[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 23 (Monday, February 6, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 9366-9368]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-02400]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 64

[CG Docket No. 10-210; FCC 16-101]


Relay Services for Deaf-Blind Individuals

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule; announcement of effective date.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission announces that the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) has approved, for a period of three years, 
the information collection associated with rules adopted in the 
Commission's document Implementation of the Twenty-First Century 
Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010, Section 105, Relay 
Services for Deaf-Blind Individuals, Report and Order (Report and 
Order). This document is consistent with the Report and Order, which 
stated that the Commission would publish a document in the Federal 
Register announcing the effective date of those rules.

DATES: 47 CFR 64.6207, published at 81 FR 65948, September 26, 2016, is 
effective February 6, 2017. 47 CFR 64.6209, 64.6211, 64.6213, 64.6215, 
64.6217, and 64.6219, published at 81 FR 65948, September 26, 2016, are 
effective July 1, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rosaline Crawford, Disability Rights 
Office, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, at (202) 418-2075, or 
email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document announces that, on January 17, 
2017, OMB approved, for a period of three years, the information 
collection requirements contained in the Commission's Report and Order, 
FCC 16-101, published at 81 FR 65948, September 26, 2016. The OMB 
Control Number is 3060-1225. The Commission publishes this notice as an 
announcement of the effective date of the rules. If you have any 
comments on the burden estimates listed below, or how the Commission 
can improve the collections and reduce any burdens caused thereby, 
please contact Cathy Williams, Federal Communications Commission, Room 
1-C823, 445 12th Street SW., Washington, DC 20554. Please include the 
OMB Control Number, 3060-1225, in your correspondence. The Commission 
will also accept your comments via the Internet if you send them to 
[email protected].
    To request materials in accessible formats for people with 
disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), 
send an email to [email protected] or call the Consumer and Governmental 
Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice), (844) 432-2275 (videophone), 
or (202) 418-0432 (TTY).

Synopsis

    As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3507), the FCC is notifying the public that it received OMB approval on 
January 17, 2017, for the information collection requirements contained 
in the Commission's rules at 47 CFR 64.6207,

[[Page 9367]]

