Information Collection Being Submitted for Review and Approval to Office of Management and Budget, 19475-19477 [2020-07208]

Agencies

• FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 67 (Tuesday, April 7, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19475-19477]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-07208]


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

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[3060-0804; FRS 16621]


Information Collection Being Submitted for Review and Approval to 
Office of Management and Budget

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, 
as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the Federal 
Communications Commission (FCC or the Commission) invites the general 
public and other Federal Agencies to take this opportunity to comment 
on the following information collection. Pursuant to the Small Business 
Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, the FCC seeks specific comment on how it 
might ``further reduce the information collection burden for small 
business concerns with fewer than 25 employees.''
    The Commission may not conduct or sponsor a collection of 
information unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) control number. No person shall be subject to any 
penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information subject 
to the PRA that does not display a valid OMB control number.

DATES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be submitted on or before May 7, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting 
``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using 
the search function. Your comment must be submitted into 
www.reginfo.gov per the above instructions for it to be considered. In 
addition to submitting in www.reginfo.gov also send a copy of your 
comment on the proposed information collection to Nicole Ongele, FCC, 
via email to [email protected] and to

[[Page 19476]]

[email protected]. Include in the comments the OMB control number 
as shown in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information or copies 
of the information collection, contact Nicole Ongele at (202) 418-2991. 
To view a copy of this information collection request (ICR) submitted 
to OMB: (1) Go to the web page https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain, (2) look for the section of the web page called ``Currently 
Under Review,'' (3) click on the downward-pointing arrow in the 
``Select Agency'' box below the ``Currently Under Review'' heading, (4) 
select ``Federal Communications Commission'' from the list of agencies 
presented in the ``Select Agency'' box, (5) click the ``Submit'' button 
to the right of the ``Select Agency'' box, (6) when the list of FCC 
ICRs currently under review appears, look for the Title of this ICR and 
then click on the ICR Reference Number. A copy of the FCC submission to 
OMB will be displayed.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As part of its continuing effort to reduce 
paperwork burdens, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), the FCC invited the general public and 
other Federal Agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the 
following information collection. Comments are requested concerning: 
(a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including 
whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy 
of the Commission's burden estimates; (c) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information collected; and (d) 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. Pursuant to the Small Business 
Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Public Law 107-198, see 44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(4), the FCC seeks specific comment on how it might ``further 
reduce the information collection burden for small business concerns 
with fewer than 25 employees.''
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0804.
    Title: Universal Service--Rural Health Care Program.
    Form Numbers: FCC Forms 460, 461, 462, 463, 465, 466, and 467.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit 
institutions; Federal Government; and State, Local, or Tribal 
governments.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 10,494 unique respondents; 
93,687 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.30-17 hours.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion, One-time, Annual, Quarterly, 
and Monthly reporting requirements.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. 
Statutory authority for this collection of information is contained in 
sections 1-4, 201-205, 214, 254, 303(r), and 403 of the Communications 
Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151-154, 201-205, 214, 254, 303(r), 
and 403, unless otherwise noted.
    Total Annual Burden: 382,741 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: No Cost.
    Privacy Impact Assessment: No Impact(s).
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no assurance of 
confidentiality provided to respondents concerning this information 
collection. Information submitted on FCC Forms for the RHC Program is 
subject to public inspection and is used by USAC to update and expand 
the RHC Program dataset as part of its Open Data Platform. However, 
respondents may request materials or information submitted to the 
Commission or to USAC be withheld from public inspection under 47 CFR 
0.459 of the FCC's rules.
    Needs and Uses: The Commission seeks OMB approval of revisions 
(change in reporting and recordkeeping requirements) to this 
information collection as a result of the 2019 Promoting Telehealth 
Report and Order (WC Docket No. 17-310; FCC 19-78; 84 FR 54952, October 
11, 2019). This collection is utilized for the RHC support mechanism of 
the Commission's universal service fund (USF). The collection of this 
information is necessary so that the Commission and the Universal 
Service Administrative Company (USAC) will have sufficient information 
to determine if entities are eligible for funding pursuant to the RHC 
universal service support mechanism, to determine if entities are 
complying with the Commission's rules, and to prevent waste, fraud, and 
abuse. This information is also necessary in order to allow the 
Commission to evaluate the extent to which the RHC Program is meeting 
the statutory objectives specified in section 254(h) of the 1996 Act, 
and the Commission's performance goals for the RHC Program.
    This information collection is being revised to: (1) Extend some of 
the existing information collection requirements for the Healthcare 
Connect Fund and Telecommunications (Telecom) Programs; (2) revise some 
of the information collection requirements for the Healthcare Connect 
Fund and Telecom Programs and (3) add some new information collection 
requirements applicable to both the Healthcare Connect Fund Program and 
the Telecom Program as a result of the 2019 Promoting Telehealth Report 
and Order. As part of this information collection, the Commission is 
also revising the FCC Form templates for both programs, reformatting 
and revising the Telecommunications Program Invoice Template, and 
creating a new Post-Commitment Request Form consistent with the changes 
adopted in the 2019 Promoting Telehealth Report and Order and to 
promote transparency into the RHC Program procedures and requirements.
    The Healthcare Connect Fund Program currently includes FCC Forms 
460, 461, 462, and 463 and the Telecom Program currently includes FCC 
Forms 465, 466, and 467. The revisions to these FCC Form templates, 
where applicable, are intended to make the RHC Program information 
requests consistent between the programs, to the extent possible, and 
help to ensure and verify that RHC Program participants are not 
engaging in fraudulent conduct or otherwise violating the Commission's 
rules. Some of the changes to the FCC Form templates have different 
effective dates. Therefore, for administrative ease, we have indicated 
the applicable funding year of the FCC Form template, and where a 
specific form includes changes applicable to funding year 2020 and 
others to funding year 2021, we have provided separate forms applicable 
to each funding year. In the 2019 Promoting Telehealth Report and 
Order, the Commission directed USAC to streamline the data collection 
requirements and consolidate the program forms to the extent possible. 
Such streamlining and consolidation will not affect the underlying 
information collected as part of this information collection, but may 
change the format in which it may be collected. The information on the 
FCC Form templates is a representative description of the information 
to be collected via an online portal and is not intended to be a visual 
representation of what each applicant or service provider will see, the 
order in which they will see information, or the exact wording or 
directions used to collect the information. Where possible, information 
already provided by applicants from previous filing years or

[[Page 19477]]

that was pre-filed in the system portal will be carried forward and 
auto-generated into the form to simplify the information collection for 
applicants. Additionally, in the 2019 Promoting Telehealth Report and 
Order, the Commission adopted rules to reflect the changes in the 
Report and Order. The new and revised rules impacted by this collection 
are listed and described within the collection.

Federal Communications Commission.
Cecilia Sigmund,
Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2020-07208 Filed 4-6-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P