describing this proposed Rule.
    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, whether filed 
in paper or electronic form, will be considered by the Commission, and 
will be available to the public on the FTC

[[Page 25513]]

Web site, to the extent practicable, at https://www.ftc.gov/os/
publiccomments.htm. 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: John A. Krebs, (202) 326-3747, 
Division of Planning & Information, Bureau of Consumer Protection, 
Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 
20580.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On December 18, 2002, the Commission issued final amendments to the 
Telemarketing Sales Rule, which, inter alia, established the National 
Do Not Call Registry, permitting consumers to register, via either a 
toll-free telephone number or the Internet, their preference not to 
receive certain telemarketing calls (``Amended TSR'').\2\ Under the 
Amended TSR, most telemarketers are required to refrain from calling 
consumers who have placed their numbers on the registry.\3\ 
Telemarketers must periodically access the registry to remove from 
their telemarketing lists the telephone numbers of those consumers who 
have registered.\4\
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    \2\ 68 FR 4580 (Jan. 29, 2003).
    \3\ 16 CFR 310.4(b)(1)(iii)(B).
    \4\ 16 CFR 310.4(b)(3)(iv). The Commission recently amended the 
TSR to requires telemarketers to access the National Registry at 
least once every 31 days, effective January 1, 2005. See 69 FR 16368 
(Mar. 29, 2004).
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    Shortly after issuance of the Amended TSR, Congress passed The Do-
Not-Call Implementation Act (``the Implementation Act'').\5\ The 
Implementation Act gave the Commission the specific authority to 
``promulgate regulations establishing fees sufficient to implement and 
enforce the provisions relating to the `do-not-call' registry of the 
[TSR] * * * No amounts shall be collected as fees pursuant to this 
section for such fiscal years except to the extent provided in advance 
in appropriations Acts. Such amounts shall be available * * * to offset 
the costs of activities and services related to the implementation and 
enforcement of the [TSR], and other activities resulting from such 
implementation and enforcement.'' \6\
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    \5\ Pub. L. 108-10, 117 Stat. 557 (2003).
    \6\ Id.
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    On July 29, 2003, pursuant to the Implementation Act and the 
Consolidated Appropriations Resolution, 2003,\7\ the Commission issued 
a Final Rule further amending the TSR to impose fees on entities 
accessing the National Do Not Call Registry (``the Original Fee 
Rule'').\8\ Those fees were based on the FTC's best estimate of the 
number of entities that would be required to pay for access to the 
National Registry, and the need to raise $18.1 million in Fiscal Year 
2003 to cover the costs associated with the implementation and 
enforcement of the ``do-not-call'' provisions of the Amended TSR. The 
Commission determined that the fee structure would be based on the 
number of different area codes of data that an entity wished to access 
annually. The Original Fee Rule established an annual fee of $25 for 
each area code of data requested from the National Registry, with the 
first five area codes of data provided at no cost.\9\ The maximum 
annual fee was capped at $7,375 for entities accessing 300 area codes 
of data or more.\10\ On July 30, 2004, pursuant to the Implementation 
Act and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2004,\11\ the Commission 
issued a revised Final Rule further amending the TSR and increasing 
fees on entities accessing the National Do Not Call Registry (``the 
2004 Fee Rule'').\12\ Those fees were based on the FTC's experience 
through June 1, 2004, its best estimate of the number of entities that 
would be required to pay for access to the National Registry, and the 
need to raise $18 million in Fiscal Year 2004 to cover the costs 
associated with the implementation and enforcement of the ``do-not-
call'' provisions of the Amended TSR. The Commission determined that 
the fee structure would continue to be based on the number of different 
area codes of data that an entity wished to access annually. The 2004 
Fee Rule established an annual fee of $40 for each area code of data 
requested from the National Registry, with the first five area codes of 
data provided at no cost.\13\ The maximum annual fee was capped at 
$11,000 for entities accessing 280 area codes of data or more.\14\
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    \7\ Pub. L. 108-7, 117 Stat. 11 (2003).
    \8\ 68 FR 45134 (July 31, 2003).
    \9\ Once an entity requested access to area codes of data in the 
National Registry, it could access those area codes as often as it 
deemed appropriate for one year (defined as its ``annual period''). 
If, during the course of its annual period, an entity needed to 
access data from more area codes than those initially selected, it 
would be required to pay for access to those additional area codes. 
For purposes of these additional payments, the annual period was 
divided into two semi-annual periods of six-months each. Obtaining 
additional data from the registry during the first semi-annual, six 
month period required a payment of $25 for each new area code. 
During the second semi-annual, six-month period, the charge for 
obtaining data from each new area code requested during that six-
month period was $15. These payments would provide the entity access 
to those additional area codes of data for the remainder of its 
annual period.
    \10\ 68 FR at 45141.
    \11\ Pub. L. 108-199, 118 Stat. 3 (2004).
    \12\ 69 FR 45580 (July 30, 2004).
    \13\ Id. at 45584. The 2004 Fee Rule had the same fee structure 
as the Original Fee Rule. However, fees were increased from $25 to 
$40 per area code for the annual period and from $15 to $20 per area 
code for the second six-month period.
    \14\ Id.
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    On July 27, 2005, pursuant to the Implementation Act and the 
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005,\15\ the Commission issued a 
revised Final Rule further amending the TSR and increasing fees on 
entities accessing the National Do Not Call Registry (``the 2005 Fee 
Rule'').\16\ These fees were based on the FTC's experience through June 
1, 2005, its best estimate of the number of entities that would be 
required to pay for access to the National Registry, and the need to 
raise $21.9 million in Fiscal Year 2005 to cover the costs associated 
with the implementation and enforcement of the ``do-not-call'' 
provisions of the Amended TSR. The Commission again determined that the 
fee structure would be based on the number of different area codes of 
data that an entity wished to access annually. The 2005 Fee Rule 
established an annual fee of $56 for each area code of data requested 
from the National Registry, with the first five area codes of data 
provided at no cost.\17\ The maximum annual fee was capped at $15,400 
for entities accessing 280 area codes of data or more.\18\
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    \15\ Pub. L. 108-447, 118 Stat. 2809 (2004).
    \16\ 70 FR 43273 (July 27, 2005).
    \17\ Id. at 43275. The 2005 Fee Rule had the same fee structure 
as the 2004 Fee Rule, except that the fees were increased from $40 
to $56 per area code for the annual period and from $20 to $28 per 
area code for the second six-month period.
    \18\ Id.
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    In the Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and Related Agencies 
Appropriations Act, 2006 (``the 2006 Appropriations Act''),\19\ 
Congress directed the FTC to collect offsetting fees in the amount of 
$23 million in Fiscal Year 2006 to implement and enforce the TSR.\20\ 
Pursuant to the 2006 Appropriations Act and the Implementation Act, as 
well as the Telemarketing Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act (``the 
Telemarketing Act''),\21\ the FTC is issuing this NPRM to amend the 
fees charged to entities

