[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 223 (Monday, November 20, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67198-67200]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-19564]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2006-26304]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Revision of Approved 
Information Collections: OMB Control Numbers 2126-0010 (Motor Carrier 
Safety Assistance Program); 2126-0011 (Commercial Driver Licensing and 
Test Standards); and 2126-0025 (Transportation of Household Goods; 
Consumer Protection)

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

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: FMCSA invites public comment on its intent to request approval 
from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to revise three (3) 
information collections (ICs), entitled ``Motor Carrier Safety 
Assistance Program'' (2126-0010), ``Commercial Driver Licensing and 
Test Standards'' (2126-0011), and ``Transportation of Household Goods; 
Consumer Protection'' (2126-0025). These ICs are necessary to ensure 
that motor carriers comply with changes made by various provisions of 
the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A 
Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). We are required to publish this notice 
in the Federal Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and 
implementing regulations at 5 CFR 1320.10.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before January 19, 2007.

ADDRESSES: You may 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; telefax comments to 202/493-
2251; or submit them electronically at http://dms.dot.gov. All comments 
should include the docket number in this notice's heading. All comments 
may be examined and copied at the above address from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. If you desire a receipt 
you must include a self-addressed stamped envelope or postcard or, if 
you submit your comments electronically, you may print the 
acknowledgment.
    Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all 
comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's 
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register on April 11, 
2000 (65 FR 19477), or you may visit http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Frederic L. Wood, Office of Chief 
Counsel, Regulatory Affairs Division (MC-CCR), Federal Motor Carrier 
Safety Administration, Room 8201, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, 
DC 20590; telephone (202) 366-0834. Office hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The information stated below reflects the 
proposed changes and the new total annual burden hours for each.

    (1) Title: Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program.
    FMCSA IC: OMB Control No. 2126-0010.

[[Page 67199]]

    Form No.: Forms MCSAP-1, MCSAP-2, and MCSAP-2A.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: State Grant Applicants.
    Number of Respondents: 52 (per quarter).
    Estimated Time Per Response: 80 hours.
    Expiration Date: November 30, 2007.
    Frequency: Quarterly (reports) and Annually (grant application).
    Total Annual Burden: 12,264 hours.

    (2) Title: Commercial Driver Licensing and Test Standards.
    FMCSA IC: OMB Control No. 2126-0011.
    Form No.: None.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Holders of and applicants for commercial driver's 
licenses.
    Number of Respondents: 12,523,571/year.
    Estimated Time Per Response: 6 minutes.
    Expiration Date: April 30, 2007.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Total Annual Burden: 1,269,856 hours.

    (3) Title: Transportation of Household Goods; Consumer Protection.
    FMCSA IC: OMB Control No. 2126-0025.
    Form No.: Form MCSA-2P.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Motor Carriers and Individual Shippers of Household 
Goods.
    Number of Respondents: 6,017.
    Estimated Time Per Response: Varies from 5 minutes to display 
assigned U.S. DOT number in created advertisement to 125 minutes to 
distribute consumer publication.
    Expiration Date: August 31, 2008.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Total Annual Burden: 4,648,370 hours.

