[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 55 (Thursday, March 21, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10551-10553]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-05348]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. OSHA-2011-0197]


Occupational Safety and Health State Plans; Extension of the 
Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Approval of Information 
Collection (Paperwork) Requirements

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.

ACTION: Request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: OSHA solicits public comments concerning its request to extend 
OMB's approval of information collection regarding the State Plans 
program and regulations for the development and enforcement of state 
occupational safety and health standards.

DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by 
May 20, 2019.

ADDRESSES: 
    Electronically: You may submit comments and attachments 
electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the

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Federal eRulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions online for 
submitting comments.
    Facsimile: If your comments, including attachments, are not longer 
than 10 pages you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-
1648.
    Mail, hand delivery, express mail, messenger, or courier service: 
When using this method, you must submit a copy of your comments and 
attachments to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. OSHA-2011-0197, 
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of 
Labor, Room N-3653, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20210. 
Deliveries (hand, express mail, messenger, and courier service) are 
accepted during the OSHA Docket Office's normal business hours, 10:00 
a.m. to 3:00 p.m., ET.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and the 
OSHA docket number (OSHA-2011-0197) for the Information Collection 
Request (ICR). All comments, including any personal information you 
provide, are placed in the public docket without change, and may be 
made available online at http://www.regulations.gov. For further 
information on submitting comments, see the ``Public Participation'' 
heading in the section of this notice titled SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
    Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the 
docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov or the OSHA Docket Office at 
the above address. All documents in the docket (including this Federal 
Register notice) are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index; 
however, some information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly 
available to read or download through the website. All submissions, 
including copyrighted material, are available for inspection and 
copying at the OSHA Docket Office. You may also contact Douglas 
Kalinowski at the below address to obtain a copy of the ICR.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Suzanne Smith, Office of State 
Programs, Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs, Occupational 
Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor; telephone: 
(202) 693-2217; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Department of Labor, as part of a continuing effort to reduce 
paperwork and respondent (i.e., the State plans) burden, conducts a 
preclearance process to provide the public with an opportunity to 
comment on proposed and continuing information collection requirements 
in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA-95) (44 
U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This program ensures that information is in the 
desired format, the reporting burden (time and costs) is minimal, the 
collection instruments are clearly understood, and OSHA's estimate of 
the information collection burden is accurate. OSHA is soliciting 
comments concerning the extension of the information collection 
requirements contained in the series of regulations establishing 
requirements for the submission, initial approval, continuing approval, 
final approval, monitoring, and evaluation of OSHA-approved State 
Plans:
     29 CFR part 1902, State Plans for the Development and 
Enforcement of State Standards;
     29 CFR part 1953, Changes to State Plans for the 
Development and Enforcement of State Standards;
     29 CFR part 1954, Procedures for the Evaluation and 
Monitoring of Approved State Plans; and
     29 CFR part 1956, State Plans for the Development and 
Enforcement of State Standards Applicable to State and Local Government 
Employees in States Without Approved Private Employee Plans.
    Section 18 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (29 U.S.C. 
667) offers an opportunity to the states to assume responsibility for 
the development and enforcement of state standards through the 
mechanism of an OSHA-approved State Plan. Absent an approved plan, 
states are precluded from enforcing occupational safety and health 
standards in the private sector with respect to any issue for which 
Federal OSHA has promulgated a standard. Once approved and operational, 
the state adopts standards and provides most occupational safety and 
health enforcement and compliance assistance in the state under the 
authority of its plan, instead of Federal OSHA. States also must extend 
their jurisdiction to cover state and local government employees and 
may obtain approval of State Plans limited in scope to these workers. 
To obtain and maintain State Plan approval, a state must submit various 
documents to OSHA describing program structure and operation, including 
any modifications thereto as they occur, in accordance with the 
identified regulations. OSHA funds 50 percent of the costs required to 
be incurred by an approved State Plan, with the state at least matching 
and providing additional funding at its discretion.

II. Special Issues for Comment

    OSHA has a particular interest in comments on the following issues:
     Whether the proposed information collection requirements 
are necessary for the proper performance of the agency's functions, 
including whether the information is useful;
     The accuracy of OSHA's estimate of the burden (time and 
costs) of the information collection requirements, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
     The quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
collected; and
     Ways to minimize the burden on employers who must comply--
for example, by using automated or other technological information 
collection and transmission techniques.

III. Proposed Actions

    OSHA is requesting that OMB extend approval of the collection of 
information requirements associated with State Plan regulations. The 
agency is requesting an adjustment decrease related to the number of 
burden hours associated with the developmental steps necessary for 
certain states in the developmental process, including Maine, Illinois, 
and Virgin Islands. As a result, the total burden hours have decreased 
slightly from 11,519 to 11,369 (a decrease of 150 burden hours). The 
agency will summarize the comments submitted in response to this notice 
and will include this summary in its request to OMB.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Title: Occupational Safety and Health Plans.
    OMB Control Number: 1218-0247.
    Affected Public: Designated state government agencies that are 
seeking or have submitted and obtained approval for State Plans for the 
development and enforcement of occupational safety and health 
standards.
    Number of Respondents: 28.
    Frequency: On occasion; Quarterly; Annually.
    Average Time per Response: Various.
    Estimated Number of Responses: 1,301.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 11,369.
    Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $0.

IV. Public Participation--Submission of Comments on This Notice and 
Internet Access to Comments and Submissions

    You may submit comments in response to this document as follows: 
(1) Electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal; (2) by

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facsimile (fax); or (3) by hard copy. All comments, attachments, and 
other materials must identify the agency name and the OSHA docket 
number (Docket No. OSHA-2011-0197) for the ICR. You may supplement 
electronic submissions by uploading document files electronically. If 
you wish to mail additional materials in reference to an electronic or 
facsimile submission, you must submit them to the OSHA Docket Office 
(see the section of this notice titled ADDRESSES). The additional 
materials must clearly identify electronic comments by your name, date, 
and the docket number so that the agency can attach them to your 
comments.
    Because of security procedures, the use of regular mail may cause a 
significant delay in the receipt of comments. For information about 
security procedures concerning the delivery of materials by hand, 
express delivery, messenger, or courier service, please contact the 
OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-2350; TTY (877) 889-5627.
    Comments and submissions are posted without change at http://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, OSHA cautions commenters about 
submitting personal information such as social security numbers and 
dates of birth. Although all submissions are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index, some information (e.g., copyrighted 
material) is not publicly available to read or download through this 
website. All submissions, including copyrighted material, are available 
for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office. Information on 
using the http://www.regulations.gov website to submit comments and 
access the docket is available at the website's ``User Tips'' link. 
Contact the OSHA Docket Office for information about materials not 
available through the website, and for assistance in using the internet 
to locate docket submissions.

V. Authority and Signature

    Loren Sweatt, Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational 
Safety and Health, directed the preparation of this notice. The 
authority for this notice is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. 3506 et seq.) and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 1-2012 (77 FR 
3912).

    Signed at Washington, DC, on March 15, 2019.
Loren Sweatt,
Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2019-05348 Filed 3-20-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4510-26-P