Public Workshop Examining Franchise Rule
| Published date | 10 September 2020 |
| Citation | 85 FR 55850 |
| Record Number | 2020-20006 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Federal Trade Commission |
55850
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 176 / Thursday, September 10, 2020 / Notices
1
Section 5(a) of the Federal Trade Commission
Act, 15 U.S.C. 45(a), prohibits ‘‘unfair or deceptive
acts or practices in or affecting commerce.’’
2
Original Franchise Rule Statement of Basis and
Purpose (‘‘Original SBP’’), 43 FR 59614 (Dec. 21,
1978).
3
Id.
4
60 FR 17656 (Apr. 7, 1995).
5
Amended Franchise Rule Statement of Basis and
Purpose (‘‘Amended Rule SBP’’), 72 FR 15444 (Mar.
30, 2007).
6
16 CFR 436.2(a).
Disclosure to consumer reporting
agencies: None.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF
RECORDS
:
Records are maintained in file folders
and electronically in a computerized
database.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF
RECORDS
:
Records are retrieved by (1) SF1166a
(Voucher and Schedule of Payments)
voucher number by year; (2) individual
or vendor name; (3) Social Security
number or Tax Identification Number
(as applicable) and (4) purchase order or
contract number; or some combination
thereof.
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR RETENTION AND
DISPOSAL OF RECORDS
:
Records are retained in accordance
with the National Archives and Records
Administration’s General Records
Schedule requirements for financial and
procurement records, and with the FCA
Comprehensive Records Schedule.
ADMINSITRATIVE
,
TECHNICAL
,
AND PHYSICAL
SAFEGUARDS
:
FCA implements multiple layers of
security to ensure access to records is
limited to those with a need-to-know in
support of their official duties. Records
are physically safeguarded in a secured
environment using locked file rooms,
file cabinets, or locked offices and other
physical safeguards. Computerized
records are safeguarded through use of
user roles, passwords, firewalls,
encryption, and other information
technology security measures. Only
personnel with a need-to-know in
support of their duties have access to
the records.
RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES
:
To obtain a record, contact: Privacy
Act Officer, Farm Credit
Administration, 1501 Farm Credit Drive,
McLean, VA 22102–5090, as provided
in 12 CFR part 603.
CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES
:
Direct requests for amendments to a
record to: Privacy Act Officer, Farm
Credit Administration, 1501 Farm
Credit Drive, McLean, VA 22102–5090,
as provided in 12 CFR part 603.
NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE
:
Address inquiries about this system of
records to: Privacy Act Officer, Farm
Credit Administration, McLean, VA
22102–5090.
EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM
:
None.
HISTORY
:
Federal Register Vol. 64, No. 100/
Tuesday, May 25, 1999 page 21875.
Vol. 70, No. 183/Thursday, September
22, 2005, page 55621.
Dated: September 4, 2020.
Dale Aultman,
Secretary, Farm Credit Administration Board.
[FR Doc. 2020–19995 Filed 9–9–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6705–01–P
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Public Workshop Examining Franchise
Rule
AGENCY
: Federal Trade Commission.
ACTION
: Public workshop; request for
public comment.
SUMMARY
: The Federal Trade
Commission (‘‘FTC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’)
is holding a public workshop relating to
its March 13, 2019 Request for Public
Comment on the Franchise Rule (‘‘2019
Request for Comment’’). The workshop
will explore issues relating to the
Franchise Rule’s disclosure
requirements, the Rule’s prohibitions
against disclaimers, and other issues
raised in comments received in
response to the 2019 Request for
Comment.
DATES
: The public workshop will be
held on November 10, 2020, from 1:00
p.m. until 4:30 p.m. ET. The workshop
will be held online. Requests to
participate as a panelist must be
received by October 1, 2020. Any
written comments related to the issues
discussed at the workshop must be
received by December 17, 2020.
ADDRESSES
: Interested parties may file a
comment or a request to participate as
a panelist online or on paper, by
following the instructions in the Filing
Comments and Requests to Participate
as a Panelist part of the
SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION
section below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
:
Christine M. Todaro (202–326–3711),
Division of Marketing Practices, Bureau
of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade
Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20580.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
:
I. Introduction
The Commission issued the original
Franchise Rule pursuant to its authority
under Section 5 of the Federal Trade
Commission Act to proscribe unfair or
deceptive acts or practices.
