Revision of Agency Information Collection Activity Under OMB Review: Security Threat Assessment for Individuals Applying for a Hazardous Materials Endorsement for a Commercial Driver's License

Christina A. Walsh
Department of Homeland Security
9 January 2017

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 5 (Monday, January 9, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2389-2390]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-00155]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Transportation Security Administration

[Docket No. TSA-2003-14610]


Revision of Agency Information Collection Activity Under OMB 
Review: Security Threat Assessment for Individuals Applying for a 
Hazardous Materials Endorsement for a Commercial Driver's License

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 Information Collection Request 
(ICR), Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number 1652-0027, 
abstracted below to OMB for review and approval of a revision of the 
currently approved collection under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). 
The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its 
expected burden. TSA published a Federal Register notice soliciting 
comments for a 60-day period on August 16, 2016, 81 FR 54585. The 
collection involves applicant submission of biometric and biographic 
information for TSA's security threat assessment required before 
obtaining the hazardous materials endorsement (HME) on a commercial 
driver's license (CDL) issued by the States and the District of 
Columbia.

DATES: Send your comments by February 8, 2017. A comment to OMB is most 
effective if OMB receives it within 30 days of publication.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments on 
the proposed information collection to the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, OMB. Comments should be addressed to Desk Officer, 
Department of Homeland Security/TSA, and sent via electronic mail to 
oira_submission@omb.eop.gov or faxed to (202) 395-6974.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christina A. Walsh, TSA PRA Officer, 
Office of Information Technology (OIT), TSA-11, Transportation Security 
Administration, 601 South 12th Street, Arlington, VA 20598-6011; 
telephone (571) 227-2062; email TSAPRA@tsa.dhs.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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 is available 
at http://www.reginfo.gov. 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: Security Threat Assessment for Individuals Applying for a 
Hazardous Materials Endorsement for a Commercial Driver's License
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    OMB Control Number: 1652-0027.
    Forms(s): TSA Form 2214; HME Threat Assessment Program (HTAP).
    Affected Public: Drivers seeking a hazardous material endorsement 
(HME) on their commercial driver's license (CDL).
    Abstract: This collection supports the implementation of sec. 1012 
of the USA PATRIOT Act (Pub. L. 107-56, 115 Stat. 272, 396, Oct. 26, 
2001) (49 U.S.C. 5103a), which mandates that no State or the District 
of Columbia may issue an HME on a CDL unless TSA has first determined 
the driver is not a threat to transportation security. TSA's 
regulations at 49 CFR part 1572 describe the procedures, standards, and 
eligibility criteria for security threat assessments on individuals 
seeking to obtain, renew, or transfer a HME on a CDL. In order to 
conduct the security threat assessment, States (or a TSA designated 
agent in States that elect to have TSA perform the collection of 
information) must collect information in addition to that already 
collected for the purpose of HME applications, which will occur once 
approximately every five years. The driver is required to submit an 
application that includes personal biographic information (for 
instance, height, weight, eye and hair color, date of birth); 
information concerning legal status, mental health defects history, and 
criminal history;

[[Page 2390]]

