Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request, 32170-32173 [2019-14291]

Download as PDF 32170 Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 129 / Friday, July 5, 2019 / Notices weighted asset methodology for subsidiaries subject to the risk-based capital rule, plus the assets of all branches, agencies, and nonbank subsidiaries, calculated in accordance with applicable accounting standards. Liabilities attributable to the U.S. operations of a foreign financial company that is not a foreign banking organization are calculated in a similar manner to the method described for foreign banking organizations, but liabilities of a U.S. subsidiary not subject to the risk-based capital rule are calculated based on the U.S. subsidiary’s liabilities under applicable accounting standards. The Federal Reserve used information collected on the Capital and Asset Report for Foreign Banking Organizations (FR Y–7Q), the FR Y–9C, and the FR XX–1 to calculate liabilities of these institutions. By order of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, acting through the Director of Supervision and Regulation under delegated authority, June 27, 2019. Ann Misback, Secretary of the Board. [FR Doc. 2019–14288 Filed 7–3–19; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE P 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 August 1, 2019. A. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (David L. Hubbard, Senior Manager) P.O. Box 442, St. Louis, Missouri 63166–2034. Comments can also be sent electronically to Comments.applications@stls.frb.org: 1. First Co Bancorp, Inc., Collinsville, Illinois; to acquire 100 percent of the voting shares of Columbia National Bank, Columbia, Illinois. B. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta (Kathryn Haney, Assistant Vice President) 1000 Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30309. Comments can also be sent electronically to Applications.Comments@atl.frb.org: 1. Southern States Bancshares, Inc., Anniston, Alabama; to merge with East Alabama Financial Group, Inc., and thereby directly acquire Small Town Bank, both of Wedowee, Alabama. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, July 1, 2019. Yao-Chin Chao, Assistant Secretary of the Board. [FR Doc. 2019–14356 Filed 7–3–19; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE P FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with NOTICES 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 applications will also 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. VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:54 Jul 03, 2019 Jkt 247001 FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission). ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: The FTC plans to ask the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to extend for an additional three years the current Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) clearance for information collection requirements contained in the Contact Lens Rule (or Rule). The current clearance expires on October 31, 2019. DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 3, 2019. ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper by following the instructions in the Request for Comments part of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ‘‘Paperwork Reduction Act: FTC File No. P072108’’ on your comment, and file your comment online at https://www.regulations.gov by following the instructions on the webbased form. If you prefer to file your comment on paper, mail your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00052 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite CC–5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW, 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 20024. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Spelman, Attorney, Division of Advertising Practices, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Mail Drop CC–10528, Washington, DC 20580, at (202) 326–2487. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Rule was promulgated by the FTC pursuant to the Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act (FCLCA), Public Law 108–164 (Dec. 6, 2003), which was enacted to enable consumers to purchase contact lenses from the seller of their choice. The Rule became effective on August 2, 2004. As mandated by the FCLCA, the Rule requires the release and verification of contact lens prescriptions which are generally valid for one year and contains recordkeeping requirements applying to both prescribers and sellers of contact lenses. Specifically, the Rule requires that prescribers provide a copy of the prescription to the consumer upon the completion of a contact lens fitting, even if the patient does not request it, and verify or provide prescriptions to authorized third parties. The Rule also mandates that a contact lens seller may sell contact lenses only in accordance with a prescription that the seller either: (a) Has received from the patient or prescriber; or (b) has verified through direct communication with the prescriber. In addition, the Rule imposes recordkeeping requirements on contact lens prescribers and sellers. For example, the Rule requires prescribers to document in their patients’ records the medical reasons for setting a contact lens prescription expiration date of less than one year. The Rule requires contact lens sellers to maintain records for three years of all direct communications involved in obtaining verification of a contact lens prescription, as well as prescriptions, or copies thereof, which they receive directly from customers or prescribers. The information retained under the Rule’s recordkeeping requirements is used by the Commission to substantiate compliance with the Rule and may also provide a basis for the Commission to bring an enforcement action. Without the required records, it would be difficult either to ensure that entities are complying with the Rule’s requirements E:\FR\FM\05JYN1.SGM 05JYN1 Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 129 / Friday, July 5, 2019 / Notices or to bring enforcement actions based on violations of the Rule. No substantive provisions in the Rule have been amended or changed since staff’s prior submission and OMB clearance in 2016.1 Thus, the Rule’s disclosure and recordkeeping requirements remain the same. Under the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501–3521, Federal agencies must get OMB approval for each collection of information they conduct or sponsor. ‘‘Collection of information’’ includes agency requests or requirements to submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a third party. 