Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Extension, 68068-68070 [2020-23764]

Download as PDF 68068 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 208 / Tuesday, October 27, 2020 / Notices the offices of the Board of Governors. This information may also be obtained on an expedited basis, upon request, by contacting the appropriate Federal Reserve Bank and from the Board’s Freedom of Information Office at https://www.federalreserve.gov/foia/ request.htm. Interested persons may express their views in writing on the standards enumerated in the BHC Act (12 U.S.C. 1842(c)). Comments regarding each of these applications must be received at the Reserve Bank indicated or the offices of the Board of Governors, Ann E. Misback, Secretary of the Board, 20th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20551–0001, not later than November 27, 2020. A. Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (Dennis Denney, Assistant Vice President) 1 Memorial Drive, Kansas City, Missouri 64198–0001: 1. Oklahoma State Bancshares, Inc., Vinita, Oklahoma; to acquire Lakeside Holding Company, and thereby indirectly acquire Lakeside State Bank, both in Oologah, Oklahoma. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, October 21, 2020. Yao-Chin Chao, Assistant Secretary of the Board. [FR Doc. 2020–23689 Filed 10–26–20; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE P FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Extension Federal Trade Commission. Notice. AGENCY: ACTION: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) is seeking public comment on its proposal to extend for an additional three years the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) clearance for information collection requirements in Trade Regulation Rule entitled Labeling and Advertising of Home Insulation (R-value Rule or Rule). That clearance expires on January 31, 2021. SUMMARY: Comments must be received on or before December 28, 2020. 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 ‘‘R-value Rule; PRA Comment: FTC File No. P072108’’ on jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES DATES: VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:26 Oct 26, 2020 Jkt 253001 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, 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: Hampton Newsome, Attorney, Division of Enforcement, Federal Trade Commission, Room CC–9528, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580, (202) 326–2889. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: R-value Rule, 16 CFR part 460. OMB Control Number: 3084–0109. Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection. Likely Respondents: Insulation manufacturers, installers, home builders, home sellers, insulation sellers. Estimated Annual Hours Burden: 132,707 hours. Estimated Annual Cost Burden: $2,732,510 (solely related to labor costs). Abstract: The R-value Rule establishes uniform standards for the substantiation and disclosure of accurate, material product information about the thermal performance characteristics of home insulation products. The R-value of an insulation signifies the insulation’s degree of resistance to the flow of heat. This information tells consumers how well a product is likely to perform as an insulator and allows consumers to determine whether the cost of the insulation is justified. As required by section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A), the FTC is providing this opportunity for public comment before requesting that OMB extend the existing clearance for the information collection requirements contained in the Commission’s R-value Rule. R-value Rule Burden Statement Estimated annual hours burden: 132,707 hours. The Rule’s requirements include product testing, recordkeeping, and third-party disclosures on labels, fact sheets, advertisements, and other promotional materials. Based on information provided by members of the insulation industry, staff estimates that the Rule affects: (1) 150 Insulation PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 manufacturers and their testing laboratories; (2) 1,615 installers who sell home insulation; (3) 125,000 new home builders/sellers of site-built homes and approximately 5,500 dealers who sell manufactured housing; and (4) 25,000 retail sellers who sell home insulation for installation by consumers. (1) Manufacturers Under the Rule’s testing requirements, manufacturers must test each insulation product for its R-value. Based on past industry input, staff estimates that the test takes approximately two hours. Approximately 15 of the 150 insulation manufacturers in existence introduce one new product each year. Their total annual testing burden is therefore approximately 30 hours. Staff further estimates that most manufacturers require an average of approximately 20 hours per year regarding third-party disclosure requirements in advertising and other promotional materials. Only the five or six largest manufacturers require additional time, approximately 80 hours each. Thus, the annual third-party disclosure burden for manufacturers is approximately 3,360 hours [(144 manufacturers × 20 hours) + (6 manufacturers × 80 hours)]. While the Rule imposes recordkeeping requirements, most manufacturers and their testing laboratories keep their testing-related records in the ordinary course of business. Staff estimates that no more than one additional hour per year per manufacturer is necessary to comply with this requirement, for an annual recordkeeping burden of approximately 150 hours (150 manufacturers × 1 hour). (2) Installers Installers are required to show the manufacturers’ insulation fact sheet to retail consumers before purchase. They must also disclose information in contracts or receipts concerning the Rvalue and the amount of insulation to install. Staff estimates that two minutes per sales transaction is sufficient to comply with these requirements. Approximately 2,000,000 retrofit insulations (an industry source’s estimate) are installed by approximately 1,615 installers per year, and, thus, the related annual burden total is approximately 66,667 hours (2,000,000 sales transactions × 2 minutes). Staff anticipates that one hour per year per installer is sufficient to cover required disclosures in advertisements and other promotional materials. Thus, the burden for this requirement is approximately 1,615 hours per year. In addition, installers must keep records that E:\FR\FM\27OCN1.SGM 27OCN1 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 208 / Tuesday, October 27, 2020 / Notices indicate the substantiation relied upon for savings claims. The additional time to comply with this requirement is minimal—approximately 5 minutes per year per installer—for a total of approximately 135 hours. (3) New Home Sellers New home sellers must make contract disclosures concerning the type, thickness, and R-value of the insulation they install in each part of a new home. Staff estimates that no more than 30 seconds per sales transaction is required to comply with this requirement, for a total annual burden of approximately 10,750 hours (an estimated 1,290,000 new home sales per year 1 × 30 seconds). New home sellers who make energy savings claims must also keep records regarding the substantiation relied upon for those claims. Staff believes that the 30 seconds covering disclosures would also encompass this recordkeeping element. jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES (4) Retail Sellers The Rule requires that the approximately 25,000 retailers who sell home insulation make fact sheets available to consumers before purchase. This can be accomplished by, for example, placing copies in a display rack or keeping copies in a binder on a service desk with an appropriate notice. Replenishing or replacing fact sheets should require no more than approximately one hour per year per retailer, for a total of 25,000 annual hours, industry-wide. The Rule also requires specific disclosures in advertisements or other promotional materials to ensure that the claims are fair and not deceptive. This burden is very minimal because retailers typically use advertising copy provided by the insulation manufacturer, and even when retailers prepare their own advertising copy, the Rule provides some of the language to be used. Accordingly, approximately one hour per year per retailer should suffice to meet this requirement, for a total annual burden of approximately 25,000 hours. Retailers who make energy savings claims in advertisements or other promotional materials must keep records that indicate the substantiation they are relying upon. Because few retailers make these types of promotional claims and because the Rule permits retailers to rely on the insulation manufacturer’s substantiation data for any claims that are made, the additional recordkeeping burden is de 1 See Table 3b on housing starts for privately owned units for 2019 at https://www.census.gov/ construction/nrc/pdf/newresconst_202006.pdf. VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:26 Oct 26, 2020 Jkt 253001 minimis. The time calculated for disclosures, above, would be more than adequate to cover any burden imposed by this recordkeeping requirement. To summarize, staff estimates that the Rule imposes a total of 132,707 burden hours, as follows: 150 recordkeeping and 3,390 testing and disclosure hours for manufacturers; 135 recordkeeping and 68,282 disclosure hours for installers; 10,750 disclosure hours for new home sellers; and 50,000 disclosure hours for retailers. The estimated total burden is approximately 132,707 burden hours. Estimated annual cost burden: $2,732,510 (solely related to labor costs). The total annual labor cost for the Rule’s information collection requirements is approximately $2,732,510, derived as follows: approximately $896 for testing, based on 30 hours for manufacturers (30 hours × $29.87 per hour for skilled technical personnel); $4,742 for manufacturers’ and installers’ compliance with the Rule’s recordkeeping requirements, based on 285 hours (285 hours × $16.64 per hour for clerical personnel); $55,910 for manufacturers’ compliance with third-party disclosure requirements, based on 3,360 hours (3,360 hours × $16.64 per hour for clerical personnel); and $2,670,962 for disclosure compliance by installers, new home sellers, and retailers (129,032 hours × $20.70 per hour for sales persons).2 There are no significant current capital or other non-labor costs associated with this Rule. Because the Rule has been in effect since 1980, members of the industry are familiar with its requirements and already have in place the equipment for conducting tests and storing records. New products are introduced infrequently. Because the required disclosures are placed on packaging or on the product itself, the Rule’s additional disclosure requirements do not cause industry members to incur any significant additional non-labor associated costs. Request for Comments Pursuant to Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, 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 2 The wage rates for engineering technologists and technicians, except drafters (skilled technical personnel), file clerks (clerical personnel), and sales and related occupations (sales persons) are based on recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics Survey. PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 68069 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 maintaining records and providing disclosures to consumers. All comments must be received on or before December 28, 2020. You can file a comment online or on paper. For the FTC to consider your comment, we must receive it on or before December 28, 2020. Write ‘‘Rvalue Rule; PRA Comment: FTC File No. P072108’’ on your comment. 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. Due to the public health emergency in response to the COVID–19 outbreak and the agency’s heightened security screening, postal mail addressed to the Commission will be subject to delay. We encourage you to submit your comments online through the https:// www.regulations.gov website. If you prefer to file your comment on paper, write ‘‘R-value Rule; PRA Comment: 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 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 become publicly available at https:// 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 E:\FR\FM\27OCN1.SGM 27OCN1 68070 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 208 / Tuesday, October 27, 2020 / Notices 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. See FTC Rule 4.9(c). 