[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 27 (Thursday, February 8, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8736-8737]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-02572]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

[Docket No. FHWA-2024-0009]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Notice of Request for 
Renewal of Currently Approved Information Collection

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of request for extension of currently approved 
information collection.

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

SUMMARY: The FHWA has forwarded the information collection request 
described in this notice to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for approval of a renewal of information collection. We published a 
Federal Register Notice with a 60-day public comment period on this 
information collection on October 31, 2023. We are required to publish 
this notice in the Federal Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995.

DATES: Please submit comments by March 11, 2024.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by DOT Docket ID Number 
0009 by any of the following methods:
    Website: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
    Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
    Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
    Hand Delivery or Courier: U.S. Department of Transportation, West 
Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 
Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through 
Friday, except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Omar Elkassed, (213) 894-6718, 
Office of Stewardship, Oversight, and Program Management, Federal 
Highway Administration, Department of Transportation, 888 South 
Figueroa Street, Suite 440, Los Angeles, CA 90017. Office hours are 
from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The comments and FHWA's responses to the 60-
day notice published October 31, 2023 at 88 FR 74557 are below:

<bullet> Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT)

    [cir] Whether the proposed collection is necessary for the FHWA 's 
performance:
    [ssquf] The Fiscal Management Information System (FMIS), which 
generates the project agreement, contains a PREFIX Field, which is 
established at the onset of a project on the state's allocation. As 
estimates are updated, multiple fund sources can be added to a project 
at the state's discretion; however, the PREFIX field is not required to 
be revised as additional federal funding sources are added. VDOT 
therefore recommends that the PREFIX Field be removed from FMIS, as it 
does not appear to serve any purpose from the state's perspective.
    [ssquf] Response: The prefix field on the project detail screen is 
an optional field and will not prevent you from obligating funds.
    [cir] The accuracy of the estimated burdens:
    [ssquf] Based on the complexity and the phase of project data 
required, Virginia averages an estimated 1.0 to 1.5 how-s to complete a 
project agreement.
    [ssquf] Response: Thank you for your input on the estimated 
duration to complete a project agreement in Virginia. The estimated 
burdens hours in the notice is based on nationwide average.
    [cir] Ways for the FHWA to enhance the quality, usefulness and 
clarity of the collected information.
    [ssquf] VDOT recommends that FHWA develop additional standard 
reports for states to utilize on data fields in FMIS for analysis of 
data as needed. That would save time so that states would not have to 
create reports on their own using the Business Objects tool within 
FMIS. Additionally, it would ensure that all states are consistently 
reporting data from the same source in response to FHWA requests.
    [ssquf] Response: FMIS has a set of standard reports in the Reports 
module in FMIS and a set of Resource Center and developer created 
reports in Business Objects under the following Public Folders: BUGS 
University--Help, Delphi Reporting Tool (DRT), and FMIS5. If your state 
would like assistance to develop specific reports for your state, you 
may reach out to the FDAT for assistance.
    [cir] Ways that the burden could be minimized, including the use of 
electronic technology, without reducing the quality of the collected 
information
    [ssquf] VDOT recommends that FHWA provide clearer communication to 
states when/if FHWA updates FMIS in order to allow states sufficient 
time to update their IT requirements/recode data for FHWA's Electronic 
Data System (EDS).
    [ssquf] Response: In September 2023, we extended the FMIS system 
change notification period to states from 60-

[[Page 8737]]

days to 90-days. Recipients receive notification from their Division 
Office of these changes and are notified on the FMIS opening page 
message board after sign in.

    <bullet> California Department of Transportation

    [cir] Caltrans recommends that state requests for agreement 
modifications resulting in net-zero obligation be allowed when the 
unobligated apportionment balance is less than the obligation amount of 
the request, without considering the de-obligation portion.
    [cir] Response: The Fiscal Management Information System (FMIS) 
must validate funding availability in FMIS and Delphi. In the instance 
of a de-obligation when unobligated apportionment balance is zero or 
less than the obligation request, FMIS indicates an over-obligation 
error until the de-obligation is posted to Delphi. Once posted to 
Delphi, new obligations may occur up to the unobligated balance.
    Title: Preparation and Execution of the Project Agreement and 
Modifications.
    OMB Control #: 2125-0529.
    Background: Formal agreements between State Transportation 
Departments and the FHWA are required for Federal-aid highway projects. 
These agreements, referred to as ``project agreements'' are written 
contracts between the State and the Federal government that define the 
extent of work to be undertaken and commitments made concerning a 
highway project. Section 1305 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 
21st Century (TEA-21, Pub. L. 105-178) amended 23 U.S.C. 106(a) and 
combined authorization of work and execution of the project agreement 
for a Federal-aid project into a single action. States continue to have 
the flexibility to use whatever format is suitable to provide the 
statutory information required, and burden estimates for this 
information collection are not changed.
    Respondents: There are 56 respondents, including 50 State 
Transportation Departments, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 
of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, 
the Virgin Islands and American Samoa. Depending on the size of and 
activity in the above government agencies, the number of project 
agreements executed in any agency ranges between 10 and 1,500.
    Frequency: On an on-going basis as project agreements are written.
    Estimated Average Burden per Response: There is a total of 23,809 
agreements per year. Each agreement requires 1 hour to complete.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: Total estimated average annual 
burden is 23,809 hours.
    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 FHWA's performance; (2) the accuracy of 
the estimated burdens; (3) ways for the FHWA to enhance the quality, 
usefulness, and clarity of the collected information; and (4) ways that 
the burden could be minimized, including the use of electronic 
technology, without reducing the quality of the collected information. 
The agency will summarize and/or include your comments in the request 
for OMB's clearance of this information collection.
    Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. chapter 
35, as amended; and 49 CFR 1.48.

     Issued On: February 5, 2024.
Jazmyne Lewis,
Information Collection Officer.
[FR Doc. 2024-02572 Filed 2-7-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-22-P