44 U.S.C. 3502(3); 5 CFR 1320.3(c). The FTC is seeking renewed clearance for the information collection requirements associated with the Commission’s Contact Lens Rule, 16 CFR part 315 (OMB Control Number 3084–0127). Burden Statement Estimated annual hours burden: 2,104,050 hours. This figure is derived by adding 1,045,650 disclosure hours for contact lens prescribers to 1,058,400 recordkeeping hours for contact lens sellers, for a combined industry total of 2,104,050 hours. This estimate is an increase from the 1,903,315 annual burden hours submitted to OMB in 2016. The higher estimate is due to an increase in the estimated number of contact lens wearers in the United States from 41 million to 45 million.2 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with NOTICES 1. Prescribers The Rule requires prescribers to make disclosures in two ways. Upon completing a contact lens fitting, the Rule requires that prescribers (1) provide a copy of the contact lens prescription to the patient, and (2) as directed by any person designated to act on behalf of the patient, provide or verify the contact lens prescription. Prescribers can verify a prescription either by responding affirmatively to a request for verification, or by not responding at all, in which case the 1 OMB clearance for the current Rule expires October 31, 2019. On May 28, 2019, the FTC published a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (‘‘SNPRM’’) (84 FR 24664) which proposes amendments to the Rule, and the FTC is separately seeking OMB’s approval for the information-collection requirements associated with those amendments. Because the SNPRM was drafted prior to this Comment Request, some of the data and estimates may differ in the two documents. Should the Commission adopt the proposed amendments in the SNPRM, it could alter or render moot the assumptions, conclusions, and estimates put forth in this notice based on the current Rule. 2 Centers for Disease Control, Healthy Contact Lens Wear and Care, Fast Facts, https:// www.cdc.gov/contactlenses/fast-facts.html. VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:54 Jul 03, 2019 Jkt 247001 prescription will be ‘‘passively verified’’ after eight business hours. Prescribers are also required to correct an incorrect prescription submitted by a seller, and notify a seller if the prescription submitted for verification is expired or otherwise invalid. Staff believes that the burden of complying with these requirements is relatively low. The number of contact lens wearers in the United States is now estimated by the Centers for Disease Control to be approximately 45 million.3 Therefore, assuming an annual contact lens exam for each contact lens wearer, approximately 45 million people would receive a copy of their prescription each year under the Rule.4 At an estimated one minute per prescription, the annual time spent by prescribers complying with the requirement to release prescriptions to patients would be approximately 750,000 hours. [(45 million × 1 minute)/ 60 minutes = 750,000 hours]. In all likelihood, this estimate overstates the actual burden because it includes the time spent by prescribers who already release prescriptions to patients in the ordinary course of business. As stated above, prescribers may also be required to provide or verify contact lens prescriptions to sellers. According to recent survey data, approximately 36% of contact lens purchases are from a source other than the prescriber.5 Assuming that each of the 45 million contact lens wearers in the U.S. makes one purchase per year, this means that approximately 16,200,000 contact lens purchases (45 million × 36%) are made from sellers other than the prescriber. Based on prior discussions with industry, approximately 73% of sales by non-prescriber sellers require verification, and prescribers affirmatively respond (by notifying the seller that the prescription is invalid or incorrect) to approximately 15% of those verification requests. Using a response rate of 15%, the FTC therefore estimates that prescribers’ offices respond to approximately 1,773,900 verification requests annually [(16,200,000 × 73%) × 15% = 1,773,900 responses]. Additionally, some 3 Id. 4 In the past, some commentators have suggested that typical contact lens wearers obtain annual exams every 18 months or so, not every year. However, because prescriptions under the Rule are valid for a minimum of one year, we continue to estimate that patients seek exams every 12 months. Staff believes a calculation that assumes compliance with the Rule will provide the best estimate of the Rule’s contemplated burden. 5 Jason J. Nichols & Deborah Fisher, ‘‘2018 Annual Report,’’ Contact Lens Spectrum, Jan. 1, 2019, https://www.clspectrum.com/issues/2019/ january-2019. PO 00000 Frm 00053 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 32171 prescribers may voluntarily respond to verification requests and confirm prescriptions (as opposed to simply letting the prescription passively verify). Because correcting or declining incorrect prescriptions is mandated by the Rule and occurs in response to approximately 15% of requests, staff assumes that prescribers voluntarily confirm prescriptions less often, and confirm at most an additional 15% of prescriptions (and, in all likelihood, significantly less). Using a combined response rate of 30%, the FTC estimates that prescribers’ offices respond to approximately 3,547,800 requests annually. According to the industry comments to the 2016 PRA submission, responding to verification requests requires approximately five minutes per request. Using that data, we estimate that these responses require an additional 295,650 hours annually. [(3,547,800 × 5 minutes)/60 minutes = 295,650 hours]. Combining these hours with the hours spent disclosing prescriptions to consumers, we estimate a total of 1,045,650 hours for all contact lens prescribers to comply with the Rule. [750,000 hours + 295,650 hours = 1,045,650 hours]. Lastly, as required by the FCLCA, the Rule also imposes a recordkeeping requirement on prescribers. They must document the specific medical reasons for setting a contact lens prescription expiration date shorter than the oneyear minimum established by the FCLCA. This burden is likely to be nil because the requirement applies only in cases when the prescriber invokes the medical judgment exception, which is expected to occur infrequently, and prescribers are likely to record this information in the ordinary course of business as part of their patients’ medical records. As mentioned previously, the OMB regulation that implements the PRA defines ‘‘burden’’ to exclude any effort that would be expended regardless of a regulatory requirement. 