Fed. Reg. Rules and Regulations — Notice

Agency: Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or “Commission”)
Action: Notice
Citation: FR Doc. 07-268

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 February 28, 2010 the current PRA clearance for information collection requirements contained in its Alternative Fuel Rule. That clearance expires on February 28, 2007.

Dates

Comments must be filed by February 23, 2007.

Supplementary Information

On September 22, 2006, the FTC sought comment on the information collection requirements associated with the Alternative Fuel Rule (“Rule”), 16 CFR part 309 (Control Number: 3084-0094). See 71 FR 55474. No comments were received. Pursuant to the OMB regulations, 5 CFR Part 1320, that implement the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520, the FTC is providing this second opportunity for public comment while seeking OMB approval to extend the existing paperwork clearance for the Rule. All comments should be filed as prescribed in the ADDRESSES section above, and must be received on or before February 23, 2007. The Rule, which implements the Energy Policy Act of 1992, Pub. L. 102-486, requires disclosure of specific information on labels posted on fuel dispensers for non-liquid alternative fuels and on labels on Alternative Fueled Vehicles (AFVs). To ensure the accuracy of these disclosures, the Rule also requires that sellers maintain records substantiating product-specific disclosures they include on these labels. Burden Statement It is common practice for alternative fuel industry members to determine and monitor fuel ratings in the normal course of their business activities. This is because industry members must know and determine the fuel ratings of their products in order to monitor quality and to decide how to market them. “Burden” for PRA purposes is defined to exclude effort that would be expended regardless of any regulatory requirement. 5 CFR 1320.2(b)(2). Moreover, as originally anticipated when the Rule was promulgated in 1995, many of the information collection requirements and the originally-estimated hours were associated with one-time start up tasks of implementing standard systems and processes. Other factors also limit the burden associated with the Rule. Certification may be a one-time event or require only infrequent revision. Disclosures on electric vehicle fuel dispensing systems may be useable for several years. 2 Nonetheless, there is still some burden associated with posting labels. There also will be some minimal burden associated with new or revised certification of fuel ratings and recordkeeping. The burden on vehicle manufacturers is limited because only newly-manufactured vehicles will require label posting and manufacturers produce very few new models each year. 2 Label specifications were designed to produce labels to withstand the elements for several years. Estimated total annual hours burden: 24,000 total burden hours, rounded Non-liquid alternative fuels: Certification: Staff estimates that the Rule's fuel rating certification requirements will affect approximately 550 industry members (compressed natural gas producers and distributors and manufacturers of electric vehicle fuel dispensing systems) and consume approximately one hour each per year for a total of 550 hours. Recordkeeping: Staff estimates that all 1,900 industry members (non-liquid fuel producers, distributors, and retailers) will be subject to the Rule's recordkeeping requirements (associated with fuel rating certification) and that compliance will require approximately one-tenth hour each per year for a total of 190 hours. Labeling: Staff estimates that labeling requirements will affect approximately nine of every ten industry members (or roughly 1,700 members), but that the number of annually affected members is only 340 because labels may remain effective for several years (staff assumes that in any given year approximately 20% of 1,700 industry members will need to replace their labels). Staff estimates that industry members require approximately one hour each per year for labeling their fuel dispensers for a total of 340 hours. Sub-total: 1,080 hours (550 + 190 + 340). AFV manufacturers: Recordkeeping: Staff estimates that all 58 manufacturers will require 30 minutes to comply with the Rule's recordkeeping requirements for a total of 29 hours. Producing labels: Staff estimates 2.5 hours as the average time required of manufacturers to produce labels for each of the five new AFV models introduced industry-wide each year for a total of 12.5 hours. Posting labels: Staff estimates 2 minutes as the average time to comply with the posting requirements for each of the approximately 680,000 new AFVs manufactured each year for a total of 22,667 hours. Sub-total: 22,709 hours (29 + 12.5 + 22,667). Thus, the total burden for these industries combined is approximately 24,000 hours (1,080 + 22,709), rounded. Estimated labor costs: $698,000, rounded. Labor costs are derived by applying appropriate hourly cost figures to the burden hours described above. