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Agency Information Collection Activities; Renewal of an Approved Information Collection: Lease and Interchange of Vehicles Publication: Federal Register Signing Official: Thomas P. Keane Agency: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Date: 13 July 2022 
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 133 (Wednesday, July 13, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41853-41855]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-14850]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA-2022-0080]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Renewal of an Approved
Information Collection: Lease and Interchange of Vehicles
AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Department
of Transportation (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. This ICR will enable
FMCSA to document the burden associated with the for-hire truck leasing
regulations and passenger carrier regulations. These regulations
require certain for-hire property carriers and certain for-hire and
private passenger carriers to have a formal lease when leasing
equipment from other motor carriers. FMCSA requests approval to renew
an ICR titled, ``Lease and Interchange of Vehicles.''
DATES: Comments on this notice must be received on or before September
12, 2022.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket
Management System Docket Number FMCSA-2022-0080 using any of the
following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
Fax: (202) 493-2251.
Mail: Dockets Operations; U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Ground Floor,
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery or Courier: U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Ground Floor,
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. e.t.,
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and
docket number. For detailed instructions on submitting comments see the
Public Participation heading below. Note that all comments received
will be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov, including
any personal information provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading
below.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov, and follow the
online instructions for accessing the dockets, or go to the street
address listed above.
Privacy: In accordance with 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), DOT solicits
comments from the public to better inform its collections of
information approval process. DOT posts these comments, without edit,
including any personal information the commenter provides, to
www.regulations.gov, as described in the system of records notice (DOT/
ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at www.dot.gov/privacy.
Public Participation: The Federal eRulemaking Portal is available
24 hours each day, 365 days each year. You can obtain electronic
submission and retrieval help and guidelines under the ``help'' section
of the Federal eRulemaking Portal website. If you want us to notify you
that we received your comments, please include a self-addressed,
stamped envelope or postcard, or print the acknowledgement page that
appears after submitting comments online. Comments received after the
comment closing date will be included in the docket and will be
considered to the extent practicable.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stacy Ropp, Compliance Division, DOT,
FMCSA, West Building 6th Floor, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington,
DC 20590-0001; (609) 661-2062; Stacy.Ropp@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Property transportation. Under 49 U.S.C. 14102(a), The Secretary of
Transportation (Secretary) ``may require a motor carrier providing for-
hire transportation that uses motor vehicles not owned by it to
transport property under an arrangement with another party to--
(1) make the arrangement in writing signed by the parties
specifying its duration and the compensation to be paid by the motor
carrier;
(2) carry a copy of the arrangement in each motor vehicle to which
it applies during the period the arrangement is in effect;
(3) inspect the motor vehicles and obtain liability and cargo
insurance on them; and
(4) have control of and be responsible for operating those motor
vehicles in compliance with requirements prescribed by the Secretary on
safety of
[[Page 41854]]
operations and equipment, and with other applicable law as if the motor
vehicles were owned by the motor carrier.''
The Secretary has delegated authority pertaining to leased motor
vehicles to FMCSA pursuant to 49 CFR 1.87(a)(6). The Agency's
regulations governing leased motor vehicles are at 49 CFR part 376.
The regulations were adopted to ensure that small trucking
companies were protected when they agreed to lease their equipment and
drivers to larger for-hire carriers. They also ensure the government
and members of the public can determine who is responsible for a
property-carrying commercial motor vehicle. Prior to adoption of the
regulations, some equipment was leased without written agreements,
leading to disputes over which party to the lease was responsible for
charges and actions and, at times, who was legally responsible for the
vehicle.
The regulations specify what must be covered in the lease, but
leave open how many responsibilities must be divided. The parties to
the lease determine numerous details between themselves.
Part 376 applies only to certain motor carriers in interstate
commerce and only to certain leasing situations based on exemptions set
forth in Sec. 376.11, which cross references other provisions in part
376. Section 376.11 provides that an authorized carrier (a person or
persons authorized to engage in the transportation of property as a
motor carrier under the provisions of 49 U.S.C. 13901 and 13902) may
perform authorized transportation using equipment it does not own only
when the following conditions are met:
(1) There shall be a written lease granting the use of the
equipment and meeting the requirements contained in Sec. 376.12;
(2) Receipts, specifically identifying the equipment to be leased
and stating the date and time of day possession is transferred, shall
be given; and
(3) The authorized carrier acquiring the use of equipment under
this section shall identify the equipment as being in its service.
