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[Federal Register: January 20, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 12)]
[Notices]               
[Page 3273-3274]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20ja10-115]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

[Docket Number DOT-OST-2009-0294]

 
Request for OMB Clearance of an Information Collection Renewal

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the Secretary, Office of Small and Disadvantaged 
Business Utilization (OSDBU), invites public comments regarding the 
Department of Transportation's intention to request the Office of 
Management and Budget's (OMB) approval to renew an information 
collection. On November 19, 2009, OSDBU published a Federal Register 
Notice with a 60-day comment period, (74 FR 60012) Docket  
DOT-OST-2009-0294. The collection is in regards to the Disadvantaged 
Business Enterprise American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Bonding 
Assistance Reimbursable Fee Program (DBE ARRA BAP) application form. 
The notice was to inform the public of OSDBU's intention to extend the 
approved information collection. The continuation of the collection is 
necessary to determine the applicant's eligibility to approve or deny a 
bond fee reimbursement. As of January 12, 2010, OSDBU has not received 
any comments in response to the 60-day notice. We are required to 
publish this notice in the Federal Register by the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted by February 25, 2010.

ADDRESSES: You may submit a comment to DMS Docket Number DOT-OST-2010-
0294 through one of the following methods:
    Web site: http://www.regulations.gov. Instructions for submitting 
comments on http://www.regulations.gov can be found at http://docketsinfo.dot.gov/.
    Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
    Mail: Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., West Building, Room W12-
140, Washington, DC 20590-001.
    Hand Delivery: Room W12-140 on the ground level of the West 
Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. 
and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays.
    Instructions: All comments must include the agency name and DMS 
Docket Number, DOT-OST-2010-0294. All comments received will be posted 
without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal 
information provided. The comments provided to a Federal Department or 
Agency through http://www.regulations.gov are collected voluntarily and 
may be publicly disclosed in a rulemaking docket or on the Internet. 
All comments received into any of our dockets are viewable by the 
public, including the name of the individual that submitted the comment 
(or signed the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association, 
business, labor union, etc.). DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement, 
published in the Federal Register, may be viewed on http://www.regulations.gov.
    Instructions: For access to the docket or to read background 
documents or comments, go to www.regulations.gov at any time or to Room 
W12-140 on the ground level of the West Building, 1200 New Jersey 
Avenue, SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 a.m., Monday through 
Friday except Federal holidays.
    To obtain confirmation of receipt of your written comments, please 
include a self-addressed, stamped postcard with the following 
statement: ``Comments on Docket DOT-OST-2010-0294.'' The Docket Clerk 
will date stamp the postcard prior and return it via the U.S. mail. 
Please note that due to delays in the delivery of U.S. mail to Federal 
offices in Washington, DC, we recommend that persons consider an 
alternative method (Internet, fax, or professional delivery service) to 
submit comments to the docket and ensure their timely receipt at U.S. 
DOT.
    Comments: We particularly request your comments on the: (1) 
accuracy of the estimated burden; (2) ways to enhance the quality, 
usefulness, and clarity of the collected information and; (3) ways to 
minimize the collection burden without reducing the quality of the 
information collected, including additional use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nancy Strine, Manager Financial 
Assistance Division, Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business 
Utilization, Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Room W56-448, Washington, 
DC 20590. Telephone: 202-366-1930. Fax Number: 202-366-7228. Office 
hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Estimate of burden hours for information requested:
    Respondents: Certified Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs) 
that are pursuing, in the process, or have obtained contracts on ARRA 
transportation infrastructure projects. US DOT/OSDBU spoke to the SBA 
Surety Bond Guarantee Program personnel and a representative of the 
Surety and Fidelity Association of America (SFAA) who represents the 
small and emerging businesses to obtain the required estimates. The 
average bond for a small and emerging business or DBE is between 
$250,000 and $500,000. To calculate the universe US DOT/OSDBU can 
serve, an average bond is estimated to be $350,000. The Bonding Premium 
Fee charged by the Sureties is a range of 2 to 3% of the total bond, so 
using an average premium of 2.5% on a $350,000 bond the DBE would pay 
$8,750. The SBA Surety Guarantee Bond Program Principal Fee is 
currently set to .729% of the contract price, or bond amount. For a 
$350,000 bond, the SBA principal fee is $2,551. The average amount of 
financial assistance is $11,300.00 per DBE on one application, 
submittal to include both eligible fees. Using these estimates, the 
number of DBEs that US DOT/OSDBU can assist with $20 million is 
approximately 1,770.
    Form: U.S. Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) American 
Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 Bonding Assistance Reimbursable 
Fee Program DOT Form F4504.
    Respondents: 1770.
    Frequency: Once.
    Estimated Average Burden per Response: 2 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 3540 hours.
    OMB Approval No: OMB Control Number: 2105-0562.
    Title: U.S Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) American 
Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 Bonding Assistance Reimbursable 
Fee Program DOT Form F4504.
    Type of Review: Renewal.
    1. Needs and Uses: The information collected will be from a DBE 
working on transportation infrastructure ARRA funded project. Under the 
DBE ARRA BAP program, DBEs performing on a transportation and 
infrastructure projects receiving ARRA funding assistance from any DOT 
mode of transportation such as Federal Highway

[[Page 3274]]

Administration (FHWA), Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Federal 
Aviation Administration (FAA), Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), 
Maritime Administration (MARAD) will receive financial bonding 
assistance in the form of bonding fee cost reimbursement. This 
provision is applicable to a subcontract or prime contract at any tier 
in the construction project. Under this program DOT will directly 
reimburse DBEs the premiums paid to the surety company for performance, 
payment or bid/proposal bonds. The range of the premium fee is between 
1-3% of the total bond amount. In the event the DBE also obtains a bond 
guarantee from Small Business Administration's (SBA) Surety Bond 
Guarantee Program (SBGP), the DOT will also reimburse the DBE for the 
small business concern (principal) fee of .729% of the contract price. 
The information collected will be used by DOT OSDBU to verify 
eligibility, including whether the applicant is a current certified 
DBE.
    2. Burden Statement: This collection is for DBEs working on 
transportation infrastructure ARRA funded project. DBEs are small 
businesses. Efforts have been made to simplify the application form, 
keeping it to one page with three page instructions to assist the DBE 
to submit a complete application package to expedite reimbursement and 
minimize burden. In addition a sample letter to show how to indicate 
the federal project number is included. Applicants will be able to find 
further guidance at http://www.dot.gov/recovery/ost/. A coordinated 
effort has been made with the DOT Operating Administrations to minimize 
duplicative reporting. OSDBU's intent is to give this subsidy 
reimbursement fee to the DBEs trying to obtain surety bonding to assist 
DBEs to become more competitive and perform on more transportation 
infrastructure projects receiving ARRA funding assistance from any DOT 
mode of transportation and minimize cash flow difficulties. Several 
applicant we have spoken to since August 28, 2009 (program launch date) 
has told us the application is self explanatory and they have not had 
any difficulties in filling it out or understanding the content and 
requirements.

Brandon Neal,
Director, Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, 
Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation.
[FR Doc. 2010-984 Filed 1-19-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P
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