Notice2022-27392
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Extension
Primary source
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Published
December 19, 2022
Issuing agencies
Federal Trade Commission
Abstract
The Federal Trade Commission ("FTC" or "Commission") is seeking public comments on its proposal to extend for an additional three years the current Paperwork Reduction Act ("PRA") clearance for information collection requirements contained in the FTC's Funeral Industry Practice Rule ("Funeral Rule" or "Rule"). That clearance expires on July 31, 2023.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 242 (Monday, December 19, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 242 (Monday, December 19, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77610-77613]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-27392]
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
[File No. P084401]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection;
Comment Request; Extension
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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[[Page 77611]]
SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'') is
seeking public comments on its proposal to extend for an additional
three years the current Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA'') clearance for
information collection requirements contained in the FTC's Funeral
Industry Practice Rule (``Funeral Rule'' or ``Rule''). That clearance
expires on July 31, 2023.
DATES: Comments must be filed by February 17, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper, by
following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``Funeral Rule PRA
Comment: FTC File No. P084401'' on your comment, and file your comment
online at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melissa Dickey, Division of Marketing
Practices, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 600
Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20580, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#3459505d575f514d745240571a535b42"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="88e5ece1ebe3edf1c8eefceba6efe7fe">[email protected]</span></a>, (202) 326-
2662.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Funeral Industry Practice Rule, 16 CFR part 453.
OMB Control Number: 3084-0025.
Type of Review: Extension without change of currently approved
collection.
Abstract: The Funeral Rule ensures that consumers who are
purchasing funeral goods and services have access to accurate itemized
price information so they can purchase only the funeral goods and
services they want or need. Among other things, the Rule requires a
funeral provider to: (1) provide consumers a copy of the funeral
provider's General Price List that itemizes the goods and services it
offers; (2) show consumers a Casket Price List and an Outer Burial
Container Price List at the outset of any discussion of those items or
their prices, and in any event before showing consumers caskets or
vaults; (3) provide price information from its price lists over the
telephone; and (4) give consumers a Statement of Funeral Goods and
Services Selected after determining the funeral arrangements with the
consumer during an ``arrangements conference.'' The Rule requires that
funeral providers disclose this information to consumers and maintain
records documenting their compliance with the Rule.
Affected Public: Private Sector: Businesses and other for-profit
entities.
Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 173,936.
Estimated Annual Labor Costs: $5,387,875.
Estimated Annual Non-Labor Costs: $858,202.
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 Funeral Rule.
Burden Statement
Estimated burden hours for the tasks described below are based on
the number of funeral providers (approximately 18,874),\1\ the number
of funerals per year (an estimated 3,383,729),\2\ and the time needed
to complete the information collection tasks required by the Rule.
Labor costs associated with the Funeral Rule are derived by applying
hourly cost figures to the burden hours for each task.
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\1\ The estimated number of funeral providers is from data
provided on the National Funeral Directors Association (``NFDA'')
website. See National Funeral Directors Association, ``Statistics,''
available at <a href="http://www.nfda.org/news/statistics">http://www.nfda.org/news/statistics</a> (Apr. 15, 2022).
\2\ The estimated number of funerals conducted annually is
derived from the National Center for Health Statistics (``NCHS''),
<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/deaths.htm">https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/deaths.htm</a>. According to NCHS,
3,383,729 deaths occurred in the United States in 2020, the most
recent year for which final data is available. Staff believes this
estimate overstates the number of funeral transactions conducted
annually because not all remains go to a funeral provider covered by
the Rule (e.g., remains sent directly to a crematory that does not
sell urns, remains sent to a non-profit funeral provider, remains
donated to a medical school, unclaimed remains handled by a local
morgue or local government entity, etc.). NFDA reports its average
member home served about 113 families in 2022, which, if multiplied
by the total number of homes (18,874 in 2022) would amount to
approximately 2,132,726 funerals.
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Recordkeeping: The Rule requires that funeral providers retain
copies of price lists and statements of funeral goods and services
selected by consumers for one year. Commission staff estimates that
providers will spend approximately one hour per provider per year on
compliance with this task, resulting in a total burden of 18,874 hours
per year (18,874 providers x 1 hour per year = 18,874 hours).
Staff anticipates that clerical personnel, at an hourly rate of
$13.56,\3\ will typically perform these tasks. Based on the estimated
burden of 18,874 hours, the estimated labor cost for recordkeeping is
$255,931.
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\3\ Bureau of Labor Statistics, ``May 2021 National Industry-
Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates, NAICS 812200--
Death Care Services,'' available at <a href="https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics4_812200.htm#11-0000">https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics4_812200.htm#11-0000</a> (Mar. 31, 2022). Clerical estimates are
based on the mean hourly wage data for ``receptionists and
information clerks.''