[[Page 25514]]

accessing the National Do Not Call Registry.
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    \19\ Pub. L. 109-108, 119 Stat. 2290 (2005).
    \20\ Id. at 2330.
    \21\ 15 U.S.C. 6101-08.
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II. Calculation of Proposed Revised Fees

    In the Original Fee Rule, the Commission estimated that 10,000 
entities would be required to pay for access to the National Do Not 
Call Registry. The Commission based its estimate on the ``best 
information available to the agency'' at that time.\22\ It noted that 
this estimate was based on ``a number of significant assumptions,'' 
about which the Commission had sought additional information during the 
comment period. The Commission noted, however, that it received 
virtually no comments providing information supporting or challenging 
these assumptions.\23\ As a result, the Commission anticipated ``that 
these fees may need to be reexamined periodically and adjusted, in 
future rulemaking proceedings, to reflect actual experience with 
operating the registry.'' \24\
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    \22\ 68 FR at 45140.
    \23\ Id.
    \24\ Id. at 45142.
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    In the 2004 Fee Rule, the Commission reported that ``[a]s of June 
1, 2004, more than 65,000 entities had accessed the national registry. 
More than 57,000 of those entities had accessed five or fewer area 
codes of data at no charge, and 1,100 `exempt' entities also accessed 
the registry at no charge. Thus, more than 7,100 entities have paid for 
access to the registry, with over 1,200 entities paying for access to 
the entire registry.'' 25 The Commission based its 
calculation of revised fees on this experience, with the expectation 
that the number of entities accessing the registry in Fiscal Year 2004 
would be substantially the same as in Fiscal Year 2003. As in the 
Original Fee Rule, the Commission based its estimate on the best 
information available at the time, with the continuing intent to 
periodically reexamine and adjust the fees to reflect actual experience 
with operating the registry.
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    \25\ 69 FR at 45584.
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    In the 2005 Fee Rule, the Commission reported that from March 1, 
2004 through February 28, 2005,26 ``more than 60,800 
entities have accessed all or part of the information in the registry. 
Approximately 1,300 of these entities are `exempt' and therefore have 
accessed the registry at no charge. An additional 52,700 entities have 
accessed five or fewer area codes of data, also at no charge. As a 
result, approximately 6,700 entities have paid for access to the 
registry, with slightly less than 1,100 entities paying for access to 
the entire registry.'' 27
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    \26\ The Commission noted that ``[a]s of June 1, 2005, there 
[had] been no significant or material changes in the number of 
entities that have accessed the registry since the Commission issued 
2005 Fee Rule NPR.'' 70 FR at 43279.
    \27\ 79 FR at 43279 n. 81.
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    From March 1, 2005 to February 28, 2006, slightly less than 66,200 
entities have accessed all or part of the information in the registry. 
Approximately 1,300 of these entities are ``exempt'' and therefore have 
accessed the registry at no charge.28 An additional 58,300 
entities have accessed five or fewer area codes of data, also at no 
charge. As a result, approximately 6,500 entities have paid for access 
to the registry, with slightly less than 1,000 entities paying for 
access to the entire registry.
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    \28\ The 2005 Fee Rule, the 2004 Fee Rule, and the Original Fee 
Rule stated that ``there shall be no charge to any person engaging 
in or causing others to engage in outbound telephone calls to 
consumers and who is accessing the National Do Not Call Registry 
without being required to under this Rule, 47 CFR 64.1200, or any 
other federal law.'' 16 CFR 310.8(c). Such ``exempt'' organizations 
include entities that engage in outbound telephone calls to 
consumers to induce charitable contributions, for political fund 
raising, or to conduct surveys. They also include entities engaged 
solely in calls to persons with whom they have an established 