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 consider all timely and responsive public comments that it receives on or before December 28, 2020. For information on the Commission’s privacy policy, including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, see https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/ privacy-policy. Josephine Liu, Assistant General Counsel for Legal Counsel. [FR Doc. 2020–23764 Filed 10–26–20; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6750–01–P DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Centers for Disease Control and Prevention jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES [Docket No. CDC–2020–0089] Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). ACTION: Notice of a modified system of records. AGENCY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:26 Oct 26, 2020 Jkt 253001 In accordance with the requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is modifying a system of records maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 09–20–0170, National Select Agent Registry (NSAR)/Select Agent Transfer and Entity Registration Information System (SATERIS), HHS/ CDC/COTPER. SATERIS is a national database registry containing the name of and location information about individuals possessing, using, or transferring select agents and toxins and characterization information about the agents and toxins, as required by the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002. HHS/CDC is changing the name of the system of records to ‘‘Electronic Federal Select Agent Program Portal (eFSAP Portal)’’ and making other updates, some of which result from an information technology (IT) system upgrade. DATES: The modified system of records is applicable October 27, 2020, subject to a 30-day period in which to comment on the routine uses. Written comments must be received on or before November 27, 2020. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC–2020– 0089 by any of the following methods: • Federal eRulemaking Portal: https:// www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments. • Mail: Beverly Walker, Chief Privacy Officer, CDC Privacy Unit, CyberSecurity Program Office (CSPO), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Hwy, Mailstop S101, Atlanta, GA 30341. Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name and Docket Number. All relevant comments received will be posted without change to https://regulations.gov, including any personal information provided. Therefore, do not include any information in your comment or supporting materials that you consider confidential or inappropriate for public disclosure. For access to the docket to read background documents or comments received, go to https:// www.regulations.gov. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: General questions about the modified system of records may be submitted to Beverly Walker, Chief Privacy Officer, CDC Privacy Unit, CyberSecurity Program Office (CSPO), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Hwy, Mailstop S101, Atlanta, GA 30341, (770) 488–8524. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 I. Background on the Federal Select Agent Program and eFSAP Portal IT System HHS/CDC and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA/APHIS) jointly manage the Federal Select Agent Program (FSAP). FSAP oversees the possession, use, and transfer of biological select agents and toxins (BSAT), as outlined in the select agent regulations (42 CFR part 73, 9 CFR part 121, and 7 CFR part 331). BSAT have the potential to pose a severe threat to public, animal or plant health or to animal or plant products. BSAT are divided into four categories based on whether an agent causes disease in humans, animals, plants, or a combination of humans and animals. HHS/CDC regulates the possession, use, and transfer of BSAT that have the potential to pose a severe threat to public health and safety. USDA/APHIS regulates the possession, use, and transfer of BSAT that pose a severe threat to animal or plant health or products. HHS/CDC and USDA/APHIS regulate overlapping BSAT that have the potential to pose a severe threat to both public health and safety and to animal health or products. The information that FSAP collects in order to track possession, use, and transfer of BSAT includes: Registration records about a registered entity or individual, identifying BSAT at each of the registrant’s locations or facilities and the individuals approved for access to BSAT at each location or facility; laboratory biosafety and security information for BSAT; information about transfers of BSAT; identification and final disposition of any BSAT contained in a specimen presented for diagnosis, verification, or proficiency testing; observations from the inspections of each registered individual or entity; and reports of any theft, loss, or release of BSAT. The IT system used by FSAP to track possession, use, and transfer of BSAT has been upgraded to allow the regulated community to report required information or make requests to FSAP electronically, via a single web portal known as the eFSAP portal. The eFSAP portal is a single web-based information management system shared by HHS/ CDC and USDA/APHIS. As upgraded, the IT system will continue to utilize a secure database environment and to contain the same information that was included in SATERIS. Allowing electronic submissions from the regulated community will enable the regulated community to interact with FSAP more E:\FR\FM\27OCN1.SGM 27OCN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 208 (Tuesday, October 27, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68068-68070]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-23764]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; Extension

