Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 1985-68 To Permit Employee Benefit Plans To Invest in Customer Notes of Employers

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments. SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting this Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)-sponsored information collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). Public comments on the ICR are invited. DATES: The OMB will consider all written comments that the agency receives on or before July 20, 2026. ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Prohibited Transaction Exemption 85-68 provides that the prohibitions of ERISA sections 406(a), 406(b)(1) and (2), and 407(a) and the taxes imposed by Code section 4975(a) and (b) by reason of Code section 4975(c)(1)(A) through (E) shall not apply to the acquisition of customer notes by a plan from an employer with respect to the plan, and holding of the customer notes by the plan, or the repurchase of those notes by the employer. For the purpose of this exemption, a customer note is a two-party instrument, executed along with a security agreement for tangible personal property, which is accepted in connection with, and in the normal course of, an employer's primary business activity as a seller of such property. The exemption does not apply to notes of an employer's affiliate. This exemption includes a recordkeeping provision, whereby plans are required to maintain all records, information, and data which relate to plan investments in customer notes covered by this exemption. The class exemption requires that those records be made unconditionally available to certain persons on request. For additional substantive information about this ICR, see the related notice published in the Federal Register on February 18, 2026 (91 FR 7528). Comments are invited on: (1) whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Department, including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimates of the burden and cost of the collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information collection; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. This information collection is subject to the PRA. A Federal agency generally cannot conduct or sponsor a collection of information, and the public is generally not required to respond to an information collection, unless the OMB approves it and displays a currently valid OMB Control Number. In addition, notwithstanding any other provisions of law, no person shall generally be subject to penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information that does not display a valid OMB Control Number. See5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6. DOL seeks PRA authorization for this information collection for three (3) years. OMB authorization for an ICR cannot be for more than three (3) years without renewal. The DOL notes that information collection requirements submitted to the OMB for existing ICRs receive a month-to-month extension while they undergo review. Agency: DOL-EBSA. Title of Collection: Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 1985-68 to Permit Employee Benefit Plans to Invest in Customer Notes of Employers. OMB Control Number: 1210-0094. Affected Public: Private sector. Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 3. Total Estimated Number of Responses: 3. Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 3 hours. Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $0. (Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D)) Michael Howell, Senior Paperwork Reduction Act Analyst.