business relationship or from whom they have obtained express 
written agreement to call, pursuant to 16 CFR 310.4(b)(1)(iii)(B)(i) 
or (ii), and who do not access the National Registry for any other 
purpose. See 70 FR at 43275; 69 FR at 45585-6; and 68 FR at 45144.
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    As previously stated, the 2006 Appropriations Act directs the 
Commission to collect offsetting fees in Fiscal Year 2006 to implement 
and enforce the Amended TSR.29 The Commission is proposing a 
revised Fee Rule to raise $23 million of fees to offset costs it 
expects to incur in this Fiscal Year for the following purposes related 
to implementing and enforcing the Amended TSR. First, funds are 
required to operate the National Registry. This includes items such as 
handling consumer registration and complaints, telemarketer access to 
the registry, state access to the registry, and the management and 
operation of law enforcement access to appropriate 
information.30 Second, funds are required for law 
enforcement efforts, including identifying targets, coordinating 
domestic and international initiatives, challenging alleged violators, 
and consumer and business education efforts, which are critical to 
securing compliance with the Amended TSR. These law enforcement efforts 
are a significant component of the total costs, given the large number 
of ongoing investigations currently being conducted by the agency, and 
the substantial effort necessary to complete such investigations. 
Third, funds are required to cover ongoing agency infrastructure and 
administration costs associated with the operation and enforcement of 
the registry, including information technology structural supports and 
distributed mission overhead support costs for staff and non-personnel 
expenses such as office space, utilities, and supplies.
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    \29\ 2004 $23.1 See 119 Stat. at 2330. This $23.1 million 
includes collections of $5.1 million from the Fiscal Year 2003 
Original Fee Rule that were actually collected in Fiscal Year 2004 
and $18 million to be raised from this year's Amended Fee Rule.
    \30\ From March 2005 to February 2006, approximately 51 million 
phone numbers were added to the National Registry, with a total 
since inception of approximately 121 million registrations. Since 
inception, the registry has also handled many requests from 
organizations wishing to access the registry (e.g. telemarketers, 
states, and law enforcers), including hundreds of thousands of 
subscription requests, and millions of area code access requests 
(including downloads and interactive search requests).
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    The Commission proposes to revise the fees charged for access to 
the National Registry based on the assumption that approximately the 
same number of entities will access similar amounts of data from the 
National Registry during their next annual period.31 Based 
on that assumption, and the continued allowance for free access to 
``exempt'' organizations and for the first five area codes of data, the 
proposed revised fee would be $62 per area code. The maximum amount 
that would be charged to any single entity would be $17,050, which 
would be charged to any entity accessing 280 area codes of data or 
more. The fee charged to entities requesting access to additional area 
codes of data during the second six months of their annual period would 
be $31.
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    \31\ Telemarketers were first able to access the National 
Registry on September 2, 2003. As a result, the first year of 
operation did will not conclude until August 31, 2004 and the second 
year of operation did not end until August 31, 2005. Similarly, the 
third year of operation will not end until August 31, 2006. The 
Commission realizes that a small number of additional entities may 
access the National Registry for the first time prior to September 
1, 20062004, and should be considered in calculating the revised 
fees. In this regard, the Commission will adjust the assumptions to 
reflect the actual number of entities that have accessed the 
registry, and make the appropriate changes to the fees, at the time 
of issuance of the Final Rule.
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    The Commission proposes to continue allowing all entities accessing 
the National Registry to obtain the first five area codes of data for 
free.32 The