2. Sellers As noted above, a seller may sell contact lenses only in accordance with a valid prescription that the seller has (a) received from the patient or prescriber, or (b) verified through direct communication with the prescriber. The FCLCA also requires sellers to retain prescriptions and records of communications with prescribers relating to prescription verification for three years. Staff believes that the burden of complying with these requirements is relatively low. E:\FR\FM\05JYN1.SGM 05JYN1 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with NOTICES 32172 Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 129 / Friday, July 5, 2019 / Notices As stated previously, there are approximately 16,200,000 sales by nonprescriber sellers annually and approximately 73% of those sales require verification. Therefore, sellers verify approximately 11,826,000 orders annually and retain two records for such sales: The verification request and any response from the prescriber. Staff estimates that sellers’ verification and recordkeeping for those orders will entail a maximum of five minutes per sale. At an estimated five minutes per sale to each of the approximately 11,826,000 orders, contact lens sellers will spend a total of 985,500 burden hours complying with this portion of the requirement. [(11,826,000 × 5 minutes)/60 minutes = 985,500 hours]. Approximately 27% of sales to nonprescriber sellers do not require verification and thus require only that the seller retain the prescription provided. Staff estimates that this recordkeeping burden requires at most one minute per order (in many cases, this retention is electronic and automatic and will not require any time) for 4,374,000 orders [16,200,000 sales × 27%], resulting in 72,900 burden hours. [(4,374,000 orders × 1 minute)/60 minutes = 72,900 hours]. Combining burden hours for all orders [985,500 hours + 72,900 hours], staff estimates a total of 1,058,400 hours for contact lens sellers. It is likely that this estimate overstates the actual burden because it includes the time spent by sellers who already keep records pertaining to contact lens sales in the ordinary course of business, and those whose records are generated and preserved automatically when a customer orders online, which staff believes is the case for many online sellers. Estimated total labor cost burden: Approximately $84,548,448. This figure is derived from applying hourly wage figures for optometrists, ophthalmologists, and office clerical staff to the burden hours described above. This estimate is higher than the $73,082,912 labor cost estimate submitted to OMB in 2016 due to an increase in the estimated number of contact lens wearers in the United States and wage increases for optometrists, ophthalmologists, and office staff. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, salaried optometrists earn an average wage of $57.68 per hour, other physicians and surgeons—such as ophthalmologists—earn an average wage of $98.02 per hour, and general office clerks earn an average wage of $16.92 VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:54 Jul 03, 2019 Jkt 247001 per hour.6 Assuming that optometrists are performing 85% of the labor hours and ophthalmologists are performing 15% the labor hours for prescribers, and office clerks are performing the labor for non-prescriber sellers, estimated total labor cost attributable to the Rule would total approximately $84,548,448. [$66,640,319 prescriber hours (($57.68 × 888,802.5 optometrist hours = $51,266,128) + ($98.02 × 156,847.5 ophthalmologist hours = $15,374,192)) + $14,618,765 for seller hours ($16.92 × 1,058,400 office clerk hours = $17,908,128) = $84,548,448.] A recent survey estimated that the U.S. contact lens market revenue is approximately $5,012,800,000 (not counting examination revenue) in 2017.7 Therefore, the total labor cost burden estimate of $84,548,448 imposed by the Rule represents a cost of approximately 1.69% of the overall retail revenue generated. Estimated annual non-labor cost burden: $0 or minimal. Staff believes that the Rule’s disclosure and recordkeeping requirements impose negligible capital or other non-labor costs, as the affected entities are likely to have the necessary supplies and/or equipment already (e.g., prescription pads, patients’ medical charts, facsimile machines and paper, telephones, and recordkeeping facilities such as filing cabinets or other storage). Request for Comments The FTC invites comments on: (1) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility; 6 Press Release, Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States Department of Labor, Occupational Employment Statistics—May 2018, https:// www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.t01.htm. Median salaries for prescribers and clerks ($53.75 for optometrists, $96.58 for other physicians and surgeons, and $15.74 for general office clerks) are lower than average salaries and, consequently, would result in a lower overall burden imposed by the Rule. It is possible that medians are more representative since they do not include outliers that can distort the mean. Salaries can also vary by region. The average hourly wage for optometrists in New Mexico, for instance, is $41.76 per hour, whereas optometrists in North Dakota earn an average of $84.18 per hour. Id. https://www.bls.gov/ oes/current/oes291041.htm. However, since Contact Lens Rule PRA submissions have historically used national mean salaries to estimate the burden, the FTC will continue to do so for this submission. 