[Federal Register: December 5, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 233)]
[Notices]
[Page 70544]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr05de06-74]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employee Benefits Security Administration
Proposed Extension of Information Collection; Comment Request;
Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 75-1; Employee Benefit Plan
Security Transactions With Broker-Dealers, Reporting Dealers and Banks
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) (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
program 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 (EBSA) is
soliciting comments on a proposed extension of the current approval of
information collection provisions incorporated in the Prohibited
Transaction Class Exemption (PTE) 75-1, pertaining to securities and
other related transactions with broker-dealers, reporting dealers and
banks. A copy of the information collection request (ICR) can be
obtained by contacting the office shown in the ADDRESSES section of
this notice.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office shown in the
Addresses section on or before February 5, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Susan G. Lahne, Office of
Policy and Research, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S.
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room N-5647,
Washington, DC 20210. Telephone: (202) 693-8410; Fax: (202) 219-4745.
These are not toll-free numbers. Comments may also be submitted
electronically to the following Internet e-mail address:
ebsa.opr@dol.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
PTE 75-1 provides exemptions from certain prohibited transaction
provisions of the Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1974
(ERISA), and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (Code) for specified
types of transactions between employee benefit plans and broker-
dealers, reporting dealers and banks relating to securities purchases
and sales, provided specified conditions are met. The exempted
transactions include an employee benefit plan's purchase of securities
from broker-dealers' inventories of stocks, from underwriting
syndicates in which a plan fiduciary is a member, from banks, from
reporting dealers, and from a market-maker even if a market-maker is a
plan fiduciary. The exempted transactions also include, under certain
conditions, a plan's accepting an extension of credit from a broker-
dealer for the purpose of facilitating settlement of a securities
transaction. Among other conditions, PTE 75-1 requires that a party
seeking to rely on the exemption with respect to a transaction maintain
adequate records of the transaction for a period of six years. The
Department has obtained approval from the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) for this information collection under OMB Control No.
1210-0092. This approval is currently scheduled to expire on March 30,
2007.
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 PTE 75-1. After considering comments received in response
to this notice, the Department intends to submit an ICR to OMB for
continuing approval of the information collection contained in PTE 75-
1. 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: Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 75-1; Employee
Benefit Plan Security Transactions with Broker-Dealers, Reporting
Dealers and Banks.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0092.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; not-for-profit
institutions.
Respondents: 9750.
Responses: 9750.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 1625.
Estimate Total Burden Cost: $86,125.
III. Desired Focus of Comments
The 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 submitted to OMB; they will also become a
matter of public record.
Joseph A. Piacentini,
Director, Office of Policy and Research, Employee Benefits Security
Administration
[FR Doc. E6-20519 Filed 12-4-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P