[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 177 (Tuesday, September 14, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55490-55491]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-20625]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2004-18892]


Notice of Request To Renew Approval of an Information Collection: 
OMB No. 2126-0015 (Designation of Agents, Motor Carriers, Brokers and 
Freight Forwarders)

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces that FMCSA intends to submit a request 
to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for renewed approval of 
the information collection described below. This information collection 
allows registered motor carriers, property brokers, and freight 
forwarders a means of meeting process agent requirements. This notice 
is required by the Paperwork Reduction Act.

DATES: Your comments must be submitted by November 15, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Mail or hand deliver comments to the U.S. Department of 
Transportation, Dockets Management Facility, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh 
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590, or submit electronically at http://dmses.dot.gov/submit. Be sure to include the docket number appearing in 
the heading of this document on your comment. All comments received 
will be available for examination and copying at the above address from 
9 a.m. to 5 p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. 
If you would like to be notified when your comment is received, you 
must include a self-addressed, stamped postcard or you may print the 
acknowledgment page that appears after submitting comments 
electronically.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Marian Lee, (202) 385-2411, 
Commercial Enforcement (MC-ECC), Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Administration, Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20590. Office hours are from 7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., 
e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Designation of Agents, Motor Carriers, Brokers and Freight 
Forwarders.
    OMB Approval Number: 2126-0015.
    Background: The Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) is 
authorized to register for-hire motor carriers of regulated commodities 
under the provisions of 49 U.S.C. 13902; freight forwarders under the 
provisions of 49 U.S.C. 13903, and property brokers under the 
provisions of 49 U.S.C. 13904. These persons may conduct transportation 
services only if they are registered pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 13901. The 
Secretary has delegated authority pertaining to these registration 
requirements to the FMCSA.
    Registered motor carriers (including private carriers) and freight 
forwarders must designate: (1) An agent on whom service of notices in 
proceedings before the Secretary may be made (49 U.S.C. 13303); and (2) 
for every State in which they operate and traverse in the United States 
during such operations, agents on whom process issued by a court may be 
served in actions brought against the registered transportation entity 
(49 U.S.C. 13304). Every broker shall make a designation for each State 
in which its offices are located or in which contracts are written. 
Regulations governing the designation of process agents are found at 49 
CFR part 366. This designation is filed with the FMCSA on Form BOC-3, 
``Designation of Agent for Service of Process.''
    Respondents: Motor carriers, freight forwarders and brokers.
    Estimated Burden: The estimated average burden per response for 
Form BOC-3 is 10 minutes. The estimated total annual burden is 5,000 
hours for Form BOC-3 based on 30,000 filings per year (30,000 filings x 
10 minutes/60 minutes = 5,000 hours).
    Frequency: Form BOC-3 must be filed by all motor carriers 
(including private carriers) and freight forwarders when the 
transportation entity first registers with the FMCSA. All brokers shall 
file Form BOC-3 as necessary, and make a designation for each State in 
which it has an office or in which contracts are written. Subsequent 
filings are made only if the motor carrier, broker or freight forwarder 
changes process agents.
    Public Comments Invited: We invite you to comment on any aspect of 
this information collection, including, but not limited to: (1) Whether 
the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance 
of the

[[Page 55491]]

functions of the FMCSA, including whether the information is practical 
and useful; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways to 
enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of the collected 
information; and (4) ways to minimize the collection burden without 
reducing the quality of the information collected.
    Electronic Access and Filing: You may submit or retrieve comments 
online through the Docket Management System (DMS) at http://dmses.dot.gov/submit. Acceptable formats include: MS Word (versions 95 
to 97), MS Word for Mac (versions 6 to 8), Rich Text File (RTF), 
American Standard Code Information Interchange (ASCII) (TXT), Portable 
Document Format (PDF), and WordPerfect (versions 7 to 8).
    The DMS is available 24 hours each day, 365 days each year. 
Electronic submission and retrieval help and guidelines are available 
under the help section of the Web site. You may also download an 
electronic copy of this document from the DOT Docket Management System 
on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov/search.htm. Please include the 
docket number appearing in the heading of this document.

    Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. 
chapter 35, as amended; 49 U.S.C. 13303, 13304, 13901, 13902, 13903 
and 13904; and 49 CFR 1.73 and 366.

    Issued on: August 31, 2004.
Annette M. Sandberg,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 04-20625 Filed 9-13-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P