[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 110 (Thursday, June 9, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-13895]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: June 9, 1994]


                                                   VOL. 59, NO. 110

                                             Thursday, June 9, 1994

OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET

5 CFR Part 1320

 

Controlling Paperwork Burden on the Public, Delegation of Review 
and Approval Authority to the Managing Director of the Federal 
Communications Commission (FCC)

AGENCY: Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the 
President.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: This Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeks comments on the 
proposal to delegate to the Managing Director of the Federal 
Communications Commission (Commission) the authority, under the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, as amended (the Act), and 5 CFR 
1320.9, to reauthorize information collection requests, information 
collection requirements, and collections of information in current 
rules conducted or sponsored by the Commission. This delegation applies 
to collections of information that have been initially approved by the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and have an annual total public 
burden that is 5,000 hours or less and an estimated burden per 
respondent of less than 500 hours. In exercising this delegated 
authority, the Commission is to afford the public an opportunity to 
participate in the reauthorization review process. Commission-
reauthorized collections of information will be incorporated into the 
official OMB inventory of currently approved collections of 
information. A report of delegated approval for each information 
collection reauthorized by the Commission will be placed in OMB's 
public docket files when that approval is made. Under the Act, OMB may 
limit, condition, or rescind this delegation at any time, but it is 
intended that OMB will exercise this authority only rarely and in 
unusual circumstances.

