60-Day Notice of Intent To Seek Extension of Approval: Household Goods Movers' Disclosure Requirements

Jeffrey Herzig
Surface Transportation Board
24 February 2020

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 36 (Monday, February 24, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10506-10507]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-03594]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD


60-Day Notice of Intent To Seek Extension of Approval: Household 
Goods Movers' Disclosure Requirements

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
Surface Transportation Board (STB or Board) gives notice of its intent 
to seek approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for an 
extension of the information collection (here, third-party 
disclosures), as described below.

DATES: Comments on this information collection should be submitted by 
April 24, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Direct all comments to Chris Oehrle, Surface Transportation 
Board, 395 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20423-0001, or to PRA@stb.gov. 
When submitting comments, please refer to ``Paperwork Reduction Act 
Comments, Surface Transportation Board: Household Goods Movers' 
Disclosure Requirements.'' For further information regarding this 
collection, contact Michael Higgins, Deputy Director, Office of Public 
Assistance, Governmental Affairs, and Compliance, at (202) 245-0284 or 
michael.higgins@stb.gov. Assistance for the hearing impaired is 
available through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Comments are requested concerning: (1) The 
accuracy of the Board's burden estimates; (2) ways to enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; (3) ways to 
minimize the burden of the collection of information on the 
respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology when appropriate; and (4) whether 
the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance 
of the functions of the Board, including whether the collection has 
practical utility. Submitted comments will be summarized and included 
in the Board's request for OMB approval.

Description of Collection

    Title: Household Goods Movers' Disclosure Requirements.
    OMB Control Number: 2140-0027.
    STB Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: Extension without change.
    Respondents: Household goods movers that desire to offer a rate 
limiting their liability on interstate moves to anything less than 
replacement value of the goods.
    Number of Respondents: 4,500 (approximate number of active 
household goods carriers in the United States according to the Federal 
Motor Carrier Safety Administration. See 2019 Pocket Guide to Large 
Truck and Bus Statistics (January 2020) section 1-7 Household Goods 
Carriers and Brokers Operating in the United States, 2014-2018)).
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Total Burden Hours: None. The change to the estimate form was a 
one-time, start-up cost, which was considered in the cost analysis of 
the Board's initial approval for this collection. The Board's initial 
request for approval estimated that 15 of the approximately 4,500 
household goods movers were large firms that print their own forms and 
would have to produce modified forms to meet the new requirement. 
Further, any new large mover entrants would have to create forms based 
on other agency regulations--with or without the released rate 
disclosure--and, therefore, there is no hourly burden for this 
collection.
    Total ``Non-hour Burden'' Cost: Movers may provide these forms to 
shippers electronically. Further, as with the burden hours above, the 
one-time, start-up costs that were previously considered will no longer 
apply to

[[Page 10507]]

existing movers, and new entrants will not incur any significant cost 
to add released rate information to the forms already required under 
other agency regulations. Therefore, there is no discernable, non-
hourly cost burden for this collection.
    Needs and Uses: In the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient 
Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, Sec.  4215, Public Law 
109-59, 119 Stat. 1144, 1760 (2005), Congress directed the Board to 
review consumer protection regulations concerning the loss or damage 
that occurs during interstate household goods moves. In Docket No. RR 
999, the Board required household goods motor carriers and freight 
forwarders wishing to offer a rate limiting their liability on 
interstate moves to anything less than replacement value of the goods 
to provide their customers with clear written information concerning 
the two available cargo-liability options (a full replacement-value 
protection option and a lower, released-rate protection option). Movers 
are required to provide this information on the standard written 
estimate form that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration 
requires movers to provide to their household goods moving customers. 
See 49 CFR 375.213. This information allows for early notice to 
household goods moving customers regarding the two liability options, 
as well as adequate time and information to help consumers decide which 
option to choose. If the customer elects anything other than full-value 
protection, the mover must inform the customer of his or her rights and 
obtain a signed waiver, as provided on the form. In doing so, this 
collection enables the Board to meet its statutory duty.
    Under the PRA, a federal agency that conducts or sponsors a 
collection of information must display a currently valid OMB control 
number. A collection of information, which is defined in 44 U.S.C. 
3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c), includes agency requirements that persons 
submit reports, keep records, or provide information to the agency, 
third parties, or the public. Under 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A), federal 
agencies are required to provide, prior to an agency's submitting a 
collection to OMB for approval, a 60-day notice and comment period 
through publication in the Federal Register concerning each proposed 
collection of information, including each proposed extension of an 
existing collection of information.

    Dated: February 19, 2020.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2020-03594 Filed 2-21-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P