Telemarketing Sales Rule Fees
| Court | Federal Trade Commission |
| Citation | 88 FR 57333 |
| Published date | 23 August 2023 |
| Record Number | 2023-18085 |
| Section | Rules and Regulations |
Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 162 (Wednesday, August 23, 2023)
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 162 (Wednesday, August 23, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 57333-57334]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-18085]
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
16 CFR Part 310
RIN 3084-AA98
Telemarketing Sales Rule Fees
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission (``Commission'') is amending its
Telemarketing Sales Rule (``TSR'') by updating the fees charged to
entities accessing the National Do Not Call Registry (``Registry'') as
required by the Do-Not-Call Registry Fee Extension Act of 2007.
DATES: This final rule is effective October 1, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Copies of this document are available on the internet at the
Commission's website: https://www.ftc.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ami Joy Dziekan (202) 326-2648, Bureau
of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania
Avenue NW, Room CC-9225, Washington, DC 20580.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: To comply with the Do-Not-Call Registry Fee
Extension Act of 2007 (15 U.S.C. 6152) (the ``Act''), the Commission is
amending the TSR, which is contained in 16 CFR part 310, by updating
the fees entities are charged for accessing the Registry. Specifically,
the revised rule increases (1) the annual fee for access to the
Registry for each area code of data from $75 to $78 per area code, and
(2) the maximum amount that will be charged to any single entity for
accessing area codes of data from $20,740 to $21,402. Entities may add
area codes during the second six months of their annual subscription
period, and the fee for those additional area codes increases from $38
to $39.
These increases are in accordance with the Act, which specifies
that beginning after fiscal year 2009, the dollar amounts charged shall
be increased by an amount equal to the amounts specified in the Act,
multiplied by the percentage (if any) by which the average of the
monthly consumer price index (for all urban consumers published by the
Department of Labor) (``CPI'') for the most recently ended 12-month
period ending on June 30 exceeds the CPI for the 12-month period ending
June 30, 2008. The Act also states any increase shall be rounded to the
nearest dollar and there shall be no increase in the dollar amounts if
the change in the CPI since the last fee increase is less than one
percent. For fiscal year 2009, the Act specified that the original
annual fee for access to the Registry for each area code of data was
$54 per area code, or $27 per area code of data during the second six
months of an entity's annual subscription period, and that the maximum
amount that would be charged to any single entity for accessing area
codes of data would be $14,850.
The determination of whether a fee change is required and the
amount of the fee changes involves a two-step process. First, to
determine whether a fee change is required, we measure the change in
the CPI from the time of the previous increase in fees. There was an
increase in the fees for fiscal year 2023. Accordingly, we calculated
the change in the CPI since last year, and the increase was 3.0
percent. Because this change is over the one percent threshold, the
fees will change for fiscal year 2024.
Second, to determine how much the fees should increase this fiscal
year, we use the calculation specified by the Act set forth above: the
percentage change in the baseline CPI applied to the original fees for
fiscal year 2009. The average value of the CPI for July 1, 2007, to
June 30, 2008, was 211.702; the average value for July 1, 2022, to June
30, 2023, was 305.109, an increase of 44.12 percent. Applying the 44.12
percent increase to the base amount from fiscal year 2009, leads to a
$78 fee for access to a single area code of data for a full year for
fiscal year 2024, an increase of $3 from last year. The actual amount
is $77.83 but when rounded, pursuant to the Act, $78 is the appropriate
fee. The fee for accessing an additional area code for a half year
increases by one dollar to $39 (rounded from $38.91). The maximum
[[Page 57334]]
amount charged increases to $21,402 (rounded from $21,402.11).
Administrative Procedure Act; Regulatory Flexibility Act; Paperwork
Reduction Act. Under the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C.
553(b)), an agency may waive the normal notice and comment requirements
if it finds, for good cause, that they are impracticable, unnecessary,
or contrary to the public interest. The fee adjustments set forth in
this final rule are mandated by the Do-Not-Call Registry Fee Extension
Act of 2007. Accordingly, the amendments to the TSR are merely
technical in nature, making notice and comment unnecessary and contrary
to the public interest. See 5 U.S.C. 553(b). For this reason, the
requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act also do not apply. See 5
U.S.C. 603, 604.
Pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3521, the
Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') approved the information
collection requirements in the TSR and assigned the following existing
OMB Control Number: 3084-0169. The amendments outlined in this final
rule pertain only to the fee provision (Sec. 310.8) of the TSR and
will not establish or alter any record keeping, reporting, or third-
party disclosure requirements elsewhere in the TSR.
List of Subjects in 16 CFR Part 310
Advertising, Consumer protection, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Telephone, Trade practices.
Accordingly, the Federal Trade Commission amends part 310 of title
16 of the Code of Federal Regulations as follows:
PART 310--TELEMARKETING SALES RULE
0
1. The authority citation for part 310 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 15 U.S.C. 6101-6108; 15 U.S.C. 6151-6155.
Sec. 310.8 [Amended]
0
2. In Sec. 310.8:
0
a. Amend paragraph (c) by:
0
i. Removing ``$75'' and adding ``$78'' in its place; and
0
ii. Removing ``$20,740'' and adding ``$21,402'' in its place;
0
b. Amend paragraph (d) by:
0
i. Removing ``$75'' and adding ``$78'' in its place; and
0
ii. Removing ``$38'' and adding ``$39'' in its place.
By direction of the Commission.
April J. Tabor,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-18085 Filed 8-22-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P
