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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
SUMMARY:
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requirements contained in the Red
Flags, Card Issuers, and Address
Discrepancy Rules (Rules). That
clearance expires on December 31, 2021.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before December 14, 2021.
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 ‘‘Red Flags, Card Issuers,
and Address Discrepancy Rules; 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 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:
Whitney Moore, Attorney, Division of
Division of Privacy and Identity
Protection, Bureau of Consumer
Protection, Federal Trade Commission,
Mail Code CC–8232, 600 Pennsylvania
Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20580, (202)
326–2645.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Red Flags Rule, 16 CFR 681.1;
Card Issuers Rule, 16 CFR 681.2;
Address Discrepancy Rule, 16 CFR part
641.
OMB Control Number: 3084–0137.
Type of Review: Extension of
currently approved collection.
Estimated Annual Burden: (397,298
hours; $20,103,752 in labor costs).
A. Section 114—Red Flags and Card
Issuers Rules:
(1) Red Flags:
(a) Estimated Number of Respondents:
164,591
(i) High-Risk Entities: 99,830 1
(ii) Low-Risk Entities: 64,761 2
(b) Estimated Hours Burden:
(i) High-Risk Entities: 342,900 hours
1 High-risk
entities include, for example, financial
institutions within the FTC’s jurisdiction and
utilities, motor vehicle dealerships,
telecommunications firms, colleges and
universities, and hospitals.
2 Low-risk entities include, for example, public
warehouse and storage firms, nursing and
residential care facilities, automotive equipment
rental and leasing firms, office supplies and
stationery stores, fuel dealers, and financial
transaction processing firms.
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(ii) Low-Risk Entities: 16,523 hours
(2) Card Issuers Rule:
(a) Estimated Number of Respondents:
18,894 3
(b) Estimated Hours Burden: 20,508
hours
(3) Combined Labor Cost Burden:
$19,756,412
B. Section 315—Address Discrepancy
Rule:
(1) Estimated Number of
Respondents: 44,000
(2) Estimated Hours Burden: 17,367
hours
(3) Estimated Labor Cost Burden:
$347,340
C. Capital/Non-Labor Costs for Sections
114 and 315
FTC staff believes that the Rules
impose negligible capital or other nonlabor costs, as the affected entities are
likely to have the necessary supplies
and/or equipment already (e.g., offices
and computers) for the information
collections described herein.
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 Rules.
Overview of the Rules
A. FACT Act Section 114
The FTC Red Flags and Card Issuers
Rules implement requirements under
Section 114 of the FACT Act (officially
the Fair and Accurate Credit
Transactions Act of 2003).4 The Red
Flags Rule requires financial institutions
and covered creditors to develop and
implement a written Program to detect,
prevent, and mitigate identity theft in
connection with existing accounts or the
opening of new accounts. Under the
Rule, financial institutions and certain
creditors must conduct a periodic risk
assessment to determine if they
maintain ‘‘covered accounts.’’ The Rule
defines the term ‘‘covered account’’ as
either: (1) A consumer account that is
designed to permit multiple payments
or transactions, or (2) any other account
for which there is a reasonably
foreseeable risk of identity theft. Each
3 FTC staff estimates that the Rule affects as many
as 18,356 card issuers within the FTC’s jurisdiction.
This includes, for example, state credit unions,
general retail merchandise stores, colleges and
universities, and telecoms.
4 The FACT Act added the red flags and card
issuer requirements to the Fair Credit Reporting
Act, 15 U.S.C. 1681m(e)(1). On December 11, 2018,
the Commission initiated periodic review of the
Red Flags and Card Issuers Rules. 83 FR 63604. The
public comment period closed on February 11,
2019, and the staff is reviewing the comments.
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financial institution and covered
creditor that has covered accounts must
create a written Program that contains
reasonable policies and procedures to
identify relevant indicators of the
possible existence of identity theft (‘‘red
flags’’); detect red flags that have been
incorporated into the Program; respond
appropriately to any red flags that are
detected to prevent and mitigate
identity theft; and update the Program
periodically to ensure it reflects change
in risks to customers.
The Red Flags Rule also requires
financial institutions and covered
creditors to: (1) Obtain approval of the
initial written Program by the board of
directors; a committee thereof; or, if
there is no board, an appropriate senior
employee; (2) ensure oversight of the
development, implementation, and
administration of the Program; and (3)
exercise appropriate and effective
oversight of service provider
arrangements.
In addition, the Card Issuers Rule
requires that card issuers generally must
assess the validity of change of address
notifications. Specifically, if the card
issuer receives a notice of change of
address for an existing account and,
within a short period of time (during at
least the first 30 days), receives a
request for an additional or replacement
card for the same account, the issuer
must follow reasonable policies and
procedures to assess the validity of the
change of address.
B. FACT Act Section 315
The Address Discrepancy Rule, which
implements section 315 of the FACT
Act, requires each user of consumer
reports to have reasonable policies and
procedures in place to employ when the
user receives a notice of address
discrepancy from a consumer reporting
agency (CRA).5 Specifically, each user
must develop reasonable policies and
procedures to: (1) Enable the user to
form a reasonable belief that a consumer
report relates to the consumer about
whom it has requested the report; and
(2) in certain circumstances, provide to
the CRA from which it received the
notice an address for the consumer that
the user has reasonably confirmed is
accurate.
