2020-12782. Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Consumer Focus Groups

AGENCY:

Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC or Commission) requests comments on a proposed extension of approval of a collection of information from persons who may voluntarily participate in consumer focus groups. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) previously approved the collection of information under control number 3041-0136. OMB's most recent extension of approval will expire on September 30, 2020. The Commission will consider all comments received in response to this notice before requesting an extension of this collection of information from OMB.

DATES:

Submit written or electronic comments on the collection of information by August 14, 2020.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2010-0046, by any of the following methods:

Electronic Submissions: Submit electronic comments to the Federal eRulemaking Portal at: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments. The CPSC does not accept comments submitted by electronic mail (email), except through https://www.regulations.gov. The CPSC encourages you to submit electronic comments by using the Federal eRulemaking Portal, as described above.

Mail/hand delivery/courier Written Submissions: Submit comments by mail/hand delivery/courier to: Division of the Secretariat, Consumer Product Safety Commission, Room 820, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; telephone [phone].

Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name and docket number for this notice. All comments received may be posted without change, including any personal identifiers, contact information, or other personal information provided, to: https://www.regulations.gov. Do not submit electronically confidential business information, trade secret information, or other sensitive or protected information that you do not want to be available to the public. If you wish to submit such information, please submit it according to the instructions for written submissions.

Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or comments received, go to: https://www.regulations.gov,, and insert the docket number, CPSC-2010-0046, into the “Search” box, and follow the prompts.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Cynthia Gillham, Consumer Product Safety Commission, 4330 East-West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; [phone], or by email to: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

CPSC seeks to renew the following currently approved collection of information:

A. Burden Hours

Title: Consumer Focus Groups.

OMB Number: 3041-0136.

Type of Review: Renewal of collection.

Frequency of Response: On occasion.

Affected Public: Consumers.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 650 participants.

Estimated Time per Response: 3 hours.

Total Estimated Annual Burden: 1,950 hours (650 participants × 3 hours).

General Description of Collection: Section 5(a) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA), 15 U.S.C. 2054(a), authorizes the Commission to conduct studies and investigations relating to the causes and prevention of deaths, accidents, injuries, illnesses, other health impairments, and economic losses associated with consumer products. Section 5(b) of the CPSA, 15 U.S.C. 2054(b), further provides that the Commission may conduct research, studies, and investigations on the safety of consumer products, or test consumer products and develop product safety test methods and testing devices.

To help identify and evaluate product-related incidents, Commission staff invites and obtains direct feedback from consumers on issues related to product safety, such as recall effectiveness, product use, and perceptions regarding safety issues. The information that the CPSC collects from future focus groups will help inform the Commission's identification and evaluation of consumer products and product use, by providing insight and information into consumer perceptions and usage patterns. In some cases, one-on-one interviews may be conducted as a more in-depth extension of a focus group, or in place of a traditional focus group. This information may also assist the Commission in its efforts to support voluntary standards activities and help CPSC identify consumer safety issues requiring additional research. In addition, based on the information obtained, CPSC may be able to provide safety information to the public that is easier to read and understood by a wider range of consumers.

B. Request for Comments

The Commission solicits written comments from all interested persons about the proposed collection of information. The Commission specifically solicits information relevant to the following topics:

• Whether the collection of information described above is necessary for the proper performance of the Commission's functions, including whether the information would have practical utility;
• Whether the estimated burden of the proposed collection of information is accurate;
• Whether the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected could be enhanced; and
• Whether the burden imposed by the collection of information could be minimized by use of automated, electronic, or other technological collection techniques, or other forms of information technology.

Alberta E. Mills,

Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.