Agency Information Collection Activities; Renewal of an Approved Information Collection: Financial Responsibility--Motor Carriers, Freight Forwarders, and Brokers

G. Kelly Regal
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
30 December 2016

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 251 (Friday, December 30, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 96565-96566]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-31701]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2016-0293]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Renewal of an Approved 
Information Collection: Financial Responsibility--Motor Carriers, 
Freight Forwarders, and 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. The FMCSA requests 
approval to extend an ICR titled, ``Financial Responsibility--Motor 
Carriers, Freight Forwarders, and Brokers,'' which is used to provide 
registered motor carriers, property brokers, and freight forwarders a 
means of meeting financial responsibility filing requirements. This ICR 
sets forth the financial responsibility documentation requirements for 
motor carriers, freight forwarders, and brokers that arise as a result 
of the Agency's jurisdictional statutes at 49 U.S.C. 13501 and 13531. 
The Agency is revising this ICR due to the implementation of a Final 
Rule entitled ``Unified Registration System'' (78 FR 52608, August 23, 
2013) that extended the financial responsibility filing requirement to 
exempt for-hire motor carriers and private interstate motor carriers of 
hazardous materials.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before February 28, 2017.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket 
Management System (FDMS) Docket Number FMCSA-2016-0293 using any of the 
following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Operations; U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building, Ground 
Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building, Ground 
Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC, 20590-0001 between 9 a.m. and 5 
p.m. e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and 
docket number. For detailed instructions on submitting comments, see 
the Public Participation heading below. Note that all comments received 
will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including 
any personal information provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading 
below.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov, and follow the 
online instructions for accessing the dockets, or go to the street 
address listed above.
    Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all 
comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's 
complete Privacy Act Statement for the Federal Docket Management System 
published in the Federal Register on January 17, 2008 (73 FR 3316), or 
you may visit http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdfE8-794.pdf.
    Public Participation: The Federal eRulemaking Portal is available 
24 hours each day, 365 days each year. You can obtain electronic 
submission and retrieval help and guidelines under the ``help'' section 
of the Federal eRulemaking Portal Web site. If you want us to notify 
you that we received your comments, please include a self-addressed, 
stamped envelope or postcard, or print the acknowledgement page that 
appears after submitting comments online. Comments received after the 
comment closing date will be included in the docket and will be 
considered to the extent practicable.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Tura Gatling, Office of 
Registration and Safety Information, Department of Transportation, 
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue 
SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001. Telephone Number: (202) 385-2412; Email 
Address: tura.gatling@dot.gov. Office hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 
p.m., E.T., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) 
is authorized to register for-hire motor carriers of property and 
passengers under the provisions of 49 U.S.C. 13902, surface freight 
forwarders under the provisions of 49 U.S.C. 13903, and property 
brokers under the provisions of 49 U.S.C. 13904. These persons may 
conduct transportation services only if they are registered pursuant to 
49 U.S.C. 13901. The Secretary has delegated authority pertaining to 
these registration requirements to the FMCSA. The registration remains 
valid only as long as these transportation entities maintain, on file 
with the FMCSA, evidence of the required levels of financial 
responsibility pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 13906. FMCSA regulations governing 
the financial responsibility requirements for these entities are found 
at 49 CFR part 387. The information collected from these forms are 
summarized and displayed in the Licensing and Information system.

[[Page 96566]]

Forms for Endorsements, Certificates of Insurance and Other Evidence of 
Bodily Injury and Property Damage (BI&PD) Liability and Cargo Liability 
Financial Responsibility