1
The
primary purpose of the Rule is to
provide prospective purchasers of
franchises the material information they
need in order to weigh the risks and
benefits of such an investment by
providing disclosure requirements in a
uniform format that facilitates
comparison shopping.
2
The
Commission adopted the Rule on
December 21, 1978, and it became fully
effective on July 21, 1979.
3
In 1995, the Commission announced
a regulatory review of the Franchise
Rule.
4
That proceeding, which
concluded that the Rule was still
needed but could be improved, led to
amendments to the Rule issued in 2007
(the ‘‘Amended Rule’’), which took
effect on July 1, 2008.
5
The Amended
Rule, among other changes, sought to
reduce inconsistencies between federal
and state pre-sale disclosure
requirements and established a set of
uniform disclosure requirements in a
Franchise Disclosure Document
(‘‘FDD’’). Commission staff has
continued to work closely with state
franchise regulators to promote
uniformity regarding franchise
disclosure requirements.
The Amended Rule requires
franchisors to provide prospective
franchisees with their FDD at least 14
calendar days before they make any
payment or sign a binding agreement in
connection with a proposed franchise
sale.
6
The FDD provides prospective
franchise purchasers with 23 items of
information material to their investment
decision, including the initial fees and
estimated initial investment required;
the litigation and bankruptcy history of
the franchisor, its officers and key
executives; the financial performance of
existing company owned and franchised
outlets; contact information for current
and former franchisees; and financial
statements reflecting the ability of the
franchisor to provide promised services
and support. The FDD also includes
required disclosure of any restrictions
on the sources of goods and services and
any required purchases; a franchisee’s
contractual obligations in the
establishment and operation of the
franchise; the terms of any financing
offered by the franchisor; the training
and assistance provided by the
franchisor; the extent to which the
franchisee’s outlet is protected from
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 176 / Thursday, September 10, 2020 / Notices
7
Franchise Rule, Request for Comment, 84 FR
9051 (March 13, 2019).
8
The comments are posted at: https://
www.regulations.gov/document?D=FTC-2019-0014-
0001. The Commission has assigned each comment
a number appearing after the name of the
commenter and the date of submission. This notice
cites comments using the last name of the
individual submitter or the name of the
organization, followed by the number assigned by
the Commission.
9
See, e.g., International Franchise Association,
FTC–2019–0014–0008; Congress of the United
States—Members of Congress, FTC–2019–0014–
0003; North American Securities Administrators
Association, Inc., FTC–2019–0014–0032.
10
See 16 CFR 4.9(c).
competition by the franchisor and other
franchisees; any restrictions on what the
franchisee may sell; the circumstances
in which the franchise may be
prematurely terminated, or the
franchisee’s sale or renewal of the
franchise refused by the franchisor; how
and where any disputes will be
resolved; any restrictions on the
franchisee’s ability to engage in the
same or similar business during and
after the termination of the franchise;
and the number of outlets created, sold,
and closed during the past three years.
In addition, if the franchisor makes a
financial performance representation,
the representation must be disclosed in
the FDD.
On March 13, 2019, the Commission
solicited comments on the Amended
Rule as part of its periodic review of its
rules and guides.
7
The Commission
sought comment on a number of general
issues, including whether there is a
continuing need for the Rule; what
modifications, if any, should be made to
the Rule to increase its benefits to
prospective franchisees; and what
modifications, if any, should be made to
the Rule to account for changes in
relevant technology or economic
conditions. The Commission received
39 comments from individuals and
entities representing a wide range of
viewpoints.
8
All commenters agreed
that there is a continuing need for the
Rule.
9
Several commenters, however,
proposed changes to the Rule, including
to the form and substance of the
disclosures.
II. Issues for Discussion at the
Workshop
As part of the Franchise Rule
regulatory review, the FTC has decided
to seek additional information about the
proposed modifications raised by the
commenters. The workshop will cover
such topics as:
(1) Item 19 financial performance
representations;
(2) The use of disclaimers; and
(3) The format of the FDD.
An agenda will be published at a later
date, in advance of the scheduled
workshop.