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 
the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) is seeking public 
comment on its proposal to extend for an additional three years the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) clearance for information 
collection requirements in Trade Regulation Rule entitled Labeling and 
Advertising of Home Insulation (R-value Rule or Rule). That clearance 
expires on January 31, 2021.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 28, 2020.

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 ``R-value Rule; PRA 
Comment: 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: Hampton Newsome, Attorney, Division of 
Enforcement, Federal Trade Commission, Room CC-9528, 600 Pennsylvania 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580, (202) 326-2889.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: R-value Rule, 16 CFR part 460.
    OMB Control Number: 3084-0109.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Likely Respondents: Insulation manufacturers, installers, home 
builders, home sellers, insulation sellers.
    Estimated Annual Hours Burden: 132,707 hours.
    Estimated Annual Cost Burden: $2,732,510 (solely related to labor 
costs).
    Abstract: The R-value Rule establishes uniform standards for the 
substantiation and disclosure of accurate, material product information 
about the thermal performance characteristics of home insulation 
products. The R-value of an insulation signifies the insulation's 
degree of resistance to the flow of heat. This information tells 
consumers how well a product is likely to perform as an insulator and 
allows consumers to determine whether the cost of the insulation is 
justified.
    As required by section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A), the FTC is providing this opportunity for public comment 
before requesting that OMB extend the existing clearance for the 
information collection requirements contained in the Commission's R-
value Rule.

R-value Rule Burden Statement

    Estimated annual hours burden: 132,707 hours.
    The Rule's requirements include product testing, recordkeeping, and 
third-party disclosures on labels, fact sheets, advertisements, and 
other promotional materials. Based on information provided by members 
of the insulation industry, staff estimates that the Rule affects: (1) 
150 Insulation manufacturers and their testing laboratories; (2) 1,615 
installers who sell home insulation; (3) 125,000 new home builders/
sellers of site-built homes and approximately 5,500 dealers who sell 
manufactured housing; and (4) 25,000 retail sellers who sell home 
insulation for installation by consumers.

(1) Manufacturers

    Under the Rule's testing requirements, manufacturers must test each 
insulation product for its R-value. Based on past industry input, staff 
estimates that the test takes approximately two hours. Approximately 15 
of the 150 insulation manufacturers in existence introduce one new 
product each year. Their total annual testing burden is therefore 
approximately 30 hours.
    Staff further estimates that most manufacturers require an average 
of approximately 20 hours per year regarding third-party disclosure 
requirements in advertising and other promotional materials. Only the 
five or six largest manufacturers require additional time, 
approximately 80 hours each. Thus, the annual third-party disclosure 
burden for manufacturers is approximately 3,360 hours [(144 
manufacturers x 20 hours) + (6 manufacturers x 80 hours)].
    While the Rule imposes recordkeeping requirements, most 
manufacturers and their testing laboratories keep their testing-related 
records in the ordinary course of business. Staff estimates that no 
more than one additional hour per year per manufacturer is necessary to 
comply with this requirement, for an annual recordkeeping burden of 
approximately 150 hours (150 manufacturers x 1 hour).

(2) Installers

    Installers are required to show the manufacturers' insulation fact 
sheet to retail consumers before purchase. They must also disclose 
information in contracts or receipts concerning the R-value and the 
amount of insulation to install. Staff estimates that two minutes per 
sales transaction is sufficient to comply with these requirements. 
Approximately 2,000,000 retrofit insulations (an industry source's 
estimate) are installed by approximately 1,615 installers per year, 
and, thus, the related annual burden total is approximately 66,667 
hours (2,000,000 sales transactions x 2 minutes). Staff anticipates 
that one hour per year per installer is sufficient to cover required 
disclosures in advertisements and other promotional materials. Thus, 
the burden for this requirement is approximately 1,615 hours per year. 
In addition, installers must keep records that

[[Page 68069]]

indicate the substantiation relied upon for savings claims. The 
additional time to comply with this requirement is minimal--
approximately 5 minutes per year per installer--for a total of 
approximately 135 hours.

