Agency Information Collection Activities; Renewal of a Currently-Approved Information Collection Request: Unified Registration System, FMCSA Registration/Updates

Kelly Regal
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
27 December 2019

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 248 (Friday, December 27, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71523-71525]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-27899]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2019-0204]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Renewal of a Currently-
Approved Information Collection Request: Unified Registration System, 
FMCSA Registration/Updates

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. FMCSA requests approval 
to renew the ICR titled ``Unified Registration System, FMCSA 
Registration/Updates,'' OMB Control No. 2126-0051. This ICR applies to 
new registrants seeking initial operating authority from FMCSA. New 
registrants seeking operating authority must use online Form MCSA-1, 
accessible via the Unified Registration System (URS). FMCSA also seeks 
to declare an adjusted decrease in the estimate of response time and 
hence an adjusted decrease in the total burden hours calculated since 
the publication of the 60-day Federal Register (84 FR 48000) on 
September 11, 2019.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before January 27, 2020.

ADDRESSES: All comments should reference Federal Docket Management 
System (FDMS) Docket Number FMCSA-2019-0204. Interested persons are 
invited to submit written comments

[[Page 71524]]

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. Jeff Secrist, Office of 
Registration and Safety Information, Chief, Registration, Licensing and 
Insurance Division, Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier 
Safety Administration, 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: Unified Registration System, FMCSA Registration Updates.
    OMB Control Number: 2126-0051.
    Type of Request: Renewal of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Carrier compliance officer or equivalent from 
transportation entities subject to FMCSA's licensing, registration and 
certification regulations.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 155,625 (51,875 per year, over 3 
years).
    Estimated Time per Response: 1.34 hours.
    Expiration Date: January 31, 2020.
    Frequency of Response: One-time information collection.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 208,537.5 hours total (69,512.5 
hours per year, over 3 years).
    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.
    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. URS streamlines 
the registration process and serves as a clearinghouse and repository 
of information on motor carriers, brokers, freight forwarders, 
intermodal equipment providers (IEPs), hazardous materials safety 
permit (HMSP) 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 
became effective 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.
    As described above, only first-time applicants seeking an FMCSA-
issued registration must apply for authority via URS, using Form MCSA-
1. Under URS, all forms described in the current ICR, except OP-1(MX), 
are folded into Form MCSA-1. Information collection activities 
associated with the OP-1 series of forms are covered under a different 
ICR, titled ``Licensing Applications for Motor Carrier Operating 
Authority,'' OMB Control No. 2126-0016.
    Form MCSA-1 requests information to identify the applicant, the 
nature and scope of its proposed operations, safety-related details, 
and information regarding the drivers and vehicles it plans to use in 
U.S. operations. FMCSA and the States use registration information 
collected via Form MCSA-1 to track motor carriers, freight forwarders, 
brokers, and other entities they regulate. Registering motor carriers 
is essential to being able to identify carriers so that their safety 
performance can be tracked and evaluated. The data make it possible to 
link individual trucks to the responsible motor carrier, thus 
implementing the mandate under 49 U.S.C. 31136(a)(1); that is, ensuring 
that CMVs are maintained and operated safely. In general, registration 
information collected via Form MCSA-1 informs prioritization of the 
Agency's activities and aids in assessing and statistically analyzing 
the safety outcomes of those activities.
    The current information collection supports the DOT Strategic Goal 
of Safety. It streamlines registration processes and ensures that FMCSA 
can more efficiently track motor carriers, freight forwarders, brokers, 
and other entities regulated by the Agency.
    On September 11, 2019, FMCSA published a Federal Register (FR) 
notice and received one comment from Mr. Gary Porter. Mr. Porter states 
that he was charged with an accident in Shasta County California on 08/
14/2017 for a crash he had nothing to do with and would like to have it 
removed from his record. The Agency attempted to contact Mr. Porter on 
November 25, 2019 but the contact number in our registration system was 
disconnected.

Changes From Previous Estimates

    The adjustment in response time and burden hours since the 
publication of the 60-day FR (84 FR 48000) on September 11, 2019, was 
due to FMCSA being meticulous to recalculate estimates using more 
current data, that is, November 2019 data. The number of respondents in 
the 60-day FR did not change after the 60-day FR was published, however 
there is a decrease from 2 hours and 10 minutes per response to 1 hour 
and 20.4 minutes per response. This results in a calculated decrease 
from 112,396 burden hours to 69,512.5 burden hours, and a decrease from 
$4,758,447.58 in labor cost to $2,942,464.13 in labor costs. No 
comments were received in response to the 60-day FR concerning burden 
response, burden hours, or costs. Only one comment was received in 
response to the 60-day FR and it was not related to the ICR.
    The previously approved version of this ICR included the following 
annual burden estimates: 635,418 respondents; 207,273 burden hours; and 
$6,066,345 in labor costs. Overall Federal Government costs associated 
with the previous iteration of this ICR were estimated to be 
$52,000,000, including staff, IT, and overhead costs.
    The current ICR includes the following annual estimates: 51,875 
respondents; 69,512.5 burden hours;

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$2,942,464.13 in labor costs. Overall Federal Government costs 
associated with the current iteration of this ICR are $5,717,460.24, 
including labor costs and IT support.
    As can be seen, there have been significant decreases in the number 
of respondents, burden hour estimates, labor costs to the industry, and 
costs to the Government. Reasons for these changes are described below.
    First, the original iteration of this ICR included the Government's 
costs associated with the development, roll-out, and implementation of 
URS. Those costs are not reflected in this ICR. Instead, estimated 
costs for ongoing IT maintenance and support of the existing system are 
included.
    Next, 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. Phase I of 
URS, which became effective on December 12, 2015, impacts only first-
time (new) applicants seeking an FMCSA-issued registration. In the 
original iteration of this ICR, it was expected that Phase II of URS 
would move forward according to schedule, which would require all 
entities subject to FMCSA licensing and registration requirements (both 
new and existing registrants, an estimated 635,418 per year) to apply 
for additional authorities and submit biennial update information via 
URS. However, due to delays in rolling out Phase II of URS, existing 
registrants must still use the OP-1 series of forms (covered by OMB 
Control No. 2126-0016, ``Licensing Applications for Motor Carrier 
Operating Authority'') to apply for additional authorities and the MCS-
150 (covered by OMB Control No. 2126-0013, ``Motor Carrier 
Identification Report'') to submit their biennial updates. Thus, only 
new registrants (an estimated 51,875 per year) are required to submit 
Form MCSA-1. FMCSA is assuming that this will be the case for the 3-
year period covered by this ICR. This has resulted in a decrease in the 
estimated number of annual MCSA-1 responses of 583,543 (51,875 
estimated annual responses in the current iteration of this ICR--
635,418 estimated annual responses in the previous iteration of this 
ICR =-583,543). The decrease in estimated burden hours is a direct 
result of the decreased estimate of annual responses.
    Finally, the changes in labor cost to the industry reflect a) the 
decreased estimate of annual respondents, and b) a change in the 
methodology used to estimate hourly wages for carrier compliance 
officers, which resulted in an increase in hourly wage of $13.06 per 
hour.
    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 its 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 December 
19, 2019.
Kelly Regal,
Associate Administrator for Office of Research and Information 
Technology.
[FR Doc. 2019-27899 Filed 12-26-19; 8:45 am]
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