III. Public Participation Information
A. Workshop Attendance
The workshop is free and open to the
public, and will be held online. It will
be webcast live on the FTC’s website.
This event may be photographed,
videotaped, webcast, or otherwise
recorded. By participating in this event,
you are agreeing that your image—and
anything you say or submit—may be
posted indefinitely at https://
www.ftc.gov or on one of the
Commission’s publicly available social
media sites.
B. Requests To Participate as a Panelist
The workshop will be organized into
panels, which will address the
designated topics. Panelists will be
selected by FTC staff. Other attendees
will have an opportunity to comment
and ask questions. The Commission will
place a transcript of the proceeding on
the public record. Requests to
participate as a panelist must be
received on or before October 1, 2020,
as explained in Section IV below.
Persons selected as panelists will be
notified on or before October 17, 2020.
Disclosing funding sources promotes
transparency, ensures objectivity, and
maintains the public’s trust. If chosen,
prospective panelists will be required to
disclose the source of any support they
received in connection with
participation at the workshop. This
information will be included in the
published panelist bios as part of the
workshop record.
C. Electronic and Paper Comments
The submission of comments is not
required for participation in the
workshop. If a person wishes to submit
electronic or paper comments related to
the issues discussed at the workshop,
such comments should be filed as
prescribed in Section IV, and must be
received on or before December 17,
2020.
IV. Filing Comments and Requests To
Participate as a Panelist
You can file a comment, or request to
participate as a panelist, online or on
paper. The deadline to file a comment
is December 17, 2020. For Commission
staff to consider your request to
participate as a panelist, we must
receive it by October 1, 2020. Write
‘‘Franchise Rule, 16 CFR 436, Comment,
Matter No. R511003’’ on your comment
and ‘‘Franchise Rule, 16 CFR 436,
Request to Participate, Matter No.
R511003’’ on your request to participate.
Your comment—including your name
and your state—will be placed on the
public record of this proceeding,
including https://www.regulations.gov.
Due to the public health emergency in
response to the COVID–19 outbreak and
the agency’s heightened security
screening, postal mail addressed to the
Commission will be subject to delay. We
strongly encourage you to submit your
comments online through the https://
www.regulations.gov website. To make
sure that the Commission considers
your online comment, follow the
instructions on the web-based form.
Because your comment will be placed
on the public record, you are solely
responsible for making sure that your
comment does not include sensitive or
confidential information. In particular,
your comment should not include any
sensitive personal information, such as
your or anyone else’s Social Security
number; date of birth; driver’s license
number or other state identification
number, or foreign country equivalent;
passport number, financial account
number, or credit or debit card number.
You are also solely responsible for
making sure that your comment does
not include sensitive health
information, such as medical records or
other individually identifiable health
information. In addition, your comment
should not include any ‘‘trade secret or
any commercial or financial information
which . . . is privileged or
confidential’’—as provided by Section
6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and
FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)—
including in particular competitively
sensitive information such as costs,
sales statistics, inventories, formulas,
patterns, devices, manufacturing
processes, or customer names.
Comments containing material for
which confidential treatment is
requested must be filed in paper form,
must be clearly labeled ‘‘Confidential,’’
and must comply with FTC Rule 4.9(c).
In particular, the written request for
confidential treatment that accompanies
the comment must include the factual
and legal basis for the request, and must
identify the specific portions of the
comments to be withheld from the
public record.
10
Your comment will be
kept confidential only if the General
Counsel grants your request in
accordance with the law and the public
interest. Once your comment has been
posted on the https://
www.regulations.gov website—as legally
required by FTC Rule 4.9(b)—we cannot
redact or remove your comment from
that website, unless you submit a
confidentiality request that meets the
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 176 / Thursday, September 10, 2020 / Notices
requirements for such treatment under
FTC Rule 4.9(c), and the General
Counsel grants that request.
Requests to participate as a panelist at
the workshop should be submitted
electronically to franchiserule@ftc.gov,
or, if mailed, should be submitted in the
manner detailed below. Parties are
asked to include in their requests a brief
statement setting forth their expertise in
or knowledge of the issues on which the
workshop will focus as well as their
contact information, including a
telephone number and email address (if
available), to enable the FTC to notify
them if they are selected.