5 The FACT Act added the address discrepancy
requirement to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15
U.S.C. 1681c(h). On September 8, 2021, the
Commission announced revisions to the Address
Discrepancy Rule, but the revisions do not affect the
burden to covered entities.
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Burden Statement
A. Estimated Annual Hours of Burden
Section 114—(1) Red Flags Rule and (2)
Card Issuers Rule
Red Flags Rule
Affected Public: Utilities; motor
vehicle dealerships;
telecommunications firms; colleges and
universities; hospitals; nursing homes;
public warehouse and storage firms; fuel
dealers; financial transaction processing
firms; other persons satisfying the
definition of ‘‘creditor,’’ as modified by
the Red Flags Program Clarification Act
of 2010 (the ‘‘Clarification Act’’); 6 and
other categories of persons that qualify
as financial institutions.7
Estimated Hours Burden (Red Flags):
359,423 hours.
The Red Flags Rule requires financial
institutions and certain creditors with
covered accounts to develop and
implement a written Program and report
to the board of directors, a committee
thereof, or senior management at least
annually on compliance with the Rule.
Under the Rule, a ‘‘financial institution’’
is ‘‘a State or National bank, a State or
Federal saving and loan association, a
mutual savings bank, a State or Federal
credit union, or any other person that,
directly or indirectly, holds a
transaction account (as defined in
section 19(b) of the Federal Reserve Act,
12 U.S.C. ch. 3) belonging to a
consumer.’’ 8
Under the Rule, ‘‘creditor’’ has the
same meaning as in section 702 of the
Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA).9
The Clarification Act, however, narrows
the definition to those creditors that use
consumer reports, furnish information
to consumer reporting agencies, or
advance funds. As a result, many small
businesses, service providers, and other
persons that would ordinarily satisfy the
ECOA definition of ‘‘creditor’’ will
nonetheless be excluded from the
definition of ‘‘creditor’’ for purposes of
the Red Flags Rule.
6 The Clarification Act narrowed the Fair Credit
Report Act’s definition to those creditors that use
consumer reports, furnish information to consumer
reporting agencies, or advance funds. 15 U.S.C.
1681(e)(4). As a result, many small businesses,
service providers, and other persons that would
ordinarily satisfy the ECOA definition of ‘‘creditor’’
are excluded from the definition of ‘‘creditor’’ for
purposes of the Red Flags Rule.
7 We have focused our analysis on the categories
described in this notice, but welcome comments on
whether there are other categories of creditors or
financial institutions that we should be including
in the burden analysis.
8 The Rule refers to the definition of ‘‘financial
institution’’ that is found in the Fair Credit
Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. 1681a(t).
9 15 U.S.C. 1681a(r)(5).
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Nonetheless, the scope of entities
covered by the Red Flags Rule within
the FTC’s jurisdiction is broad, making
it difficult to determine precisely the
number of financial institutions and
creditors that are subject to the FTC’s
jurisdiction. There are numerous
businesses under the FTC’s jurisdiction
and there is no formal way to track
them; moreover, as a whole, the entities
under the FTC’s jurisdiction are so
varied that there are no general sources
that provide a record of their existence.
Nonetheless, FTC staff estimates that the
Red Flag Rule’s requirement to have a
written Program affects over 5,666
financial institutions 10 and 157,180
creditors.11
To estimate burden hours for the Red
Flags Rule under section 114, FTC staff
has divided affected entities into two
categories, based on the nature of their
businesses: (1) Entities that are subject
to a high risk of identity theft; 12 and (2)
entities that are subject to a low risk of
identity theft.13
1. High-Risk Entities
FTC staff estimates that on an annual
basis, there are around 1,447 new highrisk entities and approximately 98,393
existing high-risk entities.14 FTC staff
estimates that new high-risk entities
will each require 25 hours to create and
10 The total number of financial institutions is
derived from an analysis of state credit unions and
insurers within the FTC’s jurisdiction using 2018
Census data (‘‘County Business Patterns,’’ U.S.) and
other online industry data.
11 This figure comprises 5,666 financial
institutions and 157,180 creditors (92,727 high-risk
entities, excluding financial institutions + 64,453
low-risk creditors). The total number of financial
institutions draws from FTC staff analysis of state
credit unions and insurers within the FTC’s
jurisdiction using 2018 Census Bureau data
(‘‘Statistics of U.S. Businesses’’) and other online
industry data. The total number of creditors draws
from FTC staff analysis of 2018 Census data and
industry data for businesses or organizations that
market goods and services to consumers or other
businesses or organizations subject to the FTC’s
jurisdiction, reduced by entities not likely to: (1)
Obtain credit reports, report credit transactions, or
advance loans; and (2) entities not likely to have
covered accounts under the Rule. Currently, no
further updated Census data is available online to
inform revised estimates.
12 In general, high-risk entities include, for
example, financial institutions within the FTC’s
jurisdiction and utilities, motor vehicle dealerships,
telecommunications firms, colleges and
universities, and hospitals.
13 Low-risk entities have a minimal risk of
identity theft, but have covered accounts. These
include, for example, public warehouse and storage
firms, nursing and residential care facilities,
automotive equipment rental and leasing firms,
office supplies and stationery stores, fuel dealers,
and financial transaction processing firms.
14 This number was derived from the average
annual number of existing high-risk entities, taking
into account that the new entities from year one
will become existing entities in year two and the
new entities from year two will become existing
entities in year three.
