Notice of Request To Revise a Currently-Approved Information Collection Request: Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program, 54943-54945 [2010-22462]

Agencies

• Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 174 (Thursday, September 9, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54943-54945]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-22462]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2010-0246]


Notice of Request To Revise a Currently-Approved Information 
Collection Request: Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program

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 review 
and approval and invites public comment. The FMCSA requests approval to 
revise an ICR entitled ``Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program 
(MCSAP).'' The information required consists of grant application 
preparation, quarterly reports and electronic data documenting the 
results of driver/vehicle inspections performed by the States. This ICR 
is being revised due to an increase in the estimated number of State 
inspections that will be performed annually resulting in change to the 
estimated burden to perform this activity.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before November 8, 2010.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments bearing the Department of 
Transportation (DOT) Docket Management System (DMS) Docket Number 
FMCSA-2010-0246 using any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., West Building Ground 
Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery: West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington DC, 20590-0001 between 9 a.m. 
and 5 p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.

Each submission must include the Agency name and the docket number for 
this Notice. Note that DOT posts all comments received without change 
to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
included in a comment. Please see the Privacy Act heading below.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments, go to https://www.regulations.gov at any time or Room W12-140 
on the ground level of the West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 
Washington, DC, 20590-0001 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, except Federal holidays. The DMS is available 24 hours each 
day, 365 days each year. If you want acknowledgement that we received 
your comments, please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope or 
post card or print the acknowledgement page that appears after 
submitting them on-line.
    Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all 
comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or of the person signing the comment, if 
submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). 
You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement for the Federal 
Docket Management System published in the Federal Register on January 
17, 2008 (73 FR 3316), or you may visit https://edocket.access.gpo..gov/
2008/pdf/E8-785.pdf.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
    Mr. John E. Kostelnik, Office of Safety Programs, State Programs 
Division, Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Administration, West Building 6th Floor, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 
Washington DC 20590. Telephone: 202-366-5721; e-mail: 
Jack.kostelnik@dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program.
    OMB Control Number: 2126-0010.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently-approved information 
collection.
    Respondents: State MCSAP lead agencies.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 52.
    Estimated Time per Response: Grant application preparation: 79.5 
hours each; quarterly report preparation: 8 hours each; and inspection 
and data upload: 1 minute each.
    Expiration Date: February 28, 2011.
    Frequency of Response: Grant application: 1 annually; quarterly 
reports: 4 annually; and inspection and data upload: about 3.4 million 
annually.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 13,550 hours. The methods used to 
calculate the hours necessary to prepare grant applications, upload 
data, and prepare quarterly reports are based on interviews with the 
State and Federal personnel charged with those responsibilities. The 
information required to prepare the applications for grants and the 
subsequent reports is based on general information ordinarily 
maintained by the States in the general course of business, and only 
simple computations are required to determine burden hours. The grant 
applications and reports are submitted by the 50 States, 4 Territories, 
Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. Each entity submits one 
grant request per year and four quarterly reports. About 3.4 million 
inspection reports are uploaded each year.
    The figures reflect only 20 percent of the total estimated hours to 
perform the activities, since MCSAP reimburses 80 percent of the 
eligible costs incurred in the administration of an approved plan as 
set forth in 49 CFR 350.303, 350.309 and 350.311. Labor hours are 
estimated and an average hourly rate for professional personnel is 
applied. The four territories of American Samoa, Guam, U.S. Virgin 
Islands and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands receive 
100 percent Federal

