Agency Information Collection Activities; Renewal of a Currently-Approved Collection: Driver Qualification Files, 57934-57935 [2019-23562]

Download as PDF 57934 Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 209 / Tuesday, October 29, 2019 / Notices speeding and pose national security threats. SBTC urges FMCSA to look carefully at the unintended consequences of the ELD rule when deciding whether or not to grant the exemption. SBTC also suggests that FMCSA temporarily grant the exemption ‘‘if for no other reason than to press the pause button while [FMCSA] studies these unintended consequences and their adverse effects on safety. We contend this would indeed achieve a greater level of overall safety than the current status quo.’’ Issued on: October 23, 2019. Larry W. Minor, Associate Administrator for Policy. [FR Doc. 2019–23561 Filed 10–28–19; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration [Docket No. FMCSA–2019–0102] Agency Information Collection Activities; Renewal of a CurrentlyApproved Collection: Driver Qualification Files Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT. AGENCY: Notice and request for comments. ACTION: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 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. FMCSA requests approval to revise and renew an ICR titled ‘‘Driver Qualification Files,’’ OMB Control Number 2126– 0004. The ICR estimates the burden commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers and motor carriers incur to comply with the reporting and recordkeeping tasks required for motor carriers to maintain driver qualification (DQ) files. The Agency’s regulations pertaining to maintaining DQ files are unchanged and impose no increased information collection (IC) burden on individual drivers and motor carriers. However, the Agency increases its estimate of the total IC burden of these regulations primarily because both the number of CMV drivers and the frequency of their hiring have increased since the Agency’s 2016 estimate of this burden. SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:05 Oct 28, 2019 Jkt 250001 Please send your comments by November 29, 2019. OMB must receive your comments by this date in order to act on the ICR. All comments should reference Federal Docket Management System Docket Number FMCSA–2019–0102. 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, 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: Ms. Pearlie Robinson, FMCSA Driver and Carrier Operations Division Department of Transportation, FMCSA, West Building 6th Floor, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: 202–366–4325. Email: MCPSD@dot.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: Driver Qualification Files. OMB Control Number: 2126–0004. Type of Request: Renewal and revision of a currently-approved information collection. Respondents: CMV motor carriers and drivers. Estimated Number of Respondents: 6.89 million (6.35 million drivers + 0.54 million motor carriers). Expiration Date: January 31, 2020. Frequency of Response: The information on some DQ documents is only provided one time, such as that furnished at the time the individual applies for employment as a driver. Other information must be obtained by the motor carrier within 30 days of the date the driver begins to drive a CMV for the employer. Other information, such as the driver’s motor vehicle record, is only updated once a year. Estimated Total Annual Burden: 12.26 million hours. DATES: Background The Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1984 (Pub. L. 98–554, Title II, 98 Stat. 2834 (October 30, 1984)) requires the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations pertaining to commercial motor vehicle (CMV) safety. Part 391 of volume 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) contains the PO 00000 Frm 00091 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 minimum qualifications of drivers of CMVs in interstate commerce. Motor carriers may not require or permit an unqualified driver to operate a CMV. The foremost proof of driver qualification is the information that part 391 requires be collected and maintained in the driver qualification file (DQ file) (49 CFR 391.51). Motor carriers must obtain this information from sources specified in the regulations, such as the driver, previous employers of the driver, and officials of the State of driver licensure. Motor carriers are not required to forward DQ information to FMCSA, but must maintain the information in a DQ file and make it available to State and Federal safety investigators on demand. Through this ICR, FMCSA is asking OMB’s approval to renew and revise its estimate of the paperwork burden imposed by its DQ file regulations. The regulations have not been amended; the IC burden imposed on individual drivers and motor carriers by the regulations is unchanged. The current IC burden estimate approved by OMB is 10.21 million hours. The Agency has increased its estimate of the total IC burden from 10.21 million hours to 12.26 million hours. The increase in burden hours is primarily the result of a larger driver population and a higher driver turnover rate, both of which affect the volume of documents produced and filed in DQ files. This revised ICR removes the medical examiner’s certificate recordkeeping requirement from the estimate of burden hours and cost to eliminate double counting. Although the currently approved ICR did not monetize driver and motor carrier burden hours, the revised ICR monetizes such burden. On June 10, 2019, FMCSA published a Federal Register notice allowing for a 60-day comment period on this ICR. There were no comments submitted to the docket in response to that notice. Public Comments Invited FMCSA requests that you comment on any aspect of this information collection, including: (1) Whether the proposed collection is necessary for FMCSA to perform its 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. E:\FR\FM\29OCN1.SGM 29OCN1 Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 209 / Tuesday, October 29, 2019 / Notices Issued under the authority delegated in 49 CFR 1.87 on: October 23, 2019 Kelly Regal, Associate Administrator for Office of Research and Information Technology. [FR Doc. 2019–23562 Filed 10–28–19; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Railroad Administration Notice of Funding Opportunity for Magnetic Levitation Deployment Projects Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of Transportation. ACTION: Notice of funding opportunity (NOFO or notice). AGENCY: This notice details the application requirements and procedures to obtain grant 1 funding for eligible projects under the Magnetic Levitation Technology Deployment Program (Maglev Grants Program). Maglev Grants Program funding under this notice is provided by two sources, totaling $24,027,500. This funding includes $10,000,000 (2019 Funds) as appropriated by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019, (2019 Appropriation) and an additional $14,027,500 (2008 Funds) as authorized by sections 1101(a)(18) and 1307 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users SAFETEA–LU, (SAFETEA–LU), as amended by the SAFETEA–LU Technical Corrections Act of 2008, (Technical Corrections Act). There are differing requirements for each of these funding sources as described in this notice. The opportunities described in this notice are made available under Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number 20.318, ‘‘Maglev Project Selection Program—SAFETEA–LU.’’ DATES: Applications for funding under this solicitation are due no later than 5:00 p.m. EDT November 29, 2019. Applications for funding, or supplemental material in support of an application, received after 5:00 p.m. EDT on November 29, 2019 will not be considered for funding. Incomplete applications will not be considered for funding. See section D of this notice for additional information on the application process. ADDRESSES: Applications must be submitted via www.Grants.gov. Only SUMMARY: 1 The term ‘‘grant’’ is used throughout this document and is intended to reference funding awarded through a grant agreement, as well as funding awarded through a cooperative agreement. VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:05 Oct 28, 2019 Jkt 250001 applicants who comply with all submission requirements described in this notice and submit applications through www.Grants.gov will be eligible for award. For any supporting application materials that an applicant is unable to submit via www.Grants.gov, an applicant may submit an original and two (2) copies to Amy Houser, Office of Program Delivery, Federal Railroad Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Room W36–412, Washington, DC 20590. However, due to delays caused by enhanced screening of mail delivered via the U.S. Postal Service, applicants are advised to use other means of conveyance (such as courier service) to assure timely receipt of materials before the application deadline. For further information regarding the Maglev Grants Program, please contact Ruthie Americus, Office of Policy and Planning, Federal Railroad Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Room W36–403, Washington, DC 20590; email: ruthie.americus@dot.gov; phone: 202– 493–0431. Grant application submission and processing questions should be addressed to Amy Houser, Office of Program Delivery, Federal Railroad Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Room W36–412, Washington, DC 20590; email: amy.houser@dot.gov; phone: 202–493– 0303. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice to applicants: FRA recommends that applicants read this notice in its entirety prior to preparing application materials. Definitions of key terms used throughout the NOFO are provided in section A(2) below. These key terms are capitalized throughout the NOFO. There are several administrative prerequisites and eligibility requirements described herein that applicants must comply with. Additionally, applicants should note that the required Project Narrative component of the application package may not exceed 25 pages in length. Table of Contents A. Program Description B. Federal Award Information C. Eligibility Information D. Application and Submission Information E. Application Review Information F. Federal Award Administration Information G. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts H. Other Information PO 00000 Frm 00092 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 57935 A. Program Description 1. Overview Under this NOFO, a total of $24,027,500 is available for eligible capital project costs and preconstruction planning activities for eligible Maglev projects as discussed further in section C(3). The $24,027,500 is composed of funding from two sources, $14,027,500 in 2008 Funds and $10,000,000 in 2019 Funds. Section 102 of the Technical Corrections Act amended sections 1101(a)(18) and 1307 of SAFETEA–LU and provided $45,000,000 in contract authority for each of fiscal years 2008 and 2009 for Maglev projects.2 Based upon the clear Congressional direction in the Technical Corrections Act, the $14,027,500 remaining for award and available under this NOFO is for the Pittsburgh, Baltimore-Washington, and Atlanta-Chattanooga projects only. In the 2019 Appropriation, Congress appropriated an additional $10,000,000 for the deployment of magnetic levitation transportation projects, consistent with the language in section 1307(a) through (c) of SAFETEA–LU, as amended by section 102 of the Technical Corrections Act. The 2019 Funds are not limited to the above three projects and are available to any otherwise eligible Maglev project. To reiterate, only the Pittsburgh, Baltimore-Washington, and AtlantaChattanooga projects are eligible for the full $24,027,500 available under this notice from the remaining 2008 Funds ($14,027,500) and the 2019 Funds ($10,000,000). Applicants with otherwise eligible Maglev projects may apply only for the $10,000,000 in 2019 Funds available under this notice. 2. Definitions of Key Terms a. ‘‘Full Project Cost’’ means the total capital costs of a Maglev project 2 SAFETEA–LU allocated 50 percent of the available funding to a project between Las Vegas– Primm, NV and the other 50 percent to a project east of the Mississippi River. In the Joint Explanatory Statement of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Senate Environmental and Public Works; Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; and Commerce, Science and Transportation Committees accompanying the Technical Corrections Act, Congress explained that in amending SAFETEA–LU to allow FRA discretion to award funds to ‘‘projects’’ located east of the Mississippi River, ‘‘the intent is to limit the eligible projects to three existing projects east of the Mississippi River: Pittsburgh, BaltimoreWashington, and Atlanta-Chattanooga.’’ Congress repurposed the funds originally allocated to the Las Vegas–Primm, NV project in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014, Div. L, Tit. I, Sec. 192, Public Law 113–76, (2014), for new intercity passenger rail capital, railroad safety technology, and corridor planning projects. This funding was competed in 2014 and awarded in 2015. E:\FR\FM\29OCN1.SGM 29OCN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 209 (Tuesday, October 29, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57934-57935]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-23562]