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implement a written Program. FTC staff
estimates that existing high-risk entities
have likely already created and
implemented a written Program, but
will require an annual recurring burden
of one hour. Further, FTC staff estimates
that existing entities have already
prepared an annual report and will have
an annual recurring burden of one hour
to update the report for each year, but
that preparation of an annual report will
require four hours initially for each new
high-risk entity. Finally, FTC staff
believes that many of the high-risk
entities, as part of their usual and
customary business practices, already
take steps to minimize losses due to
fraud, including employee training.
Accordingly, only relevant staff need to
be trained to implement the Program:
For example, staff already trained as
part of a covered entity’s anti-fraud
prevention efforts do not need to be retrained except as incrementally needed.
FTC staff estimates that recurring
annual training in connection with the
implementation of a Program of an
existing high-risk entity will require one
hour each year, and for new entities will
require four hours initially. Thus, the
estimated hours of burden for high-risk
entities is as follows:
• 1,447 new high-risk entities subject
to the FTC’s jurisdiction at an average
annual burden of 33 hours per entity
[including 25 hours to create and
implement the Program, plus four hours
for staff training, plus four hours for
preparing annual report], for a total of
47,751 hours.
• 98,383 existing high-risk entities
subject to the FTC’s jurisdiction at an
average annual burden of 3 hours per
entity [including one hour to update the
Program, plus one hour for staff
training, plus one hour for preparing the
annual report], for a total of 295,149
annual hours.
• In total, 99,830 high-risk entities
subject to the FTC’s jurisdiction for a
total of 342,900 hours.
2. Low-Risk Entities
FTC staff believes that the burden on
low-risk entities to comply with the
rules is minimal. Entities that have a
low risk of identity theft, but that have
covered accounts, likely will only need
a streamlined Program. FTC staff
estimates that any new such entities
will require one hour to create such a
Program. Existing entities will only have
an annual recurring burden of 5
minutes. Training staff of low-risk
entities to be attentive to future risks of
identity theft and preparing an annual
report should require no more than 10
minutes each in an initial year for new
entities. Existing entities will only have
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an annual recurring burden of 5 minutes
each. Thus, the estimated hours of
burden for low-risk entities is as
follows:
• 307 new low-risk entities 15 that
have covered accounts subject to the
FTC’s jurisdiction at an average annual
burden of approximately 80 minutes per
entity [including 60 minutes to create
and implement a streamlined Program,
plus ten minutes for staff training and
ten minutes for preparing the annual
report], for a total of 409 hours.
• 64,454 existing low-risk entities 16
that have covered accounts subject to
the FTC’s jurisdiction at an average
annual burden of approximately 15
minutes per entity [including five
minutes for updating of streamlined
Program, plus five minutes for staff
training, and five minutes for preparing
annual report], for a total of 16,114
hours.
• In total, 64,761 low-risk entities
subject to the FTC’s jurisdiction for a
total of 16,523 hours.
Card Issuers Rule
Affected Public: State-chartered credit
unions; general merchandise stores;
colleges and universities;
telecommunications firms; and other
persons satisfying the definition of
‘‘creditor,’’ as modified by the
Clarification Act.
Estimated Hours Burden (Card
Issuers): 20,508 hours.
The Card Issuers Rule requires credit
and debit card issuers to establish
policies and procedures to assess the
validity of a change of address request,
including notifying the cardholder or
using another means of assessing the
validity of the change of address. FTC
staff believes that there may be as many
as 18,894 credit or debit card issuers
under the FTC’s jurisdiction, including
state-chartered credit unions, retailers,
and certain universities, businesses, and
telecommunications companies. FTC
staff estimates that on an annual basis,
approximately 538 of these card issuers
may be new entrants that will need to
develop and implement policies and
procedures to assess the validity of a
change of address request. FTC staff
15 Estimates of new and existing low-risk entities
are derived from an analysis of a database of U.S.
businesses based on NAICS codes for businesses
that market goods or services to consumers or other
businesses within the FTC’s jurisdiction, reduced
further to: (1) Those that satisfy the Clarification
Act’s definition of ‘‘creditor’’ and (2) those that are
likely to have covered accounts.
16 This number was derived from the average
annual number of existing low-risk entities, taking
into account that the new entities from year one
will become existing entities in year two and the
new entities from year two will become existing
entities in year three.
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estimates that process will take
approximately four hours for a total
burden of 2,152 hours. FTC staff
estimates that the remaining 18,356 card
issuers likely already have automated
the process of notifying the cardholder
or are using other means to assess the
validity of the change of address, such
that implementation will pose no
further burden. Nevertheless, in order to
be conservative, FTC staff estimates that
it will take the 18,356 card issuers one
hour to review and maintain policies
and procedures to assess the validity of
a change of address request for a total
burden of 18,356 hours. Collectively,
the total burden for the 18,894 card
issuers is 20,508 hours.
Section 315—Address Discrepancy Rule
Affected Public: Users of consumer
reports that are motor vehicle dealers
described in section 1029(a) of the
Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and
Consumer Protection Act (the DoddFrank Act), 12 U.S.C. 5519, and that are
predominantly engaged in the sale and
servicing of motor vehicles, the leasing
and servicing of them, or both (below,
referenced as ‘‘users’’).
