[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 197 (Friday, October 13, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71070-71071]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-22564]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD


30-Day Notice of Intent To Seek Extension of Approval of 
Collection: Household Goods Movers' Disclosure Requirements

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board.
SUMMARY: As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
Surface Transportation Board (STB or Board) gives notice of its intent 
to seek approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for an 
extension of the information collection (here, third-party 
disclosures), as described below.

DATES: Comments on this information collection should be submitted by 
November 13, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be identified as ``Paperwork 
Reduction Act Comments, Surface Transportation Board, Household Goods 
Movers' Disclosure Requirements.'' Written comments for the proposed 
information collection should be submitted via www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. This information collection can be accessed by selecting 
``Currently under Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the 
search function. As an alternative, written comments may be directed to 
the Office of Management and Budget, Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, Attention: Michael J. McManus, Surface 
Transportation Board Desk Officer: via email at 
[email protected]; by fax at (202) 395-1743; or by mail to 
Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503.
    Please also direct all comments to Chris Oehrle, PRA Officer, 
Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20423-
0001, or to [email protected]. When submitting comments, please refer to 
``Paperwork Reduction Act Comments, Surface Transportation Board: 
Household Goods Movers' Disclosure Requirements.'' For further 
information regarding this collection, contact Michael Higgins, Deputy 
Director, Office of Public Assistance, Governmental Affairs, and 
Compliance, at (202) 245-0284 or [email protected]. If you 
require an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, 
please call (202) 245-0245.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Board previously published a notice 
about this collection in the Federal Register (88 FR 52238 (August 7, 
2023)). That notice allowed for a 60-day public review and comment 
period. No comments were received.
    Comments are requested concerning: (1) the accuracy of the Board's 
burden estimates; (2) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 
of the information collected; (3) 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 when appropriate; and (4) whether the collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the Board, including whether the collection has practical utility. 
Submitted comments will be summarized and included in the Board's 
request for OMB approval.

Description of Collection

    Title: Household Goods Movers' Disclosure Requirements.
    OMB Control Number: 2140-0027.
    STB Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: Extension without change.
    Respondents: Household goods movers (HHG Movers) that desire to 
offer a rate limiting their liability on interstate moves to anything 
less than replacement value of the goods.
    Number of Respondents: 5,273 (approximate number of active 
household goods carriers in the United States according to the Federal 
Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)). See 2022 Pocket Guide to 
Large Truck and Bus Statistics (December 2022) section 1-7 Household 
Goods Carriers and Brokers Operating in the United States, 2017-2021.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Total Burden Hours: 101 hours. Household goods movers provide 
prospective clients with a prescribed form estimating the charges for 
the anticipated move and providing various warnings and disclosures, 
including a disclosure of the availability of two levels of recovery 
for loss and damage incurred during the move. The Board's request for 
approval of the initial estimate form contained a cost analysis 
indicating that inclusion of the loss-and-damage information was a one-
time, start-up cost, and that an estimated 15 of the thousands of HHG 
Movers were large firms that print their own forms and that had already 
produced modified forms to meet the new requirement. The original 
request for approval also indicated that only a relatively small number 
of new entrants would have to create the required notice forms each 
year. Using 2022 Pocket Guide to Large Truck and Bus Statistics 
(section 1-7) to determine the latest three-year increase in the number 
of HHG Movers, Board staff estimates that there are approximately 202 
of these new carriers that have entered the business annually over the 
last three reported years. Each of these new entrants would require 
approximately one hour to review the released rate decision and to cut 
and paste the warnings/disclosures into a general electronic form, but 
only a portion of that time (about half) would be allotted to the 
Board's released rate disclosure requirement. Therefore, the Board 
estimates that the annual hourly burden for this collection is 101 
hours per year for the industry (202 responses annually x \1/2\ x 1 
hour = 101 burden hours).
    Total ``Non-hour Burden'' Cost: No ``non-hour cost'' burdens 
associated with this collection have been identified. HHG Movers may 
provide these forms to shippers electronically.
    Needs and Uses: In the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient 
Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, Sec.  4215, Public Law 
109-59, 119 Stat. 1144, 1760 (2005), Congress directed the Board to 
review consumer protection regulations concerning the loss or damage to 
property that occurs during interstate household goods moves. In Docket 
No. RR 999, the Board required household goods motor carriers and 
freight forwarders wishing to offer a rate limiting their liability on 
interstate moves to anything less than replacement value of the goods 
to provide their customers with clear written information concerning 
the two available cargo-liability options (a full replacement-value 
protection option and a lower, released-rate protection option). HHG 
Movers are required to provide this information on the standard written 
estimate form that the FMCSA requires HHG Movers to provide to their 
household goods moving customers. See 49 CFR 375.213 and 375.401(g). As 
provided on the form, this information allows for early notice to 
household goods moving customers regarding the two liability options, 
as well as adequate time and information to help consumers decide which 
option to choose. In doing so, this collection enables the Board to 
meet its statutory duty.

[[Page 71071]]

    Under the PRA, a federal agency that conducts or sponsors a 
collection of information must display a currently valid OMB control 
number. A collection of information, which is defined in 44 U.S.C. 
3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c), includes agency requirements that persons 
submit reports, keep records, or provide information to the agency, 
third parties, or the public. Section 3507(b) of the PRA requires, 
concurrent with an agency's submitting a collection to OMB for 
approval, a 30-day notice and comment period through publication in the 
Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, 
including each proposed extension of an existing collection of 
information.

    Dated: October 6, 2023.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2023-22564 Filed 10-12-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P