Agency Information Collection Activities; Renewal of a Currently-Approved Information Collection: Licensing Applications for Motor Carrier Operating Authority

G. Kelly Regal
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
19 October 2016

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 202 (Wednesday, October 19, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72151-72152]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-25230]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2016-0194]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Renewal of a Currently-
Approved Information Collection: Licensing Applications for Motor 
Carrier Operating Authority

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 review 
and approval. The FMCSA requests approval to renew an ICR titled, 
``Licensing Applications for Motor Carrier Operating Authority,'' that 
is used by for-hire motor carriers of regulated commodities, motor 
passenger carriers, freight forwarders, property brokers, and certain 
Mexico-domiciled motor carriers to register their operations with the 
FMCSA.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before November 18, 2016. 
OMB must receive your comments by this date in order to act quickly on 
the ICR.

ADDRESSES: All comments should reference Federal Docket Management 
System (FDMS) Docket Number FMCSA-2016-0194. 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. Jeffrey Secrist, 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) 385-2367; Email 
Address: jeff.secrist@dot.gov. Office hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 
p.m., E.T.,

[[Page 72152]]

Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Licensing Applications for Motor Carrier Operating 
Authority.
    OMB Control Number: 2126-0016.
    Type of Request: Renewal of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Motor carriers, motor passenger carriers, freight 
forwarders, brokers, and certain Mexico-domiciled motor carriers.
    Estimated Number of Respondents and Responses: 37,240 respondents 
[(37,216 respondents and responses for Year 1) + (12 respondents and 
responses for Year 2) + (12 respondents and responses for Year 3)].
    Estimated Time per Response: 2 hours for forms OP-1, OP-1(P), OP-
1(FF) and 4 hours for forms OP-1(MX), OP-1(NNA).
    Expiration Date: October 31, 2016.
    Frequency of Response: Other (as needed).
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 24,853 hours [74,464 hours for Year 
1 + 48 hours for Year 2 + 48 hours for Year 3 = 74,560 hours/3 year 
approval for ICR = 24,853 estimated average number of annual burden 
hours].
    Background: The FMCSA registers for-hire motor carriers of 
regulated commodities, motor passenger carriers, freight forwarders, 
property brokers, and certain for-hire Mexico-domiciled motor carriers 
under 49 U.S.C. 13902(c). These motor carriers may conduct 
transportation services in the United States only if they are 
registered with the FMCSA. Each registration is effective from the date 
specified and remains in effect for such period as the Secretary of 
Transportation (Secretary) determines by regulations. The ICC 
Termination Act of 1995 (ICCTA), Public Law 104-88, 109 Stat. 803 
(December 29, 1995), transferred this registration authority from the 
former Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to the Secretary who 
subsequently delegated the registration function to the Federal Highway 
Administration (FHWA) (FMCSA's predecessor agency), then to the FMCSA 
at the time that agency was created.
    On March 19, 2002, the FMCSA published an interim final rule (IFR) 
at 67 FR 12702 which proposed to amend 49 CFR part 365 and revise Form 
OP-1(MX). Under the amended regulations, Mexico-domiciled long-haul 
motor carriers seeking to operate within the United States beyond the 
commercial border zones, including carriers that previously filed 
pending Form OP-1(MX) applications, would be required to submit the 
revised Form OP-1(MX). Under the revised Form OP-1(MX), the FMCSA would 
collect more detailed information on an applicant motor carrier's size, 
operations and history than could be collected previously by using the 
existing form.
    The Final Rule titled, ``Unified Registration System,'' (78 FR 
52608) dated August 23, 2013, implemented statutory provisions for an 
on-line registration system required by ICCTA and the Safe, 
Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy 
for Users, 2005 (SAFETEA-LU). The URS streamlines the registration 
process and serves as a clearinghouse and repository of information on, 
and identification of, motor carriers, brokers, freight forwarders, 
intermodal equipment providers (IEPs), hazardous materials safety 
permit (HMSP) applicants, and cargo tank facilities required to 
register with FMCSA. This ICR previously covered registration 
requirements for non-exempt for-hire carriers, freight forwarders, and 
property brokers. Under the URS, all forms in this ICR, except the OP-1 
(MX), were folded into the Form MCSA-1 under the OMB Control Number 
2126-0051 titled, ``FMCSA Registration/Updates,'' ICR on October 23, 
2015. The Form OP-1(MX) would be retained for the small number of 
Mexico-domiciled carriers that seek authority to operate beyond the 
United States municipalities on the United States-Mexico border and 
their commercial zones because they are not included within the scope 
of the URS rule.
    The Final Rule titled, ``Unified Registration System,'' (80 FR 
63695) dated October 21, 2015, changed the effective and compliance 
dates of the 2013 URS Final Rule from October 23, 2015, to September 
30, 2016, in order to allow FMCSA additional time to complete the 
information technology (IT) systems work required to fully implement 
that rule. An additional delay was published on July 28, 2016 (81 FR 
49553), stating the URS Final Rule will come into effect on January 14, 
2017, however the full compliance date is April 14, 2017. This ICR 
revision will restore the Forms OP-1, OP-1(P), OP-1(FF), and OP-1(NNA) 
under control number 2126-0016, until the scheduled URS full compliance 
date of April 14, 2017, because these forms are still needed to support 
registration processes for entities subject to FMCSA's regulations that 
enforce these motor carriers to update their registration for operating 
authority, or add additional authorities with FMCSA, in order to 
conduct for-hire interstate transportation services of passengers, or 
regulated commodities, in the United States. After April 14, 2017, all 
forms in this ICR, except the OP-1(MX), will be folded into the online 
Form MCSA-1 under the OMB Control Number 2126-0051 titled, ``FMCSA 
Registration/Updates.''
    Public Comments Invited: No comments were received from the public 
in response to the 60-day Federal Register (81 FR 53539), issued on 
August 12, 2016. 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.

    Issued under the authority delegated in 49 CFR 1.87 on: October 
13, 2016.
G. Kelly Regal.
Associate Administrator for Office of Research and Information 
Technology.
[FR Doc. 2016-25230 Filed 10-18-16; 8:45 am]
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