Estimated Hours Burden:
As discussed above, the Address
Discrepancy Rule provides guidance on
reasonable policies and procedures that
a user of consumer reports must employ
when a user receives a notice of address
discrepancy from a consumer reporting
agency. The FTC Address Discrepancy
Rule covers only users of consumer
reports that are motor vehicle dealers
described in section 1029(a) of the
Dodd-Frank Act and that are
predominantly engaged in the sale and
servicing of motor vehicles, the leasing
and servicing of them, or both.
Assuming that every covered motor
vehicle dealer is a user of consumer
reports, FTC staff estimates that the Rule
affects approximately 44,000 entities.
FTC staff also estimates that
approximately 2,000 of those motor
vehicle dealers may be new entrants
who have not previously implemented
procedures to comply with this rule.
For the 2,000 new entrants, FTC staff
estimates that it would take an
infrequent user of consumer reports no
more than 16 minutes to develop and
follow the policies and procedures that
it will employ when it receives a notice
of address discrepancy, whereas a
frequent user may take one hour. Taking
into account these extremes, FTC staff
estimates that, during the first year of
the clearance, for the 2,000 new
entrants, it will take users of consumer
reports an average of 38 minutes [the
midpoint between 16 minutes and 60
minutes] to develop and comply with
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the policies and procedures that they
will employ when they receive a notice
of address discrepancy.
For the 42,000 existing motor vehicle
dealers, FTC staff expects that the
policies and procedures that they will
employ when they receive a notice of
address discrepancy will have already
been developed. Accordingly, during
the three years of the clearance, it may
take an infrequent user of consumer
reports no more than one minute to
comply with the policies and
procedures that it will employ when it
receives a notice of address discrepancy,
whereas a frequent user of consumer
reports may take 45 minutes. FTC staff
estimates that the average annual
burden for the 42,000 existing motor
vehicle dealers will be 23 minutes [the
midpoint between one minute and 45
minutes].
Thus, for the 2,000 new entrants, the
average annual burden for each of them
to perform these collective tasks will be
38 minutes; cumulatively, 1,267 hours.
For the 42,000 existing motor vehicle
dealers, the average annual burden for
each of them to perform these collective
tasks will be 23 minutes; cumulatively,
16,100 hours. Collectively, the total
burden for the 44,000 motor vehicle
dealers will be 17,367 hours.17
B. Estimated Labor Cost: $20,103,752
($19,756,412 for Section 114 and
$347,340 for Section 315)
Section 114—Red Flags and Card
Issuers Rules
FTC staff derived labor costs by
applying appropriate estimated hourly
cost figures to the burden hours
described above. It is difficult to
calculate with precision the labor costs
associated with the Rules, as they entail
varying compensation levels of
management and/or technical staff
among companies of different sizes. In
calculating the cost figures, staff
assumes that entities’ professional
technical personnel and/or managerial
personnel will create and implement the
Program, prepare the annual report,
train employees, and assess the validity
17 The above-noted customer verification
requirements and the estimate of 38,207 hours
concern 16 CFR 641.1(c). In addition, 16 CFR
641.1(d) requires users that (a) furnish a consumer’s
address to a consumer reporting agency, and (b)
have established a continuing relationship with the
consumer, to develop and implement reasonable
policies and procedures for furnishing an address
for the consumer that the user has reasonably
confirmed is accurate. The FTC previously
estimated that the cumulative burden hours
associated with 16 CFR 641.1(d) would be de
minimis. Thus, the estimate above concerns solely
16 CFR 641.1(c).
E:\FR\FM\15OCN1.SGM
15OCN1
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 197 / Friday, October 15, 2021 / Notices
of a change of address request at an
hourly rate of $52.18
Based on the above estimates and
assumptions, the total annual labor
costs for all categories of covered
entities under the Red Flags and Card
Issuers Rules for section 114 is
$19,756,412 (379,931 hours × $52).
Section 315—Address Discrepancy Rule
FTC staff assumes that the policies
and procedures for compliance with the
Address Discrepancy Rule will be set up
by administrative support personnel at
an hourly rate of $20.19 Based on the
above estimates and assumptions, the
total annual labor cost for the two
categories of burden under section 315
is $347,340 [(17,367 hours × $20)].
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 14, 2021.
You can file a comment online or on
paper. For the FTC to consider your
comment, we must receive it on or
before December 14, 2021. Write ‘‘Red
Flags, Card Issuers, and Address
Discrepancy Rules; 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
18 This estimate is based on mean wages (hourly)
found at https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/
ocwage.pdf (‘‘Bureau of Labor Statistics,
Occupational Employment and Wages—May 2020,’’
March 31, 2021, Table 1, ‘‘National employment
and wage data from the Occupational Employment
and Wage Statistics survey by occupation, May
2020’’) for the various managerial and technical
staff support exemplified above (administrative
service managers, computer & information systems
managers, training & development managers,
computer systems analysts, network & computer
systems analysts, computer support specialists)
(hereinafter ‘‘BLS Table 1’’).
19 This estimate—is based on mean wages
(hourly) for office and administrative support
occupations found within BLS Table 1 (see supra
note 17).
