[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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