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Disclosure: The Rule's disclosure requirements mandate that funeral
providers: (1) maintain current price lists for funeral goods and
services, (2) provide written documentation of the funeral goods and
services selected by consumers making funeral arrangements, and (3)
provide information about funeral prices in response to telephone
inquiries.
1. Maintaining accurate price lists may require that funeral
providers revise their price lists occasionally to reflect price
changes. Staff estimates that this task requires 2.5 hours per provider
per year. Thus, the total burden for covered providers is 47,185 hours
(18,874 providers x 2.5 hours per year = 47,185 hours).
Staff estimates that the 2.5 hours required, on average, to update
price lists consists of approximately 1.5 hours of managerial or
professional time, at $39.86 per hour,\4\ and one hour of clerical
time, at $13.56 per hour, for a total annual labor cost of $1,384,408
for maintaining price lists:
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\4\ Id. Managerial or professional estimates are based on the
mean hourly wage data for ``funeral home managers.''
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Approx. total
Hourly wage and labor category Hours per Total hourly Number of annual labor
respondent labor cost respondents costs
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$39.86--Management Employees.................... 1.5 $59.79 18,874 $1,128,476
$13.56--Clerical Workers........................ 1 13.56 .............. 255,931
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.............. .............. .............. 1,384,408
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[[Page 77612]]
2. The rulemaking record indicates that 87% or more of funeral
providers provided written documentation of funeral arrangements prior
to the enactment of the Rule and would continue to do so absent the
Rule's requirements.\5\ Based on this data, staff estimates that 13% of
funeral providers (typically, small funeral homes) may prepare written
documentation for funeral goods and services selected by consumers
specifically due to the Rule's mandate. Staff estimates that these
smaller funeral homes arrange, on average, approximately 20 funerals
per year and that it would take about three minutes to record prices
for each consumer on the standard form. This yields a total annual
burden of 2,454 hours [(18,874 funeral providers x 13%) x (20
statements per year x 3 minutes per statement) = 2,454 hours].
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\5\ See 82 FR 12602, 12603 n.3 (2017). In a 2002 public comment,
the National Funeral Directors Association asserted that nearly
every funeral home had been providing consumers with some kind of
final statement in writing even before the Rule took effect.
Nonetheless, staff retains its estimate that 13% of funeral
providers may provide written disclosures solely due to the Rule's
requirements based on the original rulemaking record.
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Staff anticipates that managerial or professional staff will
typically perform these tasks, at an hourly rate of $39.86 per hour.
Based on the estimated burden of 2,454 hours, the associated labor cost
would be $97,816.
3. The Funeral Rule also requires funeral providers to provide
information about funeral prices in response to telephone inquiries.
The rulemaking record indicates that approximately 12% of funeral
purchasers request funeral prices through telephone inquiries, with
each call lasting an estimated 10 minutes.\6\ Assuming that the average
purchaser who makes telephone inquiries places one call per funeral to
determine prices,\7\ the estimated burden is 67,675 hours (3,383,729
funerals per year x 12% x 10 minutes per inquiry = 67,675 hours).
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\6\ 82 FR 12602, 12603 (2017).
\7\ Although consumers who pre-plan their own arrangements may
comparison shop and call more than one funeral home for pricing and
other information, consumers making ``at need'' arrangements after a
death are less likely to take the time to seek pricing information
from more than one home. Many do not seek pricing information by
telephone. Staff therefore believes that an average of one call per
funeral is an appropriate estimate.
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Staff understands that managerial or professional time is typically
required to respond to telephone inquiries about prices, at an hourly
rate of $39.86 per hour.\8\ Based on the estimated burden of 67,675
hours, the associated labor cost is $2,697,526.
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\8\ Although some funeral providers may permit staff who are not
funeral directors to provide price information by telephone, the
great majority reserve that task to a licensed funeral director.
Since funeral home managers are also licensed funeral directors in
most cases, FTC staff has used the mean hourly wage for ``funeral
home managers'' for this calculation.
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Compliance Training: Staff believes that annual training burdens
associated with the Rule are minimal because compliance training is
typically included in continuing education for state licensing and
voluntary certification programs. Staff estimates that four employees
per firm would each require one half-hour, at most, per year, for
training attributable to the Rule's requirements.\9\ Thus, the total
estimated time for required training is 37,748 hours (18,874 providers
x 4 employees per firm x 0.5 hours = 37,748 hours).
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\9\ Funeral homes, depending on size and other factors, may be
run by as few as one owner, manager, or other funeral director or
multiple directors at various compensation levels. Extrapolating
from past NFDA survey input, staff has estimated that the average
funeral home employs approximately four employees (a funeral home
manager, funeral director, funeral service worker, and a clerical
receptionist) that may require training associated with Funeral Rule
compliance. Compliance training for other employees (e.g., drivers,
maintenance personnel, attendants) would not be necessary.
