65372 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 212 / Wednesday, November 1, 2000 / Notices

[FR Doc. 00–28050 Filed 10–31–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3901–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety

Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA–2000–8033]

Notice of Request for Comments on

Renewing the Approval for an

Information Collection: Motor Carrier

Safety Assistance Program

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety

Administration (FMCSA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: This action informs the public

that FMCSA intends to request the

Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) to renew approval for the

information collection required by the

Motor Carrier Safety Assistance

Program. That information consists of

grant application preparation, quarterly

reports, and electronic data

documenting the results of driver/

vehicle inspections performed by the

states. This notice is required by the

Paperwork Reduction Act.

DATES: You must submit comments by

January 2, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Mail or hand deliver

comments to the U.S. Department of

Transportation, Dockets Management

Facility, Room PL–401, 400 Seventh

Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590, or

submit electronically at http://

dmses.dot.gov/submit. Be sure to

include the docket number appearing in

the heading of this document on your

comment. All comments received will

be available for examination and

copying at the above address from 9

a.m. to 5 p.m., e.t., Monday through

Friday, except Federal holidays. If you

would like to be notified when your

comment is received, you must include

a self-addressed, stamped postcard or

you may print the acknowledgment

page that appears after submitting

comments electronically.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

James D. McCauley, (202) 366–0133,

Office of Safety Programs, Federal Motor

Carrier Safety Administration,

Department of Transportation, 400

Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC,

20590. Office hours are from 7:30 a.m.

to 4 p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday,

except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Motor Carrier Safety Assistance

Program.

OMB Number: 2126–0010.

Background: Sections 401–404 of the

Surface Transportation Assistance Act

of 1982 (STAA) established a program of

financial assistance to states for the

purpose of implementing programs to

enforce (a) Federal rules, regulations,

standards, and orders applicable to

commercial motor vehicle safety; and

(b) compatible state rules, regulations,

standards, and orders. This grant-in-aid

program is known as the Motor Carrier

Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP).

The Intermodal Surface Transportation

Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) added

programs, such as drug interdiction,

traffic enforcement, and size and weight

activities to the core program

established by the STAA.

The Transportation Equity Act for the

21st Century (TEA–21) further revised

the MCSAP by broadening its purpose

beyond enforcement activities and

programs by requiring participating

states to assume greater responsibility

for improving motor carrier safety. The

TEA–21 required states to develop

performance-based plans reflecting

national priorities and performance

goals, revised the MCSAP funding

distribution formula, and created a new

incentive funding program. As a result,

States are given greater flexibility in

designing programs to address national

and State goals for reducing the number

and severity of commercial motor

vehicle (CMV) accidents. The

implementing regulations were

published in a final rule in the March

21, 2000, Federal Register at 65 FR

15092.

In order to qualify for a grant,

participating states must submit a

Commercial Vehicle Safety Plan (CVSP).

After the grant is awarded, states must

submit inspection data and quarterly

reports explaining work activities and

accomplishments. The FMCSA monitors

and evaluates a state’s progress under its

approved CVSP. The agency also

determines whether a change in the

state’s level of effort is required to meet

the intended objectives of the CVSP. If

a state fails to operate within the

guidelines of the approved CVSP or

does not remedy any identified

deficiencies or incompatibilities in a

timely manner, the FMCSA may cease

participation in that state’s CVSP. This

information collection provides the

basis for these responsibilities and

decisions.

The quarterly report and inspection

data are collected electronically. States

continue to submit the CVSP in hard

copy. The estimated annual burden for

this collection has been significantly

reduced due to increased use of

information technology.

Respondents: State and local MCSAP

lead agencies.

Estimated Total Annual Burden:

Grant application preparation: 832

hours; quarterly report preparation: 333

hours; inspection data upload: 6,667

hours. The above figures reflect 20

percent of the total estimated hours to

perform the activities listed since

MCSAP reimburses up to 80 percent of

the eligible costs incurred in the

administration of an approved plan as

set forth in 49 CFR 350.303, 350.309 and

350.311.

Public Comments Invited: We invite

you to comment on any aspect of this

information collection, including, but

not limited to (1) whether the collection

of information is necessary for the

proper performance of the functions of

the FMCSA, including whether the

information has practical utility; (2) the

accuracy of the estimated burden; (3)

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of the collected information; and

(4) ways to minimize the collection

burden without reducing the quality of

the information collected.

Electronic Access and Filing: You

may submit or retrieve comments online

through the Docket Management System

(DMS) at http://dmses.dot.gov/submit.

Acceptable formats include: MS Word

(versions 95 to 97), MS Word for Mac

(versions 6 to 8), Rich Text File (RTF),

American Standard Code Information

Interchange (ASCII)(TXT), Portable

Document Format (PDF), and

WordPerfect (versions 7 to 8). The DMS

is available 24 hours each day, 365 days

each year. Electronic submission and

retrieval help and guidelines are

available under the help section of the

web site.

An electronic copy of this document

may be downloaded by using a

computer, modem and suitable

communications software from the

Government Printing Office’s Electronic

Bulletin Board Service at (202) 512–

1661. Internet users may reach the

Office of the Federal Register’s home

page at http://www.nara.gov/fedreg and

the Government Printing Offices’s web

page at http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara.

Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act

of 1995, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended;

and 49 CFR 1.73.

Issued on: October 17, 2000.

Clyde J. Hart, Jr.,

Acting Deputy Administrator.

[FR Doc. 00–27974 Filed 10–31–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P