[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 20 (Thursday, January 30, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5430-5431]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-01733]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[OMB 3060-0804; FRS 16432]


Information Collection Being Reviewed by the Federal 
Communications Commission

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, 
and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the 
Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) invites the 
general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to 
comment on the following information collections. Comments are 
requested concerning: Whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the 
Commission, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; ways to 
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; 
ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on the 
respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology; and ways to further reduce the 
information collection burden on small business concerns with fewer 
than 25 employees.
    The FCC may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information 
unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) control number. No person shall be subject to any penalty for 
failing to comply with a collection of information subject to the PRA 
that does not display a valid OMB control number.

DATES: Written PRA comments should be submitted on or before March 30, 
2020. If you anticipate that you will be submitting comments, but find 
it difficult to do so within the period of time allowed by this notice, 
you should advise the contact listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Direct all PRA comments to Nicole Ongele, FCC, via email 
[email protected] and to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information about the 
information collection, contact Nicole Ongele, (202) 418-2991.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0804.
    Title: Universal Service--Rural Health Care Program.
    Form Numbers: FCC Forms 460, 461, 462, 463, 465, 466, and 467.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit 
institutions; Federal Government; and State, Local, or Tribal 
governments.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 10,494 unique respondents; 
93,687 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.30-17 hours.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion, One-time, Annual, Quarterly, 
and Monthly reporting requirements.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. 
Statutory authority for this collection of information is contained in 
sections 1-4, 201-205, 214, 254, 303(r), and 403 of the Communications 
Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151-154, 201-205, 214, 254, 303(r), 
and 403, unless otherwise noted.
    Total Annual Burden: 382,741 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: No Cost.
    Privacy Impact Assessment: No Impact(s).
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no assurance of 
confidentiality provided to respondents concerning this information 
collection. Information submitted on FCC Forms for the RHC Program is 
subject to public inspection and is used by USAC to update and expand 
the RHC Program dataset as part of its Open Data Platform. However, 
respondents may request materials or information submitted to the 
Commission or to USAC be withheld from public inspection under 47 CFR 
0.459 of the FCC's rules.
    Needs and Uses: The Commission seeks OMB approval of revisions 
(change in reporting and recordkeeping requirements) to this 
information collection as a result of the 2019 Promoting Telehealth 
Report and Order (WC Docket No. 17-310; FCC 19-78; 84 FR 54952, October 
11, 2019). This collection is utilized for the RHC support mechanism of 
the Commission's universal service fund (USF). The collection of this 
information is necessary so that the Commission and the Universal 
Service Administrative Company (USAC) will have sufficient information 
to determine if entities are eligible for funding pursuant to the RHC 
universal service support mechanism, to determine if entities are 
complying with the Commission's rules, and to prevent waste, fraud, and 
abuse. This information is also necessary in order to allow the 
Commission to evaluate the extent to which the RHC Program is meeting 
the statutory objectives specified in section 254(h) of the 1996 Act, 
and the Commission's performance goals for the RHC Program.
    This information collection is being revised to: (1) Extend some of 
the existing information collection requirements for the Healthcare 
Connect Fund and Telecommunications (Telecom) Programs; (2) revise some 
of the information collection requirements for the Healthcare Connect 
Fund and Telecom Programs and (3) add some new information collection 
requirements applicable to both the Healthcare Connect Fund Program and 
the Telecom Program as a result of the 2019 Promoting Telehealth Report 
and Order. As part of this information collection, the Commission is 
also revising the FCC Form templates for both programs, reformatting 
and revising the Telecommunications Program Invoice Template, and 
creating a new Post-Commitment Request Form consistent with the changes 
adopted in the 2019 Promoting Telehealth Report and Order and to 
promote transparency into the RHC Program procedures and requirements.
    The Healthcare Connect Fund Program currently includes FCC Forms 
460, 461, 462, and 463 and the Telecom Program currently includes FCC 
Forms 465, 466, and 467. The revisions to these FCC Form templates, 
where applicable, are intended to make the RHC Program information 
requests consistent between the programs, to the extent possible, and 
help to ensure and verify that RHC Program participants are not 
engaging in fraudulent conduct or otherwise violating the Commission's 
rules. Some of the changes to the FCC Form templates have different 
effective dates. Therefore, for administrative ease, we have indicated 
the applicable funding year of the FCC Form template, and where a 
specific form includes changes applicable to funding year 2020 and 
others to funding year 2021, we have provided separate forms applicable 
to each funding year. In the 2019 Promoting Telehealth Report and 
Order, the Commission directed USAC to streamline the data collection 
requirements and consolidate the program forms to the extent possible. 
Such streamlining and consolidation will not affect the underlying 
information collected as part of this

[[Page 5431]]

information collection, but may change the format in which it may be 
collected. The information on the FCC Form templates is a 
representative description of the information to be collected via an 
online portal and is not intended to be a visual representation of what 
each applicant or service provider will see, the order in which they 
will see information, or the exact wording or directions used to 
collect the information. Where possible, information already provided 
by applicants from previous filing years or that was pre-filed in the 
system portal will be carried forward and auto-generated into the form 
to simplify the information collection for applicants. Additionally, in 
the 2019 Promoting Telehealth Report and Order, the Commission adopted 
rules to reflect the changes in the Report and Order. The new and 
revised rules impacted by this collection are listed and described 
within the collection.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-01733 Filed 1-29-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P