30-Day Notice of Intent To Seek Extension of Approval: Household Goods Movers' Disclosure Requirements

Brendetta S. Jones
Surface Transportation Board
12 October 2016

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 197 (Wednesday, October 12, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70479-70480]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-24615]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD


30-Day Notice of Intent To Seek Extension of Approval: Household 
Goods Movers' Disclosure Requirements

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 
3501-3521 (PRA), the Surface Transportation Board (STB or Board) gives 
notice of its intent to seek approval from the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for an extension of the information collections (here, 
third-party disclosures) required by the Board's decisions in Released 
Rates of Motor Common Carriers of Household Goods, RR 999 (Amendment 
No. 5) (STB served Jan. 21, 2011); Released Rates of Motor Common 
Carriers of Household Goods, RR 999 (Amendment No. 5) (STB served Jan. 
10, 2012). The information collection is described in more detail 
below. The Board previously published a notice about this collection in 
the Federal Register. 81 FR 35,810 (June 3, 2016). That notice allowed 
for a 60-day public review and comment period. No comments were 
received.

DATES: Comments on this information collection should be submitted by 
November 14, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be identified as ``Paperwork 
Reduction Act Comments, Surface Transportation Board: Household Goods 
Movers' Disclosure Requirements.'' These comments should be directed to 
the Office of Management and Budget, Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, Attention: Chandana L. Achanta, Surface 
Transportation Board Desk Officer, by email at 
OIRA_SUBMISSION@OMB.EOP.GOV; by fax at (202) 395-6974; or by mail to 
Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20503. Please also 
direct comments to Chris Oehrle, Surface Transportation Board, 395 E 
Street SW., Washington, DC 20423-0001, or to PRA@stb.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  For further information regarding 
this collection, contact Michael Higgins, Deputy Director, Office of 
Public Assistance, Governmental Affairs, and Compliance at (202) 245-
0284 or at michael.higgins@stb.gov. [Assistance for the hearing 
impaired is available through the Federal Information Relay Service 
(FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Comments are requested concerning: (1) The

[[Page 70480]]

accuracy of the Board's burden estimates; (2) ways to enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; (3) ways to 
minimize the burden of the collection of information on the 
respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology when appropriate; and (4) whether 
the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance 
of the functions of the Board, including whether the collection has 
practical utility. Submitted comments will be summarized and included 
in the Board's request for OMB approval.

Description of Collection

    Title: Household Goods Movers' Disclosure Requirements.
    OMB Control Number: 2140-0027.
    STB Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: Extension with change.
    Respondents: Movers that desire to offer a rate limiting their 
liability on interstate moves to anything less than replacement value 
of the goods.
    Number of Respondents: 7,000 (approximate number of Movers involved 
in authorized for-hire household goods carriage in the United States 
according to American Moving and Storage Association).
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Total Burden Hours: None. The change to the estimate form is a one-
time, start-up cost, which was considered in the cost analysis of the 
Board's previous approval for this collection. In our initial request 
for approval, we estimated that 15 of the approximately 4,500 household 
goods movers were large firms that print their own forms and would have 
to produce modified forms to meet the new requirement. Further, any new 
large mover entrants would have to create forms based on other agency 
regulations--with or without the released rate disclosure--and, 
therefore, there is no longer an hourly burden for this collection.
    Total ``Non-hour Burden'' Cost: Movers may provide these forms to 
shippers electronically. Further, as with the burden hours above, the 
one-time, start-up costs that were previously considered will no longer 
apply to existing movers and new entrants will not have any additional 
cost to add released rates to the forms required under other agency 
regulations. Therefore, there is no longer a non-hourly cost burden for 
this collection.
    Needs and Uses: Congress, in the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, 
Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, Sec.  4215, 
Public Law 109-59, 119 Stat. 1144, 1760 (2005), directed the Board to 
review consumer protection regulations concerning the loss or damage 
that occurs during interstate household goods moves. In Docket No. RR 
999, the Board required household goods motor carriers and freight 
forwarders (together, Movers) to provide their customers with clear 
written information concerning the two available cargo-liability 
options, if they desired to offer a rate limiting their liability on 
interstate moves to anything less than replacement value of the goods. 
Movers were required to provide this information on the standard 
written estimate form, which the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Administration (FMCSA) already required Movers to provide to their 
household goods moving customers. See 49 CFR 375.213. Thus, Movers must 
inform consumers of their rights and obtain a signed waiver if the 
consumer elects anything other than full-value protection. Previously, 
consumers were sometimes confused and did not realize that they had 
waived full-value protection until after they had experienced damage to 
or loss of their goods. The information collection that is the subject 
of this notice is intended to correct this problem by providing early 
notice regarding the two liability options (full-value protection and 
the lower released-rate protection), as well as adequate time and 
information to help consumers decide which option to choose.
    Under the PRA, a Federal agency conducting or sponsoring a 
collection of information must display a currently valid OMB control 
number. A collection of information, which is defined in 44 U.S.C. 
3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c), includes agency requirements that persons 
submit reports, keep records, or provide information to the agency, 
third parties, or the public. Section 3507(b) of the PRA requires, 
concurrent with an agency's submitting a collection to OMB for 
approval, a 30-day notice and comment period through publication in the 
Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, 
including each proposed extension of an existing collection of 
information.

    Dated: October 6, 2016.
Brendetta S. Jones,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2016-24615 Filed 10-11-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4915-01-P