Controlling Paperwork Burden on the Public, Delegation of Review and Approval Authority to the Managing Director of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

SUMMARY: This Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeks comments on the

proposal to delegate to the Managing Director of the Federal

Communications Commission (Commission) the authority, under the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, as amended (the Act), and 5 CFR

1320.9, to reauthorize information collection requests, information

collection requirements, and collections of information in current

rules conducted or sponsored by the Commission. This delegation applies

to collections of information that have been initially approved by the

Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and have an annual total public

burden that is 5,000 hours or less and an estimated burden per

respondent of less than 500 hours. In exercising this delegated

authority, the Commission is to afford the public an opportunity to

participate in the reauthorization review process. Commission-

reauthorized collections of information will be incorporated into the

official OMB inventory of currently approved collections of

information. A report of delegated approval for each information

collection reauthorized by the Commission will be placed in OMB's

public docket files when that approval is made. Under the Act, OMB may

limit, condition, or rescind this delegation at any time, but it is

intended that OMB will exercise this authority only rarely and in

unusual circumstances.

DATES: Comments need to be received on or before August 8, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to Timothy R. Fain, Policy Analyst,

Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Room 3221 New Executive

Office Building, 725 17th Street N.W., Washington DC 20503.

Written comments will be available for inspection in the Docket

Library, Room 3201 of the above address, between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm,

Monday through Friday. Call (202) 395-6880 for an appointment.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Timothy R. Fain, (202) 395-7231.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 3507(e) of the Paperwork Reduction

Act of 1980 and 5 CFR 1320.9 authorize OMB to delegate its authority to

approve collections of information to an agency's designated senior

official for paperwork reduction or to the agency head if certain

conditions are met. The Act and OMB's implementing regulations require

OMB to comply with the notice and comment procedures of title 5, United

States Code, chapter 5, before providing delegation to any agency. OMB

has preliminarily determined that the FCC meets all of the requirements

for delegation of the authority requested. Accordingly, OMB is seeking

public comment on this proposal.

The delegation would be granted to the Commission's Managing

Director who, as the Commission's designated senior official, will have

the authority to reauthorize the Commission's extension of collections

of information, subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act. OMB approval

will still be required for new, revised, and expired information

collections or those collections that represent more than a total

annual burden of 5,000 hours or an individual respondent's burden of

greater than 500 hours.

Under the terms of the delegation, each quarter, the agency

clearance officer will identify the information collections that will

need to be reauthorized during the next quarter and notify the

appropriate functional Bureau and Office (B/O) of the Commission.

Sponsoring B/Os will analyze each of these collections and consider:

the continued need for the information, including the need for

individual report items; how the Commission has used this information

in the past; the reporting frequency; and selection of the reporting

instrument. The review will cover clarity of format and instructions,

reporting deadlines, costs and burdens, any public comments the

Commission received during the previous clearance period, and other

relevant items. For those eligible collections that the B/Os choose to

extend, the reauthorization process would be initiated by B/O

preparation of a ``request for extension of an information

collection.'' This request, and the accompanying supporting statement,

will be submitted to the agency clearance officer in the Office of the

Managing Director. After screening by the agency clearance officer, a

Federal Register notice and a FCC Public Notice will be issued

requesting public comment during a 30-day review period beginning on

the date of publication of the notice. Public comments will be

evaluated and, where appropriate, incorporated into the collection. The

agency clearance officer will provide written responses to all public

comments. The Managing Director will not reauthorize collections with

substantive changes. Finally, when appropriate, the Managing Director

will reauthorize the collection for use and submit a report of

delegated approval to OMB.

This entire process will occur under the general direction of the

Managing Director in his capacity as the Commission's designated senior

official for Paperwork Reduction. The Commission's clearance process

will be under the day-to-day supervision and management of the agency

clearance officer who reports to the Managing Director and is outside

and independent of any program office that would originate requests to

extend information collections. The agency clearance officer would

maintain administrative control throughout the review process

regardless of how or where the request for extension originates. Each

B/O will designate staff to act as liaison with the review structure

described above and to help ensure their organization's adherence to

the paperwork clearance standards and procedures. The agency clearance

officer will ensure public access to the Commission's information

collection files in compliance with approved retention and disposition

schedules. Over the longer term, the agency clearance officer will work

towards making summary information available electronically.

OMB believes that this review and reauthorization process meets the

requirements for a delegation of OMB's Paperwork Reduction Act approval

authority. These requirements and the reasons why OMB believes that the

Commission fully meets them follow.

(1) The agency review process must exhibit independence from

program office responsibility.

