Agency Information Collection Activities; Reinstatement of an Information Collection: Practices of Household Goods Brokers

Kelly Regal
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
16 August 2017

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 157 (Wednesday, August 16, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38988-38989]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-17307]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2017-0006]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Reinstatement of an 
Information Collection: Practices of Household Goods Brokers

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 
reinstatement and approval and invites public comment. The FMCSA 
requests approval to reinstate, with changes, the ICR titled 
``Practices of Household Brokers'' to no longer include one-time costs 
previously incurred by brokers, and to update other wage related costs 
that have changed since the last approval. This ICR requires 
reinstatement because the previous ICR expired on July 31, 2017, before 
the ICR renewal request could be submitted to OMB for approval. The 
reinstatement of this ICR is necessary, and FMCSA's responsibility to 
ensure consumer protection in the transportation of household goods 
(HHG).

DATES: Please send your comments by September 15, 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-2017-0006. Interested persons are 
invited to submit written comments on the proposed information 
collection to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office 
of

[[Page 38989]]

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, Commercial 
Enforcement and Investigations Division, U. S. Department of 
Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, West 
Building 6th Floor, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590-
0001. Telephone: 202-366-8045; email monique.riddick@dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: There were no comments received from the 60-
day Federal Register notice (82 FR 14102) published on March 16, 2017.
    Background: FMCSA amended then-existing regulations for brokers in 
response to Title IV, Subtitle B of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, 
Efficient, Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) 
(Pub. L. 109-59) and a petition for rulemaking from the American Moving 
and Storage Association (AMSA). The final rule, titled ``Brokers of 
Household Goods Transportation by Motor Vehicles,'' (75 FR 72987, Nov. 
29, 2010), amended 49 CFR part 371, by providing additional consumer 
protection responsibilities for brokers of HHG. Specifically, section 
4212 of SAFETEA-LU directs the Secretary to require HHG brokers to 
provide individual shippers with the following information whenever a 
broker has contact with a shipper or potential shipper:
    1. The broker's USDOT number.
    2. The FMCSA booklet titled ``Your Rights and Responsibilities When 
You Move.''
    3. A list of all authorized motor carriers providing transportation 
of HHG used by the broker and a statement that the broker is not a 
motor carrier providing transportation of HHG.
    The collection of information required in the referenced final rule 
assists shippers in their business dealings with interstate HHG 
brokers. The information collected is used by prospective shippers to 
make informed decisions about contracts, services ordered, executed, 
and settled. The HHG broker is often the primary contact for individual 
shippers and in the best position to educate shippers and prepare them 
for a successful move. The information collected makes that possible. 
It also combats deceptive business practices as the information helps 
enforcement personnel better protect consumers by verifying that 
shippers are receiving information to which they are entitled by 
regulation.
    HHG brokers are required to provide individual shippers the ``Your 
Rights and Responsibilities When You Move'' booklet and the ``Ready to 
Move'' brochure. They have the option of providing paper copies or 
presenting the information through a link on their Internet Web site. 
The broker is required to document with signed receipts that the 
individual shipper was provided those materials. HHG brokers are also 
required to provide the list of HHG motor carriers for which it would 
arrange transportation to move a potential individual shipper's HHG, 
and that broker's identification information:
    1. Assigned USDOT number; and
    2. Address.
    With this renewal, FMCSA makes a change to the collection to an 
adjustment in estimate. A program estimate change of 19,522 annual 
burden hours is the result of the removal of a 1,000 burden-hours that 
are no longer applicable. There is also an updated estimate in the 
number of household goods brokers which also contributes to the change 
of 19,522 in the calculated burden hours.
    Title: Practices of Household Goods Brokers.
    OMB Control Number: 2126-0048.
    Type of Request: Reinstatement of an information collection.
    Respondents: Brokers of Household Goods.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 543 brokers.
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.25 hours per day x 240 workdays for 
transactions per household goods broker; 20 hours per year per broker 
for Web site/ad modifications; 10 hours per year per household goods 
broker for creating a list of carriers; 0.5 hours per month x 12 months 
per household goods broker for confirming required information; 0.083 
hour per year x 36.8 explanations on average per household goods 
broker; 4 hours per year x 5 agreements per household goods broker for 
annual agreements through turnover; and 10 hours per year per household 
goods broker for disclosure and records.
    Expiration Date: July 31, 2017.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 70,000 hours.
    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. The agency will summarize or include your 
comments in the request for OMB's clearance of this information 
collection.

    Issued under the authority of 49 CFR 1.87 on: August 10, 2017.
Kelly Regal,
Associate Administrator, Office of Research and Information Technology.
[FR Doc. 2017-17307 Filed 8-15-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P