2023-07186. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Extension

AGENCY:

Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or “Commission”) requests that the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) extend for an additional three years the current Paperwork Reduction Act (“PRA”) clearance for information collection requirements associated with its Funeral Industry Practice Rule (“Funeral Rule” or “Rule”). That clearance expires on July 31, 2023.

DATES:

Comments must be filed by May 8, 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. Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Melissa Dickey, Division of Marketing Practices, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20580, [e-mail], (202) 326–2662.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title of Collection: 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 consumers. 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 Number of Annual Respondents: 18,874.

Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 173,936.

Estimated Annual Labor Costs: $5,387,875.

Request for Comment:

On December 19, 2022, the FTC sought public comment on the information collection requirements in the Funeral Rule. 87 FR 77610 (Dec. 19, 2022). No relevant comments were received during the public comment period. Pursuant to OMB regulations, 5 CFR part 1320, that implement the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., the FTC is providing this second opportunity for public comment while seeking OMB approval to renew the pre-existing clearance for the Rule. For more details about the Rule requirements and the basis for the calculations summarized below, see 87 FR 77610.

Your comment—including your name and your state—will be placed on the public record of this proceeding. Because your comment will be made public, you are solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive personal information, such as anyone'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 ensuring 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 “[t]rade secret or any commercial or financial information which is . . . privileged or confidential”—as provided in section 6(f) of the FTC Act 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16CFR 4.10(a)(2)—including, in particular, competitively sensitive information, such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, patterns devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names.

Josephine Liu,

Assistant General Counsel for Legal Counsel.