Virtually all of these collections are contained in regulatory

requirements. The Commissioners generally establish overall policies

with the functional B/Os responsible for the decisions to initiate or

sponsor a collection of information. The Commission's Managing Director

serves as the senior official for management and administrative matters

and is independent of and separate from the functional B/Os. The

Managing Director will serve as the final approval authority on all FCC

decisions to reauthorize information collections. The agency clearance

officer in the Office of the Managing Director will review each

information collection to determine if the original purpose and intent

of the collection warrants its continued existence. This review will

also assess whether the collection remains necessary for the Commission

to perform its duties and responsibilities as identified in the

Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and the relevant parts of the

Code of Federal Regulations.

(2) The agency must have sufficient resources to carry out

paperwork responsibilities.

OMB believes that the Managing Director has demonstrated a

commitment to conduct reviews of information collections that include

the use of resources and personnel from all areas within the

Commission. Each functional B/O having programmatic responsibilities

will provide staff resources to prepare the analytical materials

described above. The agency clearance officer in the Office of the

Managing Director will then conduct the reviews identified above. To

ensure that the agency clearance officer can perform an adequate review

of each information collection, the records management division in the

Office of the Managing Director has been assigned a staff of two senior

analysts. These individuals, under the direct supervision of the agency

clearance officer, each have extensive experience in addressing issues

related to the Paperwork Reduction Act and information collections.

Finally, the resources of the Office of General Counsel will be

available if additional assistance is needed to evaluate the necessity

of information collection in its current form. The Managing Director of

the FCC has requested a delegation to review and reauthorize

collections of information that represent a narrow scope of the

Commission's collections. We believe that the limited number and

complexity of these collections will not overburden the ability of the

agency clearance officer to perform these reviews.

(3) The agency review process must evaluate fairly whether the

proposed collections of information should be approved.

OMB believes that the Commission has developed a process that

ensures that the Office of the Managing Director can fairly evaluate

and reauthorize collections of information. The Office of the Managing

Director has assembled an experienced staff under the direction of a

paperwork clearance officer who is independent from the program B/Os.

Additionally, the Managing Director has proposed a process for

reauthorizing extensions to approved information collections that will:

maintain public participation; allow OMB the opportunity to consult

during the review process; ensure prompt notification of OMB concerning

decisions made about individual information collections and any public

comments received during this process; and provide OMB with information

necessary to maintain its inventory of approved collections. Under the

proposed delegation, the Commission would continue to request OMB

approval for new, expired, or revised information collections.

The Commission recognizes that OMB can and will continue to have a

consultative role in the approval process. The Commission will work

closely with OMB should an assessment of the existing information

collection indicate that a modification would benefit the Commission or

the public.

(4) Evidence of successful performance of paperwork review

activities.

Despite a dynamic regulatory environment that has resulted in the

creation of numerous new information collection requirements, the

Commission has been actively working to reduce its overall paperwork

burden. The FCC has been working closely with the public to improve its

ability to collect and evaluate information, particularly in the use of

information technology to reduce or minimize the reporting burden of

its information collections. Recent FCC innovations include: a) use of

``800'' telephone lines to provide direct access to program experts who

provide advice on completing the collection; b) providing forms that

can be faxed by the respondents directly to the program office for FCC

advice or action; and c) allowing submission of certain financial

information in electronic format. The FCC is aggressively pursuing

other applications of information technology to reduce the burden

placed on the public.

In May 1990, the FCC erred in implementing the Paperwork Reduction

Act when rules prescribing an information collection entitled

``Authorization to Construct a Cellular Telephone System'' were found

to have been ambiguous concerning submission of certain documents

required to be filed in support of an application. The Commission

concurred with OMB's finding concerning this ambiguity and reopened the

proceeding involving this collection. Since then, the Commission has

upgraded the training of both the program B/Os and the Office of the

Managing Director, and the Commission has been conscientious in

managing its information collections.

Summary

Based on these facts, OMB proposes to grant the Managing Director

of the FCC a delegation to reauthorize its approved information

collections subject to three exclusions.

The first exclusion would apply to changes to an existing

collection. Any change, revision, or modification, other than non-

substantive clarifications or corrections of spelling or grammatical

errors, would cause a collection of information to be submitted to OMB

for review and approval.

The second exclusion would apply to new collections of information

or reauthorization of collections for which approval has lapsed. New or

lapsed collections of information would continue to be submitted to OMB

for review and approval.

The third exclusion would apply to the reauthorization of

information collections employing statistical methods. Because OMB

believes that the agency clearance officer lacks the resources required

to effectively evaluate such collections, these collections would

continue to be submitted to OMB for review and approval. Voluntary

customer surveys will be treated under streamlined procedures

established by OMB Memorandum M-93-14 dated September 29, 1993.

The Commission will continue to follow OMB rules with respect to

information collections excluded from this delegation. The Commission

may also, at its option, request OMB to conduct any delegated review.

