Agency Information Collection Activities; Approval of a Renewal Information Collection Request: Transportation of Household Goods, Consumer Protection

Kelly Regal
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
29 July 2019

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 145 (Monday, July 29, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36654-36655]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-15957]


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

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2018-0356]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Approval of a Renewal 
Information Collection Request: Transportation of Household Goods, 
Consumer Protection

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 review 
and approval of the ``Transportation of Household Goods; Consumer 
Protection.'' The information collected will be used to help regulate 
motor carriers transporting household goods (HHG) for individual 
shippers. FMCSA invites public comment on the ICR.

DATES: Please send your comments by August 28, 2019. OMB must receive 
your comments by this date to act quickly on the ICR.

ADDRESSES: All comments should reference Federal Docket Management 
System (FDMS) Docket Number FMCSA-2018-0356. 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: Monique Riddick, Lead Transportation 
Specialist, Office of Enforcement and Compliance, Commercial 
Enforcement and Investigations Division, Department of Transportation, 
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 6th Floor, West Building, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001. Telephone: 202-
366-8045; Email Address: monique.riddick@dot.gov. Office hours are from 
9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Summary of Public Comments Received

    On May 2, 2019, FMCSA published a notice in the Federal Register 
Docket Number: FMCSA-2018-0356 with a 60-day public comment period to 
announce information collection request for the Transportation 
Household Goods, Consumer Protection.
    One commenter responded, the American Moving & Storage Association 
(AMSA). Three of AMSA's comments pertained to Household Goods Consumer 
Protection Working Group recommendations. The Working Group's report is 
currently under consideration in the Agency's concurrence process, 
therefore FMCSA has made no changes to the proposed renewal.
    A fourth AMSA comment concerned weighing of shipments. AMSA 
indicated that weighing a shipment is required on non-binding estimates 
as outlined in 49 CFR part 375.507 and is used to determine the final 
charges for the load. However, if transit to the nearest weigh station 
is considered, this is a significant underestimation as scales in some 
parts of the country can be up to 30-40 miles away. More study should 
be required to determine the accurate time burden of this data 
collection. FMCSA does not have additional information to revise our 
estimate at this time.
    Title: Transportation of Household Goods, Consumer Protection.
    OMB Control Number: 2126-0025.
    Type of Request: Renewal Collection.
    Respondents: Household Goods Movers and Consumers.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 4,212 household goods movers.
    Estimated Time per Response: Varies depending on task.
    Expiration Date: August 31, 2019.
    Frequency of Response: Once.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 4,282,171 hours [Informational 
documents provided to prospective shippers at 24,692 hours + Written 
Cost estimates for prospective shippers at 3,5933,866 hours + Service 
orders, bills of lading at 621,621 hours + In-transit

[[Page 36655]]

service notifications at 17,496 hours + Complaint and inquiry records 
including establishing records system at 24,496 hours = 4,282,171].

Background

    The Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999 (MCSIA) (Pub. L. 
106-159, 113 Stat. 1748, Dec. 9, 1999) authorized the Secretary of 
Transportation (Secretary) to regulate household goods carriers engaged 
in interstate operations for individual shippers. In earlier 
legislation, Congress abolished the former Interstate Commerce 
Commission and transferred the Commission's jurisdiction over household 
goods transportation to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) 
(ICC Termination Act of 1995, Pub. L. 104-88, 109 Stat. 803, Dec. 29 
1995). Prior to FMCSA's establishment, the Secretary delegated this 
household goods jurisdiction to the Federal Highway Administration, 
FMCSA's predecessor organization within DOT.
    The FMCSA has authority to regulate the overall commercial 
operations of the household goods industry under 49 U.S.C. 14104, 
``Household goods carrier operations.'' This ICR includes the 
information collection requirements contained in title 49 CFR part 375, 
``Transportation of Household Goods in Interstate Commerce; Consumer 
Protection.'' The information collected encompasses that which is 
generated, maintained, retained, disclosed, and provided to, or for, 
the agency under 49 CFR part 375.
    Sections 4202 through 4216 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, 
Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (Pub. L. 109-
59, 119 Stat. 1144, Aug. 10, 2005) (SAFETEA-LU) amended various 
provisions of existing law regarding household goods transportation. It 
specifically addressed: Definitions (section 4202); payment of rates 
(section 4203); registration requirements for household goods motor 
carriers (section 4204); carrier operations (section 4205); enforcement 
of regulations (section 4206); liability of carriers under receipts and 
bills of lading (section 4207); arbitration requirements (section 
4208); civil penalties for brokers and unauthorized transportation 
(section 4209); penalties for holding goods hostage (section 4210); 
consumer handbook (section 4211); release of broker information 
(section 4212); working group for Federal-State relations (section 
4213); consumer complaint information (section 4214); review of 
liability of carriers (section 4215); and application of State laws 
(section 4216). The FMCSA regulations that set forth Federal 
requirements for movers that provide interstate transportation of 
household goods are found in 49 CFR part 375, ``Transportation of 
Household Goods; Consumer Protection.''
    On July 16, 2012, FMCSA published a Direct Final Rule (DFR) titled, 
``Transportation of Household Goods in Interstate Commerce; Consumer 
Protection: Household Goods Motor Carrier Record Retention 
Requirements,'' (77 FR 41699). The rule amended the regulations 
governing the period during which HHG motor carriers must retain 
documentation of an individual shipper's waiver of receipt of printed 
copies of consumer protection materials. This change harmonized the 
retention period with other document retention requirements applicable 
to HHG motor carriers. FMCSA also amended the regulations to clarify 
that a HHG motor carrier is not required to retain waiver documentation 
from any individual shippers for whom the carrier does not actually 
provide services.
    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: July 23, 
2019.
Kelly Regal,
Associate Administrator for Office of Research and Information 
Technology.
[FR Doc. 2019-15957 Filed 7-26-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P