[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 137 (Tuesday, July 18, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40731-40732]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-11346]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Transportation Security Administration


Intent To Request Renewal From OMB of One Current Public 
Collection of Information: Registered Traveler Pilot (RT) Pilot 
Program; Satisfaction and Effectiveness Measurement Data Collection 
Instruments

AGENCY: Transportation Security Administration, DHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) invites 
public comment on one currently approved information collection 
requirement abstracted below that we will submit to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for renewal in compliance with the 
Paperwork Reduction Act.

DATES: Send your comments by September 18, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed or delivered to Katrina Wawer, 
Attorney-Advisor, Office of the Chief Counsel, TSA-2, Transportation 
Security Administration, 601 South 12th Street, Arlington, VA 22202-
4220.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katrina Wawer at the above address, or 
by telephone (571) 227-1995 or facsimile (571) 227-1381.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3501 et seq.), an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is 
not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it 
displays a valid OMB control number. Therefore, in preparation for OMB 
review and approval of the following information collection, TSA is 
soliciting comments to--
    (1) Evaluate whether the proposed information requirement is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
    (2) Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden;
    (3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; and
    (4) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those 
who are to respond, including using appropriate automated, electronic, 
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms 
of information technology.

Information Collection Requirement

    1652-0019; Registered Traveler Pilot (RT) Pilot Program; 
Satisfaction and Effectiveness Measurement Data Collection Instruments. 
TSA is expanding the scope of the Registered Traveler (RT) Pilot 
Program, which is currently in operations at one airport and is already 
approved by OMB, to test and evaluate specific technologies and 
business processes related to the RT concept. In addition, TSA will add 
additional locations using the RT Pilot Program's public/private 
partnership. For the purpose of continuing metrics analysis, testing 
interoperability of systems, and testing the private/public model of 
operations, TSA sought emergency processing from OMB in order to begin 
collecting information in June 2006. OMB issued its temporary approval 
on June 12, 2006, and TSA is now seeking to renew the RT Pilot 
Program's control number.
    TSA will receive and retain personal information on individuals who 
volunteer to participate in the program that Sponsoring Entities (i.e., 
airport authorities and/or aircraft operators under agreement with TSA 
to conduct RT operations) will collect and transmit through a Central 
Information Management System (CIMS), which will be under contract with 
TSA. This information will allow TSA to complete and adjudicate name-
based security threat assessments and allow Sponsoring Entities to 
issue an RT card to approved applicants.
    In addition, TSA will administer two instruments, which OMB 
previously approved, to measure the satisfaction of RT pilot 
participants and key stakeholders. TSA will administer the first 
instrument, customer service surveys, electronically via the TSA Web 
site. TSA estimates the hour burden for the surveys to be 72,000 hours, 
based on 288,000 respondents and a 15-minute burden per respondent. The 
second instrument, stakeholder interviews, will be used by TSA to 
periodically conduct in person interviews to ensure that stakeholders' 
issues are fully addressed and to facilitate accurate assessments of 
local concerns. Stakeholders include representatives of participating 
airports, air carriers, vendor staff, and relevant associations, as 
well as Federal Security Directors and their staff. TSA estimates the 
hour burden for the stakeholder interviews to be 120 hours, based on 6-
8 interviews per location (not including

[[Page 40732]]

TSA employees) and a 45-minute burden per interview.
    Finally, in order for TSA to further develop the Registered 
Traveler Pilot Program, it is seeking to expand the information 
collection to include two additional categories of respondents: (1) 
Companies wishing to serve as Service Providers (i.e., companies 
procured by the Sponsoring Entities to implement RT services); and (2) 
Airport authorities and aircraft operators wishing to participate in 
Registered Traveler.