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:50 Oct 14, 2021
Jkt 256001
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 ‘‘Red Flags, Card Issuers,
and Address Discrepancy Rules; 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
which . . . . is privileged or
confidential’’—as provided by Section
6(f) of the Federal Trade Commission
Act (FTC Act), 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC
Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)—
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
PO 00000
Frm 00023
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
57429
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 14, 2021. 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. 2021–22478 Filed 10–14–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services
[CMS–3416–PN]
Medicare and Medicaid Programs;
Application From the American
Association for Accreditation of
Ambulatory Surgery Facilities for
Continued Approval of Its Rural Health
Clinic (RHC) Accreditation Program
Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS.
ACTION: Proposed notice.
AGENCY:
This proposed notice
acknowledges the receipt of an
application from the American
Association for Accreditation of
Ambulatory Surgery Facilities
(AAAASF) for continued recognition as
a national accrediting organization for
rural health clinics (RHCs) that wish to
participate in the Medicare or Medicaid
programs. The statute requires that
within 60 days of receipt of an
organization’s complete application, the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services (CMS) publish a notice that
identifies the national accrediting body
making the request, describes the nature
of the request, and provides at least a
30-day public comment period.
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\15OCN1.SGM
15OCN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 197 (Friday, October 15, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57425-57429]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-22478]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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
[[Page 57426]]
requirements contained in the Red Flags, Card Issuers, and Address
Discrepancy Rules (Rules). That clearance expires on December 31, 2021.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 14, 2021.
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 ``Red Flags, Card
Issuers, and Address Discrepancy Rules; 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: Whitney Moore, Attorney, Division of
Division of Privacy and Identity Protection, Bureau of Consumer
Protection, Federal Trade Commission, Mail Code CC-8232, 600
Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20580, (202) 326-2645.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Red Flags Rule, 16 CFR 681.1; Card Issuers Rule, 16 CFR
681.2; Address Discrepancy Rule, 16 CFR part 641.
OMB Control Number: 3084-0137.
Type of Review: Extension of currently approved collection.
Estimated Annual Burden: (397,298 hours; $20,103,752 in labor
costs).
A. Section 114--Red Flags and Card Issuers Rules:
(1) Red Flags:
(a) Estimated Number of Respondents: 164,591
(i) High-Risk Entities: 99,830 \1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ High-risk entities include, for example, financial
institutions within the FTC's jurisdiction and utilities, motor
vehicle dealerships, telecommunications firms, colleges and
universities, and hospitals.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(ii) Low-Risk Entities: 64,761 \2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ Low-risk entities include, for example, public warehouse and
storage firms, nursing and residential care facilities, automotive
equipment rental and leasing firms, office supplies and stationery
stores, fuel dealers, and financial transaction processing firms.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(b) Estimated Hours Burden:
(i) High-Risk Entities: 342,900 hours
(ii) Low-Risk Entities: 16,523 hours
(2) Card Issuers Rule:
(a) Estimated Number of Respondents: 18,894 \3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ FTC staff estimates that the Rule affects as many as 18,356
card issuers within the FTC's jurisdiction. This includes, for
example, state credit unions, general retail merchandise stores,
colleges and universities, and telecoms.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(b) Estimated Hours Burden: 20,508 hours
(3) Combined Labor Cost Burden: $19,756,412
B. Section 315--Address Discrepancy Rule:
(1) Estimated Number of Respondents: 44,000
(2) Estimated Hours Burden: 17,367 hours
(3) Estimated Labor Cost Burden: $347,340
C. Capital/Non-Labor Costs for Sections 114 and 315
FTC staff believes that the Rules 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., offices and
computers) for the information collections described herein.
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
Rules.
Overview of the Rules
A. FACT Act Section 114
The FTC Red Flags and Card Issuers Rules implement requirements
under Section 114 of the FACT Act (officially the Fair and Accurate
Credit Transactions Act of 2003).\4\ The Red Flags Rule requires
financial institutions and covered creditors to develop and implement a
written Program to detect, prevent, and mitigate identity theft in
connection with existing accounts or the opening of new accounts. Under
the Rule, financial institutions and certain creditors must conduct a
periodic risk assessment to determine if they maintain ``covered
accounts.'' The Rule defines the term ``covered account'' as either:
(1) A consumer account that is designed to permit multiple payments or
transactions, or (2) any other account for which there is a reasonably
foreseeable risk of identity theft. Each financial institution and
covered creditor that has covered accounts must create a written
Program that contains reasonable policies and procedures to identify
relevant indicators of the possible existence of identity theft (``red
flags''); detect red flags that have been incorporated into the
Program; respond appropriately to any red flags that are detected to
prevent and mitigate identity theft; and update the Program
periodically to ensure it reflects change in risks to customers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ The FACT Act added the red flags and card issuer
requirements to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C.
1681m(e)(1). On December 11, 2018, the Commission initiated periodic
review of the Red Flags and Card Issuers Rules. 83 FR 63604. The
public comment period closed on February 11, 2019, and the staff is
reviewing the comments.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Red Flags Rule also requires financial institutions and covered
creditors to: (1) Obtain approval of the initial written Program by the
board of directors; a committee thereof; or, if there is no board, an
appropriate senior employee; (2) ensure oversight of the development,
implementation, and administration of the Program; and (3) exercise
appropriate and effective oversight of service provider arrangements.
In addition, the Card Issuers Rule requires that card issuers
generally must assess the validity of change of address notifications.
