[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 193 (Thursday, October 4, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60685-60686]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-24489]
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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION
[Docket No. CPSC-2013-0004]
Proposed Extension of Approval of Information Collection; Comment
Request--Electrically Operated Toys and Children's Articles
AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter
35), the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC or Commission)
requests comments on a proposed extension of approval of a collection
of information from manufacturers and importers of certain electrically
operated toys and children's articles. The collection of information
consists of testing and recordkeeping requirements in regulations
titled, ``Requirements for Electrically Operated Toys or Other
Electrically Operated Articles Intended for Use by Children,'' codified
at 16 CFR part 1505.
The Commission will consider all comments received in response to
this notice before requesting an extension of this collection of
information from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
DATES: The Office of the Secretary must receive comments not later than
December 3, 2012.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2013-
0004, by any of the following methods:
Electronic Submissions
Submit electronic comments in the following way:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
To ensure timely processing of comments, the Commission is no
longer accepting comments submitted by electronic mail (email), except
through www.regulations.gov.
Written Submissions
Submit written submissions in the following way:
Mail/Hand delivery/Courier (for paper, disk, or CD-ROM
submissions), preferably in five copies, to: Office of the Secretary,
Consumer Product Safety Commission, Room 502, 4330 East West Highway,
Bethesda, MD 20814; telephone (301) 504-7923.
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 http://www.regulations.gov. Do not submit confidential business information,
trade secret information, or other sensitive or protected information
electronically. Such information should be submitted in writing.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information contact:
Robert H. Squibb, Consumer Product Safety Commission, 4330 East West
Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; (301) 504-7815, or by email to:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 1973, the Commission issued safety
requirements for electrically operated toys and children's articles to
protect children from unreasonable risks of injury from electric shock,
electrical burns, and thermal burns. These regulations are codified at
16 CFR part 1505 and were issued under the authority of sections 2 and
3 of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (15 U.S.C. 1261, 1262).
A. Requirements for Electrically Operated Toys
These regulations are applicable to toys, games, and other articles
intended for use by children that are powered by electrical current
from a nominal 120
[[Page 60686]]
volt circuit. Video games and articles designed primarily for use by
adults that may be used incidentally by children are not subject to
these regulations.
The regulations prescribe design, construction, performance, and
labeling requirements for electrically operated toys and children's
articles. The regulations also require manufacturers and importers of
those products to develop and maintain a quality assurance program. 16
CFR 1505.4(a)(2). Additionally, section 1505.4(a)(3) of the regulations
require those firms to maintain records for 3 years, containing
information about: (1) The material and production specifications and
the description of the quality assurance program required by 16 CFR
1505.4(a)(2); (2) the results of all inspections and tests conducted;
and (3) records of sales and distribution.
OMB approved the collection of information requirements in the
regulations under control number 3041-0035. OMB's most recent extension
of approval expires on December 31, 2012. The Commission now proposes
to request an extension of approval for the information collection
requirements in the regulations.
The safety need for this collection of information remains.
Specifically, if a manufacturer or importer distributes products that
violate the requirements of the regulations, the records required by
section 1505.4(a)(3) can be used by the firm and the Commission to: (i)
identify specific lots or production lines of products that fail to
comply with applicable requirements; and (ii) notify distributors and
retailers in the event the products are subject to recall.
B. Estimated Burden
The Commission staff estimates that about 40 firms are subject to
the testing and recordkeeping requirements of the regulations. Each one
may have an average of 10 products each year, for which testing and
recordkeeping would be required, resulting in approximately 400
records. Commission staff estimates that the tests required by the
regulations can be performed on one product in 16 hours and that
recordkeeping can be performed for one product in 4 hours. Thus, the
estimated testing burden hours are 6,400 (16 hours x 400), and the
estimated recordkeeping burden hours are 1,600 hours (400 records x 4
hours).
Commission staff estimates that each firm may spend 30 minutes or
less per model on the labeling requirements. Assuming each firm
produces 10 new models each year, the estimated labeling burden hours
are 200 hours (40 firms x 10 models per firm x 0.5 hours per model =
200 hours) per year. The estimated total burden hours for recordkeeping
and labeling are 1,800 hours for all firms (1,600 hours for
recordkeeping + 200 hours for labeling).
CPSC staff estimates that the hourly wage for the time required to
perform the required testing and recordkeeping is approximately $61.75
(Bureau of Labor Statistics: total compensation for management,
professional, and related workers in goods-producing private
industries: http://www.bls.gov/ncs, and the hourly wage for the time
required to maintain the labeling requirements is approximately $27.64
(Bureau of Labor Statistics, total compensation for all sales and
office workers in goods-producing, private industries: http://www.bls.gov/ncs). The annualized total cost to the industry is
estimated to be $444,952 (6,400 x $61.75 + 1,800 x $27.64).
Commission staff will expend less than one staff month reviewing
records required to be maintained for electrically operated toys and
children's articles. The annual cost to the federal government of the
collection of information in these regulations is estimated to be less
than $14,338. This estimate uses an annual total compensation of $
119,238 (the equivalent of a GS-14 step 5 employee, with an additional
30.7 percent added for benefits.)
C. 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.
Dated: October 1, 2012.
Todd A. Stevenson,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2012-24489 Filed 10-3-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P