7 ‘‘Vision Markets See Continued Growth in 2017, VisionWatch Says,’’ Vision Monday, March 20, 2018, https://www.visionmonday.com/business/ research-and-stats/article/vision-markets-seecontinued-growth-in-2017-visionwatch-says/. See also, Steve Kodey, US Optical Market Eyewear Overview, 4, https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/ filefield_paths/steve_kodey_ppt_presentation.pdf. The FTC does not possess market data for 2018. PO 00000 Frm 00054 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 (2) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information. In particular, the FTC invites comments on (5) what percentage of sales by nonprescriber sellers require verification; (6) what percentage of verification requests are affirmatively responded to by prescribers (either by notifying the seller that the prescription is valid, or by notifying the seller that the prescription is invalid or incorrect); (7) what percentage of contact lens prescriptions are written by ophthalmologists as opposed to optometrists or other medical specialties; (8) what percentage of verification requests received by optometrists’ offices are handled by optometrists and what percentage are handled by office staff; (9) what percentage of verification requests received by ophthalmologists’ offices are handled by ophthalmologists and what percentage are handled by office staff; and (10) whether the FTC should rely on mean wage data or median wage data in calculating the Rule’s burden. You can file a comment online or on paper. For the FTC to consider your comment, we must receive it on or before September 3, 2019. Write ‘‘Paperwork Reduction Act: FTC File No. P072108’’ on your comment. Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to delay due to heightened security screening. As a result, we encourage you to submit your comments online, or to send them to the Commission by courier or overnight service. To make sure that the Commission considers your online comment, you must file it through the https://www.regulations.gov website by following the instructions on the webbased form. Your comment—including your name and your state—will be placed on the public record of this proceeding, including the https:// www.regulations.gov website. As a matter of discretion, the Commission tries to remove individuals’ home contact information from comments before placing them on www.regulations.gov. If you file your comment on paper, write ‘‘Paperwork Reduction Act: FTC File No. P072108’’ on your comment and on the envelope, and mail your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite CC–5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your E:\FR\FM\05JYN1.SGM 05JYN1 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 129 / Friday, July 5, 2019 / Notices comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW, 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 20024. If possible, submit your paper comment to the Commission by courier or overnight service. Because your comment will be placed on the publicly accessible FTC website at www.regulations.gov, you are solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive or confidential information. In particular, your comment should not include any sensitive personal information, such as your or anyone else’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. You are also solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive health information, such as medical records or other individually identifiable health information. In addition, your comment should not include any ‘‘trade secret or any commercial or financial information which . . . . is privileged or confidential’’—as provided by Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)— including in particular competitively sensitive information such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names. 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). In particular, the written request for confidential treatment that accompanies the comment must include the factual and legal basis for the request, and must identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from the public record.8 Your comment will be kept confidential only if the General Counsel grants your request in accordance with the law and the public interest. Once your comment has been posted publicly at www.regulations.gov, we cannot redact or remove your comment unless you submit a confidentiality request that meets the requirements for such treatment under FTC Rule 4.9(c), and the General Counsel grants that request. The FTC Act and other laws that the Commission administers permit the collection of public comments to consider and use in this proceeding as appropriate. The Commission will 8 See FTC Rule 4.9(c). VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:54 Jul 03, 2019 Jkt 247001 consider all timely and responsive public comments that it receives on or before September 3, 2019. You can find more information, including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, in the Commission’s privacy policy, at https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/ privacy-policy. Heather Hippsley, Deputy General Counsel. [FR Doc. 2019–14291 Filed 7–3–19; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6750–01–P GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION [Notice–PBRB–2019–02; Docket No. 2019– 0012; Sequence No. 2] Public Meetings of the Public Buildings Reform Board AGENCY: Public Buildings Reform Board, GSA. ACTION: Meetings notice. As provided in section 5 of the Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act of 2016 (FASTA), the Public Buildings Reform Board (PBRB) gives notice of three upcoming public meetings. At the public meeting in Washington, DC, the PBRB will receive input regarding proposed methodologies and criteria for selecting Federal properties for disposal with an emphasis on High Value Properties. The PBRB will also hear from commercial real estate representatives to gain their perspective on private sector valuation practices as they apply to Federal property proposed for disposal and other relevant private sector practices. At the public meetings in Los Angeles, California and Denver, Colorado the Board will consider a number of Federal properties located in the western United States. DATES: Public meetings will be held on Tuesday, July 16, 2019 in Washington, DC, Wednesday, July 24, 2019, in Los Angeles, California, and Thursday, July 25, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. ADDRESSES: The public meeting in Washington, DC, will be held from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., Eastern Time, at 1800 F Street NW, in Room 1461. The public meeting in Los Angeles, California will be held from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Pacific Time. The location is still being determined. The public meeting in Denver, Colorado will be held from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Mountain Time, at the Denver Federal Center, Building 41, in the Remington Arms Conference Room. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Angela Styles at 202–227–7615, or via email at angela.styles@pbrb.gov. SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00055 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 9990 32173 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background FASTA created the PBRB as an independent Board to identify opportunities for the Federal government to significantly reduce its inventory of civilian real property and thereby reduce costs. The Board is directed, within 6 months of its formation, to recommend to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) the sale of not fewer than five properties not on the list of surplus or excess with a fair market value of not less than $500 million and not more than $750 million. In two subsequent rounds over a fiveyear period, the Board is responsible for making recommendations for other sales, consolidations, property disposals or redevelopment of up to $7.25 billion. Format The format for all public meetings will be panel discussions with appropriate time allowed for Q&A. Each panel will be composed of invited representatives for that specific area. A portion of the meeting will be held in Executive Session if the Board is considering issues involving classified or proprietary information. Registration The meetings are open to the public, but prior registration is required. Please register three (3) business days before the scheduled meetings. To attend the Washington, DC meeting, please register at the following link: https:// www.eventbrite.com/e/public-meetingof-the-public-buildings-reform-boardtickets-64305278820. To attend the meeting in Los Angeles, California, and check for updates on location, please register at the following link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ public-meeting-of-the-public-buildingsreform-board-tickets-64340333670. To attend the meeting in Denver, Colorado, please register at the following link: https:// www.eventbrite.com/e/public-meetingof-the-public-buildings-reform-boardtickets-64327265583. Those wishing to participate as panelists for the public meetings are invited to contact the PBRB by emailing angela.styles@pbrb.gov. Dated: July 1, 2019. Angela Styles, Board Member, Public Buildings Reform Board. [FR Doc. 2019–14364 Filed 7–3–19; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3412–RT–P E:\FR\FM\05JYN1.SGM 05JYN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 129 (Friday, July 5, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32170-32173]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-14291]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The FTC plans to ask the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
to extend for an additional three years the current Paperwork Reduction 
Act (PRA) clearance for information collection requirements contained 
in the Contact Lens Rule (or Rule). The current clearance expires on 
October 31, 2019.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 3, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper by 
following the instructions in the Request for Comments part of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``Paperwork Reduction 
Act: FTC File No. P072108'' on your comment, and file your comment 
online at https://www.regulations.gov by following the instructions on 
the web-based form. If you prefer to file your comment on paper, mail 
your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office 
of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite CC-5610 (Annex J), 
Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your comment to the following address: 
Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Constitution Center, 
400 7th Street SW, 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 
20024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Spelman, Attorney, Division of 
Advertising Practices, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade 
Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Mail Drop CC-10528, Washington, 
DC 20580, at (202) 326-2487.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Rule was promulgated by the FTC pursuant 
to the Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act (FCLCA), Public Law 108-
164 (Dec. 6, 2003), which was enacted to enable consumers to purchase 
contact lenses from the seller of their choice. The Rule became 
effective on August 2, 2004. As mandated by the FCLCA, the Rule 
requires the release and verification of contact lens prescriptions 
which are generally valid for one year and contains recordkeeping 
requirements applying to both prescribers and sellers of contact 
lenses.
    Specifically, the Rule requires that prescribers provide a copy of 
the prescription to the consumer upon the completion of a contact lens 
fitting, even if the patient does not request it, and verify or provide 
prescriptions to authorized third parties. The Rule also mandates that 
a contact lens seller may sell contact lenses only in accordance with a 
prescription that the seller either: (a) Has received from the patient 
or prescriber; or (b) has verified through direct communication with 
the prescriber. In addition, the Rule imposes recordkeeping 
requirements on contact lens prescribers and sellers. For example, the 
Rule requires prescribers to document in their patients' records the 
medical reasons for setting a contact lens prescription expiration date 
of less than one year. The Rule requires contact lens sellers to 
maintain records for three years of all direct communications involved 
in obtaining verification of a contact lens prescription, as well as 
prescriptions, or copies thereof, which they receive directly from 
customers or prescribers.
    The information retained under the Rule's recordkeeping 
requirements is used by the Commission to substantiate compliance with 
the Rule and may also provide a basis for the Commission to bring an 
enforcement action. Without the required records, it would be difficult 
either to ensure that entities are complying with the Rule's 
requirements