Specifically, if the card issuer receives a notice of change of address
for an existing account and, within a short period of time (during at
least the first 30 days), receives a request for an additional or
replacement card for the same account, the issuer must follow
reasonable policies and procedures to assess the validity of the change
of address.
B. FACT Act Section 315
The Address Discrepancy Rule, which implements section 315 of the
FACT Act, requires each user of consumer reports to have reasonable
policies and procedures in place to employ when the user receives a
notice of address discrepancy from a consumer reporting agency
(CRA).\5\ Specifically, each user must develop reasonable policies and
procedures to: (1) Enable the user to form a reasonable belief that a
consumer report relates to the consumer about whom it has requested the
report; and (2) in certain circumstances, provide to the CRA from which
it received the notice an address for the consumer that the user has
reasonably confirmed is accurate.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ The FACT Act added the address discrepancy requirement to
the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. 1681c(h). On September 8,
2021, the Commission announced revisions to the Address Discrepancy
Rule, but the revisions do not affect the burden to covered
entities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 57427]]
Burden Statement
A. Estimated Annual Hours of Burden
Section 114--(1) Red Flags Rule and (2) Card Issuers Rule
Red Flags Rule
Affected Public: Utilities; motor vehicle dealerships;
telecommunications firms; colleges and universities; hospitals; nursing
homes; public warehouse and storage firms; fuel dealers; financial
transaction processing firms; other persons satisfying the definition
of ``creditor,'' as modified by the Red Flags Program Clarification Act
of 2010 (the ``Clarification Act''); \6\ and other categories of
persons that qualify as financial institutions.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ The Clarification Act narrowed the Fair Credit Report Act's
definition to those creditors that use consumer reports, furnish
information to consumer reporting agencies, or advance funds. 15
U.S.C. 1681(e)(4). As a result, many small businesses, service
providers, and other persons that would ordinarily satisfy the ECOA
definition of ``creditor'' are excluded from the definition of
``creditor'' for purposes of the Red Flags Rule.
\7\ We have focused our analysis on the categories described in
this notice, but welcome comments on whether there are other
categories of creditors or financial institutions that we should be
including in the burden analysis.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated Hours Burden (Red Flags): 359,423 hours.
The Red Flags Rule requires financial institutions and certain
creditors with covered accounts to develop and implement a written
Program and report to the board of directors, a committee thereof, or
senior management at least annually on compliance with the Rule. Under
the Rule, a ``financial institution'' is ``a State or National bank, a
State or Federal saving and loan association, a mutual savings bank, a
State or Federal credit union, or any other person that, directly or
indirectly, holds a transaction account (as defined in section 19(b) of
the Federal Reserve Act, 12 U.S.C. ch. 3) belonging to a consumer.''
\8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\ The Rule refers to the definition of ``financial
institution'' that is found in the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15
U.S.C. 1681a(t).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Under the Rule, ``creditor'' has the same meaning as in section 702
of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA).\9\ The Clarification Act,
however, narrows the definition to those creditors that use consumer
reports, furnish information to consumer reporting agencies, or advance
funds. As a result, many small businesses, service providers, and other
persons that would ordinarily satisfy the ECOA definition of
``creditor'' will nonetheless be excluded from the definition of
``creditor'' for purposes of the Red Flags Rule.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ 15 U.S.C. 1681a(r)(5).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nonetheless, the scope of entities covered by the Red Flags Rule
within the FTC's jurisdiction is broad, making it difficult to
determine precisely the number of financial institutions and creditors
that are subject to the FTC's jurisdiction. There are numerous
businesses under the FTC's jurisdiction and there is no formal way to
track them; moreover, as a whole, the entities under the FTC's
jurisdiction are so varied that there are no general sources that
provide a record of their existence. Nonetheless, FTC staff estimates
that the Red Flag Rule's requirement to have a written Program affects
over 5,666 financial institutions \10\ and 157,180 creditors.\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\10\ The total number of financial institutions is derived from
an analysis of state credit unions and insurers within the FTC's
jurisdiction using 2018 Census data (``County Business Patterns,''
U.S.) and other online industry data.
\11\ This figure comprises 5,666 financial institutions and
157,180 creditors (92,727 high-risk entities, excluding financial
institutions + 64,453 low-risk creditors). The total number of
financial institutions draws from FTC staff analysis of state credit
unions and insurers within the FTC's jurisdiction using 2018 Census
Bureau data (``Statistics of U.S. Businesses'') and other online
industry data. The total number of creditors draws from FTC staff
analysis of 2018 Census data and industry data for businesses or
organizations that market goods and services to consumers or other
businesses or organizations subject to the FTC's jurisdiction,
reduced by entities not likely to: (1) Obtain credit reports, report
credit transactions, or advance loans; and (2) entities not likely
to have covered accounts under the Rule. Currently, no further
updated Census data is available online to inform revised estimates.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
To estimate burden hours for the Red Flags Rule under section 114,
FTC staff has divided affected entities into two categories, based on
the nature of their businesses: (1) Entities that are subject to a high
risk of identity theft; \12\ and (2) entities that are subject to a low
risk of identity theft.\13\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\12\ In general, high-risk entities include, for example,
financial institutions within the FTC's jurisdiction and utilities,
motor vehicle dealerships, telecommunications firms, colleges and
universities, and hospitals.
