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Commission approval of Federal Register notice – The Commission has approved the publication of an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) in the Federal Register to initiate a proceeding to evaluate labeling requirements for “lamps,” more commonly known as light bulbs. As detailed in the ANPR, section 321 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) requires the FTC to conduct a rulemaking to consider the effectiveness of current labeling requirements for lamps and to explore alternative labeling approaches. As the initial step in this effort, the Commission has approved an ANPR seeking comment on existing lamp labeling requirements and possible alternatives. The ANPR also announced a September 15, 2008 public roundtable meeting on lamp labeling to help the Commission accomplish its mandate in this area. The ANPR will be published shortly and is available now on the FTC’s Web site at http://www.ftc.gov/os/2008/07/P084206frnanprlamps.pdf.

The ANPR announced today provides background about current light bulb labeling requirements, the recent mandate in the EISA, the purpose of the FTC labeling requirements, and various labeling considerations. The notice also contains a series of questions related to the effectiveness of current labeling and potential labeling alternatives to help focus comments and discussion at the public meeting in September. The Commission vote approving publication of the ANPR was 4-0. (FTC File No. P084206; the staff contact is Hampton Newsome, Bureau of Consumer Protection, 202-326-2889.)

Copies of the documents mentioned in this release are available from the FTC’s Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and from the FTC’s Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580. Call toll-free: 1-877-FTC-HELP.

(FYI 36.2008.wpd)