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data for 2005 (most recent available whole-year information), the average compensation for producers and distributors in the fuel industry is $19.34 per hour and $9.13 per hour for service station employees; the average compensation for workers in the vehicle industry is $29.90 per hour. Non-liquid alternative fuels: Certification and labeling: Generally, all of the estimated hours except for recordkeeping will be performed by producers and distributors of fuels. Thus, the associated labor costs would be $17,212.60. [(550 certification hours + 340 labeling hours) × $19.34] Recordkeeping: Only 1/6 of the total 190 recordkeeping hours will be performed by the producers and distributors of fuels ( 1/6 of 190 hours = approximately 32 hours; 32 hours × $19.34 = $618.88); the other 5/6 is attributable to service station employees ( 5/6 of 190 hours = approximately 158 hours; 158 hours × $9.13 = $1,442.54). Thus, the labor cost due to recordkeeping for the entire industry is approximately $2,061.42 ($618.88 for producers and distributors of fuels + $1,442.54 for service station employees) and the total paperwork related labor cost for the entire industry is approximately $19,274.02 ($17,212.60 for certification and labeling costs + $2,061.42 for recordkeeping costs). AFV manufacturers: The maximum labor cost for the entire industry is approximately $678,999.10 per year for recordkeeping and producing and posting labels (22,709 total hours × $29.90/hour). Thus, the estimated total labor cost for both industries for all paperwork requirements is $698,000 ($19,274.02 + $678,999.10) per year, rounded. Estimated annual non-labor cost burden: $259,000 rounded. Non-liquid alternative fuels: Staff believes that there are no current start-up costs associated with the Rule, inasmuch as the Rule has been effective since 1995. Industry members, therefore, have in place the capital equipment and means necessary to determine automotive fuel ratings and comply with the Rule. Industry members, however, incur the cost of procuring fuel dispenser and AFV labels to comply with the Rule. The estimated annual fuel labeling cost, based on estimates of 540 fuel dispensers (assumptions: an estimated 20% of 1,350 total fuel retailers need to replace labels in any given year given an approximate five-year life for labels—i.e., 270 retailers—multiplied by an average of two dispensers per retailer) at thirty-eight cents for each label (per industry sources), is $205.00 ($0.38 × 540). AFV manufacturers: Here, too, staff believes that there are no current start-up costs associated with the Rule, for the same reasons as stated immediately above regarding the non-liquid alternative fuel industry. However, based on the labeling of an estimated 680,000 new and used AFVs each year at thirty-eight cents for each label (per industry sources), the annual AFV labeling cost is estimated to be $258,400 ($0.38 × 680,000). Thus, the estimated total annual non-labor cost burden associated with the Rule is $259,000 ($205 + $258,400), rounded. William Blumenthal, General Counsel. [FR Doc. E7-952 Filed 1-23-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6750-01-P DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Office of the Secretary Annual Update of the HHS Poverty Guidelines AGENCY: Department of Health and Human Services. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: This notice provides an update of the HHS poverty guidelines to account for last calendar year's increase in prices as measured by the Consumer Price Index. DATES: Effective Date: Date of publication, unless an office administering a program using the guidelines specifies a different effective date for that particular program. ADDRESSES: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Room 404E, Humphrey Building, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Washington, DC 20201. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about how the guidelines are used or how income is defined in a particular program, contact the Federal, State, or local office that is responsible for that program. Contact information for two frequently requested programs is given below: For information about the Hill-Burton Uncompensated Services Program (free or reduced-fee health care services at certain hospitals and other facilities for persons meeting eligibility criteria involving the poverty guidelines), contact the Office of the Director, Division of Facilities Compliance and Recovery, Health Resources and Services Administration, HHS, Room 10-105, Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20857. To speak to a person, call (301) 443-5656. To receive a Hill-Burton information package, call 1-800-638-0742 (for callers outside Maryland) or 1-800-492-0359 (for callers in Maryland). You may also visit . The Division of Facilities Compliance and Recovery notes that as set by 42 CFR 124.505(b), the effective date of this update of the poverty guidelines for facilities obligated under the Hill-Burton Uncompensated Services Program is sixty days from the date of this publication. For information about the percentage multiple of the poverty guidelines to be used on immigration forms such as USCIS Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, contact U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services at 1-800-375-5283 or visit . For information about the number of people in poverty or about the Census Bureau poverty thresholds, visit the Poverty section of the Census Bureau's Web site at or contact the Census Bureau's Demographic Call Center Staff at (301) 763-2422 or 1-866-758-1060 (toll-free). For general questions about the poverty guidelines themselves, contact Gordon Fisher, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Room 404E, Humphrey Building, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC 20201—telephone: (202) 690-7507—or visit . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background Section 673(2) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)) requires the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to update, at least annually, the poverty guidelines, which shall be used as an eligibility criterion for the Community Services Block Grant program. The poverty guidelines also are used as an eligibility criterion by a number of other Federal programs. The poverty guidelines issued here are a simplified version of the poverty thresholds that the Census Bureau uses to prepare its estimates of the number of individuals and families in poverty. As required by law, this update is accomplished by increasing the latest published Census Bureau poverty thresholds by the relevant percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U). The guidelines in this 2007 notice reflect the 3.2 percent price increase between calendar years 2005 and 2006. After this inflation adjustment, the guidelines are rounded and adjusted to standardize the differences between family sizes. The same calculation procedure was used this year as in previous years. (Note that these 2007 guidelines are roughly equal to the poverty thresholds for calendar year 2006 which the Census Bureau expects to publish in final form in August 2007.) The guideline figures shown represent annual income. 2007 Poverty Guidelines for the 48 Contiguous States and the District of Columbia Persons in family Poverty guideline 1 $10,210 2 13,690 3 17,170 4 20,650 5 24,130 6 27,610 7 31,090 8 34,570 For families with more than 8 persons, add $3,480 for each additional person. 2007 Poverty Guidelines for Alaska Persons in family Poverty guideline $12,770 2 17,120 3 21,470 4 25,820 5 30,170 6 34,520 7 38,870 8 43,220 For families with more than 8 persons, add $4,350 for each additional person. 2007 Poverty Guidelines for Hawaii Persons in family Poverty guideline 1 $11,750 2 15,750 3 19,750 4 23,750 5 27,750 6 31,750 7 35,750 8 39,750 For families with more than 8 persons, add $4,000 for each additional person. Separate poverty guideline figures for Alaska and Hawaii reflect Office of Economic Opportunity administrative practice beginning in the 1966-1970 period. (Note that the Census Bureau poverty thresholds—the version of the poverty measure used for statistical purposes—have never had separate figures for Alaska and Hawaii.) The poverty guidelines are not defined for Puerto Rico or other outlying jurisdictions. In cases in which a Federal program using the poverty guidelines serves any of those jurisdictions, the Federal office that administers the program is generally responsible for deciding whether to use the contiguous-states-and-DC guidelines for those jurisdictions or to follow some other procedure. Due to confusing legislative language dating back to 1972, the poverty guidelines have sometimes been mistakenly referred to as the “OMB” (Office of Management and Budget) poverty guidelines or poverty line. In fact, OMB has never issued the guidelines; the guidelines are issued each year by the Department of Health and Human Services. The poverty guidelines may be formally referenced as “the poverty guidelines updated periodically in the Federal Register by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the authority of 42 U.S.C. 9902(2).” Some programs use a percentage multiple of the guidelines (for example, 125 percent or 185 percent of the guidelines), as noted in relevant authorizing legislation or program regulations. Non-Federal organizations that use the poverty guidelines under their own authority in non-federally-funded activities can choose to use a percentage multiple of the guidelines such as 125 percent or 185 percent. The poverty guidelines do not make a distinction between farm and non-farm families, or between aged and non-aged units. (Only the Census Bureau poverty thresholds have separate figures for aged and non-aged one-person and two-person units.) Note that this notice does not provide definitions of such terms as “income” or “family.” This is because there is considerable variation in how different programs that use the guidelines define these terms, traceable to the different laws and regulations that govern the various programs. Therefore, questions about how a particular program applies the poverty guidelines ( e.g. , Is income before or after taxes? Should a particular type of income be counted? Should a particular person be counted in the family or household unit?) should be directed to the organization that administers the program. Dated: January 17, 2007. Michael O. Leavitt, Secretary of Health and Human Services. [FR Doc. 07-268 Filed 1-19-07; 8:45 am]

Rules and Regulations. Notice

Summary

Dates

Supplementary Information