Background

    Summarized below is background information for all three (3) 
information collection requests subject to this notice.
    First, the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) requires 
that the Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) review reports 
submitted by the States and conduct inspections to continuously 
evaluate a State's enforcement plan. Sections 401 through 404 of the 
Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 (Pub. L. 97-424, Jan. 6, 
1983) (STAA), as amended by 49 U.S.C. 31100 et seq., established a 
program of financial assistance to the States to implement programs to 
enforce Federal and compatible State rules, regulations, standards, and 
orders applicable to commercial motor vehicle (CMV) safety. The Safe, 
Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy 
for Users (Pub. L. 109-59, 119 Stat. 1144, Aug. 10, 2005) (SAFETEA-LU) 
amended 49 U.S.C. 31102(b)(1) to modify the conditions a State must 
meet to qualify for grant funds through MCSAP and now requires the 
following conditions be addressed in the State's Commercial Vehicle 
Safety Plan: (1) Deploying technology as part of performance-based 
activities to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of CMV safety 
programs; (2) disseminating as part of the CMV and non-CMV licensing 
examination information on best practices for driving safely in the 
vicinity of noncommercial and commercial motor vehicles; (3) conducting 
comprehensive and highly visible traffic enforcement and CMV safety 
inspection programs in high-risk areas; (4) ensuring that inspections 
of certain passenger vehicles are conducted at a station or other 
facility where a motor carrier may make a planned stop; and (5) 
allowing the use of funds to conduct documented enforcement of State 
traffic laws. The overall impact of these provisions increases total 
burden hours by an estimated 403 burden hours, chiefly as a result of 
non-CMV traffic enforcement activities.
    Second, the Commercial Driver Licensing (CDL) and Test Standards 
program ensures that licensed drivers are properly qualified to drive 
the vehicles they operate and that drivers do not have a history of 
high-risk safety behavior. The Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 
1986 (Pub. L. 99-570, Title XII, 100 Stat. 3207-170, Oct. 27, 1986), as 
amended by 49 U.S.C. chapter 313, required, among other things, that 
each driver have only one license, that States be notified of any 
convictions of traffic law violations, and that employers be notified 
within one business day of notification of suspension, revocation, or 
cancellation of a license or loss of the right to operate a CMV. States 
must comply with CDL program requirements and pass State compliance 
reviews, or a portion of their Federal-aid highway funds can be 
withheld. SAFETEA-LU made two amendments to the CDL program. Section 
4102(b)(2)-(4) increased the minimum disqualification periods and civil 
penalties for drivers and the maximum civil penalties for employers 
convicted of violating an out-of-service order. Section 4124(c) 
modified the State penalty for noncompliance by adding the phrase ``up 
to'' before the existing phrases ``5 percent'' and ``10 percent,'' 
respectively. This potentially reduces the penalty provisions for the 
first and subsequent years, respectively, for noncompliance with the 
Federal CDL requirements. Because of an adjustment made to reflect the 
net effect of an increase in the number of CDL driver records and a 
decrease in the number of active CDL driver records, the paperwork 
burden has decreased by an estimated 3,142 burden hours. This change is 
independent of these SAFETEA-LU provisions.
    Third, in the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999 (Pub. L. 
106-159, 113 Stat. 1749, Dec. 9, 1999) (MCSIA), Congress authorized the 
Agency to regulate household goods carriers engaged in interstate 
operations for individual shippers. In earlier legislation, Congress 
abolished the Interstate Commerce Commission and transferred the 
Commission's jurisdiction over household goods transportation to the 
U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) (ICC Termination Act of 1995, 
Public Law 104-88). Prior to FMCSA's establishment, the Secretary 
delegated this household goods jurisdiction to the Federal Highway 
Administration, FMCSA's predecessor organization within DOT. A General 
Accounting Office report, ``Consumer Protection: Federal Actions Are 
Needed to Improve Oversight of the Household Goods Moving Industry,'' 
No. GAO-01-318, found that DOT needed to increase regulatory oversight 
of the household goods moving industry and increase consumer education. 
FMCSA subsequently issued rules that clarified industry requirements 
and continued a requirement that motor carriers provide individual 
shippers of household goods with the consumer pamphlet ``Your Rights 
and Responsibilities When You Move'' (Appendix A to 49 CFR Part 375) to 
educate consumers on their legal rights in the moving process (70 FR 
39949, July 12, 2005).
    Sections 4202 through 4216 of SAFETEA-LU amended various provisions 
of existing law regarding household goods transportation, specifically 
addressing: definitions (section 4202); payment of rates (section 
4203); registration requirements for household goods motor carriers 
(section 4204); carrier operations (section 4205); enforcement of 
regulations (section 4206); liability of carriers under receipts and 
bills of lading (section 4207); arbitration requirements (section 
4208); civil penalties for brokers and unauthorized transportation 
(section

[[Page 67200]]

4209); penalties for holding goods hostage (section 4210); consumer 
handbook (section 4211); release of broker information (section 4212); 
working group for Federal-State relations (section 4213); consumer 
complaint information (section 4214); review of liability of carriers 
(section 4215); and application of State laws (section 4216). These 
provisions require corresponding changes to the ``Your Rights and 
Responsibilities When You Move'' consumer pamphlet. Section 4205 also 
requires the motor carrier to provide to the shipper a copy of the 
publication ``Ready to Move?'' (or its successor publication). These 
publications provide concise, valuable consumer protection information 
regarding the legal rights of individual shippers.
    The household goods transportation provisions of SAFETEA-LU 
increase total paperwork burden by an estimated 278,333 burden hours. 
The largest portion of this increase stems from requirements in section 
4205 regarding the estimate of the transportation charges and the 
physical survey of the household goods.
    Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of 
the information collections referenced here, including: (1) Whether the 
proposed collection is necessary for FMCSA's performance; (2) the 
accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways for FMCSA to enhance the 
quality, usefulness, and clarity of the collected information; and (4) 
ways that the burden could be minimized without reducing the quality of 
the collected information. The Agency will summarize and/or include 
your comments in the request for OMB's clearance of this information 
collection.

    Issued on: November 9, 2006.
John H. Hill,
Administrator.
 [FR Doc. E6-19564 Filed 11-17-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P