FR Doc E9-8908
[Federal Register: April 20, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 74)]
[Notices]
[Page 17986-17987]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20ap09-71]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employee Benefits Security Administration
Proposed Extension of Information Collection; Comment Request;
Prohibited Transaction Exemption 97-41, Collective Investment Funds
Conversion Transactions
AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to
reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a preclearance
consultation program to provide the general public and Federal agencies
with an opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing collections
of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA 95). This program helps to ensure that the Department can properly
assess the impact of its information collection requirements on
respondents and minimize the reporting burden (in both time and
financial resources) on the public and that the public can clearly
understand the Department's information collection instruments 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 information collection provisions of
Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 97-41, Collective Investment
Funds Conversion Transactions. 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 below on or before June 19, 2009.
ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to G. Christopher Cosby Lahne,
Office of Policy and Research, Employee Benefits Security
Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW.,
Room N-5718, Washington, DC 20210, (202) 693-8410, FAX (202) 219-4745
(the foregoing 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
Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) 97-41 provides an exemption
from the prohibited transaction provisions of the Employment
[[Page 17987]]
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and from certain taxes
imposed by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. The exemption permits
employee benefit plans to purchase shares of one or more open-end
investment companies (funds) registered under the Investment Advisers
Act of 1940 by transferring in-kind, to the investment company, assets
of the plan that are part of a collective investment fund (CIF)
maintained by a bank or plan advisor that is both a fiduciary of the
plan and an investment advisor to the investment company offering the
fund.
The exemption requires that an independent fiduciary receive
advance written notice of any covered transaction, as well as specific
written information concerning the mutual funds to be purchased. The
independent fiduciary must also provide written advance approval of
conversion transactions and receive written confirmation of each
transaction, as well as additional on-going disclosures as defined in
PTE 97-41. These disclosures are the basis for this ICR.
EBSA previously submitted the information collection provisions of
PTE 2002-12 to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review in
connection with promulgation of the prohibited transaction exemption.
OMB approved the information collection request (ICR) under OMB Control
No. 1210-0115. The ICR approval is currently scheduled to expire on
June 30, 2009.
II. 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., permitting
electronic submission of responses.
III. Current Action
This notice requests comments on the extension of the ICR included
in PTE 97-41. The Department is not proposing or implementing changes
to the existing ICR at this time. The following summarizes the ICR and
the current burden estimates:
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Titles: Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 97-41, Collective
Investment Funds Conversion Transactions.
OMB Number: 1210-0104.
Affected Public: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit; Not-for-profit institutions.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 1,756.
Respondents: 105.
Frequency of Response: On occasion.
Responses: 105.
Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $282,000.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of the ICR; they will
also become a matter of public record.
Dated: April 13, 2009.
Joseph S. Piacentini,
Director, Office of Policy and Research, Employee Benefits Security
Administration.
[FR Doc. E9-8908 Filed 4-17-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-20-P