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

Kelly Regal
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
4 December 2019

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 233 (Wednesday, December 4, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66452-66453]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-26193]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2019-0201]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Renewal of a Currently-
Approved Information Collection Request: 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 its 
review and approval and invites public comment. The information 
collected will be used to help ensure that motor carriers of passengers 
and property maintain appropriate levels of financial responsibility to 
continue their operating authority.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before January 3, 2020.

ADDRESSES: All comments should reference Federal Docket Management 
System (FDMS) Docket Number FMCSA-2019-0201. 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. In the 60-day Federal Register notice (84 FR 48000) published 
on September 11, 2019 FMCSA received 0 comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jeff Secrist, Office of 
Registration and Safety Information, Chief, Registration, Licensing and 
Insurance Division, Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier 
Safety Administration,

[[Page 66453]]

West Building 6th Floor, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 
20590. Telephone: 202-385-2367; email: jeff.secrist@dot.gov. Office 
hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., 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: Carrier compliance officer or equivalent from motor 
carriers, motor passenger carriers, freight forwarders, brokers, and 
certain Mexico-domiciled motor carriers subject to FMCSA's licensing, 
registration and certification regulations.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 73,538.
    Estimated Time per Response: 2 hours for forms OP-1, OP-1(P), and 
OP-1(FF); 4 hours for forms OP-1(MX) and OP-1(NNA).
    Expiration Date: January 31, 2020.
    Frequency of Response: Other (as needed).
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 147,124 hours.

Background

    FMCSA registers for-hire motor carriers of regulated commodities 
and of passengers, under 49 U.S.C. 13902(a); surface freight 
forwarders, under 49 U.S.C. 13903; property brokers, under 49 U.S.C. 
13904; and certain 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 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.
    Prior to 2015, all entities seeking authority (both first-time 
applicants and registered entities seeking additional authorities) were 
required to apply for such authority using the OP-1 series of forms, 
including OP-1, OP-1(P), OP-1(FF), OP-1(NNA), and OP-1(MX) (for Mexico-
domiciled carriers only).
    The Final Rule titled ``Unified Registration System,'' (78 FR 
52608) dated August 23, 2013, implemented statutory provisions for an 
online registration system for entities that are subject to FMCSA's 
licensing, registration, and certification regulations. The Unified 
Registration System (URS) streamlines the registration process and 
serves as a clearinghouse and repository of information on motor 
carriers, brokers, freight forwarders, intermodal equipment providers, 
hazardous materials safety permit applicants, and cargo tank facilities 
required to register with FMCSA. When developing URS, FMCSA planned 
that the OP-1 series of forms--except for OP-1(MX)--would ultimately be 
folded into one overarching form (MCSA-1), which would be used by all 
motor carriers seeking authority.
    FMCSA began a phased rollout of URS in 2015. The first phase, which 
went into effect on December 12, 2015, impacts only first-time 
applicants seeking an FMCSA-issued registration. FMCSA had planned 
subsequent rollout phases for existing registrants; however, there have 
been substantial delays, and subsequent phases have not been rolled out 
to date.
    On January 17, 2017, FMCSA issued a Final Rule titled ``Unified 
Registration System; Suspension of Effectiveness,'' which indefinitely 
suspended URS effectiveness dates for existing registrants only (82 FR 
5292). Pursuant to this Final Rule, FMCSA is still accepting forms OP-
1, OP-1(P), OP-1(FF), and OP-1(NNA) for existing registrants wishing to 
apply for additional authorities. Separately, FMCSA requires Form OP-
1(MX) for Mexico-domiciled carriers that wish to operate beyond the 
U.S. municipalities on the U.S.-Mexico border and their commercial 
zones.
    Forms in the OP-1 series request information to identify the 
applicant, the nature and scope of its proposed operations, a narrative 
description of the applicant's safety policies and procedures, and 
information regarding the drivers and vehicles it plans to use in U.S. 
operations. The OP-1 series also requests information on the 
applicant's familiarity with relevant safety requirements, the 
applicant's willingness to comply with those requirements during its 
operations, and the applicant's willingness to meet any specific 
statutory and regulatory requirements applicable to its proposed 
operations. Information collected through these forms aids FMCSA in 
determining the type of operation a company may run, the cargo it may 
carry, and the resulting level of insurance coverage the applicant will 
be required to obtain and maintain to continue its operating authority.

Changes From Previous Estimates

    The previously approved version of this ICR estimated the average 
annual burden to be 24,853 hours, with 37,240 total annual respondents. 
The current ICR estimates 147,124 annual burden hours, with 73,538 
total annual respondents. The program change increase of 122,271 
estimated annual burden hours and 36,298 respondents is due to a change 
in assumptions and circumstances.
    In the previously approved ICR, FMCSA calculated the burden 
estimate for forms OP-1, OP-1(P), OP-1(FF), and OP-1(NNA) for only 1 
year, because the Agency expected that all motor carriers would begin 
using Form MCSA-1 via URS beginning in 2017. However, as discussed 
above, FMCSA has experienced delays in rolling out Phase II of URS 
(which applies to existing registrants) and has indefinitely suspended 
the effective date of URS requirements for such entities. Until further 
notice, existing registrants must still use the OP-1 series of forms to 
apply for additional authorities. FMCSA is assuming that this will be 
the case for the 3-year period covered by this ICR. This has resulted 
in an increase in the number of annual responses and burden hours.
    As described above, only first-time applicants seeking an FMCSA-
issued registration must apply via URS. Under URS, all forms in the OP-
1 series, except OP-1(MX), are folded into Form MCSA-1. Information 
collection activities associated with MCSA-1 are covered under a 
different ICR, titled ``FMCSA Registration/Updates,'' OMB Control 
Number 2126-0051.
    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 FMCSA to perform it's functions; (2) 
the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways for the 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: November 
27, 2019.
Kelly Regal,
Associate Administrator for Office of Research and Information 
Technology.
[FR Doc. 2019-26193 Filed 12-3-19; 8:45 am]
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