DATES: Comments need to be received on or before August 8, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to Timothy R. Fain, Policy Analyst, 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Room 3221 New Executive 
Office Building, 725 17th Street N.W., Washington DC 20503.
    Written comments will be available for inspection in the Docket 
Library, Room 3201 of the above address, between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm, 
Monday through Friday. Call (202) 395-6880 for an appointment.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Timothy R. Fain, (202) 395-7231.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 3507(e) of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1980 and 5 CFR 1320.9 authorize OMB to delegate its authority to 
approve collections of information to an agency's designated senior 
official for paperwork reduction or to the agency head if certain 
conditions are met. The Act and OMB's implementing regulations require 
OMB to comply with the notice and comment procedures of title 5, United 
States Code, chapter 5, before providing delegation to any agency. OMB 
has preliminarily determined that the FCC meets all of the requirements 
for delegation of the authority requested. Accordingly, OMB is seeking 
public comment on this proposal.
    The delegation would be granted to the Commission's Managing 
Director who, as the Commission's designated senior official, will have 
the authority to reauthorize the Commission's extension of collections 
of information, subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act. OMB approval 
will still be required for new, revised, and expired information 
collections or those collections that represent more than a total 
annual burden of 5,000 hours or an individual respondent's burden of 
greater than 500 hours.
    Under the terms of the delegation, each quarter, the agency 
clearance officer will identify the information collections that will 
need to be reauthorized during the next quarter and notify the 
appropriate functional Bureau and Office (B/O) of the Commission. 
Sponsoring B/Os will analyze each of these collections and consider: 
the continued need for the information, including the need for 
individual report items; how the Commission has used this information 
in the past; the reporting frequency; and selection of the reporting 
instrument. The review will cover clarity of format and instructions, 
reporting deadlines, costs and burdens, any public comments the 
Commission received during the previous clearance period, and other 
relevant items. For those eligible collections that the B/Os choose to 
extend, the reauthorization process would be initiated by B/O 
preparation of a ``request for extension of an information 
collection.'' This request, and the accompanying supporting statement, 
will be submitted to the agency clearance officer in the Office of the 
Managing Director. After screening by the agency clearance officer, a 
Federal Register notice and a FCC Public Notice will be issued 
requesting public comment during a 30-day review period beginning on 
the date of publication of the notice. Public comments will be 
evaluated and, where appropriate, incorporated into the collection. The 
agency clearance officer will provide written responses to all public 
comments. The Managing Director will not reauthorize collections with 
substantive changes. Finally, when appropriate, the Managing Director 
will reauthorize the collection for use and submit a report of 
delegated approval to OMB.
    This entire process will occur under the general direction of the 
Managing Director in his capacity as the Commission's designated senior 
official for Paperwork Reduction. The Commission's clearance process 
will be under the day-to-day supervision and management of the agency 
clearance officer who reports to the Managing Director and is outside 
and independent of any program office that would originate requests to 
extend information collections. The agency clearance officer would 
maintain administrative control throughout the review process 
regardless of how or where the request for extension originates. Each 
B/O will designate staff to act as liaison with the review structure 
described above and to help ensure their organization's adherence to 
the paperwork clearance standards and procedures. The agency clearance 
officer will ensure public access to the Commission's information 
collection files in compliance with approved retention and disposition 
schedules. Over the longer term, the agency clearance officer will work 
towards making summary information available electronically.
    OMB believes that this review and reauthorization process meets the 
requirements for a delegation of OMB's Paperwork Reduction Act approval 
authority. These requirements and the reasons why OMB believes that the 
Commission fully meets them follow.
    (1) The agency review process must exhibit independence from 
program office responsibility.
    Virtually all of these collections are contained in regulatory 
requirements. The Commissioners generally establish overall policies 
with the functional B/Os responsible for the decisions to initiate or 
sponsor a collection of information. The Commission's Managing Director 
serves as the senior official for management and administrative matters 
and is independent of and separate from the functional B/Os. The 
Managing Director will serve as the final approval authority on all FCC 
decisions to reauthorize information collections. The agency clearance 
officer in the Office of the Managing Director will review each 
information collection to determine if the original purpose and intent 
of the collection warrants its continued existence. This review will 
also assess whether the collection remains necessary for the Commission 
to perform its duties and responsibilities as identified in the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and the relevant parts of the 
Code of Federal Regulations.
    (2) The agency must have sufficient resources to carry out 
paperwork responsibilities.
    OMB believes that the Managing Director has demonstrated a 
commitment to conduct reviews of information collections that include 
the use of resources and personnel from all areas within the 
Commission. Each functional B/O having programmatic responsibilities 
will provide staff resources to prepare the analytical materials 
described above. The agency clearance officer in the Office of the 
Managing Director will then conduct the reviews identified above. To 
ensure that the agency clearance officer can perform an adequate review 
of each information collection, the records management division in the 
Office of the Managing Director has been assigned a staff of two senior 
analysts. These individuals, under the direct supervision of the agency 
clearance officer, each have extensive experience in addressing issues 
related to the Paperwork Reduction Act and information collections. 
Finally, the resources of the Office of General Counsel will be 
available if additional assistance is needed to evaluate the necessity 
of information collection in its current form. The Managing Director of 
the FCC has requested a delegation to review and reauthorize 
collections of information that represent a narrow scope of the 
Commission's collections. We believe that the limited number and 
complexity of these collections will not overburden the ability of the 
agency clearance officer to perform these reviews.
    (3) The agency review process must evaluate fairly whether the 
proposed collections of information should be approved.
    OMB believes that the Commission has developed a process that 
ensures that the Office of the Managing Director can fairly evaluate 
and reauthorize collections of information. The Office of the Managing 
Director has assembled an experienced staff under the direction of a 
paperwork clearance officer who is independent from the program B/Os. 
Additionally, the Managing Director has proposed a process for 
reauthorizing extensions to approved information collections that will: 
maintain public participation; allow OMB the opportunity to consult 
during the review process; ensure prompt notification of OMB concerning 
decisions made about individual information collections and any public 
comments received during this process; and provide OMB with information 
necessary to maintain its inventory of approved collections. Under the 
proposed delegation, the Commission would continue to request OMB 
approval for new, expired, or revised information collections.
    The Commission recognizes that OMB can and will continue to have a 
consultative role in the approval process. The Commission will work 
closely with OMB should an assessment of the existing information 
collection indicate that a modification would benefit the Commission or 
the public.
    (4) Evidence of successful performance of paperwork review 
activities.
    Despite a dynamic regulatory environment that has resulted in the 
creation of numerous new information collection requirements, the 
Commission has been actively working to reduce its overall paperwork 
burden. The FCC has been working closely with the public to improve its 
ability to collect and evaluate information, particularly in the use of 
information technology to reduce or minimize the reporting burden of 
its information collections. Recent FCC innovations include: a) use of 
``800'' telephone lines to provide direct access to program experts who 
provide advice on completing the collection; b) providing forms that 
can be faxed by the respondents directly to the program office for FCC 
advice or action; and c) allowing submission of certain financial 
information in electronic format. The FCC is aggressively pursuing 
other applications of information technology to reduce the burden 
placed on the public.
    In May 1990, the FCC erred in implementing the Paperwork Reduction 
Act when rules prescribing an information collection entitled 
``Authorization to Construct a Cellular Telephone System'' were found 
to have been ambiguous concerning submission of certain documents 
required to be filed in support of an application. The Commission 
concurred with OMB's finding concerning this ambiguity and reopened the 
proceeding involving this collection. Since then, the Commission has 
upgraded the training of both the program B/Os and the Office of the 
Managing Director, and the Commission has been conscientious in 
managing its information collections.

Summary

    Based on these facts, OMB proposes to grant the Managing Director 
of the FCC a delegation to reauthorize its approved information 
collections subject to three exclusions.
    The first exclusion would apply to changes to an existing 
collection. Any change, revision, or modification, other than non-
substantive clarifications or corrections of spelling or grammatical 
errors, would cause a collection of information to be submitted to OMB 
for review and approval.
    The second exclusion would apply to new collections of information 
or reauthorization of collections for which approval has lapsed. New or 
lapsed collections of information would continue to be submitted to OMB 
for review and approval.
    The third exclusion would apply to the reauthorization of 
information collections employing statistical methods. Because OMB 
believes that the agency clearance officer lacks the resources required 
to effectively evaluate such collections, these collections would 
continue to be submitted to OMB for review and approval. Voluntary 
customer surveys will be treated under streamlined procedures 
established by OMB Memorandum M-93-14 dated September 29, 1993.
    The Commission will continue to follow OMB rules with respect to 
information collections excluded from this delegation. The Commission 
may also, at its option, request OMB to conduct any delegated review.
     The Commission's final action on the reauthorization of a 
collection of information would be taken after the public has a 
reasonable opportunity to comment through notice in the Federal 
Register and FCC Public Notice. The comment period will extend for at 
least 30 days following publication of the notice in the Federal 
Register. These notices will advise the public that a copy of comments 
may also be submitted to the OMB/Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs (OIRA) desk officer for the Commission.
Sally Katzen,
Administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.