[[Page 32171]]

or to bring enforcement actions based on violations of the Rule.
    No substantive provisions in the Rule have been amended or changed 
since staff's prior submission and OMB clearance in 2016.\1\ Thus, the 
Rule's disclosure and recordkeeping requirements remain the same.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ OMB clearance for the current Rule expires October 31, 2019. 
On May 28, 2019, the FTC published a Supplemental Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking (``SNPRM'') (84 FR 24664) which proposes amendments to 
the Rule, and the FTC is separately seeking OMB's approval for the 
information-collection requirements associated with those 
amendments. Because the SNPRM was drafted prior to this Comment 
Request, some of the data and estimates may differ in the two 
documents. Should the Commission adopt the proposed amendments in 
the SNPRM, it could alter or render moot the assumptions, 
conclusions, and estimates put forth in this notice based on the 
current Rule.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Under the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3521, Federal agencies must get OMB 
approval for each collection of information they conduct or sponsor. 
``Collection of information'' includes agency requests or requirements 
to submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a third 
party. 44 U.S.C. 3502(3); 5 CFR 1320.3(c). The FTC is seeking renewed 
clearance for the information collection requirements associated with 
the Commission's Contact Lens Rule, 16 CFR part 315 (OMB Control Number 
3084-0127).

Burden Statement

    Estimated annual hours burden: 2,104,050 hours.
    This figure is derived by adding 1,045,650 disclosure hours for 
contact lens prescribers to 1,058,400 recordkeeping hours for contact 
lens sellers, for a combined industry total of 2,104,050 hours. This 
estimate is an increase from the 1,903,315 annual burden hours 
submitted to OMB in 2016. The higher estimate is due to an increase in 
the estimated number of contact lens wearers in the United States from 
41 million to 45 million.\2\
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    \2\ Centers for Disease Control, Healthy Contact Lens Wear and 
Care, Fast Facts, https://www.cdc.gov/contactlenses/fast-facts.html.
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1. Prescribers

    The Rule requires prescribers to make disclosures in two ways. Upon 
completing a contact lens fitting, the Rule requires that prescribers 
(1) provide a copy of the contact lens prescription to the patient, and 
(2) as directed by any person designated to act on behalf of the 
patient, provide or verify the contact lens prescription. Prescribers 
can verify a prescription either by responding affirmatively to a 
request for verification, or by not responding at all, in which case 
the prescription will be ``passively verified'' after eight business 
hours. Prescribers are also required to correct an incorrect 
prescription submitted by a seller, and notify a seller if the 
prescription submitted for verification is expired or otherwise 
invalid. Staff believes that the burden of complying with these 
requirements is relatively low.
    The number of contact lens wearers in the United States is now 
estimated by the Centers for Disease Control to be approximately 45 
million.\3\ Therefore, assuming an annual contact lens exam for each 
contact lens wearer, approximately 45 million people would receive a 
copy of their prescription each year under the Rule.\4\
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    \3\ Id.
    \4\ In the past, some commentators have suggested that typical 
contact lens wearers obtain annual exams every 18 months or so, not 
every year. However, because prescriptions under the Rule are valid 
for a minimum of one year, we continue to estimate that patients 
seek exams every 12 months. Staff believes a calculation that 
assumes compliance with the Rule will provide the best estimate of 
the Rule's contemplated burden.
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    At an estimated one minute per prescription, the annual time spent 
by prescribers complying with the requirement to release prescriptions 
to patients would be approximately 750,000 hours. [(45 million x 1 
minute)/60 minutes = 750,000 hours]. In all likelihood, this estimate 
overstates the actual burden because it includes the time spent by 
prescribers who already release prescriptions to patients in the 
ordinary course of business.
    As stated above, prescribers may also be required to provide or 
verify contact lens prescriptions to sellers. According to recent 
survey data, approximately 36% of contact lens purchases are from a 
source other than the prescriber.\5\ Assuming that each of the 45 
million contact lens wearers in the U.S. makes one purchase per year, 
this means that approximately 16,200,000 contact lens purchases (45 
million x 36%) are made from sellers other than the prescriber.
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    \5\ Jason J. Nichols & Deborah Fisher, ``2018 Annual Report,'' 
Contact Lens Spectrum, Jan. 1, 2019, https://www.clspectrum.com/issues/2019/january-2019.
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    Based on prior discussions with industry, approximately 73% of 
sales by non-prescriber sellers require verification, and prescribers 
affirmatively respond (by notifying the seller that the prescription is 
invalid or incorrect) to approximately 15% of those verification 
requests. Using a response rate of 15%, the FTC therefore estimates 
that prescribers' offices respond to approximately 1,773,900 
verification requests annually [(16,200,000 x 73%) x 15% = 1,773,900 
responses]. Additionally, some prescribers may voluntarily respond to 
verification requests and confirm prescriptions (as opposed to simply 
letting the prescription passively verify). Because correcting or 
declining incorrect prescriptions is mandated by the Rule and occurs in 
response to approximately 15% of requests, staff assumes that 
prescribers voluntarily confirm prescriptions less often, and confirm 
at most an additional 15% of prescriptions (and, in all likelihood, 
significantly less). Using a combined response rate of 30%, the FTC 
estimates that prescribers' offices respond to approximately 3,547,800 
requests annually.
    According to the industry comments to the 2016 PRA submission, 
responding to verification requests requires approximately five minutes 
per request. Using that data, we estimate that these responses require 
an additional 295,650 hours annually. [(3,547,800 x 5 minutes)/60 
minutes = 295,650 hours]. Combining these hours with the hours spent 
disclosing prescriptions to consumers, we estimate a total of 1,045,650 
hours for all contact lens prescribers to comply with the Rule. 
[750,000 hours + 295,650 hours = 1,045,650 hours].
    Lastly, as required by the FCLCA, the Rule also imposes a 
recordkeeping requirement on prescribers. They must document the 
specific medical reasons for setting a contact lens prescription 
expiration date shorter than the one-year minimum established by the 
FCLCA. This burden is likely to be nil because the requirement applies 
only in cases when the prescriber invokes the medical judgment 
exception, which is expected to occur infrequently, and prescribers are 
likely to record this information in the ordinary course of business as 
part of their patients' medical records. As mentioned previously, the 
OMB regulation that implements the PRA defines ``burden'' to exclude 
any effort that would be expended regardless of a regulatory 
requirement.