\13\ Low-risk entities have a minimal risk of identity theft,
but have covered accounts. These include, for example, public
warehouse and storage firms, nursing and residential care
facilities, automotive equipment rental and leasing firms, office
supplies and stationery stores, fuel dealers, and financial
transaction processing firms.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. High-Risk Entities
FTC staff estimates that on an annual basis, there are around 1,447
new high-risk entities and approximately 98,393 existing high-risk
entities.\14\ FTC staff estimates that new high-risk entities will each
require 25 hours to create and implement a written Program. FTC staff
estimates that existing high-risk entities have likely already created
and implemented a written Program, but will require an annual recurring
burden of one hour. Further, FTC staff estimates that existing entities
have already prepared an annual report and will have an annual
recurring burden of one hour to update the report for each year, but
that preparation of an annual report will require four hours initially
for each new high-risk entity. Finally, FTC staff believes that many of
the high-risk entities, as part of their usual and customary business
practices, already take steps to minimize losses due to fraud,
including employee training. Accordingly, only relevant staff need to
be trained to implement the Program: For example, staff already trained
as part of a covered entity's anti-fraud prevention efforts do not need
to be re-trained except as incrementally needed. FTC staff estimates
that recurring annual training in connection with the implementation of
a Program of an existing high-risk entity will require one hour each
year, and for new entities will require four hours initially. Thus, the
estimated hours of burden for high-risk entities is as follows:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\14\ This number was derived from the average annual number of
existing high-risk entities, taking into account that the new
entities from year one will become existing entities in year two and
the new entities from year two will become existing entities in year
three.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1,447 new high-risk entities subject to the FTC's
jurisdiction at an average annual burden of 33 hours per entity
[including 25 hours to create and implement the Program, plus four
hours for staff training, plus four hours for preparing annual report],
for a total of 47,751 hours.
98,383 existing high-risk entities subject to the FTC's
jurisdiction at an average annual burden of 3 hours per entity
[including one hour to update the Program, plus one hour for staff
training, plus one hour for preparing the annual report], for a total
of 295,149 annual hours.
In total, 99,830 high-risk entities subject to the FTC's
jurisdiction for a total of 342,900 hours.
2. Low-Risk Entities
FTC staff believes that the burden on low-risk entities to comply
with the rules is minimal. Entities that have a low risk of identity
theft, but that have covered accounts, likely will only need a
streamlined Program. FTC staff estimates that any new such entities
will require one hour to create such a Program. Existing entities will
only have an annual recurring burden of 5 minutes. Training staff of
low-risk entities to be attentive to future risks of identity theft and
preparing an annual report should require no more than 10 minutes each
in an initial year for new entities. Existing entities will only have
[[Page 57428]]
an annual recurring burden of 5 minutes each. Thus, the estimated hours
of burden for low-risk entities is as follows:
307 new low-risk entities \15\ that have covered accounts
subject to the FTC's jurisdiction at an average annual burden of
approximately 80 minutes per entity [including 60 minutes to create and
implement a streamlined Program, plus ten minutes for staff training
and ten minutes for preparing the annual report], for a total of 409
hours.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\15\ Estimates of new and existing low-risk entities are derived
from an analysis of a database of U.S. businesses based on NAICS
codes for businesses that market goods or services to consumers or
other businesses within the FTC's jurisdiction, reduced further to:
(1) Those that satisfy the Clarification Act's definition of
``creditor'' and (2) those that are likely to have covered accounts.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
64,454 existing low-risk entities \16\ that have covered
accounts subject to the FTC's jurisdiction at an average annual burden
of approximately 15 minutes per entity [including five minutes for
updating of streamlined Program, plus five minutes for staff training,
and five minutes for preparing annual report], for a total of 16,114
hours.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\16\ This number was derived from the average annual number of
existing low-risk entities, taking into account that the new
entities from year one will become existing entities in year two and
the new entities from year two will become existing entities in year
three.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In total, 64,761 low-risk entities subject to the FTC's
jurisdiction for a total of 16,523 hours.
Card Issuers Rule
Affected Public: State-chartered credit unions; general merchandise
stores; colleges and universities; telecommunications firms; and other
persons satisfying the definition of ``creditor,'' as modified by the
Clarification Act.
Estimated Hours Burden (Card Issuers): 20,508 hours.
The Card Issuers Rule requires credit and debit card issuers to
establish policies and procedures to assess the validity of a change of
address request, including notifying the cardholder or using another
means of assessing the validity of the change of address. FTC staff
believes that there may be as many as 18,894 credit or debit card
issuers under the FTC's jurisdiction, including state-chartered credit
unions, retailers, and certain universities, businesses, and
telecommunications companies. FTC staff estimates that on an annual
basis, approximately 538 of these card issuers may be new entrants that
will need to develop and implement policies and procedures to assess
the validity of a change of address request. FTC staff estimates that
process will take approximately four hours for a total burden of 2,152
hours. FTC staff estimates that the remaining 18,356 card issuers
likely already have automated the process of notifying the cardholder
or are using other means to assess the validity of the change of
address, such that implementation will pose no further burden.
Nevertheless, in order to be conservative, FTC staff estimates that it
will take the 18,356 card issuers one hour to review and maintain
policies and procedures to assess the validity of a change of address
request for a total burden of 18,356 hours. Collectively, the total
burden for the 18,894 card issuers is 20,508 hours.