Companies Wishing To Serve as Service Providers

    If a company wishes to serve as a Service Provider for the 
Registered Traveler Pilot Program, it will have to undergo a process to 
confirm that it is a legitimate business that does not pose or is 
suspected of posing a threat to transportation or national security.\1\ 
TSA has determined that the most effective way to pre-qualify companies 
seeking participation in Registered Traveler is to collect basic 
financial information about the company and to conduct security threat 
assessments (including fingerprint-based criminal history records 
check) on the company's (including its subcontractors) key 
personnel.\2\ TSA estimates that up to 12 companies will wish to serve 
as an enrollment and/or verification provider and will need to provide 
information for the process. These 12 companies will have to submit 
general information (organization, legal, and ownership) about 
themselves so that TSA may conduct a security threat assessment to 
confirm that they do not pose, or are not suspected of posing, a threat 
to transportation or national security. TSA estimates that each company 
will take up to 12 hours to provide TSA with this information. 
Therefore, TSA estimates that the total hour burden for providing this 
general company information to be 144 hours [12 companies x 12 hours 
per company].
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    \1\ An RT Service Provider can be: (1) An Enrollment Provider 
(EP) thatcollects the biographic and biometric information from RT 
applicants, collects user fees from RT applicants, and issues RT 
cards to RT participants; (2) a Verification Provider (VP) that 
verifies the identity of the RT participant in the airport in 
accordance with TSA-issued RT standards; or (3) a combined 
Enrollment and Verification Provider. The term ``Service Provider'' 
is used in this document as a term of collective reference to RT 
vendors of all three categories.
    \2\ Key personnel are defined as: (1) Officers, principals, and 
programmanagers responsible for RT operations; and (2) all employees 
that collect, handle or use RT applicant or participant data.
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    TSA will also collect personally identifying information about 
company key personnel (such as name, contact information, and date of 
birth) in order to conduct security threat assessments, including a 
fingerprint-based criminal history records checks. TSA estimates that 
this information will be collected for a maximum of 25 individuals per 
company and that providing this information will take about three hours 
per person. Therefore, TSA estimates that the maximum total hour burden 
for providing information on company officers and key personnel to be 
900 hours [300 individuals (12 companies x 25 individuals per company) 
x 3 hours per individual].
    Thus, TSA estimates the total hour burden for the company re-
qualification process to be 1,044 hours [144 hours for general company 
information + 900 hours for information on company officers and key 
personnel].

Airport and Air Carrier Participation Approval

    If an airport authority or aircraft operator wishes to participate 
in the Registered Traveler Pilot Program, TSA will require it to submit 
a Statement of Interest. TSA estimates that up to 50 entities will 
apply to participate and that it will take each airport one hour to 
prepare and submit its Statement of Interest. Therefore, TSA estimates 
the total burden hour for each entity seeking to participate in 
Registered Traveler to be 50 hours [50 airports x 1 hour per airport/
air carrier].
    TSA is currently proceeding with RT pilots at approximately 10-20 
airports. TSA requires potential Sponsoring Entities seeking to 
participate in Registered Traveler to submit a Plan of Operations, 
including a Validation and Verification Report, which demonstrates how 
the potential Sponsoring Entities' operations comply with TSA-issued 
Registered Traveler standards. TSA estimates that approximately 20 
potential Sponsoring Entities will submit a Plan of Operations and that 
it will take each entity 40 hours to prepare the Plan. Therefore, TSA 
estimates the total hour burden for entities submitting a Plan of 
Operations to be 800 hours [20 entities x 40 hours per airport].
    Thus, TSA estimates the total hour burden for the participation 
approval process to be approximately 850 hours [50 hours for 
preparation and submittal of a Statement of Interest (50 airports/air 
carriers x 1 hour per airport/air carrier) + 800 hours for preparation 
and submittal of a Plan of Operations (20 airports/air carriers x 40 
hours per airport/air carrier].
    TSA estimates that expanding the Registered Traveler Pilot 
Program's information collection to include companies wishing to serve 
as service providers and airports wishing to participate will add a 
maximum of $2,400,000 to the cost burden. In order to prepare the Plan 
of Operations, airports will likely require the services of a certified 
public accountant to complete the Validation and Verification Report 
for their vendors. TSA estimates that it will cost about $200,000 per 
company and that between 6 and 12 vendor companies will participate in 
Registered Traveler. Built into this $200,000 figure is the cost per 
company to conduct a CHRC, which TSA estimates to be $750.00 ($30.00 
per individual CHRC x 12 individuals per company). Therefore, TSA 
estimates a total burden cost ranging between $1,200,000 [for 6 
companies ($200,000 per company x 6 companies)] and $2,400,000 [for 12 
companies ($200,000 x 12 companies)].

    Issued in Arlington, Virginia, on July 12, 2006.
Peter Pietra,
Director of Privacy Policy and Compliance.
[FR Doc. E6-11346 Filed 7-17-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-05-P