[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 243 (Wednesday, December 22, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72598-72600]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-27882]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[OMB 3060-XXXX, 3060-0207; FR ID 63866]


Information Collections 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 (PRA) of 1995, the 
Federal Communications Commission (FCC or the Commission) invites the 
general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to 
comment on the following information collection. 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 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 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number.

DATES: Written PRA comments should be submitted on or before February 
22, 2022. 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-XXXX. Title: Wireless Emergency Alerts 
(WEA) Handset Displays and False Alert Reporting.
    Form No.: N/A.
    Type of Review: New information collection.
    Respondents: Businesses or other for-profits; State, Local, or 
Tribal Government and Federal Government.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 23,277 respondents; 167 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 1 hour-150 hours.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion and one-time reporting 
requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Mandatory and Voluntary. Statutory authority 
for this information collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, 
154(i), 154(o), 301, 303(r), 303(v), 307, 309, 335, 403, 544(g), 606, 
613, 1201, 1202, 1203, 1204 and 1206.
    Total Annual Burden: 22,815 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: No cost.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There are no assurance of 
confidentiality associated with this collection of information.
    Needs and Uses: This is a new request for approval of an 
information collection for two new regulations under the Commission's 
part 10 Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) rules. No other information 
collections contained in the Commission's regulations will be impacted 
by the new rules described herein.
    The WEA system is a mechanism under which Commercial Mobile Service 
(CMS) providers may elect to transmit emergency alerts to the public. 
The Commission created WEA (previously known as the Commercial Mobile 
Service Alert System) as required by Congress in the Warning Alert and 
Response Network (WARN) Act and to satisfy the Commission's mandate to 
promote the safety of life and property through the use of wire and 
radio communication.
    On January 1, 2021, Congress passed the William M. (Mac) Thornberry 
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (NDAA21). 
Section 9201 of the NDAA21 required the Commission to complete a 
rulemaking and adopt rules within 180 days to make certain changes to 
its WEA regulations, and also to its separate Emergency Alert System 
(EAS) regulations governing broadcast, cable television, and direct 
satellite media emergency alerts. With respect to the WEA rule changes, 
section 9201 directed the Commission to ensure that the mobile devices 
of CMS providers that have elected to participate in WEA cannot opt out 
of receiving WEA alerts from the Federal Emergency Management Agency 
(FEMA) Administrator, and to enable reporting by the FEMA Administrator 
and State, Tribal, or local governments of false WEA alerts. On June 
21, 2021, the Commission released its Report and Order in PS Dockets 
15-91 and 15-94 (NDAA21 Alerting Order), FCC 21-77, adopting the WEA 
and EAS changes directed by Congress in the NDAA21. The EAS changes are 
the subject of a different notice to be published separately.
    The NDAA21 Alerting Order implemented Congresses' new directives 
for WEA, in part, with two new regulations that impose new burdens on 
respondents: The handset display update, and false alert reporting.

Handset Display Update

    In the NDAA21 Alerting Order, the Commission combined the current 
non-optional class of WEA ``Presidential Alerts'' with FEMA 
Administrator Alerts into a new renamed alert class named ``National 
Alerts.'' Participating CMS providers that have chosen to display the 
phrase ``Presidential Alert'' on their handsets are required to either 
discontinue the handset's use of that phrase or otherwise change those 
displays to read ``National Alert'' by July 31, 2022. Network 
infrastructure that is technically incapable of meeting this 
requirement, such as legacy devices or networks that cannot be updated 
to support header display changes, are exempt from this requirement. 
The handset display changes are necessary to avoid confusion when 
wireless subscribers receive a non-optional emergency alert from the 
FEMA Administrator instead of the President.
    The handset display update regulation is codified at 47 CFR 
10.11(b).

False Alert Reporting

    Also in the NDAA21 Alerting Order, the Commission adopted a rule 
permitting the FEMA Administrator or a State, local, Tribal, or 
territorial government to voluntarily report WEA false alerts to the 
FCC Operations Center at [email protected], informing the Commission of 
the event and any relevant details. This rule creates a voluntary 
mechanism for collection of information so that the Commission can 
monitor these false alert events which can undermine public confidence 
in the reliability of emergency alerting and WEA. Email reporting was 
adopted as a minimally-burdensome way for government entities to report 
false alerts.
    The WEA false alert reporting regulation is codified at 47 CFR 
10.520(d)(2).
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0207.
    Title: Part 11--Emergency Alert System (EAS), Order, FCC 21-77.
    Form No.: N/A.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit 
institutions; State, Local, or Tribal Government.