Passenger transportation. FMCSA can regulate the lease and
interchange of passenger-carrying commercial motor vehicles based on
the authority of the Motor Carrier Act of 1935 and the Motor Carrier
Safety Act of 1984, as amended. FMCSA's regulations about the lease and
interchange of passenger-carrying commercial motor vehicles in subpart
G of 49 CFR part 390 help ensure that passenger carriers cannot evade
FMCSA oversight and enforcement by entering into lease agreements to
operate under the authority of another carrier that exercises no
control over these operations. Motor carriers that (1) operate
passenger-carrying commercial motor vehicles, (2) have active operating
authority registration with FMCSA to transport passengers, and (3)
engage in the lease or interchange of passenger-carrying commercial
motor vehicles with other motor carriers that have active operating
authority registration with FMCSA to transport passengers, are not
subject to the regulations in subpart G of 49 CFR part 390 and the
recordkeeping requirements therein. Such regulations and requirements
also do not apply to financial leases (such as a closed-end lease, hire
purchase, lease purchase, purchase agreement, installment plan,
demonstration or loaner vehicle, etc.) between a motor carrier and a
bank or similar financial organization or a manufacturer or dealer of
passenger-carrying commercial motor vehicles.
Section 390.403(b) specifies the four required items of information
that any lease or interchange record document for passenger-carrying
commercial motor vehicles is required to contain. These are (1) vehicle
identification information; (2) information about and signatures of the
involved motor carriers of passengers [the lessor and the lessee]; (3)
specific duration of the lease or interchange agreement; and (4) a
clear statement about exclusive possession and responsibilities.
Section 390.403(c) requires a copy of the lease or interchange
agreement be on the passenger-carrying commercial motor vehicle during
the period of the lease or interchange agreement. Both the lessee and
lessor must retain a copy of the lease or interchange agreement for one
year after the expiration date.
These property carrier and passenger carrier provisions account for
the burden in this information collection.
The program change increase of 75,968 estimated annual burden hours
(212,256 proposed estimated annual burden hours-136,288 currently
approved estimated annual burden hours) is due to the availability of
new or improved data, the use of enhanced analysis or estimation
methodologies, and/or the correction of arithmetic or other errors made
previously when calculating the burden for the currently approved
information collection. Previous estimates were based on 2017 data.
Current passenger carrier-related estimates are based on the October
29, 2021, Licensing and Insurance, Motor Carrier Management Information
System, and Safety Measurement System snapshots. Current property
carrier related estimates are based on the November 26, 2021, Licensing
and Insurance, Motor Carrier Management Information System, and Safety
Measurement System snapshots. The data pulled for the current ICR shows
an increase in the overall number of affected property carriers and a
decrease in the overall number of affected passenger carriers from the
data used in the previous ICR. The increase in the number of affected
property carriers was greater than the decrease in the overall number
of affected passenger carriers which resulted in an increase in the
overall burden hours associated with this ICR.
Title: Lease and Interchange of Vehicles.
OMB Control Number: 2126-0056.
Type of Request: Renewal of currently approved ICR.
Respondents: Motor carriers authorized by the Secretary to
transport property and passengers that use leased equipment.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 48,046 [45,536 property carriers
(lessees and lessors) + 2,230 interstate authorized for-hire passenger
carriers (lessees and lessors) + 124 interstate exempt for-hire
passenger carriers (lessees and lessors) + 156 interstate private motor
carriers of passengers (lessees and lessors)].
Estimated Time per Response: Varies from 5 to 30 minutes.
Expiration Date: October 31, 2022.
Frequency of Response: On occasion.
Estimated Total Annual Burden: 212,256 hours [45,536 hours for
master lease (creation of master leases by lessees and lessors that are
property carriers) + 73,067 hours for standard statement (creation of a
statement or copy of the lease to be carried in each leased truck
tractor) + 80,320 hours for one-time lease negotiations by lessees and
lessors that are passenger carriers + 13,333 hours for lease
documentation by lessees and lessors that are passenger carriers + zero
or de minimis hours for lease copying by passenger carriers].
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 ICR.
[[Page 41855]]
Issued under the authority of 49 CFR 1.87.
Thomas P. Keane,
Associate Administrator, Office of Research and Registration.
[FR Doc. 2022-14850 Filed 7-12-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P