Agency Information Collection Activities; Extension of a Currently-Approved Information Collection Request: Transportation of Household Goods; Consumer Protection

G. Kelly Regal
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
25 February 2016

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 37 (Thursday, February 25, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9580-9581]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-04041]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA 2015-0255]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Extension of a 
Currently-Approved Information Collection Request: Transportation of 
Household Goods; Consumer Protection

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

[[Page 9581]]

review and approval. The FMCSA requests approval to extend an ICR 
titled, ``Transportation of Household Goods; Consumer Protection.'' The 
information collected will be used to help regulate motor carriers 
transporting household goods (HHG) for individual shippers. FMCSA 
invites public comment on the ICR. On September 21, 2015, 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 28, 2016. 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-2015-0255. 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, 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. Kenneth Rodgers, Chief, Commercial 
Enforcement and Investigations Division, Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Administration, West Building 6th Floor, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 
Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: 202-366-0073; email 
Kenneth.rodgers@dot.gov. Office hours are from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Transportation of Household Goods; Consumer Protection.
    OMB Control Number: 2126-0025.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently-approved information 
collection.
    Respondents: Household goods movers and consumers.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 7,500 respondents [4,900 household 
goods movers + 2,600 consumers = 7,500].
    Estimated Time per Response: Varies from 5 minutes to display 
assigned U.S. DOT number in created advertisement to 12.5 minutes to 
distribute consumer publication, and 10 minutes to complete an online 
household goods consumer complaint.
    Expiration Date: April 30, 2016.
    Frequency of Response: Other (Once).
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 5,224,800 hours [Informational 
documents provided to prospective shippers at 29,300 hours + Written 
Cost estimates for prospective shippers at 4,377,450 hours + Service 
orders, bills of lading at 763,100 hours + In-transit service 
notifications at 21,500 hours + Complaint and inquiry records including 
establishing records system at 33,050 hours + Household Goods--Consumer 
Complaint at 400 hours = 5,224,800].
    Background: The Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999 
(MCSIA) (Pub. L. 106-159, 113 Stat. 1748, Dec. 9, 1999) authorized the 
Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) to regulate household goods 
carriers engaged in interstate operations for individual shippers. In 
earlier legislation, Congress abolished the former Interstate Commerce 
Commission and transferred the Commission's jurisdiction over household 
goods transportation to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) 
(ICC Termination Act of 1995, Pub. L. 104-88, 109 Stat. 803, Dec. 29 
1995). Prior to FMCSA's establishment, the Secretary delegated this 
household goods jurisdiction to the Federal Highway Administration, 
FMCSA's predecessor organization within DOT.
    The FMCSA has authority to regulate the overall commercial 
operations of the household goods industry under 49 U.S.C. 14104, 
``Household goods carrier operations.'' Under Sec.  14104(a)(1), 
paperwork required of household goods carrier must be minimized to the 
maximum extent feasible consistent with the protection of individual 
shippers. This ICR includes the information collection requirements 
contained in title 49 CFR part 375, ``Transportation of Household Goods 
in Interstate Commerce; Consumer Protection Regulations.'' The 
information collected encompasses that which is generated, maintained, 
retained, disclosed, and provided to, or for, the agency under 49 CFR 
part 375.
    Sections 4202 through 4216 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, 
Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (Pub. L. 109-
59, 119 Stat. 1144, Aug. 10, 2005) (SAFETEA-LU) amended various 
provisions of existing law regarding household goods transportation. It 
specifically addressed: definitions (section 4202); payment of rates 
(section 4203); registration requirements for household goods motor 
carriers (section 4204); carrier operations (section 4205); enforcement 
of regulations (section 4206); liability of carriers under receipts and 
bills of lading (section 4207); arbitration requirements (section 
4208); civil penalties for brokers and unauthorized transportation 
(section 4209); penalties for holding goods hostage (section 4210); 
consumer handbook (section 4211); release of broker information 
(section 4212); working group for Federal-State relations (section 
4213); consumer complaint information (section 4214); review of 
liability of carriers (section 4215); and application of State laws 
(section 4216). The FMCSA regulations that set forth Federal 
requirements for movers that provide interstate transportation of 
household goods are found in 49 CFR part 375, ``Transportation of 
Household Goods; Consumer Protection Regulation.''
    On July 16, 2012, FMCSA published a Direct Final Rule titled, 
``Transportation of Household Goods in Interstate Commerce; Consumer 
Protection Regulations: Household Goods Motor Carrier Record Retention 
Requirements,'' (77 FR 41699). The rule amended the regulations 
governing the period during which HHG motor carriers must retain 
documentation of an individual shipper's waiver of receipt of printed 
copies of consumer protection materials. This change harmonized the 
retention period with other document retention requirements applicable 
to HHG motor carriers. FMCSA also amended the regulations to clarify 
that a HHG motor carrier is not required to retain waiver documentation 
from any individual shippers for whom the carrier does not actually 
provide services.
    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 
17, 2016.
G. Kelly Regal,
Associate Administrator, Office of Research and Information Technology.
[FR Doc. 2016-04041 Filed 2-24-16; 8:45 am]
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