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

G. Kelly Regal
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
24 March 2017

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 56 (Friday, March 24, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15099-15100]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-05863]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2016-0293]


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

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 
reinstatement and approval and invites public comment. The FMCSA 
requests approval to reinstate, without any changes to the 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 requires reinstatement 
because the previous ICR expired on February 28, 2017, before the ICR 
renewal request could be submitted to OMB for approval. The 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. The reinstatement of the ICR allows 
the FMCSA to ensure the public is protected and will be compensated for 
claims involving bodily injury and property damage, or loss or damage 
to household goods, respectively, within the limits prescribed by 
FMCSA. Reinstatement of the ICR enforces the filing of surety bonds or 
trust fund agreements to help ensure that motor carriers and shippers 
are protected against non-performance of the broker's or freight 
forwarder's legal obligations. With reinstatement of the ICR, insurance 
companies can be held liable for any damages that may occur to the 
public (up to the limits of the policy), and to supersede any 
exclusions or limitations which may be contained in the insured motor 
carrier's or freight forwarder's policy. Additionally, FMCSA can make a 
determination regarding whether an entity qualifies for the grant of 
self-insurance authority.

DATES: Please send your comments by April 24, 2017. 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-2016-0293. 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: 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's authority to register these entities 
has been delegated to FMCSA. The registration, known as operating 
authority 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.

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, titled ``Motor Carrier Automobile Bodily 
Injury and Property Damage Liability Certificate of Insurance,'' and 
Form BMC-82, titled ``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, titled ``Household Goods Motor Carrier Cargo Liability 
Certificate of Insurance,'' and Form BMC-83, titled ``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, titled ``Endorsement for Motor Carrier Policies of Insurance 
for Automobile Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability Under 
Section 13906,

[[Page 15100]]

Title 49 of the United States Code,'' and Form BMC-32, titled 
``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, titled ``Broker's or Freight Forwarder's Surety Bond 
Under 49 U.S.C. 13906,'' and Form BMC-85, titled ``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, titled ``Notice of Cancellation Motor Carrier 
Insurance under 49 U.S.C. 13906,'' Form BMC-36, titled ``Motor Carrier 
and Broker's Surety Bonds under 49 U.S.C. 13906 Notice of 
Cancellation,'' and Form BMC-85, titled ``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: Reinstatement of an information collection.
    Respondents: Motor Carriers, Freight Forwarders and Brokers.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 237,624.
    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: 61,687 hours [2 BMC-40 filings per 
year x 40 hours to complete + 369,637 filings per year for all the 
other forms x 10 minutes/60 minutes to complete = 61,687].
    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.

    Issued under the authority delegated in 49 CFR 1.87 on: March 
20, 2017.
G. Kelly Regal,
Associate Administrator for Office of Research and Information 
Technology.
[FR Doc. 2017-05863 Filed 3-23-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P