Announced Action for July 7, 2004

Commission approval of publication of Federal Register notice: The Commission approved a notice supplementing its initial notice of proposed rulemaking for its proposed rule regarding Disposal of Consumer Report Information and Records, implementing Section 216 of the FACT Act. The Commission's notice of proposed rulemaking included an initial regulatory flexibility analysis pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 603); however, the Commission decided to publish a supplemental analysis in order to provide additional information to assist small businesses in commenting on the impact, if any, the proposed rule will have on such businesses. Comments on the supplemental initial regulatory flexibility analysis must be received on or before July 30, 2004.

Comments can be filed electronically at http://www.regulations.gov. Commentors should select "Federal Trade Commission" at "Search for Open Regulations," locate the summary of the notice, click on "Submit a Comment on this Regulation," and complete the form. Written comments should refer to "The FACT Act Disposal Rule, R-411007" on both the envelope and the text, and should be mailed to the following address: Federal Trade Commission/Office of the Secretary, Room H-159 (Annex H), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580. Comments containing confidential material must be filed in paper form. Due to heightened security precautions, the FTC requests that any paper comments be sent by courier or overnight service, as U.S. postal mail is subject to delay.

The Commission vote to approve publication of the Federal Register notice was 5-0.

Copies of the Federal Register notice are available from the FTC's Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC's Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580. The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish (bilingual counselors are available to take complaints), or to get free information on any of 150 consumer topics, call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357), or use the complaint form site at http://www.ftc.gov.The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.