[Federal Register: July 14, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 135)]
[Notices]
[Page 40384]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr14jy08-108]
[[Page 40384]]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employee Benefits Security Administration
Proposed Extension of Information Collection Request Submitted
for Public Comment; Proposed Amendment to PTE 84-14 for Plan Asset
Transactions Determined by Independent Qualified Professional Asset
Managers
AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (the Department), in accordance with
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA 95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)),
provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to
comment on proposed and continuing collections of information. This
helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection
requirements and minimize the reporting burden on the public and helps
the public understand the Department's information collection
requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format.
Currently, the Employee Benefits Security Administration is soliciting
comments on the proposed extension of the information collection
provisions of Proposed Amendment to PTE 84-14 for Plan Asset
Transactions Determined by Independent Qualified Professional Asset
Managers. A copy of the information collection request (ICR) may be
obtained by contacting the office listed in the ADDRESSES section of
this notice.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office shown in the
Addresses section on or before September 9, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Joseph S. Piacentini, Department of Labor, Employee Benefits
Security Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC
20210, (202) 693-8410, FAX (202) 693-4745 (these are not toll-free
numbers).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
PTE 84-14 is a class exemption from ERISA's prohibited transaction
rules that permits various parties that are related to employee benefit
plans to engage in transactions involving plan assets if, among other
conditions, the assets are managed by ``qualified professional asset
managers'' (QPAMs), which are independent of the parties in interest
and which meet specified financial standards. Additional exemptive
relief is provided for employers to furnish limited amounts of goods
and services to a managed fund in the ordinary course of business.
Limited relief also is provided for leases of office or commercial
space between managed funds and QPAMs or contributing employers.
Finally, relief is provided for transactions involving places of public
accommodation owned by a managed fund.
The proposed amendment to PTE 84-14 (70 FR 49305, August 23, 2005)
would permit a ``qualified professional asset manager'' (QPAM) to
prospectively manage an investment fund containing the assets of its
own employee benefit plan or the plan of an affiliate, to the extent
that the conditions of the proposal have been met. Under section 406(a)
of ERISA, sales, leases, loans or the provision of services between a
party in interest and a plan, as well as a use of plan assets by or for
the benefit of, or a transfer of plan assets to, a party in interest,
is prohibited. Section 408(a) of ERISA permits the Department to grant
an exemption from a prohibited transaction provision where it has been
able to determine that certain criteria for granting such exemptions
have been satisfied. Without the proposed amendment, a financial
institution that acted as a QPAM for its own plan, prospectively, would
be in violation of section 406(a).
In order for a transaction to qualify for an exemption under the
proposed amendment, a QPAM must, among other requirements, establish
written policies and procedures that are designed to assure compliance
with the conditions of the proposed amendment, including the steps
adopted by the QPAM to measure compliance. The proposed amendment also
requires an independent auditor required to conduct an exemption audit,
on an annual basis, the results of which are presented in a written
report to the plan.
These requirements constitute an information collection within the
meaning of the PRA, for which the Department has obtained approval from
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under OMB Control No. 1210-
0128. The OMB approval is currently scheduled to expire on October 31,
2008.
II. Current Actions
This notice requests public comment pertaining to the Department's
request for extension of OMB approval of the information collection
contained in the proposed amendment to PTE 84-14. After considering
comments received in response to this notice, the Department intends to
submit an ICR to OMB for continuing approval. No change to the existing
ICR is proposed or made at this time. An agency may not conduct or
sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, an information
collection unless it displays a valid OMB control number. A summary of
the ICR and the current burden estimates follows:
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Proposed Amendment to Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption
84-14.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0218.
Affected Public: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit; Not-for-profit institutions.
Respondents: 6,500.
Responses: 6,500.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 6,500.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $546,000.
III. Focus of Comments
The Department of Labor (Department) is particularly interested in
comments that:
Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency,
including whether the information will have practical utility;
Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and
Minimize the burden of the collection of information on
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., by
permitting electronic submissions of responses.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized
and/or included in the ICR for OMB approval of the extension of the
information collection; they will also become a matter of public
record.
Dated: July 8, 2008.
Joseph S. Piacentini,
Director, Office of Policy and Research, Employee Benefits Security
Administration.
[FR Doc. E8-15848 Filed 7-11-08; 8:45 am]
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