[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 75 (Tuesday, April 19, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23268-23270]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-08310]


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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 
June 21, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Electronically: You may submit comments, including 
attachments, electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions online for submitting 
comments.
    Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the 
docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov. Documents in the docket 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 through the OSHA 
Docket Office. Contact the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-2350 (TTY 
(877) 889-5627) for

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assistance in locating docket submissions.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and the 
OSHA docket number for this Federal Register notice (OSHA-2017-0012). 
OSHA will place comments, including personal information, in the public 
docket, which may be available online. Therefore, OSHA cautions 
interested parties about submitting personal information such as Social 
Security numbers and birthdates. For further information on submitting 
comments, see the ``Public Participation'' heading in the section of 
this notice titled SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Seleda Perryman or Theda Kenney, 
Directorate of Standards and Guidance, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, 
telephone (202) 693-2222.

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

    The agency is requesting an adjustment decrease to adjust the 
number of burden hours associated with the developmental steps 
necessary for certain states in the developmental process, including 
Maine, Illinois, and Virgin Islands. In addition, the number of CASPAs 
and State Plan Changes was modified to depict more realistically the 
current trends in these numbers. As a result, the total burden hours 
have decreased slightly from 11,369 to 11,055 (a decrease of 314 burden 
hours).
    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 Total Number of Responses: 1,255.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 11,055.
    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 facsimile (fax); or (3) by hard copy. Please 
note: While OSHA's Docket Office is continuing to accept and process 
submissions by regular mail, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Docket 
Office is closed to the public and not able to receive submissions to 
the docket by hand, express mail, messenger, and courier service. All 
comments, attachments, and other material must identify the agency name 
and the OSHA docket number for this ICR (Docket No. OSHA-2011-0861). 
You may supplement electronic submissions by uploading document files 
electronically. If you wish to mail additional materials in reference 
to an electronic or a 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 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.
    Comments and submissions are posted without change at http://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, OSHA cautions commenters about 
submitting personal information, such as their social security number 
and date 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 from this 
website. All

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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 from the website and for assistance in 
using the internet to locate docket submissions.

V. Authority and Signature

    James S. Frederick, Deputy 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 April 11, 2022.
James S. Frederick,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2022-08310 Filed 4-18-22; 8:45 am]
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