[[Page 72600]]

    Number of Respondents and Responses: 63,084 respondents; 3,588,845 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.017 hours-112 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Annual, on occasion and one-time reporting 
requirements.
    Obligation to Respond: Mandatory and Voluntary. Statutory authority 
for this information collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 154(i) and 
606 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.
    Total Annual Burden: 141,414 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: No Cost.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No Impact(s).
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: The Commission shares 
aggregated and individual State EAS Plan data on a confidential basis 
with other Federal agencies and state governmental emergency management 
agencies that have confidentiality protection at least equal to that 
provided by the Freedom of Information Act.
    Needs and Uses: Part 11 contains rules and regulations addressing 
the nation's Emergency Alert System (EAS). The EAS provides the 
President with the capability to provide immediate communications and 
information to the general public during periods of national emergency 
over broadcast television and radio, cable, direct broadcast radio and 
other EAS Participants, as defined in Sec.  11.11(a) of the 
Commission's rules The EAS also provides state and local governments 
and the National Weather Service with the capability to provide 
immediate communications and information to the public concerning 
emergency situations posing a threat to life and property. Part 11 
includes testing requirements to ensure proper and efficient operation 
of the EAS. State and local use of the EAS, alert processing 
requirements, and monitoring assignments covering the distribution of 
EAS alerts within the state, among other things, are required to be 
described in State EAS Plans that are administered by State Emergency 
Communications Committees (SECC) and submitted to the FCC annually for 
approval.
    The Order, PS Docket Nos. 15-91 and 15-94, FCC 21-77, pursuant to 
the directions set forth in Section 9201 of the William M. (Mac) 
Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, 
Public Law 116-283, 134 Stat. 3388, section 9201 (NDAA21), among other 
things, (i) requires the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau 
(Bureau) to establish a State EAS Plan Content Checklist composed of 
the content set forth in Sec.  11.21 of the Commission's rules, (47 CFR 
11.21), post the checklist on the FCC's website, and incorporate it as 
an appendix in ARS user manual; (ii) amend the State EAS Plan 
requirements in Sec.  11.21 of the Commission's rules to ensure plans 
are updated annually, require a certification by the SECC Chairperson 
or Vice-Chairperson that the SECC met (in person, via teleconference, 
or via other methods of conducting virtual meetings) at least once in 
the twelve months prior to submitting the annual updated plan, and 
require that the Bureau approve or reject State EAS Plans submitted for 
approval within 60 days of receipt; and (iii) require the Bureau to 
list the approval dates of State EAS Plans submitted on ARS on the 
Commission's website, and in the event a final decision is made to deny 
a plan, directly notify the chief executive of the State to which the 
plan applies of that determination and the reasons for such denial 
within 30 days of such decision. The Order also amends Sec.  11.45 of 
the part 11 rules to enable voluntary reporting to the Commission by 
the FEMA Administrator and Tribal, State, local or territorial 
governments of false EAS alerts.
    The Commission seeks OMB approval of these rule amendments as a 
modification of a previously approved information collection. Congress 
has determined that EAS rule changes are necessary to increase 
oversight over the distribution of state and local EAS alerts within 
states, and increase false alert reporting capabilities to help 
ameliorate confusion or other harmful effects that might result from 
false EAS alerts. The internal State EAS Plan processing requirements 
and rule changes adopted in the Order will improve State EAS Plan 
processing and administration, improving the capabilities and efficacy 
of EAS as a national system for distributing vital alert information to 
all Americans, and will do so in a cost-effective manner.
    The following information collections contained in Part 11 may be 
impacted by the rule amendments described herein.

State EAS Plans (47 CFR 11.21)

    The establishment of a State EAS Plan Content Checklist for SECCs 
should have no impact or lessen SECC burdens, and posting it on the 
FCC's website, and incorporating it as an appendix in the ARS user 
manual, are routine Bureau activities. The requirement to ensure State 
EAS Plans are updated annually already was contained in Sec.  11.21, 
and thus does not represent a new burden.
    The amendment to include as a required element in the State EAS 
Plan, a certification (which will be incorporated into the ARS) by the 
SECC Chairperson or Vice-Chairperson that the SECC met (in person, via 
teleconference, or via other methods of conducting virtual meetings) at 
least once in the twelve months prior to submitting the annual updated 
plan to review and update their State EAS Plan should promote added 
diligence in SECC administration of State EAS Plans. The Commission 
estimates the burden to SECC members in complying with this requirement 
to be two hours per member.
    The rule amendment requiring the Bureau approve or reject State EAS 
Plans submitted for approval within 60 days of receipt does not impose 
new burdens on any entity. The Bureau already is charged with reviewing 
State EAS Plans. The internal requirement that the Bureau list the 
approval dates of State EAS Plans submitted on ARS on the Commission's 
website, and in the event a final decision is made to deny a plan, 
directly notify the chief executive of the State to which the plan 
applies of that determination and the reasons for such denial within 30 
days, does not impose new burdens on any entity. The Bureau already 
maintains a web page on the Commission's website dedicated to SECC and 
State EAS Plan information.

False EAS Alert Reporting (47 CFR 11.45)

    The amendment enabling the FEMA Administrator and Tribal, State, 
local or territorial governments to file reports of false EAS alerts 
provides another mechanism for the Commission to receive information 
concerning false EAS alerts, does not impose burdens on any entity. 
Should any permitted government entity voluntarily elect to file a 
false EAS alert report, the burden associated with this provision 
amounts to composing an email, which the Commission estimates will take 
an hour or less to prepare, and falls within the routine activities of 
government employees. False alert reports help the Commission to 
identify, investigate, correct and prevent false EAS activations, which 
enhances the EAS's efficacy and the public trust in the EAS.

Federal Communications Commission.
Katura Jackson,
Federal Register Liaison, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021-27882 Filed 12-20-21; 4:15 pm]
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