Agency Information Collection Activities; Revision of a Currently Approved Collection: Practices of Household Goods Brokers

G. Kelly Leone
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
February 14, 2014

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 31 (Friday, February 14, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9033-9034]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-03356]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA 2013-0348]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Revision of a Currently 
Approved Collection: Practices of Household Goods Brokers

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FMCSA 
announces its plan to submit the Information Collection Request (ICR) 
described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for its 
review and approval and invites public comment. FMCSA requests approval 
to revise an ICR titled ``Practices of Household Brokers'' to no longer 
include one-time costs previously incurred by brokers to come into 
compliance with 49 CFR part 371, and to update other wage related costs 
that have changed since the last approval. This ICR is necessary to 
support the requirements of subpart B of 49 CFR part 371 and FMCSA's 
responsibility to ensure consumer protection in the transportation of 
household goods (HHG). On November 13, 2013, FMCSA published a Federal 
Register notice allowing for a 60-day comment period on this ICR. The 
agency received no comments in response to that notice.

DATES: Please send your comments to this notice by March 17, 2014. OMB 
must receive your comments by this date to act quickly on the ICR.

ADDRESSES: All comments should reference Federal Docket Management 
System (FDMS) Docket Number FMCSA-2013-0348. Interested persons are 
invited to submit written comments on the proposed information 
collection to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office 
of Management and Budget. Comments should be addressed to the attention 
of the Desk Officer, Department of Transportation/Federal Motor Carrier 
Safety Administration, and sent via electronic mail to oira--
submission@

[[Page 9034]]

omb.eop.gov, faxed to (202) 395-6974, or mailed to the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 
Docket Library, Room 10102, 725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Brodie Mack, Commercial 
Enforcement and Investigations Division, Household Goods Team Leader, 
U. S. Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Administration, West Building 6th Floor, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 
Washington, DC 20590-0001. Telephone: 202-366-8045; email 
brodie.mack@dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Practices of Household Goods Brokers.
    OMB Control Number: 2126-0048.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Brokers of Household Goods.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 690.
    Estimated Time per Response: 15 minutes per day x 240 workdays for 
household goods broker transactions; 8 hours per year x 125 new 
entrants for separate accounting system; 20 hours per year x 690 
brokers of household goods for Web site/ad modifications; 10 hours per 
year x 690 brokers of household goods for creating a list of carriers; 
0.5 hours per month x 12 months x 690 brokers of household goods for 
confirming required information; 0.083 hour per year x 20,000 
explanations; 4 hours per year x 5 agreements x 690 brokers of 
household goods for annual agreements through turnover; and 10 hours 
per year x 690 brokers of household goods for disclosure and records.
    Expiration Date: February 28, 2014.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 89,607 hours.
    Background: FMCSA, in response to Title IV, Subtitle B of the Safe, 
Accountable, Flexible, Efficient, Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy 
for Users (SAFETEA-LU) (Pub. L. 109-59) and a petition for rulemaking 
from the American Moving and Storage Association (AMSA), amended 49 CFR 
part 371, existing regulations for brokers, with a Final Rule titled, 
``Brokers of Household Goods Transportation by Motor Vehicles, (75 FR 
72987), November 29, 2010, providing additional consumer protection 
responsibilities for brokers of HHG.
    Section 4212 of SAFETEA-LU directs the Secretary to require HHG 
brokers to provide individual shippers with the following information 
whenever a broker has contact with a shipper or potential shipper:
    1. The broker's USDOT number.
    2. The FMCSA booklet titled ``Your Rights and Responsibilities When 
You Move.''
    3. A list of all authorized motor carriers providing transportation 
of HHG used by the broker and a statement that the broker is not a 
motor carrier providing transportation of HHG.
    FMCSA, as the result of a rulemaking that took effect November 29, 
2010, amended 49 CFR part 371 by adding subpart B, specific consumer 
protection requirements for HHG brokers. The collection of information 
required by this rulemaking assists shippers in their business dealings 
with interstate HHG brokers. The information collected is used by 
prospective shippers to make informed decisions about contracts and 
services ordered, executed, and settled. The HHG broker is often the 
primary contact for individual shippers and in the best position to 
educate shippers and prepare them for a successful move. The 
information collected makes that possible. To combat deceptive business 
practices, this helps enforcement personnel better protect consumers by 
verifying that shippers are receiving information they are entitled to 
by regulation.
    HHG brokers are required to provide individual shippers the ``Your 
Rights and Responsibilities When You Move'' booklet and the ``Ready to 
Move'' brochure. They have the option of providing paper copies or 
presenting the information through a link on their Internet Web site. 
The broker is required to document with signed receipts that the 
individual shipper was provided those materials. HHG brokers are also 
required to provide the list of HHG motor carriers for which it would 
arrange transportation to move a potential individual shipper's HHG, 
and that broker's identification information:
    1. Assigned USDOT number; and
    2. Address.

Public Comments Invited

    FMCSA requests that you comment on any aspect of this information 
collection, including: (1) Whether the proposed collection is necessary 
for FMCSA to perform its functions, (2) the accuracy of the estimated 
burden, (3) ways for the FMCSA to enhance the quality, usefulness, and 
clarity of the collected information, and (4) ways that the burden 
could be minimized without reducing the quality of the collected 
information. The agency will summarize or include your comments in the 
request for OMB's clearance of this information collection.

    Issued under the authority delegated in 49 CFR 1.87 on: February 
6, 2014.
G. Kelly Leone,
Associate Administrator, Office of Research and Information Technology 
and Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2014-03356 Filed 2-13-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P