The Commission's final action on the reauthorization of a

collection of information would be taken after the public has a

reasonable opportunity to comment through notice in the Federal

Register and FCC Public Notice. The comment period will extend for at

least 30 days following publication of the notice in the Federal

Register. These notices will advise the public that a copy of comments

may also be submitted to the OMB/Office of Information and Regulatory

Affairs (OIRA) desk officer for the Commission.

Sally Katzen,

Administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.

List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 1320

Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, paperwork, collection of

information, delegated review authority.

For the reasons set forth in the preamble, OMB proposes to amend 5

CFR part 1320 as follows:

PART 1320--CONTROLLING PAPERWORK BURDENS ON THE PUBLIC

1. The authority citation for part 1320 is revised to read as

follows and the authority citation at the end of appendix A is removed:

Authority: 31 U.S.C. 18a and 1111 and 44 U.S.C. Chs. 21, 25, 27,

29, 31, 35.

2. Appendix A to part 1320 is amended by adding a new entry at the

end of the appendix to read as follows:

Appendix A to Part 1320--Agencies With Delegated Review and

Approval Authority

* * * * *

2. The Managing Director of the Federal Communications

Commission.

(a) Authority to review and approve currently valid (OMB-

approved) collections of information, including collections of

information contained in existing rules, that have a total annual

burden of 5,000 hours or less and a burden of less than 500 hours

per respondent is delegated to the Managing Director of the Federal

Communications Commission.

(1) This delegation does not include review and approval

authority over any new collection of information, any collections

whose approval has lapsed, any substantive or material modification

to existing collections, any reauthorization of information

collections employing statistical methods, or any information

collections that exceed a total annual burden of 5,000 hours or an

estimated burden of 500 hours per respondent.

(2) The Managing Director may ask that OMB review and approve

collections of information covered by the delegation.

(3) In exercising delegated authority the Managing Director

will:

(i) Provide the public, to the extent possible and appropriate,

with reasonable opportunity to comment on collections of information

under review prior to taking final action on reauthorizing an

existing collection. Reasonable opportunity for public comment will

include publishing a notice in the Federal Register and a FCC Public

Notice informing the public that a collection of information is

being extended and announcing the beginning of a 30-day comment

period, notifying the public of the ``intent to extend an

information collection,'' and providing the public with the

opportunity to comment. Such notices shall advise the public that

they may also send a copy of their comments to the OMB/Office of

Information and Regulatory Affairs desk officer for the Commission.

(A) Should the Managing Director determine that a collection of

information that falls within the scope of this delegation must be

reauthorized quickly and that public participation in the

reauthorization process interferes with the Commission's ability to

perform its statutory obligation, the Managing Director may

temporarily reauthorize the extension of an information collection,

for a period not to exceed 90 days, without providing opportunity

for public comment.

(B) At the earliest practical date after granting this temporary

extension to an information collection, the Managing Director will

conduct a normal delegated review and publish a Federal Register

Notice soliciting public comment on its intention to extend the

collection of information for a period not to exceed 3 years.

(ii) Assure that approved collections of information are

reviewed not less frequently than once every 3 years and that such

reviews are conducted before the expiration date of the prior

approval. When the review is not completed prior to the expiration

date, the Managing Director will submit the lapsed information

collection to OMB for review and reauthorization.

(iii) Assure that each reauthorized collection of information

displays an OMB control number and, except for those contained in

regulations or specifically designated by OMB, displays the

expiration date of the approval.

(iv) Transmit to OMB for incorporation into OMB's public docket

files, a report of delegated approval certifying that the Managing

Director has reauthorized each collection of information in

accordance with the provisions of this delegation. Such transmittal

shall be made no later than 15 days after the Managing Director has

taken final action reauthorizing the extension of an information

collection.

(b) OMB will:

(1) Provide notice to the Commission acknowledging receipt of

the report of delegated approval and its incorporation into OMB's

public docket files and inventory of currently approved collections

of information.

(2) Act upon any request by the Commission to review a

collection of information referred by the Commission in accordance

with the provisions of section 2(a)(2) of this Appendix.

(3) Periodically assess, at its discretion, the Commission's

paperwork review process as administered under the delegation. The

Managing Director will cooperate in carrying out such an assessment.

The Managing Director will respond to any recommendations resulting

from such a review and, if it finds the recommendations to be

appropriate, will either accept the recommendation or propose an

alternative approach to achieve the intended purpose.

(c) This delegation may, as provided by 5 CFR 1320.9(c), be

limited, conditioned, or rescinded, in whole or in part at any time.

OMB will exercise this authority only in unusual circumstances.

[FR Doc. 94-13895 Filed 6-8-94; 8:45 am]

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