Section 315--Address Discrepancy Rule
Affected Public: Users of consumer reports that are motor vehicle
dealers described in section 1029(a) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street
Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the Dodd-Frank Act), 12 U.S.C.
5519, and that are predominantly engaged in the sale and servicing of
motor vehicles, the leasing and servicing of them, or both (below,
referenced as ``users'').
Estimated Hours Burden:
As discussed above, the Address Discrepancy Rule provides guidance
on reasonable policies and procedures that a user of consumer reports
must employ when a user receives a notice of address discrepancy from a
consumer reporting agency. The FTC Address Discrepancy Rule covers only
users of consumer reports that are motor vehicle dealers described in
section 1029(a) of the Dodd-Frank Act and that are predominantly
engaged in the sale and servicing of motor vehicles, the leasing and
servicing of them, or both. Assuming that every covered motor vehicle
dealer is a user of consumer reports, FTC staff estimates that the Rule
affects approximately 44,000 entities. FTC staff also estimates that
approximately 2,000 of those motor vehicle dealers may be new entrants
who have not previously implemented procedures to comply with this
rule.
For the 2,000 new entrants, FTC staff estimates that it would take
an infrequent user of consumer reports no more than 16 minutes to
develop and follow the policies and procedures that it will employ when
it receives a notice of address discrepancy, whereas a frequent user
may take one hour. Taking into account these extremes, FTC staff
estimates that, during the first year of the clearance, for the 2,000
new entrants, it will take users of consumer reports an average of 38
minutes [the midpoint between 16 minutes and 60 minutes] to develop and
comply with the policies and procedures that they will employ when they
receive a notice of address discrepancy.
For the 42,000 existing motor vehicle dealers, FTC staff expects
that the policies and procedures that they will employ when they
receive a notice of address discrepancy will have already been
developed. Accordingly, during the three years of the clearance, it may
take an infrequent user of consumer reports no more than one minute to
comply with the policies and procedures that it will employ when it
receives a notice of address discrepancy, whereas a frequent user of
consumer reports may take 45 minutes. FTC staff estimates that the
average annual burden for the 42,000 existing motor vehicle dealers
will be 23 minutes [the midpoint between one minute and 45 minutes].
Thus, for the 2,000 new entrants, the average annual burden for
each of them to perform these collective tasks will be 38 minutes;
cumulatively, 1,267 hours. For the 42,000 existing motor vehicle
dealers, the average annual burden for each of them to perform these
collective tasks will be 23 minutes; cumulatively, 16,100 hours.
Collectively, the total burden for the 44,000 motor vehicle dealers
will be 17,367 hours.\17\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\17\ The above-noted customer verification requirements and the
estimate of 38,207 hours concern 16 CFR 641.1(c). In addition, 16
CFR 641.1(d) requires users that (a) furnish a consumer's address to
a consumer reporting agency, and (b) have established a continuing
relationship with the consumer, to develop and implement reasonable
policies and procedures for furnishing an address for the consumer
that the user has reasonably confirmed is accurate. The FTC
previously estimated that the cumulative burden hours associated
with 16 CFR 641.1(d) would be de minimis. Thus, the estimate above
concerns solely 16 CFR 641.1(c).
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B. Estimated Labor Cost: $20,103,752 ($19,756,412 for Section 114 and
$347,340 for Section 315)
Section 114--Red Flags and Card Issuers Rules
FTC staff derived labor costs by applying appropriate estimated
hourly cost figures to the burden hours described above. It is
difficult to calculate with precision the labor costs associated with
the Rules, as they entail varying compensation levels of management
and/or technical staff among companies of different sizes. In
calculating the cost figures, staff assumes that entities' professional
technical personnel and/or managerial personnel will create and
implement the Program, prepare the annual report, train employees, and
assess the validity
[[Page 57429]]
of a change of address request at an hourly rate of $52.\18\
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\18\ This estimate is based on mean wages (hourly) found at
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ocwage.pdf (``Bureau of Labor
Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wages--May 2020,'' March 31,
2021, Table 1, ``National employment and wage data from the
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey by occupation,
May 2020'') for the various managerial and technical staff support
exemplified above (administrative service managers, computer &
information systems managers, training & development managers,
computer systems analysts, network & computer systems analysts,
computer support specialists) (hereinafter ``BLS Table 1'').
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Based on the above estimates and assumptions, the total annual
labor costs for all categories of covered entities under the Red Flags
and Card Issuers Rules for section 114 is $19,756,412 (379,931 hours x
$52).
Section 315--Address Discrepancy Rule
FTC staff assumes that the policies and procedures for compliance
with the Address Discrepancy Rule will be set up by administrative
support personnel at an hourly rate of $20.\19\ Based on the above
estimates and assumptions, the total annual labor cost for the two
categories of burden under section 315 is $347,340 [(17,367 hours x
$20)].
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\19\ This estimate--is based on mean wages (hourly) for office
and administrative support occupations found within BLS Table 1 (see
supra note 17).
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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 14,
2021.
You can file a comment online or on paper. For the FTC to consider
your comment, we must receive it on or before December 14, 2021. Write
``Red Flags, Card Issuers, and Address Discrepancy Rules; 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 ``Red Flags,
Card Issuers, and Address Discrepancy Rules; 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 which . . . . is privileged or confidential''--as provided
by Section 6(f) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act), 15
U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)--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 14,
2021. 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. 2021-22478 Filed 10-14-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P