[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 207 (Friday, October 25, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 85209-85211]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-23990]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[OMB 3060-1222; FR ID 254149]


Information Collection Being Reviewed by the Federal 
Communications Commission

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, 
and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the 
Federal Communications Commission (FCC or the Commission) invites the 
general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to 
comment on the following information collection. Comments are requested 
concerning: whether the proposed collection of information is necessary 
for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, 
including whether the information shall have practical utility; the 
accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; ways to enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; ways to 
minimize the burden of the collection of information on the 
respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology; and ways to further reduce the 
information collection burden on small business concerns with fewer 
than 25 employees.

DATES: Written PRA comments should be submitted on or before December 
24, 2024. If you anticipate that you will be submitting comments, but 
find it difficult to do so within the period of time allowed by this 
notice, you should advise the contact listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Direct all PRA comments to Nicole Ongele, FCC, via email 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#efbfbdaeaf898c8cc1888099"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="88d8dac9c8eeebeba6efe7fe">[email protected]</span></a> and to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#0a64636965666f2465646d6f666f4a6c6969246d657c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5d33343e3231387332333a3831381d3b3e3e733a322b">[email protected]</span></a>.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information about the 
information collection, contact Nicole Ongele, (202) 418-2991.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FCC may not conduct or sponsor a 
collection of information unless it displays a currently valid control 
number. No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply 
with a collection of information subject to the PRA that does not 
display a valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number.
    OMB Control Number: 3060-1222.
    Title: Incarcerated People's Communications Services (IPCS) 
Provider Annual Reporting, Certification, and Other Requirements, WC 
Docket Nos. 23-62, 12-375.
    Form Number(s): FCC Form 2301(a) and FCC Form 2301(b).
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved information 
collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 35 respondents; 47 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 5-240 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Annual reporting requirements, third party 
disclosure requirements, and on-occasion reporting requirements.
    Obligation to Respond: Mandatory. Statutory authority for this 
collection of information is contained in sections 1,

[[Page 85210]]

2, 4(i)-(j), 5(c), 201(b), 218, 220, 225, 255, 276, 403, and 716 of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, 154(i)-(j), 
155(c), 201(b), 218, 220, 225, 255, 276, 403, and 617, and the Martha 
Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022, Public Law 
117-338, 136 Stat. 6156.
    Total Annual Burden: 17,555 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: No cost.
    Needs and Uses: On January 5, 2023, the President signed into law 
the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022 
(Martha Wright-Reed Act or Act), which expands the Commission's 
statutory authority over communications between incarcerated people and 
the non-incarcerated to include ``any audio or video communications 
service used by inmates . . . regardless of technology used.'' The new 
Act also amends section 2(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as 
amended (Communications Act), to make clear that the Commission's 
authority extends to intrastate as well as interstate and international 
communications services used by incarcerated people.
    The Act directs the Commission to ``promulgate any regulations 
necessary to implement'' it, including the mandate that the Commission 
establish a ``compensation plan'' ensuring that all rates and charges 
for IPCS ``are just and reasonable,'' not earlier than 18 months and 
not later than 24 months after the Act's January 5, 2023, enactment 
date. The Act also requires the Commission to consider, as part of its 
implementation, the costs of ``necessary'' safety and security 
measures, as well as ``differences in costs'' based on facility size, 
or ``other characteristics.'' It also allows the Commission to ``use 
industry-wide average costs of telephone service and advanced 
communications services and the average costs of service of a 
communications service provider'' in determining just and reasonable 
rates.
    Pursuant to the directive that the Commission implement the new Act 
and ensure just and reasonable rates for IPCS, the Commission released 
the 2023 IPCS Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, FCC 23-19, 88 FR 20804 
(April 7, 2023), seeking comment on how to interpret the Act's language 
to ensure that the Commission implements the statute in a manner that 
fulfills Congress's intent On July 22, 2024, the Commission released 
the 2024 IPCS Order, FCC 24-75, 89 FR 77244 (September 20, 2024), which 
implements the expanded authority granted to the Commission by the 
Martha Wright-Reed Act to establish a compensation plan that ensures 
both just and reasonable rates and charges for incarcerated people's 
audio and video communications services and fair compensation for 
incarcerated people's communications service providers. The Order 
fundamentally reforms the regulation of IPCS in all correctional 
facilities, regardless of the technology used to deliver these 
services, and significantly lowers the IPCS rates that incarcerated 
people and their loved ones will pay.
    Among other actions, the Commission revised its rules to 
incorporate terms used in the Martha Wright-Reed Act and to implement 
its actions in the Order. These revisions include the addition of new 
rules addressing disability access, alternate pricing plans, and 
inactive accounts; and changes to the rules addressing consumer 
disclosure, annual reporting and certification rules, waiver reporting, 
rate cap, site commission, and ancillary service charges. In this 60-
day Notice, we are beginning the process seeking PRA approval of the 
paperwork burdens arising from the new rules addressing disability 
access, alternate pricing plans and inactive accounts, and the 
revisions to the consumer disclosure rules and waiver reporting 
requirements. We will address any paperwork burdens arising from the 
revisions to the current annual reporting and certification rules in a 
subsequent 60-day Notice.
    New Rules Requiring OMB Review:
    47 CFR 64.6040(f) (Accessible formats)--requiring, other among 
information collection requirements, that the information and 
documentation IPCS providers furnish to current or potential consumers 
of IPCS is accessible;
    47 CFR 64.130(d) through (f) and (h) through (k) (Protection of 
consumer funds in inactive accounts)--requiring, among other 
information collection requirements, that providers follow certain 
specified procedures when an IPCS account is deemed inactive, including 
contacting account holders when an incarcerated person is released or 
transferred; and
    47 CFR 64.6140(c) and (d), (e)(2) through (4), and (f)(2) and (4) 
(Alternate Pricing Plans)--requiring, among other information 
collection requirements, that providers choosing to offer alternate 
pricing plans comply with the rules generally applicable to all IPCS, 
in addition to specific consumer protection and disclosure rules.
    Revised Rules Requiring OMB Review:
    47 CFR 64. 6110(a) and (c) through (g) (Consumer Disclosure of 
Incarcerated People's Communications Services Rates)--requiring, among 
other information collection requirements, that providers post on their 
public websites clear, accurate, and conspicuous information about 
their IPCS offerings, including information on rates, charges, and 
associated practices; and
    47 CFR 64.6120 (Waiver process)--requiring, among other information 
collection requirements, that providers follow certain procedures when 
filing waiver requests, including a showing that the request will not 
result in unjust and unreasonable IPCS rates and charges.
    Previously-Approved Information Collection Requirements:
    47 CFR 64.6040(c) (Communications Access for Incarcerated People 
with Communications Disabilities)--requiring, among other information 
collection requirements, that providers, as part of their obligation to 
provide access to Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS), notify the 
TRS provider(s) when an incarcerated person who has individually 
registered to use Video Relay Service (VRS), Internet Protocol Relay 
Service (IP Relay), or Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service 
(IP CTS) is released from incarceration or transferred to another 
correctional facility.
    47 CFR 64.6060 (Annual Reporting and Certification Requirements)--
requiring IPCS providers, among other information collection 
requirements, to file certain pricing and related data and information 
annually to promote transparency and heighten IPCS providers' 
accountability. In 2015, the Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) created 
a standardized reporting template (FCC Form No. 2301(a)) and a related 
certification of accuracy (FCC Form No. 2301(b)), as well as 
instructions to guide providers through the reporting process. See 
Inmate Calling Services (ICS) Annual Reporting Form Word Template 
(Appendix A) (Current), WC Docket No. 12-375 https://www.fcc.gov/general/ics-data-collections (last visited October 10, 2024) (Word 
Template); ICS Annual Reporting Form Excel Template (Appendix B) 
(Current), WC Docket No. 12-375, https://www.fcc.gov/general/ics-data-collections (last visited October 10, 2024) (Excel Template); ICS 
Annual Reporting and Certification Instructions (Current), WC Docket 
No. 12-375, https://www.fcc.gov/general/ics-data-collections (last 
visited October 10, 2024) (Instructions) (Certification Instructions); 
ICS Annual Report Certification Form (Appendix C) (Current), WC Docket 
No. 12-375, https://www.fcc.gov/general/ics-data-collections (last 
visited October 10, 2024) (Certification Form).