2. Sellers

    As noted above, a seller may sell contact lenses only in accordance 
with a valid prescription that the seller has (a) received from the 
patient or prescriber, or (b) verified through direct communication 
with the prescriber. The FCLCA also requires sellers to retain 
prescriptions and records of communications with prescribers relating 
to prescription verification for three years. Staff believes that the 
burden of complying with these requirements is relatively low.

[[Page 32172]]

    As stated previously, there are approximately 16,200,000 sales by 
non-prescriber sellers annually and approximately 73% of those sales 
require verification. Therefore, sellers verify approximately 
11,826,000 orders annually and retain two records for such sales: The 
verification request and any response from the prescriber. Staff 
estimates that sellers' verification and recordkeeping for those orders 
will entail a maximum of five minutes per sale. At an estimated five 
minutes per sale to each of the approximately 11,826,000 orders, 
contact lens sellers will spend a total of 985,500 burden hours 
complying with this portion of the requirement. [(11,826,000 x 5 
minutes)/60 minutes = 985,500 hours].
    Approximately 27% of sales to non-prescriber sellers do not require 
verification and thus require only that the seller retain the 
prescription provided. Staff estimates that this recordkeeping burden 
requires at most one minute per order (in many cases, this retention is 
electronic and automatic and will not require any time) for 4,374,000 
orders [16,200,000 sales x 27%], resulting in 72,900 burden hours. 
[(4,374,000 orders x 1 minute)/60 minutes = 72,900 hours].
    Combining burden hours for all orders [985,500 hours + 72,900 
hours], staff estimates a total of 1,058,400 hours for contact lens 
sellers. It is likely that this estimate overstates the actual burden 
because it includes the time spent by sellers who already keep records 
pertaining to contact lens sales in the ordinary course of business, 
and those whose records are generated and preserved automatically when 
a customer orders online, which staff believes is the case for many 
online sellers.
    Estimated total labor cost burden: Approximately $84,548,448.
    This figure is derived from applying hourly wage figures for 
optometrists, ophthalmologists, and office clerical staff to the burden 
hours described above. This estimate is higher than the $73,082,912 
labor cost estimate submitted to OMB in 2016 due to an increase in the 
estimated number of contact lens wearers in the United States and wage 
increases for optometrists, ophthalmologists, and office staff.
    According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, salaried optometrists earn 
an average wage of $57.68 per hour, other physicians and surgeons--such 
as ophthalmologists--earn an average wage of $98.02 per hour, and 
general office clerks earn an average wage of $16.92 per hour.\6\ 
Assuming that optometrists are performing 85% of the labor hours and 
ophthalmologists are performing 15% the labor hours for prescribers, 
and office clerks are performing the labor for non-prescriber sellers, 
estimated total labor cost attributable to the Rule would total 
approximately $84,548,448. [$66,640,319 prescriber hours (($57.68 x 
888,802.5 optometrist hours = $51,266,128) + ($98.02 x 156,847.5 
ophthalmologist hours = $15,374,192)) + $14,618,765 for seller hours 
($16.92 x 1,058,400 office clerk hours = $17,908,128) = $84,548,448.]
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    \6\ Press Release, Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States 
Department of Labor, Occupational Employment Statistics--May 2018, 
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.t01.htm. Median salaries for 
prescribers and clerks ($53.75 for optometrists, $96.58 for other 
physicians and surgeons, and $15.74 for general office clerks) are 
lower than average salaries and, consequently, would result in a 
lower overall burden imposed by the Rule. It is possible that 
medians are more representative since they do not include outliers 
that can distort the mean. Salaries can also vary by region. The 
average hourly wage for optometrists in New Mexico, for instance, is 
$41.76 per hour, whereas optometrists in North Dakota earn an 
average of $84.18 per hour. Id. https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes291041.htm. However, since Contact Lens Rule PRA submissions have 
historically used national mean salaries to estimate the burden, the 
FTC will continue to do so for this submission.
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    A recent survey estimated that the U.S. contact lens market revenue 
is approximately $5,012,800,000 (not counting examination revenue) in 
2017.\7\ Therefore, the total labor cost burden estimate of $84,548,448 
imposed by the Rule represents a cost of approximately 1.69% of the 
overall retail revenue generated.
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    \7\ ``Vision Markets See Continued Growth in 2017, VisionWatch 
Says,'' Vision Monday, March 20, 2018, https://www.visionmonday.com/business/research-and-stats/article/vision-markets-see-continued-growth-in-2017-visionwatch-says/. See also, Steve Kodey, US Optical 
Market Eyewear Overview, 4, https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/filefield_paths/steve_kodey_ppt_presentation.pdf. The FTC does not 
possess market data for 2018.
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    Estimated annual non-labor cost burden: $0 or minimal.
    Staff believes that the Rule's disclosure and recordkeeping 
requirements impose negligible capital or other non-labor costs, as the 
affected entities are likely to have the necessary supplies and/or 
equipment already (e.g., prescription pads, patients' medical charts, 
facsimile machines and paper, telephones, and recordkeeping facilities 
such as filing cabinets or other storage).

