[Federal Register: October 21, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 204)]
[Notices]
[Page 62501-62502]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21oc08-60]
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB
Review; Comment Request; Extension
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (``Commission'' or ``FTC'').
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The information collection requirements described below will
be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') for
review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA''). The FTC
is seeking public comments on its proposal to extend through October
31, 2011, the current PRA clearance for information collection
requirements contained in the FTC rule on ``Labeling and Advertising of
Home Insulation'' (``R-value Rule'' or ``Rule''). The current clearance
expires on October 31, 2008.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before November 20, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments
electronically or in paper form. Comments should refer to ``R-value
Rule, PRA Comment, FTC File No. P094200'' to facilitate the
organization of comments. Please note that comments will be placed on
the public record of this proceeding--including on the publicly
accessible FTC website, at (http://www.ftc.gov/os/
publiccomments.shtm)--and therefore should not include any sensitive or
confidential information. In particular, comments should not include
any sensitive personal information, such as an individual'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. Comments also
should not include any sensitive health information, such as medical
records or other individually identifiable health information. In
addition, comments should not include any ``[t]rade secrets and
commercial or financial information obtained from a person and
privileged or confidential. . . .,'' as provided in Section 6(f) of the
FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and Commission Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR
4.10(a)(2). 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).\1\
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\1\ FTC Rule 4.2(d), 16 CFR 4.2(d). The comment must be
accompanied by an explicit request for confidential treatment,
including the factual and legal basis for the request, and must
identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from
the public record. The request will be granted or denied by the
Commission's General Counsel, consistent with applicable law and the
public interest. See FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).
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Because paper mail addressed to the FTC is subject to delay due to
heightened security screening, please consider submitting your comments
in electronic form. Comments filed in electronic form should be
submitted by using the following weblink: (https://
secure.commentworks.com/ftc-rvaluePRA) (and following the instructions
on the web-based form). To ensure that the Commission considers an
electronic comment, you must file it on the web-based form at the
weblink (https://secure.commentworks.com/ftc-rvaluePRA). If this Notice
appears at (http://www.regulations.gov/search/index.jsp), you may also
file an electronic comment through that website. The Commission will
consider all comments that regulations.gov forwards to it. You may also
visit the FTC website at http://www.ftc.gov to read the Notice and the
news release describing it.
A comment filed in paper form should include the ``R-value Rule,
PRA Comment, FTC File No. P094200'' reference both in the text and on
the envelope, and should be mailed or delivered to the following
address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H-135
(Annex J), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580. The FTC
is requesting that any comment filed in paper form be sent by courier
or overnight service, if possible, because U.S. postal mail in the
Washington area and at the Commission is subject to delay due to
heightened security precautions.
The FTC Act and other laws 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, whether filed in paper or electronic
form. Comments received will be available to the public on the FTC
website, to the extent practicable, at (http://www.ftc.gov/os/
publiccomments.shtm). As a matter of discretion, the Commission makes
every effort to remove home contact information for individuals from
the public comments it receives before placing those comments on the
FTC website. More information, including routine uses permitted by the
Privacy Act, may be found in the FTC's privacy policy, at (http://
www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.shtm).
All comments should additionally be submitted to: Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs of OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for
the Federal Trade Commission. Comments should be submitted via
facsimile to (202) 395-6974 because U.S. Postal Mail is subject to
lengthy delays due to heightened security precautions.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Hampton Newsome, Attorney, Bureau of
Consumer Protection, (202) 326-2889, Federal Trade Commission, 600
Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington D.C. 20580.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3521, federal
agencies must obtain approval from OMB for each collection of
information they conduct or sponsor. ``Collection of information''
means agency requests or requirements that members of the public submit
reports, keep records, or provide information to a third party. 44
U.S.C. 3502(3), 5 CFR 1320.3(c). As required by section 3506(c)(2)(A)
of the PRA, the FTC is providing this opportunity for public comment
before requesting that OMB extend the existing PRA clearance for the R-
value Rule, 16 CFR Part 460 (OMB Control Number 3084-0109).
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.
[[Page 62502]]
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.
Estimated annual hours burden: 117,000 hours, rounded
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.
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 2 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).
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 1,520,000 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 50,667
hours (1,520,000 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 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.
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 10,833 hours (an estimated 1.3
million new home sales\2\ x 30 seconds). New home sellers who make
energy savings claims must also keep records regarding the
substantiation relied upon for those claims. Because few new home
sellers make these claims, and the ones that do would likely keep these
records regardless of the R-value Rule, staff believes that the 30
seconds covering disclosures would also encompass this recordkeeping
element.
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\2\ Based on U.S. census data from 2007. See (http://
www.census.gov/const/www/quarterly_starts_completions.pdf.)
Figures for new housing starts show a continuing decline from 2005,
when the Commission last sought PRA clearance for the Rule, through
2007. See id.
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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
116,790 burden hours, as follows: 150 recordkeeping and 3,390 testing
and disclosure hours for manufacturers; 135 recordkeeping and 52,282
disclosure hours for installers; 10,833 disclosure hours for new home
sellers; and 50,000 disclosure hours for retailers. Rounded to the
nearest thousand, the total burden is 117,000 burden hours.
Estimated annual cost burden: $2,650,000, rounded to the nearest
thousand (solely related to labor costs)
The total annual labor cost for the Rule's information collection
requirements is $2,649,720, derived as follows: $690 for testing, based
on 30 hours for manufacturers (30 hours x $23 per hour for skilled
technical personnel); $3,705 for manufacturers' and installers'
compliance with the Rule's recordkeeping requirements, based on 285
hours (285 hours x $13 per hour for clerical personnel); $43,680 for
manufacturers' compliance with third-party disclosure requirements,
based on 3,360 hours (3,360 hours x $13 per hour for clerical
personnel); and $2,601,645 for disclosure compliance by installers, new
home sellers, and retailers (113,115 hours x $23 per hour for sales
persons).
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.
William Blumenthal,
General Counsel
[FR Doc. E8-25106 Filed 10-20-08: 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-S