and biometrics such as fingerprints. In addition, 49 CFR part 1572 
requires States to maintain a copy of the driver application for a 
period of one year.
    TSA is revising the collection of information to allow for 
recurrent criminal history vetting. Applicants' fingerprints and 
associated information will be provided to the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation (FBI) for the purpose of comparing their fingerprints to 
other fingerprints in the FBI's Next Generation Identification (NGI) 
system or its successor systems, including civil, criminal, and latent 
fingerprint repositories. The FBI may retain applicants' fingerprints 
and associated information in NGI after the completion of their 
application and, while retained, their fingerprints may continue to be 
compared against other fingerprints submitted to or retained by NGI. 
TSA will also transmit applicants' biometrics for enrollment into the 
Department of Homeland Security Automated Biometrics Identification 
System (IDENT).
    In addition, TSA is revising the collection of information to 
expand enrollment options and the potential use of biographic and 
biometric (e.g., fingerprints, iris scans, and/or photo) information. 
This revision would allow for facilitation of the security threat 
assessment and future use of the information collected for additional 
comparability determinations, such as allowing the HME applicant to 
participate in a program such as the TSA Pre[check][supreg] Application 
Program, TSA's expedited screening program for air travelers, or obtain 
a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) without 
requiring an additional background check.
    TSA is currently revising its fee for the HME Threat Assessment 
Program as well as the fee for comparable security threat assessments 
in light of changes to the FBI's fingerprint processing fee and TSA's 
costs related to conducting the security threat assessment (STA). The 
FBI's fee and STA fee are two out of three segments of the HME Threat 
Assessment Program's overall fee. The HME fee contains segments for 
enrollment, the STA, and FBI fees, most recently $38.00 for vendor 
enrollments (amount varies by State for State enrollments), $34.00 for 
the STA of each applicant and $14.50 for the FBI processing each 
enrollment, respectively.
    On February 1, 2015, the FBI reduced its fingerprint-based criminal 
history record check fee by $1.75 based on recommendations from a 
required user fee study (75 FR 18751). Effective October 1, 2016, the 
FBI again reduced its fingerprint-based criminal history record check 
fee, this time by $2.75 based on recommendations from a required user 
fee study (81 FR 45535). Section 1572.501(b)(3) states that if the FBI 
amends its fee for criminal history records checks, TSA will collect 
the amended FBI fee. By contrast, TSA will increase the STA segment of 
the standard HME fee in the amount of $3.00. TSA has identified, in 
accordance with the methodologies described in the 2013 final fee rule, 
threat assessment service costs related to the STA segment of the 
standard HME fee that exceed the expected STA segment revenue. The 
majority of these costs relate to technology infrastructure and 
operating costs. In addition to increased technology costs, the number 
of HME applicants has been in decline, leaving fewer applicants from 
which costs may be recovered. These two factors necessitate an increase 
in cost recovery in the ongoing operation of the HME program. The 
enrollment segment of the HME Threat Assessment Program's overall fee 
will remain at $38.00 for enrollments conducted by TSA's vendor. As a 
result of the FBI's fee decreases ($4.50 over the FBI's past two fee 
changes) and the increase in the STA segment of the standard HME fee 
($3.00), the overall HME standard enrollment fee ($86.50) for 
applicants enrolled by TSA's vendor will be reduced by $1.50 to the new 
fee of $85.00 ($10.00 + $37.00 + $38.00), effective upon publication of 
TSA's Notice of Fee Adjustment. For applicants who enroll through a 
State in States that choose not to use TSA's enrollment vendor, the 
revised fees for the FBI and STA segments of the overall fee for State 
enrollments will be the same as for enrollments conducted by TSA's 
vendor ($10.00 and $37.00, respectively); however, because each State 
that conducts its own enrollments charges its own fee (over which TSA 
has no control) TSA cannot provide a revised overall enrollment fee for 
State enrollments.
    TSA will also decrease the amount of the STA segment of the reduced 
HME fee by $1.00, from $29.00 to $28.00, which applies to both vendor 
and state enrollment methods. TSA is decreasing this segment of the 
reduced HME fee because TSA has identified, in accordance with the 
methodologies described in the 2013 final fee rule, threat assessment 
service revenue related to the STA segment of the reduced fee that 
exceeds the expected STA segment costs. Thus, the HME reduced 
enrollment fee ($67.00) will be reduced to the new fee of $66.00 for 
vendor enrollments, effective upon publication of TSA's Notice of Fee 
Adjustment. Again, because each state that conducts its own enrollments 
charges its own fee for its enrollment segment, it is not possible to 
give a revised overall reduced HME fee for state enrollments.
    Number of Respondents: 268,295.
    Estimated Annual Burden Hours: An estimated 524,746 hours annually.

    Dated: January 3, 2017.
Christina A. Walsh,
TSA Paperwork Reduction Act Officer, Office of Information Technology.
[FR Doc. 2017-00155 Filed 1-6-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 9110-05-P