[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 145 (Monday, July 29, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36654-36655]
[FR Doc No: 2019-15957]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2018-0356]

Agency Information Collection Activities; Approval of a Renewal
Information Collection Request: Transportation of Household Goods,
Consumer Protection

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 of the ``Transportation of Household Goods; Consumer
Protection.'' The information collected will be used to help regulate
motor carriers transporting household goods (HHG) for individual
shippers. FMCSA invites public comment on the ICR.

DATES: Please send your comments by August 28, 2019. OMB must receive
your comments by this date to act quickly on the ICR.

ADDRESSES: All comments should reference Federal Docket Management
System (FDMS) Docket Number FMCSA-2018-0356. 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_ADDRESS>or faxed to<PHONE_NUMBER>, 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: Monique Riddick, Lead Transportation
Specialist, Office of Enforcement and Compliance, Commercial
Enforcement and Investigations Division, Department of Transportation,
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 6th Floor, West Building,
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001. Telephone: 202-
366-8045; Email Address<EMAIL_ADDRESS>Office hours are from
9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Summary of Public Comments Received

    On May 2, 2019, FMCSA published a notice in the Federal Register
Docket Number: FMCSA-2018-0356 with a 60-day public comment period to
announce information collection request for the Transportation
Household Goods, Consumer Protection.
    One commenter responded, the American Moving & Storage Association
(AMSA). Three of AMSA's comments pertained to Household Goods Consumer
Protection Working Group recommendations. The Working Group's report is
currently under consideration in the Agency's concurrence process,
therefore FMCSA has made no changes to the proposed renewal.
    A fourth AMSA comment concerned weighing of shipments. AMSA
indicated that weighing a shipment is required on non-binding estimates
as outlined in 49 CFR part 375.507 and is used to determine the final
charges for the load. However, if transit to the nearest weigh station
is considered, this is a significant underestimation as scales in some
parts of the country can be up to 30-40 miles away. More study should
be required to determine the accurate time burden of this data
collection. FMCSA does not have additional information to revise our
estimate at this time.
    Title: Transportation of Household Goods, Consumer Protection.
    OMB Control Number: 2126-0025.
    Type of Request: Renewal Collection.
    Respondents: Household Goods Movers and Consumers.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 4,212 household goods movers.
    Estimated Time per Response: Varies depending on task.
    Expiration Date: August 31, 2019.
    Frequency of Response: Once.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 4,282,171 hours [Informational
documents provided to prospective shippers at 24,692 hours + Written
Cost estimates for prospective shippers at 3,5933,866 hours + Service
orders, bills of lading at 621,621 hours + In-transit

service notifications at 17,496 hours + Complaint and inquiry records
including establishing records system at 24,496 hours = 4,282,171].

Background

    The Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999 (MCSIA) (Pub. L.
106-159, 113 Stat. 1748, Dec. 9, 1999) authorized the Secretary of
Transportation (Secretary) to regulate household goods carriers engaged
in interstate operations for individual shippers. In earlier
legislation, Congress abolished the former Interstate Commerce
Commission and transferred the Commission's jurisdiction over household
goods transportation to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)
(ICC Termination Act of 1995, Pub. L. 104-88, 109 Stat. 803, Dec. 29
1995). Prior to FMCSA's establishment, the Secretary delegated this
household goods jurisdiction to the Federal Highway Administration,
FMCSA's predecessor organization within DOT.
    The FMCSA has authority to regulate the overall commercial
operations of the household goods industry under 49 U.S.C. 14104,
``Household goods carrier operations.'' This ICR includes the
information collection requirements contained in title 49 CFR part 375,
``Transportation of Household Goods in Interstate Commerce; Consumer
Protection.'' The information collected encompasses that which is
generated, maintained, retained, disclosed, and provided to, or for,
the agency under 49 CFR part 375.
    Sections 4202 through 4216 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible,
Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (Pub. L. 109-
59, 119 Stat. 1144, Aug. 10, 2005) (SAFETEA-LU) amended various
provisions of existing law regarding household goods transportation. It
specifically addressed: Definitions (section 4202); payment of rates
(section 4203); registration requirements for household goods motor
carriers (section 4204); carrier operations (section 4205); enforcement
of regulations (section 4206); liability of carriers under receipts and
bills of lading (section 4207); arbitration requirements (section
4208); civil penalties for brokers and unauthorized transportation
(section 4209); penalties for holding goods hostage (section 4210);
consumer handbook (section 4211); release of broker information
(section 4212); working group for Federal-State relations (section
4213); consumer complaint information (section 4214); review of
liability of carriers (section 4215); and application of State laws
(section 4216). The FMCSA regulations that set forth Federal
requirements for movers that provide interstate transportation of
household goods are found in 49 CFR part 375, ``Transportation of
Household Goods; Consumer Protection.''
    On July 16, 2012, FMCSA published a Direct Final Rule (DFR) titled,
``Transportation of Household Goods in Interstate Commerce; Consumer
Protection: Household Goods Motor Carrier Record Retention
Requirements,'' (77 FR 41699). The rule amended the regulations
governing the period during which HHG motor carriers must retain
documentation of an individual shipper's waiver of receipt of printed
copies of consumer protection materials. This change harmonized the
retention period with other document retention requirements applicable
to HHG motor carriers. FMCSA also amended the regulations to clarify
that a HHG motor carrier is not required to retain waiver documentation
from any individual shippers for whom the carrier does not actually
provide services.
    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 FMCSA to perform its functions; (2) the
accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways for the 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.

    Issued under the authority delegated in 49 CFR 1.87 on: July 23,
2019.
Kelly Regal,
Associate Administrator for Office of Research and Information
Technology.
[FR Doc. 2019-15957 Filed 7-26-19; 8:45 am]
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