Agency Information Collection Activities; New Information Collection Request: FMCSA Annual Grant Program Effectiveness Survey

G. Kelly Regal
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
January 16, 2015

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 11 (Friday, January 16, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2470-2471]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-00607]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2014-0196]


Agency Information Collection Activities; New Information 
Collection Request: FMCSA Annual Grant Program Effectiveness Survey

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

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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. The purpose of this 
information collection is to acquire the perspectives of FMCSA State 
partners who support the operation, regulation and enforcement of 
various mutually-beneficial safety programs. This knowledge will 
improve the Federal government's understanding of the effectiveness of 
commercial motor vehicle (CMV) safety related grant programs. The FMCSA 
is interested in surveying grant recipients to collect information on 
the strengths, weaknesses, and effectiveness of FMCSA grant programs 
with the intent of improving our capacity to meet the needs of our 
grantees. FMCSA needs this information to support program evaluation 
endeavors, program management, and fiscal decision making. FMCSA will 
use the results in various analyses conducted by FMCSA designed to 
assess the effectiveness of existing rules, grant programs, and safety 
programs. On October 8, 2014, FMCSA published a notice in the Federal 
Register 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 by February 17, 2015. OMB must receive 
your comments by this date in order to act on the ICR.

ADDRESSES: All comments should reference Federal Docket Management 
System (FDMS) Docket Number FMCSA-2014-0196. 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@omb.eop.gov, or 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. Eugene Johnson, Strategic 
Planning, and Program Evaluation Division, Office of Policy, Strategic 
Planning and Regulations, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 
1200 New Jersey Ave. SE., Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: (202) 366-
5490; email Eugene.Johnson@dot.gov. Office hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. If you have 
questions on viewing material in the docket, contact Docket Operations 
(202) 366-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: FMCSA Annual Grant Program Effectiveness Survey.
    OMB Control Number: 2126-00XX.
    Type of Request: New collection.
    Respondents: State Grant Recipients.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 50 State Respondents.
    Estimated Time per Response: 45 minutes per response.
    Expiration Date: N/A. This is a new ICR.
    Frequency of Response: Once.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 63 hours [(50 electronic mail-in

[[Page 2471]]

respondents x 45 minutes/60 minutes) + (50 State personnel interviews x 
30 minutes/60 minutes) = 63]. Minutes per response = 62.5 rounded to 
63.]
    Background: The Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration 
(FMCSA) needs a survey of its State partner-grant recipients who 
support the operation, regulation and enforcement of various mutually-
beneficial safety programs. This knowledge will improve the Federal 
government's understanding of the effectiveness of commercial motor 
vehicle (CMV) safety related grant programs. The FMCSA is interested in 
surveying grant recipients to collect information on the strengths, 
weaknesses, and effectiveness of FMCSA grant programs.
    In 2009, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a final 
report on a FMCSA grant program called Performance Registration 
Information System Management PRISM. The GAO reported was entitled, 
``Motor Carrier Safety: Commercial Vehicle Registration Program Has 
Kept Carriers from Operating, but Effectiveness Is Difficult to 
Measure, GAO-09-495.'' The GAO recommended FMCSA measure the PRISM 
program's effectiveness when the number of States that have the ability 
to deny, suspend, or revoke registrations of CMVs operated by OOS 
carriers is sufficient to make such measurements meaningful.
    The authority to require Federal Agencies to monitor grants is 2 
CFR Chapter I, and Chapter II Parts 200, 215, 220, 225, and 230 Uniform 
Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements 
for Federal Awards. OMB Circular A-110, Reports and Records, sections 
50 through 53 set forth the procedures for monitoring and reporting on 
the recipient's financial and program performance and the necessary 
standard reporting forms.
    The Agency proposes to collect the data for this project via 
electronic mail surveys and conduct clarifying interviews as 
appropriate. The information collection supports the DOT's Strategic 
Goal of Safety, and will help confirm whether the program(s) improve 
public health and safety by reducing transportation-related fatalities 
and injuries. Therefore, the purpose of this ICR is to conduct a survey 
using Form MCSA-5888 to evaluate the effectiveness of FMCSA's grant 
programs through the use of in-person interviews and electronic 
surveys. The survey will not be statistical in nature, as the intention 
is to receive the comments of all affected state partners. The survey 
will not exceed 30 questions and the complexity of the question 
structure will be Likert scale and short responses. The decision to use 
the Likert scale over the ordinal scale is the numbers in the ordinal 
level indicate the relative position of items, but not the magnitude of 
difference that you get from the Likert scale. For example, the survey 
will present a question like ``The grant funding provided in support of 
your program is adequate to meet all aspects of the mission.'' The 
response options may include:

1. Strongly disagree
2. Disagree
3. Neutral
3. Agree
4. Strongly agree
5. Not Applicable

    The Agency will use this information to establish a baseline of our 
grant programs from the grantee's perspective for use in future grant-
related decision making, to include: (1) Assessing the impacts of 
proposed rules, (2) identifying potential improvements in its grant 
supported safety programs, and (3) complement future budget and 
resource related decisions.
    Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of 
this information collection, including: (1) Whether the proposed 
collection is necessary for the 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.

    Issued under the authority delegated in 49 CFR 1.87 on January 
5, 2015.
G. Kelly Regal,
Associate Administrator, Office of Research and Information Technology 
and Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015-00607 Filed 1-15-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P