[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 184 (Monday, September 23, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77536-77537]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-21653]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Transportation Security Administration
New Agency Information Collection Activity Under OMB Review:
Minimum Standards for Driver's Licenses and Identification Cards
Acceptable by Federal Agencies for Official Purposes
AGENCY: Transportation Security Administration, DHS.
ACTION: 30-Day notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces that the Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) has forwarded the new Information Collection
Request (ICR) abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) for review and approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA).
The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its
expected burden. The collection involves the requirement that States
who seek a temporary waiver of the prohibition on Federal acceptance,
for official purposes, of mobile driver's licenses (mDLs) that do not
comply with the REAL ID Act and regulations, must submit an application
for such waiver to TSA.
DATES: Send your comments by October 23, 2024. A comment to OMB is most
effective if OMB receives it within 30 days of publication.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular
information collection by selecting ``Currently under Review--Open for
Public Comments'' and by using the find function.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christina A. Walsh, TSA PRA Officer,
Information Technology, TSA-11, Transportation Security Administration,
6595 Springfield Center Drive, Springfield, VA 20598-6011; telephone
(571) 227-2062; email [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: TSA published a Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking (NPRM), Minimum Standards for Driver's Licenses and
Identification Cards Acceptable by Federal Agencies for Official
Purposes; Waiver for Mobile Driver's Licenses, soliciting public
comments of the following collection of information on August 30, 2023,
at 88 FR 60056. TSA received 31 public comments on the NPRM and on this
collection. TSA fully considered all comments, including those
submitted late.
Comments Invited
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
3501 et seq.), an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is
not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it
displays a valid OMB control number. The ICR documentation will be
available at https://www.reginfo.gov upon its submission to OMB.
Therefore, in preparation for OMB review and approval of the following
information collection, TSA is soliciting comments to--
(1) Evaluate whether the proposed information requirement is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency,
including whether the information will have practical utility;
(2) Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden;
(3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and
(4) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those
who are to respond, including using appropriate automated, electronic,
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms
of information technology.
Information Collection Requirement
Title: Minimum Standards for Driver's Licenses and Identification
Cards Acceptable by Federal Agencies for Official Purposes.
Type of Request: New collection.
OMB Control Number: 1652-XXXX.
Form(s): N/A.
Affected Public: States.
Abstract: Beginning May 7, 2025, the REAL ID regulations prohibit
Federal agencies from accepting, for official purposes, driver's
licenses or identification cards that are not compliant with REAL ID
requirements.\1\ In December 2020, the REAL ID Modernization Act
clarified that mobile or digital driver's licenses or identification
cards (collectively ``mobile driver's licenses'' or ``mDLs''), are
subject to REAL ID requirements.\2\ This Act also amended the
definitions of ``driver's license'' and ``identification card'' to
specifically include mDLs that have been issued in accordance with
regulations prescribed by the Secretary.
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\1\ 6 CFR 37.65(a).
\2\ Sec. 1001 of the REAL ID Modernization Act, Title X of
Division U of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, Public Law
116-260, 134 Stat. 2304.
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The REAL ID Act was enacted, and DHS regulations issued, before the
development of mDLs. As a result, many of the current regulation's
security requirements for physical cards, such as physical security
features to deter fraud and tampering, do not apply to mDLs. In the
absence of regulatory requirements to address mDLs, States are unable
to issue REAL ID-compliant mDLs. TSA has initiated a two-phased
rulemaking to address this gap. The first phase enables States to apply
to TSA for a temporary waiver of certain requirements in the
regulations. In the second phase, TSA would repeal the waiver
provisions established in the first phase and establish comprehensive
requirements enabling States to issue mDLs that comply with REAL ID
requirements.
In August 2023, TSA published a notice of proposed rulemaking
(NPRM) \3\ to amend the DHS REAL ID regulations as part of the multi-
phased approach to address mDLs. The NPRM proposed to waive, on a
temporary and State-by-State basis, the regulatory requirement that
mDLs must be compliant with REAL ID requirements to be accepted by
Federal agencies for official purposes. The NPRM proposed the process
and standards for the waiver to permit Federal agencies, at their
discretion, to continue accepting for official purposes mDLs after May
7, 2025, if the mDL is issued by a State to whom TSA has issued a
waiver.
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\3\ 88 FR 60056 (Aug. 30, 2023).
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As the NPRM called for a collection of information under the PRA,
TSA invited interested persons to submit written comments, including
relevant data about the cost and hour burden of
[[Page 77537]]
requirements in the NPRM. TSA is publishing this 30-day notice to
provide the public additional opportunity to provide written comments
directly to OMB.
Through the NPRM, TSA proposed requiring States that seek a waiver
to submit an application and supporting materials to TSA using the
procedures in 6 CFR 37.9(a) and 37.10(a)-(b). This collection of the
information will enable TSA to issue a waiver to States, and TSA will
use all of the submitted documentation to evaluate a State's request
for a waiver, if and when the NPRM is made final. States would be
required to submit information to TSA as part of their applications for
a certificate of waiver for mDLs, as well as to comply with reporting
requirements, and in response to TSA notices of suspension and
termination. The NPRM also proposed continuing obligations on a State
that has been issued a waiver that may require it to submit additional
materials to TSA.
Specifically, the NPRM, if finalized, would require the following
information collections from States:
(i) Submission of Initial Application and Audit Report
(ii) Supplemental Submissions
(iii) Request for Reconsideration of Denied Application
(iv) Re-Application
(v) Reporting of Significant Modifications to mDL Issuance Processes
(vi) Reporting of Discovery of Significant Cyber Incident or Breach
(vii) Responses to TSA Notices of Suspension and Termination
Estimated Number of Respondents: 19.
Estimated Annual Burden Hours: An estimated 245 hours annually.
Dated: September 18, 2024.
Christina A. Walsh,
TSA Paperwork Reduction Act Officer, Information Technology.
[FR Doc. 2024-21653 Filed 9-20-24; 8:45 am]
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