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FTC staff further estimates labor costs for employee time required
for compliance training as follows: (a) funeral home manager ($39.86
per hour); (b) funeral arrangers ($26.98 per hour); (c) funeral service
workers ($20.49 per hour); and (d) a clerical receptionist or
administrative staff member ($13.56 per hour).\10\ This amounts to
$952,194, cumulatively, for all funeral homes:
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\10\ Bureau of Labor Statistics, ``May 2021 National Industry-
Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates, NAICS 812200--
Death Care Services,'' available at <a href="http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics4_812200.htm#11-0000">http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics4_812200.htm#11-0000</a> (Mar. 31, 2022) (mean hourly wages for
funeral home managers; morticians, undertakers, and funeral
arrangers; funeral service workers; and receptionists and
information clerks).
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Approx. total
Hourly wage and labor category Hours per Total hourly Number of annual labor
respondent labor cost respondents costs
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$39.86--Funeral Home Managers................... 0.5 $19.93 18,874 $376,159
$26.98--Non-Manager Funeral Arrangers........... 0.5 13.49 .............. 254,610
$20.49--Funeral Service Workers................. 0.5 10.25 .............. 193,459
$13.56--Clerical Workers........................ 0.5 6.78 .............. 127,966
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.............. .............. .............. 952,194
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Capital and other non-labor costs: Staff estimates that the Rule
imposes minimal capital costs and no current start-up costs. Funeral
homes already have access, for ordinary business purposes, to the
ordinary office equipment needed for compliance, so the Rule likely
imposes minimal additional capital expense.
Compliance with the Rule, nonetheless, does entail some expense to
funeral providers for printing and duplication of required disclosures.
Assuming, as required by the Rule, that one copy of the general price
list is provided to consumers for each funeral or cremation conducted,
at a cost of 25[cent] per copy,\11\ this would amount to 3,383,729
copies per year at a cumulative industry cost of $845,932 (3,383,729
funerals per year x 25[cent] per copy). In addition, small funeral
providers that furnish consumers with a statement of funeral goods and
services solely because of the Rule's mandate \12\ will incur printing
and copying costs. Assuming that those 2,454 providers (18,874 funeral
providers x 13%) use the standard two-page form shown in the compliance
guide, at 25 cents per copy, at an average of twenty funerals per year,
the added cost burden would be $12,270 (2,454 providers x 20 funerals
per year x 25[cent]). Thus, estimated non-labor costs total $858,202
($845,932 + 12,270).
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\11\ Although copies of the casket price list and outer burial
container price list must be shown to consumers, the Rule does not
require that they be given to consumers. Thus, the cost of printing
a single copy of these two disclosures to show consumers is de
minimis, and is not included in this estimate of printing costs.
\12\ See footnote 5.
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Request for Comment
Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, the FTC invites
comments on:
[[Page 77613]]
(1) whether the disclosure and recordkeeping requirements are
necessary, including whether the information will be practically
useful; (2) the accuracy of our burden estimates, including whether the
methodology and assumptions used are valid; (3) ways to enhance the
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and
(4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information.
For the FTC to consider a comment, we must receive it on or before
February 17, 2023. Your comment, including your name and your state,
will be placed on the public record of this proceeding, including the
<a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> website.
You can file a comment online or on paper. 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 <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> website.
If you file your comment on paper, write ``Funeral Rule PRA
Comment: FTC File No. P084401'' on your comment and on the envelope,
and mail it to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office
of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite CC-5610 (Annex J),
Washington, DC 20580.
Because your comment will become publicly available at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, you are solely responsible for making sure that
your comment does not include any sensitive or confidential
information. In particular, your comment should not include any
sensitive personal information, such as your or anyone else's Social
Security number; date of birth; driver's license number or other state
identification number, or foreign country equivalent; passport number;
financial account number; or credit or debit card number. You are also
solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include
any sensitive health information, such as medical records or other
individually identifiable health information. In addition, your comment
should not include any ``trade secret or any commercial or financial
information which . . . is privileged or confidential''--as provided by
section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2),
16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)--including, in particular, competitively sensitive
information, such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas,
patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names.
Comments containing material for which confidential treatment is
requested must (1) be filed in paper form, (2) be clearly labeled
``Confidential,'' and (3) 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 <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>, 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 February 17,
2023. For information on the Commission's privacy policy, including
routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, see <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy">https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy</a>.
Josephine Liu,
Assistant General Counsel for Legal Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2022-27392 Filed 12-16-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P
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