[[Page 54944]]

funding for their MCSAP activities; therefore they are not included in 
the computation of burden.
    Background: Sections 401 through 404 of the Surface Transportation 
Assistance Act of 1982 (STAA) (Pub. L. 97-424) established a program of 
financial assistance to the States to implement programs to enforce: 
(a) Federal rules, regulations, standards, and orders applicable to 
commercial motor vehicle safety; and (b) compatible State rules, 
regulations, standards and orders. This grant-in-aid program is known 
as the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP). Section 402(c) 
of the STAA requires that the Secretary of Transportation (Secretary), 
on the basis of reports submitted by the States and the Secretary's own 
inspections, make a continuing evaluation of the manner in which each 
State is carrying out its approved safety enforcement plan. The STAA's 
MCSAP provisions are codified at 49 U.S.C. 31102.
    The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) (Pub. 
L. 105-178) further revised the MCSAP by broadening its purpose beyond 
enforcement activities and programs by requiring participating States 
to assume greater responsibility for improving motor carrier safety. 
Section 4003 of TEA-21 required States to develop performance-based 
plans reflecting national priorities and performance goals, revised the 
MCSAP funding distribution formula, and created a new incentive funding 
program. As a result, States have greater flexibility in designing 
programs to address national and State goals of reducing the number and 
severity of commercial motor vehicle (CMV) accidents.
    The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation 
Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) (Pub. L. 109-59) amended 49 
U.S.C. 31102(b)(1) to modify and augment the conditions a State must 
meet to qualify for basic program funds under the MCSAP. The statute 
requires a State to document in its State Commercial Vehicle Safety 
Plan (CVSP) its commitment to meet the following additional conditions:
     Deploy technology to enhance the efficiency and 
effectiveness of CMV safety programs;
     Include, in both the training manual for the licensing 
examination to drive a non-CMV and the training manual for the 
licensing examination to drive a CMV, information on best practices for 
driving safely in the vicinity of noncommercial and commercial motor 
vehicles;
     Conduct comprehensive and highly visible traffic 
enforcement and CMV safety inspection programs in high-risk locations 
and corridors; and
     Except in the case of an imminent or obvious safety 
hazard, ensure that an inspection of a vehicle transporting passengers 
for a motor carrier of passengers is conducted at a station, terminal, 
border crossing, maintenance facility, destination, or other location 
where a motor carrier may make a planned stop.

Additionally, section 4106 of SAFETEA-LU amended 49 U.S.C. 31102(c) to 
provide that States may use a portion of MCSAP basic grant funds to 
conduct documented enforcement of State traffic laws--both laws and 
regulations designed to promote the safe operation of CMVs and laws and 
regulations relating to non-CMVs, when necessary to promote the safe 
operation of CMVs.
    In order for FMCSA to evaluate program effectiveness, it is 
necessary for the State to provide and maintain information concerning 
past, present and future program activity. The Final Rule that revised 
Part 350 to implement the changes to the MCSAP made by SAFETEA-LU was 
published in the Federal Register on July 5, 2007 (72 FR 36769) . The 
State's grant application, known as the CVSP, must contain the 
information required by 49 CFR 350.201, 350.211 and 350.213. This 
information is necessary to enable FMCSA to determine whether a State 
meets the statutory and administrative criteria to be eligible for a 
grant. It is necessary that a State's work activities and 
accomplishments be reported so that FMCSA can monitor and evaluate a 
State's progress under its approved plan and make the determinations 
and decisions required by 49 CFR 350.205 and 350.207. The FMCSA is 
required to determine whether each State's efforts meet the intended 
objectives of its plan. In the event of nonconformity with any approved 
plan and failure on the part of a State to remedy deficiencies, FMCSA 
is required to take action to cease Federal participation in that 
State's plan.
    This information collection supports the DOT Strategic Goal of 
Safety (i.e., reducing commercial truck-related fatalities) by 
providing financial and technical support to State CMV enforcement 
efforts.
    The FMCSA uses the information in the CVSP to determine whether a 
State has the necessary resources and authority to undertake the 
program intended by Congress. After a grant has been awarded to a 
State, a continuing evaluation of the State's activities is performed 
to determine whether continued funding is appropriate and if revisions 
in the State's CVSP should be made. A quarterly report is submitted by 
the States using Standard Form PPR (SF-PPR) along with a narrative 
addendum to provide the minimum necessary information to assist in 
appropriate monitoring of a State's performance, compared to its CVSP, 
and to permit FMCSA to determine whether the effort of a State is cost 
efficient and whether Federal assistance should be continued. In 
addition, inspection data and reports are submitted electronically by 
the inspecting officer from the field to FMCSA at the time of 
completion of the inspection.
    SAFETEA-LU provides that States may conduct traffic enforcement 
activities against non-CMVs to promote the safe operation of CMVs. The 
States have been routinely conducting traffic enforcement activities on 
CMVs and been reimbursed, provided an appropriate inspection was 
conducted at the time. Previously, non-CMV traffic enforcement was not 
an eligible MCSAP activity for reimbursement so the States have not 
captured activity levels for this type of enforcement. The number of 
non-CMV enforcement activities conducted by the States has been 
relatively minimal since SAFETEA-LU limits the amount of MCSAP grant 
funding that can be used for non-CMV traffic enforcement activities to 
no more than five percent of the basic amount a State receives 
annually.
    The quarterly report is created by the State and submitted to FMCSA 
using inspection data and other information. The collection of uniform 
data permits analysis and comparison of State programs and facilitates 
program administration and reporting (e.g., comparison of the data from 
a single State to the national average, equipment violation and out-of-
service trends, etc.).
    The FMCSA routinely uses quarterly report information to measure 
individual and collective State program accomplishment and to assist 
with future program development.
    Description of MCSAP forms:
    a. Form MCSAP-1, Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program: Use of 
the MCSAP-1 form is being discontinued. States will be required to 
submit their grant applications electronically using grants.gov 
beginning in Fiscal Year 2011. The SF-424 form (OMB No. 4040-0004), 
available via grants.gov, will be used in place of the previously 
approved MCSAP-1 form.
    b. Form MCSAP-2, Grant Agreement: The MCSAP-2 form is the grant 
agreement that specifies the total