[[Page 25515]]

Commission allowed such free access in the Original Fee Rule, the 2004 
Fee Rule, and the 2005 Fee Rule, ``to limit the burden placed on small 
businesses that only require access to a small portion of the national 
registry.'' 33 The Commission noted that such a fee 
structure was consistent with the mandate of the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act,34 which requires that to the extent, if any, a rule is 
expected to have a significant economic impact on a substantial number 
of small entities, agencies should consider regulatory alternatives to 
minimize such impact. As stated in the prior fee rules, ``the 
Commission continues to believe that providing access to five area 
codes of data for free is an appropriate compromise between the goals 
of equitably and adequately funding the national registry, on one hand, 
and providing appropriate relief for small businesses, on the other.'' 
35 In addition, requiring over 58,000 entities to pay a 
small fee for access to five or fewer area codes from the National 
Registry would place a significant burden on the registry, requiring 
the expenditure of even more resources to handle properly that 
additional traffic. Nonetheless, the Commission continues to seek 
comment on this issue.
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    \32\ If all entities accessing the National Registry were 
charged for the first five area codes of data, the cost per area 
code would be reduced to $38$32, while the maximum amount charged to 
access the entire National Registry would be $10,640$8960. These 
hypothetical fee rates are based on the assumption that the same 
number of entities would pay to access the same number of area codes 
they currently access for free.
    \33\ See 68 FR at 45140; 69 FR at 45582; and 70 FR at 43275.
    \34\ 5 U.S.C. 601.
    \35\ See 68 FR at 45141; 69 FR at 45584; and 70 FR at 43275-6.
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    The Commission also proposes to continue allowing ``exempt'' 
organizations, as discussed in footnote 28, above, to obtain free 
access to the National Registry. The Commission believes that any 
exempt entity, voluntarily accessing the National Registry to avoid 
calling consumers who do not wish to receive telemarketing calls, 
should not be charged for such access. Charging such entities access 
fees, when they are under no legal obligation to comply with the ``do-
not-call'' requirements of the TSR, may make them less likely to obtain 
access to the National Registry in the future, resulting in an increase 
in unwanted calls to consumers. As with free access to five or fewer 
area codes, the Commission seeks comment on this issue as well.

