[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 106 (Monday, June 5, 2017)] [Notices] [Pages 25801-25802] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 2017-11577] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. ACTION: Notice, request for comment. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) invites comment on a proposal to extend for three years, without revision, the mandatory Government-Administered, General-Use Prepaid Card Issuer Survey (FR 3063a; OMB No. 7100-0343) and the voluntary Government-Administered, General-Use Prepaid Card Government Survey (FR 3063b; OMB No. 7100-0343). On June 15, 1984, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) delegated to the Board authority under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) to approve of and assign OMB control numbers to collection of information requests and requirements conducted or sponsored by the Board. In exercising this delegated authority, the Board is directed to take every reasonable step to solicit comment. In determining whether to approve a collection of information, the Board will consider all comments received from the public and other agencies. DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before August 4, 2017. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by FR 3063a or FR 3064b, by any of the following methods:Agency Web site: http://www.federalreserve.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments at http://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/foia/proposedregs.aspx. Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Email: [email protected]. Include OMB number in the subject line of the message. FAX: (202) 452-3819 or (202) 452-3102. Mail: Ann E. Misback, Secretary, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20551. All public comments are available from the Board's Web site at http://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/foia/proposedregs.aspx as submitted, unless modified for technical reasons. Accordingly, your comments will not be edited to remove any identifying or contact information. Public comments may also be viewed electronically or in paper form in Room 3515, 1801 K Street (between 18th and 19th Streets NW.) Washington, DC 20006 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on weekdays. Additionally, commenters may send a copy of their comments to the OMB Desk Officer--Shagufta Ahmed--Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20503 or by fax to (202) 395-6974. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A copy of the PRA OMB submission, including the proposed reporting form and instructions, supporting statement, and other documentation will be placed into OMB's public docket files, once approved. These documents will also be made available on the Federal Reserve Board's public Web site at: http://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/reportforms/review.aspx or may be [[Page 25802]] requested from the agency clearance officer, whose name appears below. Federal Reserve Board Clearance Officer--Nuha Elmaghrabi--Office of the Chief Data Officer, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551 (202) 452-3829. Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) users may contact (202) 263-4869, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Request for Comment on Information Collection Proposal The Board invites public comment on the following information collection, which is being reviewed under authority delegated by the OMB under the PRA. Comments are invited on the following: a. Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the Federal Reserve's functions; including whether the information has practical utility; b. The accuracy of the Federal Reserve's estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; c. Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; d. Ways to minimize the burden of information collection on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology; and e. Estimates of capital or startup costs and costs of operation, maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information. At the end of the comment period, the comments and recommendations received will be analyzed to determine the extent to which the Federal Reserve should modify the proposed revisions prior to giving final approval. Proposal To Approve Under OMB Delegated Authority the Extension for Three Years, Without Revision, of the Following Report Report Title: Government-Administered, General-Use Prepaid Card Surveys. Agency Form Number: FR 3063a and FR 3063b. OMB Control Number: 7100-0343. Frequency: Annual. Respondents: Issuers of government-administered, general-use prepaid cards (FR 3063a) and governments that administer general-use prepaid card programs (FR 3063b). Estimated Number of Respondents: FR 3063a: 25; FR 3063b: 75. Estimated Average Hours per Response: FR 3063a: 25 hours; FR 3063b: 15 hours. Estimated Annual Burden Hours: FR 3063a: 625 hours; FR 3063b: 1,125 hours. General Description of Report: The issuer survey (FR 3063a) collects data from issuers of government-administered, general-use prepaid cards including card program information, cards outstanding, card funding, ATM transactions, purchase transactions, fees paid by issuers to third parties, interchange fees, and cardholder fees. The issuer survey (FR 3063a) is mandatory. The government survey (FR 3063b) collects data from state governments, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories (collectively ``state governments''), and municipal government offices located within the United States (local government offices) that administer general-use prepaid card payment programs.\1\ Data collected from government offices include program information, the number of cards outstanding, and funding information. The government survey (FR 3063b) is voluntary. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \1\ The issuer and government surveys request information on all federal, state, or local government-administered payment programs that provide a general-use prepaid card (or other debit card) disbursement option to payment recipients. The government survey may be distributed to federal government agencies in addition to state and local governments, but collections of information from federal government agencies are not subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act and, thus, are not included in this discussion. U.S. territories include American Samoa, Guam, Midway Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Board uses data from these surveys to support an annual report to the Congress on the prevalence of use of general-use prepaid cards in federal, state, and local government-administered payment programs and on the interchange and cardholder fees charged with respect to such use of such cards. Legal Authorization and Confidentiality: The Board's Legal Division has determined that both the issuer survey and the government survey are authorized by subsection 920(a) of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, which was amended by section 1075(a) of the Dodd-Frank Act (15 U.S.C. 1693o-2). This subsection requires the Board to submit an annual report to Congress on the prevalence of the use of general-use prepaid cards in Federal, State or local government-administered payment programs and the interchange transaction fees and card-holder fees charged with respect to the use of such general-use prepaid cards (15 U.S.C. 1693o-2(a)(7)(D)). It also provides the Board with authority to require issuers to provide information to enable the Board to carry out the provisions of the subsection (15 U.S.C. 1693o-2(a)(3)(B)). The obligation of issuers to respond to the issuer survey (FR 3063a) is mandatory. However, the obligation of state governments and local government offices to respond to the government survey (FR 3063b) is voluntary. All of the information collected on the government survey and a limited amount of information collected on the issuer survey is publicly available, and thus, is not accorded confidential treatment. However, most of the information collected on the issuer survey is not publicly available and may be kept confidential as explained herein. Data collected by the issuer survey may be kept confidential under exemption (b)(4) of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which exempts from disclosure ``trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential'' (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4)). Such data may be kept confidential under exemption 4 if the release of data would cause substantial harm to the competitive position of the issuer. For example, certain issuer survey responses would likely contain information related to an organization's revenue structure and other proprietary and commercial information and the release of such information would cause substantial harm to the competitive position of the issuer and could therefore be kept confidential under exemption 4. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, May 31, 2017. Ann E. Misback, Secretary of the Board. [FR Doc. 2017-11577 Filed 6-2-17; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6210-01-P