[[Page 54945]]

amount of the State Program, the State and Federal participating 
shares, the period of the grant, and the signatures of the responsible 
State official and the FMCSA Division Administrator.
    c. Form MCSAP-2A, Grant Amendment for Fiscal Year----: The MCSAP-2A 
form is used to modify the terms of the grant. It is used to increase 
or decrease the amount of the grant, or to extend the period of the 
grant. It contains the signatures of the responsible State official and 
the FMCSA Division Administrator.
    In addition, the following documents are provided as part of the 
CVSP package:
    a. State Training Plan (optional format): This document is a 
request for commercial vehicle training courses. It is used by the 
FMCSA's National Training Center to more effectively schedule training 
courses to meet the needs of State enforcement agencies.
    b. State Certification: The CVSP must contain a State Certification 
signed by the Governor, the State Attorney General, or other specially 
designated State official. The Certification includes conditions that 
must be met by the State to receive MCSAP grant funds.
    Virtually all (99%) of the information required by the grant is 
submitted electronically. This includes over 3.4 million inspection 
reports, which are uploaded electronically from laptop computers at 
inspection sites in the field to FMCSA annually. The near-universal use 
of laptops for submitting these inspection reports has resulted in a 
dramatic reduction in the time burden. The annual CVSPs require signed 
certifications by State personnel and these certification documents are 
not, therefore, electronically transmitted.
    The FMCSA is the only Federal agency authorized to enforce safety 
regulations applicable to commercial trucks and buses in interstate 
commerce. The type of information to be gathered from the States 
through this information collection is unique to MCSAP. No duplication 
was identified through the rulemaking process to implement relevant 
sections of SAFETEA-LU.
    Under MCSAP grants are extended to the States predicated on annual 
submission of CVSPs. The FMCSA has determined that although monthly or 
bimonthly reports are not needed, a semiannual report would not be 
sufficiently frequent to allow for timely evaluation and changes in 
State program direction. Therefore, quarterly reports were determined 
to be the most appropriate, considering burden and Federal need. If the 
reports were submitted less frequently, FMCSA would be unable to 
exercise appropriate oversight and administration of the program as 
envisioned by the Congress.
    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 on: September 2, 2010.
Kelly Leone,
Director, Office of Information Technology.
[FR Doc. 2010-22462 Filed 9-8-10; 8:45 am]
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