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

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2019-0102]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Renewal of a Currently-
Approved Collection: Driver Qualification Files

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 
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. FMCSA requests 
approval to revise and renew an ICR titled ``Driver Qualification 
Files,'' OMB Control Number 2126-0004. The ICR estimates the burden 
commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers and motor carriers incur to 
comply with the reporting and recordkeeping tasks required for motor 
carriers to maintain driver qualification (DQ) files. The Agency's 
regulations pertaining to maintaining DQ files are unchanged and impose 
no increased information collection (IC) burden on individual drivers 
and motor carriers. However, the Agency increases its estimate of the 
total IC burden of these regulations primarily because both the number 
of CMV drivers and the frequency of their hiring have increased since 
the Agency's 2016 estimate of this burden.

DATES: Please send your comments by November 29, 2019. OMB must receive 
your comments by this date in order to act on the ICR.
    All comments should reference Federal Docket Management System 
Docket Number FMCSA-2019-0102. 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 
[email protected], 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: Ms. Pearlie Robinson, FMCSA Driver and 
Carrier Operations Division Department of Transportation, FMCSA, West 
Building 6th Floor, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. 
Telephone: 202-366-4325. Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Driver Qualification Files.
    OMB Control Number: 2126-0004.
    Type of Request: Renewal and revision of a currently-approved 
information collection.
    Respondents: CMV motor carriers and drivers.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 6.89 million (6.35 million drivers 
+ 0.54 million motor carriers).
    Expiration Date: January 31, 2020.
    Frequency of Response: The information on some DQ documents is only 
provided one time, such as that furnished at the time the individual 
applies for employment as a driver. Other information must be obtained 
by the motor carrier within 30 days of the date the driver begins to 
drive a CMV for the employer. Other information, such as the driver's 
motor vehicle record, is only updated once a year.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 12.26 million hours.

Background

    The Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1984 (Pub. L. 98-554, Title II, 98 
Stat. 2834 (October 30, 1984)) requires the Secretary of Transportation 
to issue regulations pertaining to commercial motor vehicle (CMV) 
safety. Part 391 of volume 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 
contains the minimum qualifications of drivers of CMVs in interstate 
commerce.
    Motor carriers may not require or permit an unqualified driver to 
operate a CMV. The foremost proof of driver qualification is the 
information that part 391 requires be collected and maintained in the 
driver qualification file (DQ file) (49 CFR 391.51). Motor carriers 
must obtain this information from sources specified in the regulations, 
such as the driver, previous employers of the driver, and officials of 
the State of driver licensure. Motor carriers are not required to 
forward DQ information to FMCSA, but must maintain the information in a 
DQ file and make it available to State and Federal safety investigators 
on demand.
    Through this ICR, FMCSA is asking OMB's approval to renew and 
revise its estimate of the paperwork burden imposed by its DQ file 
regulations. The regulations have not been amended; the IC burden 
imposed on individual drivers and motor carriers by the regulations is 
unchanged. The current IC burden estimate approved by OMB is 10.21 
million hours. The Agency has increased its estimate of the total IC 
burden from 10.21 million hours to 12.26 million hours. The increase in 
burden hours is primarily the result of a larger driver population and 
a higher driver turnover rate, both of which affect the volume of 
documents produced and filed in DQ files. This revised ICR removes the 
medical examiner's certificate recordkeeping requirement from the 
estimate of burden hours and cost to eliminate double counting. 
Although the currently approved ICR did not monetize driver and motor 
carrier burden hours, the revised ICR monetizes such burden.
    On June 10, 2019, FMCSA published a Federal Register notice 
allowing for a 60-day comment period on this ICR. There were no 
comments submitted to the docket in response to that notice.

Public Comments Invited

    FMCSA requests that you comment on any aspect of this information 
collection, including: (1) Whether the proposed collection is necessary 
for FMCSA to perform its 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.


[[Page 57935]]


    Issued under the authority delegated in 49 CFR 1.87 on: October 
23, 2019
Kelly Regal,
Associate Administrator for Office of Research and Information 
Technology.
[FR Doc. 2019-23562 Filed 10-28-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P

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