Request for Comments

    The FTC invites comments on: (1) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways 
to minimize the burden of the collection of information. In particular, 
the FTC invites comments on (5) what percentage of sales by non-
prescriber sellers require verification; (6) what percentage of 
verification requests are affirmatively responded to by prescribers 
(either by notifying the seller that the prescription is valid, or by 
notifying the seller that the prescription is invalid or incorrect); 
(7) what percentage of contact lens prescriptions are written by 
ophthalmologists as opposed to optometrists or other medical 
specialties; (8) what percentage of verification requests received by 
optometrists' offices are handled by optometrists and what percentage 
are handled by office staff; (9) what percentage of verification 
requests received by ophthalmologists' offices are handled by 
ophthalmologists and what percentage are handled by office staff; and 
(10) whether the FTC should rely on mean wage data or median wage data 
in calculating the Rule's burden.
    You can file a comment online or on paper. For the FTC to consider 
your comment, we must receive it on or before September 3, 2019. Write 
``Paperwork Reduction Act: FTC File No. P072108'' on your comment. 
Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to delay due to 
heightened security screening. As a result, we encourage you to submit 
your comments online, or to send them to the Commission by courier or 
overnight service. To make sure that the Commission considers your 
online comment, you must file it through the https://www.regulations.gov website by following the instructions on the web-
based form. Your comment--including your name and your state--will be 
placed on the public record of this proceeding, including the https://www.regulations.gov website. As a matter of discretion, the Commission 
tries to remove individuals' home contact information from comments 
before placing them on www.regulations.gov.
    If you file your comment on paper, write ``Paperwork Reduction Act: 
FTC File No. P072108'' on your comment and on the envelope, and mail 
your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office 
of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite CC-5610 (Annex J), 
Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your

[[Page 32173]]

comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of 
the Secretary, Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW, 5th Floor, Suite 
5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 20024. If possible, submit your paper 
comment to the Commission by courier or overnight service.
    Because your comment will be placed on the publicly accessible FTC 
website at www.regulations.gov, you are solely responsible for making 
sure that your comment does not include any sensitive or confidential 
information. In particular, your comment should not include any 
sensitive personal information, such as your or anyone else'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. You are also 
solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include 
any sensitive health information, such as medical records or other 
individually identifiable health information. In addition, your comment 
should not include any ``trade secret or any commercial or financial 
information which . . . . is privileged or confidential''--as provided 
by Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 
4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)--including in particular competitively 
sensitive information such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, 
formulas, patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer 
names.
    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). In particular, 
the written request for confidential treatment that accompanies the 
comment must include the factual and legal basis for the request, and 
must identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from 
the public record.\8\ Your comment will be kept confidential only if 
the General Counsel grants your request in accordance with the law and 
the public interest. Once your comment has been posted publicly at 
www.regulations.gov, we cannot redact or remove your comment unless you 
submit a confidentiality request that meets the requirements for such 
treatment under FTC Rule 4.9(c), and the General Counsel grants that 
request.
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    \8\ See FTC Rule 4.9(c).
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    The FTC Act and other laws that 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 on or before September 3, 
2019. You can find more information, including routine uses permitted 
by the Privacy Act, in the Commission's privacy policy, at https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy.

Heather Hippsley,
Deputy General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2019-14291 Filed 7-3-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P
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