(3) New Home Sellers

    New home sellers must make contract disclosures concerning the 
type, thickness, and R-value of the insulation they install in each 
part of a new home. Staff estimates that no more than 30 seconds per 
sales transaction is required to comply with this requirement, for a 
total annual burden of approximately 10,750 hours (an estimated 
1,290,000 new home sales per year \1\ x 30 seconds). New home sellers 
who make energy savings claims must also keep records regarding the 
substantiation relied upon for those claims. Staff believes that the 30 
seconds covering disclosures would also encompass this recordkeeping 
element.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ See Table 3b on housing starts for privately owned units for 
2019 at https://www.census.gov/construction/nrc/pdf/newresconst_202006.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

(4) Retail Sellers

    The Rule requires that the approximately 25,000 retailers who sell 
home insulation make fact sheets available to consumers before 
purchase. This can be accomplished by, for example, placing copies in a 
display rack or keeping copies in a binder on a service desk with an 
appropriate notice. Replenishing or replacing fact sheets should 
require no more than approximately one hour per year per retailer, for 
a total of 25,000 annual hours, industry-wide.
    The Rule also requires specific disclosures in advertisements or 
other promotional materials to ensure that the claims are fair and not 
deceptive. This burden is very minimal because retailers typically use 
advertising copy provided by the insulation manufacturer, and even when 
retailers prepare their own advertising copy, the Rule provides some of 
the language to be used. Accordingly, approximately one hour per year 
per retailer should suffice to meet this requirement, for a total 
annual burden of approximately 25,000 hours.
    Retailers who make energy savings claims in advertisements or other 
promotional materials must keep records that indicate the 
substantiation they are relying upon. Because few retailers make these 
types of promotional claims and because the Rule permits retailers to 
rely on the insulation manufacturer's substantiation data for any 
claims that are made, the additional recordkeeping burden is de 
minimis. The time calculated for disclosures, above, would be more than 
adequate to cover any burden imposed by this recordkeeping requirement.
    To summarize, staff estimates that the Rule imposes a total of 
132,707 burden hours, as follows: 150 recordkeeping and 3,390 testing 
and disclosure hours for manufacturers; 135 recordkeeping and 68,282 
disclosure hours for installers; 10,750 disclosure hours for new home 
sellers; and 50,000 disclosure hours for retailers. The estimated total 
burden is approximately 132,707 burden hours.
    Estimated annual cost burden: $2,732,510 (solely related to labor 
costs).
    The total annual labor cost for the Rule's information collection 
requirements is approximately $2,732,510, derived as follows: 
approximately $896 for testing, based on 30 hours for manufacturers (30 
hours x $29.87 per hour for skilled technical personnel); $4,742 for 
manufacturers' and installers' compliance with the Rule's recordkeeping 
requirements, based on 285 hours (285 hours x $16.64 per hour for 
clerical personnel); $55,910 for manufacturers' compliance with third-
party disclosure requirements, based on 3,360 hours (3,360 hours x 
$16.64 per hour for clerical personnel); and $2,670,962 for disclosure 
compliance by installers, new home sellers, and retailers (129,032 
hours x $20.70 per hour for sales persons).\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ The wage rates for engineering technologists and 
technicians, except drafters (skilled technical personnel), file 
clerks (clerical personnel), and sales and related occupations 
(sales persons) are based on recent data from the Bureau of Labor 
Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics Survey.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    There are no significant current capital or other non-labor costs 
associated with this Rule. Because the Rule has been in effect since 
1980, members of the industry are familiar with its requirements and 
already have in place the equipment for conducting tests and storing 
records. New products are introduced infrequently. Because the required 
disclosures are placed on packaging or on the product itself, the 
Rule's additional disclosure requirements do not cause industry members 
to incur any significant additional non-labor associated costs.

Request for Comments

    Pursuant to Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, 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 maintaining records and providing disclosures to 
consumers. All comments must be received on or before December 28, 
2020.
    You can file a comment online or on paper. For the FTC to consider 
your comment, we must receive it on or before December 28, 2020. Write 
``R-value Rule; PRA Comment: FTC File No. P072108'' on your comment. 
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.
    Due to the public health emergency in response to the COVID-19 
outbreak and the agency's heightened security screening, postal mail 
addressed to the Commission will be subject to delay. We encourage you 
to submit your comments online through the https://www.regulations.gov 
website.
    If you prefer to file your comment on paper, write ``R-value Rule; 
PRA Comment: 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 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 become publicly available at https://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

[[Page 68070]]

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. See FTC Rule 4.9(c). 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 consider all timely and 
responsive public comments that it receives on or before December 28, 
2020. For information on the Commission's privacy policy, including 
routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, see https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy.

Josephine Liu,
Assistant General Counsel for Legal Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2020-23764 Filed 10-26-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P
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