III. Invitation to Comment

    All persons are hereby given notice of the opportunity to submit 
written data, views, facts, and arguments addressing the issues raised 
by this NPRM. Written comments must be received on or before June 1, 
2006. All comments should be filed as prescribed in the ADDRESSES 
section above.

IV. Communications by Outside Parties to Commissioners or Their 
Advisors

    Written communications and summaries or transcripts of oral 
communications respecting the merits of this proceeding from any 
outside party to any Commissioner or Commissioner's advisor will be 
placed on the public record. See 16 CFR 1.26(b)(5).

V. Paperwork Reduction Act

    Pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act,\36\ the Office of 
Management and Budget (``OMB'') approved the information collection 
requirements in the TSR and assigned OMB Control Number 3084-0097.\37\ 
The proposed rule amendment, as discussed above, provides for an 
increase in the fees that are charged for accessing the National Do Not 
Call Registry. Therefore, the proposed rule amendment does not create 
any new recordkeeping, reporting, or third-party disclosure 
requirements that would be subject to review and approval by OMB 
pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act.
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    \36\ 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520.
    \37\ Commission staff is currently seeking an extension of the 
clearance for the information collection requirements associated 
with the TSR. See 71 FR 3302 (January 20, 2006).
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VI. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act \38\ requires an agency either to 
provide an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (``IRFA'') with a 
proposed rule, or certify that the proposed rule will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
The FTC does not expect that the rule concerning revised fees will have 
the threshold impact on small entities. As discussed in Section II, 
above, this NPRM specifically proposes charging no fee for access to 
one to five area codes of data included in the registry. As a result, 
the Commission anticipates that many small businesses will be able to 
access the National Registry without having to pay any annual fee. 
Thus, it is unlikely that there will be a significant burden on small 
businesses resulting from the adoption of the proposed revised fees. 
Nonetheless, the Commission has determined that it is appropriate to 
publish an IRFA in order to inquire into the impact of this proposed 
rule on small entities. Therefore, the Commission has prepared the 
following analysis.
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    \38\ 5 U.S.C. 604(a).
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A. Reasons for the Proposed Rule

    As outlined in Section II, above, the Commission is proposing to 
amend the fees charged to entities accessing the National Registry in 
order to raise sufficient amounts to offset the current year costs to 
implement and enforce the Amended TSR.

B. Statement of Objectives and Legal Basis

    The objective of the current proposed rule is to collect sufficient 
fees from entities that must access the National Do Not Call Registry. 
The legal authority for this NPRM is the 2006 Appropriations Act, the 
Implementation Act, and the Telemarketing Act.

C. Description of Small Entities to Which the Rule Will Apply

    The Small Business Administration has determined that 
``telemarketing bureaus'' with $6.5 million or less in annual receipts 
qualify as small businesses.\39\ Similar standards, i.e., $6.5 million 
or less in annual receipts, apply for many retail businesses which may 
be ``sellers'' and subject to the proposed revised fee provisions 
outlined in this NPRM. In addition, there may be other types of 
businesses, other than retail establishments, that would be ``sellers'' 
subject to the proposed rule.
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    \39\ See 13 CFR 121.201.
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    As described in Section II, above, over 58,000 entities have 
accessed five or fewer area codes of data from the National Registry at 
no charge. While not all of these entities may qualify as small 
businesses, and some small businesses may be required to purchase 
access to more than five area codes of data, the Commission believes 
that this is the best estimate of the number of small entities that 
would be subject to the proposed revised fee rule. The Commission 
invites comment on this issue, including information about the number 
and type of small business entities that may be subject to the revised 
fees.

D. Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping and Other Compliance Requirements

    The information collection activities at issue in this NPRM consist 
principally of the requirement that firms, regardless of size, that 
access the National Registry submit minimal identifying and payment 
information, which is necessary for the agency to collect the required 
fees. The cost impact of that requirement and the labor or professional 
expertise required for compliance with that requirement were discussed 
in section V of the 2004 Fee

[[Page 25516]]

Rule Notice of Proposed Rule Making. 69 FR 23701, 23704 (April 30, 
2004).
    As for compliance requirements, small and large entities subject to 
the revised fee rule will pay the same rates to obtain access to the 
National Do Not Call Registry in order to reconcile their calling lists 
with the phone numbers maintained in the National Registry. As noted 
earlier, however, compliance costs for small entities are not 
anticipated to have a significant impact on small entities, to the 
extent the Commission believes that compliance costs for those entities 
will be largely minimized by their ability to obtain data for up to 
five area codes at no charge.