If you file your comment or request on
paper, write ‘‘Franchise Rule, 16 CFR
part 436, Comment, Matter No.
R511003’’ on your comment and on the
envelope or ‘‘Franchise Rule, 16 CFR
part 436, Request to Participate, Matter
No. R511003,’’ on your request and on
the envelope, and mail your comment or
request to the following address: Federal
Trade Commission, Office of the
Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue
NW, Suite CC–5610 (Annex F),
Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your
comment or request to the following
address: Federal Trade Commission,
Office of the Secretary, Constitution
Center, 400 7th Street SW, 5th Floor,
Suite 5610 (Annex F). If possible,
submit your paper comment or request
to the Commission by courier or
overnight service.
Visit the Commission website at
https://www.ftc.gov to read this Notice
and the news release describing it. The
FTC Act and other laws that the
Commission administers permit the
collection of public comments to
consider and use in this proceeding as
appropriate. The Commission will
consider all timely and responsive
public comments that it receives on or
before December 17, 2020. The
Commission will consider all timely
requests to participate as a panelist in
the workshop that it receives by October
1, 2020. For information on the
Commission’s privacy policy, including
routine uses permitted by the Privacy
Act, see https://www.ftc.gov/site-
information/privacy-policy.
By direction of the Commission,
Commissioner Slaughter not participating.
April J. Tabor,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020–20006 Filed 9–9–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and
Families
Proposed Information Collection
Activity; Child Care and Development
Fund Plan for States/Territories for
FFY 2022–2024 (ACF–118; OMB #0970–
0114)
AGENCY
: Office of Child Care,
Administration for Children and
Families, HHS.
ACTION
: Request for public comment.
SUMMARY
: The Administration for
Children and Families (ACF) is
requesting a 3-year extension of the
form ACF–118: Child Care and
Development Fund Plan for States/
Territories (OMB #0970–0114,
expiration 12/31/2021) for FFY 2022–
2024. There are changes requested to the
form to improve formatting and
streamline questions.
DATES
: Comments due within 60 days of
publication. In compliance with the
requirements of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
the ACF is soliciting public comment on
the specific aspects of the information
collection described above.
ADDRESSES
: Copies of the proposed
collection of information can be
obtained and comments may be
forwarded by emailing infocollection@
acf.hhs.gov. Alternatively, copies can
also be obtained by writing to the
Administration for Children and
Families, Office of Planning, Research,
and Evaluation (OPRE), 330 C Street
SW, Washington, DC 20201, Attn: ACF
Reports Clearance Officer. All requests,
emailed or written, should be identified
by the title of the information collection.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
:
Description: The Child Care and
Development Fund (CCDF) Plan (the
Plan) for States and Territories is
required from each CCDF Lead agency
in accordance with Section 658E of the
Child Care and Development Block
Grant Act of 1990 (CCDBG Act), as
amended, CCDBG Act of 2014 (Pub. L.
113–186), and 42 U.S.C. 9858. The Plan,
submitted on the ACF–118, is required
triennially, and remains in effect for 3
years. The Plan provides ACF and the
public with a description of, and
assurance about the states’ and
territories’ child care programs. These
Plans are the applications for CCDF
funds.
Respondents: State and Territory Lead
Agencies.
A
NNUAL
B
URDEN
E
STIMATES
Instrument Total
number of
respondents
Total
number of
responses
per
respondent
Average
burden hours
per response
Total burden
hours Annual burden
hours
Child Care and Development Fund Plan for States and
Territories (ACF–118) ....................................................... 56 1 200 11,200 3,733
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: 3,733.
Comments: The Department
specifically requests comments on (a)
whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the
agency, including whether the
information shall have practical utility;
(b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate
of the burden of the proposed collection
of information; (c) the quality, utility,
and clarity of the information to be
collected; and (d) ways to minimize the
burden of the collection of information
on respondents, including through the
use of automated collection techniques
or other forms of information
technology. Consideration will be given
to comments and suggestions submitted
within 60 days of this publication.
Authority: Pub. L. 113–186 and 42 U.S.C.
9858.
John M. Sweet, Jr.,
ACF/OPRE Certifying Officer.
[FR Doc. 2020–19973 Filed 9–9–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184–43–P
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