64.6209, 64.6211, 64.6213, 64.6215, 64.6217, and 64.6219.
    Under 5 CFR part 1320, an agency may not conduct or sponsor a 
collection of information unless it displays a current, valid OMB 
Control Number.
    No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply 
with a collection of information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act 
that does not display a current, valid OMB Control Number. The OMB 
Control Number is 3060-1225.
    The foregoing notice is required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995, Public Law 104-13, October 1, 1995, and 44 U.S.C. 3507.
    The total annual reporting burdens and costs for the respondents 
are as follows:
    OMB Control Number: 3060-1225.
    OMB Approval Date: January 17, 2017.
    OMB Expiration Date: January 31, 2020.
    Title: National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program. Form 
Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: New collection.
    Respondents: Individuals or household; Business or other for-
profit; Not-for-profit institutions; State, Local or Tribal Government.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 78 respondents; 3,631 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.5 hours (30 minutes) to 40 hours.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion, monthly, quarterly, semi-
annually, annually, and one-time reporting requirements; Recordkeeping 
requirement; Third party disclosure requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The 
statutory authority for the information collections is contained in in 
sections 1, 4(i), 4(j), and 719 of the Communications Act, as amended, 
47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 154(j), and 620.
    Total Annual Burden: 7,995 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: $600.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: Confidentiality is an issue 
to the extent that individuals and households provide personally 
identifiable information, which is covered under the Commission's 
system of records notice (SORN), FCC/CGB-3, ``National Deaf-Blind 
Equipment Distribution Program,'' which became effective on February 
28, 2012.
    Privacy Impact Assessment: The Commission completed a Privacy 
Impact Assessment (PIA) on December 31, 2012. The PIA may be reviewed 
at http://www.fcc.gov/omd/privacyact/Privacy_Impact_Assessment.html. 
The Commission is in the process of updating the PIA with respect to 
the Commission's adoption of rules in document FCC 16-101 on August 4, 
2016, which converted the pilot program to a permanent program without 
change to the PII covered by these information collections.
    Needs and Uses: Section 105 of the Twenty-First Century 
Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (CVAA) added section 
719 to the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (the Act). Public Law 
111-260, 124 Stat. 2751 (2010); Public Law 111-265, 124 Stat. 2795 
(2010) (making technical corrections); 47 U.S.C. 620. Section 719 of 
the Act requires the Commission to establish rules that define as 
eligible for up to $10,000,000 of support annually from the Interstate 
Telecommunications Relay Service Fund (TRS Fund) those programs that 
are approved by the Commission for the distribution of specialized 
customer premises equipment designed to make telecommunications 
service, Internet access service, and advanced communications, 
including interexchange services and advanced telecommunications and 
information services, accessible by low-income individuals who are 
deaf-blind. 47 U.S.C. 620(a), (c). Accordingly, on April 6, 2011, the 
Commission released document FCC 11-56, published at 76 FR 26641, May 
9, 2011, adopting rules to establish the National Deaf-Blind Equipment 
Distribution Program (NDBEDP), also known as ``iCanConnect,'' as a 
pilot program. See 47 CFR 64.610(a) through (k). The FCC's Consumer and 
Governmental Affairs Bureau launched the pilot program on July 1, 2012. 
In an Order released on May 27, 2016, document FCC 16-69, published at 
81 FR 36181, June 6, 2016, the Commission extended the pilot program 
through June 30, 2017, at which time distributing equipment and 
providing related services under the pilot program will cease.
    On August 5, 2016, the Commission released the Report and Order, 
document FCC 16-101, published at 81 FR 65948, September 26, 2016, 
adopting rules to establish the NDBEDP as a permanent program. See 47 
CFR 64.6201 through 64.6219. In document FCC 16-101, the Commission 
clarified that the pilot program will not terminate until after all 
reports have been submitted, all payments and adjustments have been 
made, and all wind-down activities have been completed, and no issues 
with regard to the NDBEDP pilot program remain pending. Information 
collections related to NDBEDP pilot program activities are included in 
OMB Control Number 3060-1146, Implementation of the Twenty-First 
Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010, Section 
105, Relay Services for Deaf-Blind Individuals, CG Docket No. 10-210, 
which will expire June 30, 2018.
    For a period of 60 days following the publication of this document 
in the Federal Register announcing OMB approval of the information 
collection associated with the Report and Order, document FCC 16-101, 
new and incumbent entities may apply for certification to participate 
in the permanent NDBEDP. To minimize any disruption of service in the 
transition between the pilot program and the permanent program, the 
FCC's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau will announce its 
selection of the entities certified to participate in the NDBEDP 
permanent program as soon as possible, but such certifications will not 
become effective before July 1, 2017.
    Because the information collection burdens related to NDBEDP pilot 
program activities overlap in time with the information collection 
burdens related to NDBEDP permanent program activities, the Commission 
sought approval for a new collection for the information burdens 
associated with the permanent NDBEDP.
    In document FCC 16-101, the Commission adopted rules requiring the 
following:
    (a) Entities must apply to the Commission for certification to 
receive reimbursement from the TRS Fund for NDBEDP activities.
    (b) A program wishing to relinquish its certification before its 
certification expires must provide written notice of its intent to do 
so.
    (c) Certified programs must disclose to the Commission actual or 
potential conflicts of interest.
    (d) Certified programs must notify the Commission of any 
substantive change that bears directly on its ability to meet the 
qualifications necessary for certification.
    (e) A certified entity may present written arguments and any 
relevant documentation as to why suspension or revocation of 
certification is not warranted.
    (f) When a new entity is certified as a state's program, the 
previously certified entity must take certain actions to complete the 
transition to the new entity.
    (g) Certified programs must require an applicant to provide 
verification that the applicant is deaf-blind.
    (h) Certified programs must require an applicant to provide 
verification that the

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applicant meets the income eligibility requirement.
    (i) Certified programs must re-verify the income and disability 
eligibility of an equipment recipient under certain circumstances.
    (j) Certified programs must permit the transfer of an equipment 
recipient's account when the recipient relocates to another state.
    (k) Certified programs must include an attestation on consumer 
application forms.
    (l) Certified programs must conduct annual audits and submit to 
Commission-directed audits.
    (m) Certified programs must document compliance with NDBEDP 
requirements, provide such documentation to the Commission upon 
request, and retain such records for at least five years.
    (n) Certified programs must submit reimbursement claims as 
instructed by the TRS Fund Administrator, and supplemental information 
and documentation as requested. In addition, the entity selected to 
conduct national outreach will submit claims for reimbursement on a 
quarterly basis.
    (o) Certified programs must submit reports every six months as 
instructed by the NDBEDP Administrator. In addition, the entity 
selected to conduct national outreach will submit an annual report.
    (p) Informal and formal complaints may be filed against NEDBEDP 
certified programs, and the Commission may conduct such inquiries and 
hold such proceedings as it may deem necessary.
    (q) Certified programs must include the NDBEDP whistleblower 
protections in appropriate publications.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-02400 Filed 2-3-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6712-01-P