[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 105 (Thursday, May 31, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32169-32170]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-13199]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

[Docket No. DOT-OST-2012-0080 (Formerly Docket Number DOT-OST-2008-
0182)]


Agency Requests for Renewal of a Previously Approved Information 
Collection: Small Business Transportation Resource Center (SBTRC) 
Regional Field Offices Intake Form (DOT F 4500) and SBTRC Regional 
Field Offices Quarterly Report Form (DOT F 4502)

AGENCY: Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU), 
Office of the Secretary of Transportation (OST), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The OSDBU invites the public to comment about our intention to 
request the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval to renew 
an information collection. The collection involves the use of the SBTRC 
Regional Field Offices Intake Form (DOT F 4500) and the SBTRC Regional 
Field Offices Quarterly Report Form (DOT F 4502). On January 31, 2012, 
OSDBU published a 60-day notice in the Federal Register (Vol. 77, No. 
20) (Formerly Docket Number DOT-OST-2008-0182), informing the public of 
OSDBU's intention to extend an approved information collection. The 
collection involves the use of the Regional Field Offices Intake Form 
(DOT F 4500), which documents the type of assistance provided to each 
small business that is enrolled in the program database. The use of the 
Regional Field Office Quarterly Report Form (DOT F 4502) highlights 
activities such as counseling, marketing, meetings/conferences, and 
services to businesses as completed during the quarter. The Quarterly 
Report Form provides a more composite and comprehensive review of the 
Field Offices over a longer time frame. The information will be used to 
ascertain whether the program is providing services to its 
constituency, the small business community, and is done so in a fair 
and equitable manner. The information collected is necessary to 
determine whether small businesses are participating in DOT funded and 
DOT assisted opportunities.
    We are required to publish this notice in the Federal Register by 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted by: July 2, 2012 and 
submitted to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office 
of Management and Budget, 725 Seventeenth Street NW., Washington, DC 
20503, Attention: OST Desk Officer. Comments may also be sent via email 
to OMB at the following address: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Arthur D. Jackson, 202-366-5344 or 
Patricia Martin at 202-366-5337, Office of Small and Disadvantaged 
Business Utilization, Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Room W56 440, Washington, 
DC 20590. Office hours are from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: U.S. Department of Transportation, 
Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU).
    OMB Control No: 2105-0554.
    Form No.: DOT F 4500, SBTRC Regional Field Offices Intake Form.
    Form No.: DOT F 4502, SBTRC Regional Field Office Quarterly Report 
Form.
    Affected Public: Representatives of OSDBU's SBTRC Regional Field 
Offices and the Small Business community on a national basis.
    Type of Review: Extension of a Currently Approved Collection of 
Information.
    Abstract: In accordance with Public Law 95-507, an amendment to the 
Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1953, OSDBU 
is responsible for the implementation and execution of DOT activities 
on behalf of small businesses, in accordance with Sections 8, 15 and 31 
of the Small Business Act (SBA), as amended. The Office of Small and 
Disadvantaged Business Utilization also administers the provisions of 
Title 49, of the United States Code, Section 332, the Minority Resource 
Center (MRC) which includes the duties of advocacy, outreach, and 
financial services on behalf of small and disadvantaged businesses and 
those certified under CFR 49 parts 23 and or 26 as Disadvantaged 
Business Enterprises (DBE).
    SBTRC's Regional Field Offices will collect information on small 
businesses, which includes Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE), 
Women-Owned Small Business (WOB), Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB), 
8(a), Service Disabled Veteran Owned Business (SDVOB), Veteran Owned 
Small Business (VOSB), HubZone, and types of services they seek from 
the Regional Field Offices. Services and responsibilities of the Field 
Offices include business analysis, general management and technical 
assistance and training, business

[[Page 32170]]

counseling, outreach services/conference participation, short-term loan 
and bond assistance. The cumulative data collected will be analyzed by 
the OSDBU to determine the effectiveness of services provided, 
including counseling, outreach, and financial services. Such data will 
also be analyzed by the OSDBU to determine agency effectiveness in 
assisting small businesses to enhance their opportunities to 
participate in government contracts and subcontracts.
    The Regional Field Offices Intake Form, (DOT F 4500) is used to 
enroll small business clients into the program in order to create a 
viable database of firms that can participate in government contracts 
and subcontracts, especially those projects that are transportation 
related. Each area on the fillable pdf form must be filled in 
electronically by the Field Offices and submitted every quarter to 
OSDBU. The Offices will retain a copy of each Intake Form for their 
records. The completion of the form is used as a tool for making 
decisions about the needs of the business, such as; referral to 
technical assistance agencies for help, identifying the type of 
profession or trade of the business, the type of certification that the 
business holds, length of time in business, and location of the firm. 
This data can assist the Field Offices in developing a business plan or 
adjusting their business plan to increase its ability to market its 
goods and services to buyers and potential users of their services.
    Respondents: SBTRC Regional Field Offices.
    Annual Estimated Number of Respondents: 100.
    Frequency: The information will be collected quarterly.
    Annual Estimated Number of Responses: 400.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 600 hours per year 
(90 minutes per response to complete each Intake Form).
    Background: The Regional Field Offices Quarterly Report Form (DOT F 
4502) must be submitted as a quarterly status report by each Field 
Office of business activities conducted during the three-month 
timeframe. The form is used to capture activities and accomplishments 
that were made by the Regional Field Offices during the course of the 
quarter. In addition, the form includes a data collection section where 
numbers and hours are reported and a section that is assigned for a 
written narrative that provides back-up which supports the data.
    Activities to be reported are (1) Counseling Activity which 
identifies the counseling hours provided to businesses, number of new 
appointments, and follow-up on counseled clients. (2) Activity for 
Businesses Served identifies the type of small business that is helped, 
such as a DBE, 8(a), WOB, HubZone, SDB, SDVOB, or VOSB. (3) Marketing 
Activity includes the name of an event attended by the SBTRC and the 
role played when participating in a conference, workshop or any other 
venue that relates to small businesses. (4) Meetings that are held with 
government representatives in the region, or at the state level, are 
activities that are reported. (5) Events Hosted by the SBTRC Regional 
Field Offices, such as small business workshops, financial assistance 
workshops, matchmaking events, are activities that are reported on a 
quarterly basis.
    Respondents: SBTRC Regional Field Offices.
    Annual Estimated Number of Respondents: 100.
    Frequency: The information will be collected quarterly.
    Annual Estimated Number of Responses: 400.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 1200 hours per year 
(3 hours per response to complete each Quarterly Report).
    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the Department, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the Department's estimate of the burden of 
the proposed information collection; (c) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility and clarity of the information collection; and d) ways to 
minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, by 
the use of electronic means, including the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology. The agency will 
summarize and/or include your comments in the request for OMB's 
clearance of this information collection.

    Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35, as amended; and 49 CFR 1:48.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on May 24, 2012.
Patricia Lawton,
DOT PRA Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2012-13199 Filed 5-30-12; 8:45 am]
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