List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 1320

    Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, paperwork, collection of 
information, delegated review authority.
    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, OMB proposes to amend 5 
CFR part 1320 as follows:

PART 1320--CONTROLLING PAPERWORK BURDENS ON THE PUBLIC

    1. The authority citation for part 1320 is revised to read as 
follows and the authority citation at the end of appendix A is removed:

    Authority: 31 U.S.C. 18a and 1111 and 44 U.S.C. Chs. 21, 25, 27, 
29, 31, 35.

    2. Appendix A to part 1320 is amended by adding a new entry at the 
end of the appendix to read as follows:

Appendix A to Part 1320--Agencies With Delegated Review and 
Approval Authority

*    *    *    *    *
    2. The Managing Director of the Federal Communications 
Commission.
    (a) Authority to review and approve currently valid (OMB-
approved) collections of information, including collections of 
information contained in existing rules, that have a total annual 
burden of 5,000 hours or less and a burden of less than 500 hours 
per respondent is delegated to the Managing Director of the Federal 
Communications Commission.
    (1) This delegation does not include review and approval 
authority over any new collection of information, any collections 
whose approval has lapsed, any substantive or material modification 
to existing collections, any reauthorization of information 
collections employing statistical methods, or any information 
collections that exceed a total annual burden of 5,000 hours or an 
estimated burden of 500 hours per respondent.
    (2) The Managing Director may ask that OMB review and approve 
collections of information covered by the delegation.
    (3) In exercising delegated authority the Managing Director 
will:
    (i) Provide the public, to the extent possible and appropriate, 
with reasonable opportunity to comment on collections of information 
under review prior to taking final action on reauthorizing an 
existing collection. Reasonable opportunity for public comment will 
include publishing a notice in the Federal Register and a FCC Public 
Notice informing the public that a collection of information is 
being extended and announcing the beginning of a 30-day comment 
period, notifying the public of the ``intent to extend an 
information collection,'' and providing the public with the 
opportunity to comment. Such notices shall advise the public that 
they may also send a copy of their comments to the OMB/Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs desk officer for the Commission.
    (A) Should the Managing Director determine that a collection of 
information that falls within the scope of this delegation must be 
reauthorized quickly and that public participation in the 
reauthorization process interferes with the Commission's ability to 
perform its statutory obligation, the Managing Director may 
temporarily reauthorize the extension of an information collection, 
for a period not to exceed 90 days, without providing opportunity 
for public comment.
    (B) At the earliest practical date after granting this temporary 
extension to an information collection, the Managing Director will 
conduct a normal delegated review and publish a Federal Register 
Notice soliciting public comment on its intention to extend the 
collection of information for a period not to exceed 3 years.
    (ii) Assure that approved collections of information are 
reviewed not less frequently than once every 3 years and that such 
reviews are conducted before the expiration date of the prior 
approval. When the review is not completed prior to the expiration 
date, the Managing Director will submit the lapsed information 
collection to OMB for review and reauthorization.
    (iii) Assure that each reauthorized collection of information 
displays an OMB control number and, except for those contained in 
regulations or specifically designated by OMB, displays the 
expiration date of the approval.
    (iv) Transmit to OMB for incorporation into OMB's public docket 
files, a report of delegated approval certifying that the Managing 
Director has reauthorized each collection of information in 
accordance with the provisions of this delegation. Such transmittal 
shall be made no later than 15 days after the Managing Director has 
taken final action reauthorizing the extension of an information 
collection.
    (b) OMB will:
    (1) Provide notice to the Commission acknowledging receipt of 
the report of delegated approval and its incorporation into OMB's 
public docket files and inventory of currently approved collections 
of information.
    (2) Act upon any request by the Commission to review a 
collection of information referred by the Commission in accordance 
with the provisions of section 2(a)(2) of this Appendix.
    (3) Periodically assess, at its discretion, the Commission's 
paperwork review process as administered under the delegation. The 
Managing Director will cooperate in carrying out such an assessment. 
The Managing Director will respond to any recommendations resulting 
from such a review and, if it finds the recommendations to be 
appropriate, will either accept the recommendation or propose an 
alternative approach to achieve the intended purpose.
    (c) This delegation may, as provided by 5 CFR 1320.9(c), be 
limited, conditioned, or rescinded, in whole or in part at any time. 
OMB will exercise this authority only in unusual circumstances.
[FR Doc. 94-13895 Filed 6-8-94; 8:45 am]
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