    Forms BMC-91 and BMC-91X, entitled ``Motor Carrier Automobile 
Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability Certificate of Insurance,'' 
and Form BMC-82, entitled ``Motor Carrier Bodily Injury Liability and 
Property Damage Liability Surety Bond Under 49 U.S.C. 13906,'' provide 
evidence of the required coverage for bodily injury and property damage 
(BI & PD) liability. A Form BMC-91X filing is required when a carrier's 
insurance is provided by multiple companies instead of just one. Form 
BMC-34, entitled ``Household Goods Motor Carrier Cargo Liability 
Certificate of Insurance,'' and Form BMC-83, entitled ``Household Goods 
Motor Carrier Cargo Liability Surety Bond Under 49 U.S.C. 13906,'' 
establish a carrier's compliance with the Agency's cargo liability 
requirements. Only household goods (HHG) motor carriers are required to 
file evidence of cargo insurance with FMCSA. 49 CFR 387.303(c). Form 
BMC-90, entitled ``Endorsement for Motor Carrier Policies of Insurance 
for Automobile Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability Under 
Section 13906, Title 49 of the United States Code,'' and Form BMC-32, 
entitled ``Endorsement for Motor Common Carrier Policies of Insurance 
for Cargo Liability Under 49 U.S.C. 13906,'' are executed by the 
insurance company, attached to BI & PD or cargo liability insurance 
policy, respectively, and forwarded to the motor carrier or freight 
forwarder.

Requirement To Obtain Surety Bond or Trust Fund Agreement

    Form BMC-84, entitled ``Broker's or Freight Forwarder's Surety Bond 
Under 49 U.S.C. 13906,'' and Form BMC-85, entitled ``Broker's or 
Freight Forwarder's Trust Fund Agreement Under 49 U.S.C. 13906 or 
Notice of Cancellation of the Agreement,'' are filed by brokers or 
freight forwarders to comply with the requirement that they must have a 
$75,000 surety bond or trust fund agreement in effect before FMCSA will 
issue property broker or freight forwarder operating authority 
registration.

Cancellation of Prior Filings

    Form BMC-35, entitled ``Notice of Cancellation Motor Carrier 
Insurance under 49 U.S.C. 13906,'' Form BMC-36, entitled ``Motor 
Carrier and Broker's Surety Bonds under 49 U.S.C. 13906 Notice of 
Cancellation,'' and Form BMC-85, entitled ``Broker's or Freight 
Forwarder's Trust Fund Agreement Under 49 U.S.C. 13906 or Notice of 
Cancellation of the Agreement,'' can be used to cancel prior filings.

Self-Insurance

    Motor carriers can also apply to FMCSA to self-insure BI & PD and/
or cargo liability in lieu of filing certificates of insurance with the 
FMCSA, as long as the carrier maintains a satisfactory safety rating 
(see 49 CFR 387.309.) Form BMC-40 is the application used by carriers 
to apply for self-insurance authority.
    Title: Financial Responsibility--Motor Carriers, Freight 
Forwarders, and Brokers.
    OMB Control Number: 2126-0017.
    Type of Request: Renewal of a currently approved information 
collection.
    Respondents: Motor carriers, freight forwarders, and brokers.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 183,340.
    Estimated Time per Response: The estimated average burden per 
response for Form BMC-40 is 40 hours. The estimated average burden per 
response for the remaining insurance forms (BMC-34, 35, 36, 82, 83, 84, 
85, 91, and 91X) is 10 minutes per form.
    Expiration Date: February 28, 2017.
    Frequency of Response: Certificates of insurance, surety bonds, and 
trust fund agreements are required when the transportation entity first 
registers with FMCSA and then when such coverages are changed or 
replaced by these entities. Notices of cancellation are required only 
when such certificates of insurance, surety bonds, and trust fund 
agreements are cancelled. The BMC-40 is filed only when a carrier seeks 
approval from FMCSA to self-insure its bodily injury and property 
damage (BI & PD) and/or cargo liability coverage.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 45,168 hours [2 BMC-40 filings per 
year x 40 hours to complete + 270,525 filings per year for all the 
other forms x 10 minutes/60 minutes to complete = 45,168].
    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 performance of FMCSA's functions; (2) 
the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways for 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 on: December 23, 2016.
G. Kelly Regal,
Associate Administrator for Office of Research and Information 
Technology.
[FR Doc. 2016-31701 Filed 12-29-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P