E. Duplication With Other Federal Rules

    None.

F. Discussion of Significant Alternatives

    The Commission recognizes that alternatives to the proposed revised 
fee are possible. For example, instead of a fee based on the number of 
area codes that a telemarketer accesses from the National Registry, 
access could be provided on the basis of a flat fee regardless of the 
number of area codes accessed. The Commission believes, however, that 
these alternatives would likely impose greater costs on small 
businesses, to the extent they are more likely to access fewer area 
codes than larger entities.
    Another alternative the Commission has considered entails providing 
small businesses with free access to the National Registry.\40\ This 
alternative would require entities seeking an exemption from the fees 
to submit information regarding their annual revenues, to determine 
whether they meet the statutory threshold to be classified a small 
business and exempt from the fees. The Commission continues to believe, 
however, ``an alternative approach that would provide small business 
with exemptive relief more directly tied to size status would not 
balance the private and public interests at stake any more equitably or 
reasonably than the approach currently proposed by the Commission.'' 
\41\ The Commission also continues to believe that ``such a system 
would present greater administrative, technical, and legal costs and 
complexities than the Commission's current proposal which does not 
require any proof or verification of that status.'' \42\
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    \40\ See 69 FR at 45583; see also 68 FR 16238, 16243 n.53 (April 
3, 2003).
    \41\ See 68 FR at 16243 n.53.
    \42\ Id.
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    Accordingly, the Commission believes its current proposal is likely 
to be the least burdensome for small businesses, while achieving the 
goal of covering the necessary costs to implement and enforce the 
Amended TSR.
    Despite these conclusions, the Commission welcomes comment on any 
significant alternatives that would further minimize the impact on 
small entities, consistent with the objectives of the Telemarketing 
Act, the 2006 Appropriations Act, and the Implementation Act.

List of Subjects in 16 CFR Part 310

    Telemarketing, Trade practices.

VII. Proposed Rule

    Accordingly, for the reasons stated in the preamble, the Federal 
Trade Commission proposes to amend part 310 of title 16 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations as follows:

PART 310--TELEMARKETING SALES RULE

    1. The authority citation for part 310 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 6101-6108.

    2. Revise Sec.  310.8(c) and (d) to read as follows:


Sec.  310.8  Fee for access to the National Do Not Call Registry.

* * * * *
    (c) The annual fee, which must be paid by any person prior to 
obtaining access to the National Do Not Call Registry, is $62 per area 
code of data accessed, up to a maximum of $17,050; provided, however, 
that there shall be no charge for the first five area codes of data 
accessed by any person, and provided further, that there shall be no 
charge to any person engaging in or causing others to engage in 
outbound telephone calls to consumers and who is accessing the National 
Do Not Call Registry without being required under this Rule, 47 CFR 
64.1200, or any other federal law. Any person accessing the National Do 
Not Call Registry may not participate in any arrangement to share the 
cost of accessing the registry, including any arrangement with any 
telemarketer or service provider to divide the costs to access the 
registry among various clients of that telemarketer or service 
provider.
    (d) After a person, either directly or through another person, pays 
the fees set forth in Sec.  310.8(c), the person will be provided a 
unique account number which will allow that person to access the 
registry data for the selected area codes at any time for twelve months 
following the first day of the month in which the person paid the fee 
(``the annual period''). To obtain access to additional area codes of 
data during the first six months of the annual period, the person must 
first pay $62 for each additional area code of data not initially 
selected. To obtain access to additional area codes of data during the 
second six months of the annual period, the person must first pay $31 
for each additional area code of data not initially selected. The 
payment of the additional fee will permit the person to access the 
additional area codes of data for the remainder of the annual period.
* * * * *

    By direction of the Commission.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E6-6507 Filed 4-28-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P