[[Page 85211]]

    In the 2023 IPCS Order, FCC 23-19, 88 FR 19001 (March 30, 2023), 
the Commission, among other things, reaffirmed and updated the 
Commission's prior delegation of authority to WCB and the Consumer and 
Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB) to revise the instructions and 
reporting template for the Annual Reports that all IPCS providers are 
required to file each year. Specifically, the Commission delegated 
authority to WCB and CGB to modify, supplement, and update the 
instructions and template as appropriate.
    On August 3, 2023, in DA 23-656, 88 FR 53850 (August 9, 2023) and 
88 FR 54318 (August 10, 2023) (document DA 23-656), WCB and CGB sought 
comment on proposed revisions to the instructions and templates, 
including any paperwork burdens, for the annual reports and annual 
certifications to implement the Martha Wright-Reed Act and reflect the 
changes that were adopted in the 2022 ICS Order, FCC 22-76, 87 FR 75496 
(December 9, 2022). Commenters generally supported the Commission's 
efforts to track trends in the IPCS marketplace as long as the 
reporting requirements were not unduly burdensome. However, one 
commenter argued that it was premature to require reports on video and 
the expanded TRS obligations, because the Commission had not adopted 
video IPCS regulations, and the expanded TRS regulations had not yet 
gone into effect.
    In the 2024 IPCS Order, FCC 24-75, the Commission modified the 
scope and content of the requirements for the annual reports and 
certifications to reflect the Martha Wright-Reed Act's expansion of 
Commission authority over other communications services in carceral 
facilities to include video IPCS and certain other advanced 
communications services, as well as intrastate IPCS, and the providers 
that offer these services.
    On September 11, 2024, in DA 24-918, 89 FR 80449 (October 3, 2024) 
(document DA 24-918), WCB and CGB invited supplemental comment to 
refresh and expand upon the record developed in response to document DA 
24-918 to reflect the Commission's expanded jurisdiction and the 
reforms adopted in the 2024 IPCS Order.
    WCB and CGB have not yet issued an order adopting changes to the 
instructions, templates, and certification form for the annual reports 
and certifications, as proposed in document DA 23-656 and document DA 
24-918. Upon release of an order adopting any such changes, we will 
address any paperwork burdens arising from those changes in a 
subsequent 60-day Notice under the PRA.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-23990 Filed 10-24-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P


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