Notice2023-18766
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Extension
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
August 30, 2023
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 Fair Packaging and Labeling Act regulations ("FPLA Rules"). That clearance expires on March 31, 2024.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 167 (Wednesday, August 30, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 167 (Wednesday, August 30, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59925-59927]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-18766]
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection;
Comment Request; Extension
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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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 Fair Packaging and
Labeling Act regulations (``FPLA Rules''). That clearance expires on
March 31, 2024.
DATES: Comments must be filed by October 30, 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 ``FPLA Rules, PRA
Comment, P074200'' 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: Jock Chung, Attorney, Division of
Enforcement, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission,
Room CC-9543, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580, (202)
326-2984.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title of Collection: Regulations Under Section 4 of the Fair
Packaging and Labeling Act (FPLA), 16 CFR parts 500-503.
OMB Control Number: 3084-0110.
Type of Review: Extension without change of currently approved
collection.
Abstract: The Fair Packaging and Labeling Act, 15 U.S.C. 1451 et
seq., was enacted to enable consumers to obtain accurate package
quantity information to facilitate value comparisons and prevent unfair
or deceptive packaging
[[Page 59926]]
and labeling of consumer commodities. Section 4 of the FPLA requires
packages or labels to be marked with: (1) A statement of identity; (2)
a net quantity of contents disclosure; and (3) the name and place of
business of the company responsible for the product. The FPLA
regulations, 16 CFR parts 500-503, specify how manufacturers,
packagers, and distributors of ``consumer commodities'' must comply
with the Act's labeling requirements.
Affected Public: Private Sector: Businesses and other for-profit
entities.
Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 7,436,580.
Estimated Annual Labor Costs: $188,799,893.
Estimated Annual Non-Labor Costs: $0.
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 FPLA Rules.
Burden Estimates
Estimated Number of Respondents: 743,658.
FTC staff estimates there are approximately 743,658 retailers,
wholesalers, and manufacturers that sell consumer commodities that are
subject to the FPLA Rules' labeling requirements.\1\
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\1\ FTC staff based this estimate on a combination of U.S.
Census Bureau (``Census'') data and information from the North
American Industry Classification System (``NAICS''). FTC staff
identified categories of retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers
under its jurisdiction that supply consumer commodities as defined
in the FPLA Rules. FTC staff estimated the number of retailers
(317,973) based on 2021 Census data compiling NAICS subsector codes
445, 452, and 453, respectively, for food and beverage stores,
general merchandise stores, and miscellaneous store retailers. See
https://data.census.gov/
table?n=445:452:453&tid=CBP2021.CB2100CBP&nkd=EMPSZES~001,LFO~001.
FTC staff estimated the number of wholesalers (354,180) using 2021
Census data concerning the number of firms covered by NAICS subset
code 42 for merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers' sales
branches and offices (NAICS subsector code 425). See https://
data.census.gov/
table?n=42&tid=CBP2021.CB2100CBP&nkd=EMPSZES~001,LFO~001 (reflecting
that NAICS subset code 42 covers 390,842 entities); https://
data.census.gov/
table?n=425&tid=CBP2021.CB2100CBP&nkd=EMPSZES~001,LFO~001
(reflecting that NAICS subsector code 425 covers 36,662 entities).
FTC staff estimated the number of covered manufacturers (71,505) by
compiling the estimated number of manufacturing entities covered by
NAICS codes 321999, 322220, 322299, 324191, 324199, 325520, 3256,
325992, 325998, 326111, 326130, 326140, 326199, 327910, 331315,
339999. See <a href="https://www.naics.com/six-digit-naics/?v=2022&code=31-33">https://www.naics.com/six-digit-naics/?v=2022&code=31-33</a>.
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Burden Hours: 7,436,580 hours.
FTC staff estimates that covered entities spend approximately 10
hours per year to comply with the FPLA Rule's labeling requirements. As
a result, the FTC estimates that the total burden hours attributable to
FTC requirements is 7,436,580 hours (743,658 respondents x 10 hours).
Labor Costs: $188,799,893.
FTC staff derives labor costs by applying estimated hourly cost
figures to the burden hours described above. Commission staff estimates
the hours spent to comply with the FPLA Rules' labeling requirements
will break down as follows: 1 hour of managerial and/or professional
time per covered entity, at an hourly wage of $59.07,\2\ 2 hours of
graphic design support, at an hourly wage of $31.01,\3\ 7 hours of
clerical time per covered entity, at an hourly wage of $18.97,\4\ for a
total of $188,799,893 \5\ ($253.88 blended labor cost per covered
entity x 743,658 entities).
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\2\ Based on the mean hourly wage rate for ``General and
Operations Managers'' ($59.07), available from Bureau of Labor
Statistics, Economic News Release, April 25, 2023, Table 1,
``National employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment
Statistics survey by occupation, May 2022'' (``BLS Table 1''),
available at <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.htm">https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.htm</a>.
\3\ This wage estimate consists of work time for graphic
designers who design the appearance and layout of product packaging,
including the appropriate display of the disclosures required by the
FPLA Rules. The corresponding wage estimate is based on mean hourly
wages for ``Graphic designers'' ($31.01). See BLS Table 1.
\4\ See id. The clerical wage estimate is based on the mean
hourly wages for ``data entry and information processing workers''
($18.97).
\5\ Rounded from $188,799,893.04.
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Capital/Non-Labor Costs: $0.
Commission staff believes that the FPLA 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 discussed above.
Request for Comment
Pursuant to Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, the FTC invites
comments on: (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
October 30, 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 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 ``FPLA Rules, PRA Comment,
P074200'' 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
[[Page 59927]]
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 October 30,
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. 2023-18766 Filed 8-29-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P
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