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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 232 (Tuesday, December 3, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 95815-95816]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-28305]

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. OSHA-2011-0197]

Occupational Safety and Health State Plans; Extension of the 
Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Approval of Information 
Collection (Paperwork) Requirements

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.

ACTION: Request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: OSHA solicits public comments concerning its request to extend 
OMB's approval of information collection regarding the State Plans 
program and regulations for the development and enforcement of state 
occupational safety and health standards.

DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by 
February 3, 2025.

ADDRESSES: 
    Electronically: You may submit comments and attachments 
electronically at https://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions online for submitting 
comments.
    Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the 
docket, go to https://www.regulations.gov. Documents in the docket are 
listed in the https://www.regulations.gov index; however, some 
information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly available to 
read or download through the websites. All submissions, including 
copyrighted material, are available for inspection through the OSHA 
Docket Office. Contact the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-2350 (TTY 
(877) 889-5627) for assistance in locating docket submissions.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and OSHA 
docket number (OSHA-2011-0197) for the Information Collection Request 
(ICR). OSHA will place all comments, including any personal 
information, in the public docket, which may be made available online. 
Therefore, OSHA cautions interested parties about submitting personal 
information such as social security numbers and birthdates.
    For further information on submitting comments, see the ``Public 
Participation'' heading in the section of this notice titled 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Seleda Perryman, Directorate of 
Standards and Guidance, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor; telephone (202) 
693-2222.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Department of Labor, as part of a continuing effort to reduce 
paperwork and respondent (i.e., the State plans) burden, conducts a 
preclearance process to provide the public with an opportunity to 
comment on proposed and continuing information collection requirements 
in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

[[Page 95816]]

(PRA-95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This program ensures that 
information is in the desired format, the reporting burden (time and 
costs) is minimal, the collection instruments are clearly understood, 
and OSHA's estimate of the information collection burden is accurate. 
OSHA is soliciting comments concerning the extension of the information 
collection requirements contained in the series of regulations 
establishing requirements for the submission, initial approval, 
continuing approval, final approval, monitoring, and evaluation of 
OSHA-approved State Plans:
     29 CFR part 1902, State Plans for the Development and 
Enforcement of State Standards;
     29 CFR part 1953, Changes to State Plans for the 
Development and Enforcement of State Standards;
     29 CFR part 1954, Procedures for the Evaluation and 
Monitoring of Approved State Plans; and
     29 CFR part 1956, State Plans for the Development and 
Enforcement of State Standards Applicable to State and Local Government 
Employees in States Without Approved Private Employee Plans.
    Section 18 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (29 U.S.C. 
667) offers an opportunity to the states to assume responsibility for 
the development and enforcement of state standards through the 
mechanism of an OSHA-approved State Plan. Absent an approved plan, 
states are precluded from enforcing occupational safety and health 
standards in the private sector with respect to any issue for which 
Federal OSHA has promulgated a standard. Once approved and operational, 
the state adopts standards and provides most occupational safety and 
health enforcement and compliance assistance in the state under the 
authority of its plan, instead of Federal OSHA. States also must extend 
their jurisdiction to cover state and local government employees and 
may obtain approval of State Plans limited in scope to these workers. 
To obtain and maintain State Plan approval, a state must submit various 
documents to OSHA describing program structure and operation, including 
any modifications thereto as they occur, in accordance with the 
identified regulations. OSHA funds 50 percent of the costs required to 
be incurred by an approved State Plan, with the state at least matching 
and providing additional funding at its discretion.

II. Special Issues for Comment

    OSHA has a particular interest in comments on the following issues:
     Whether the proposed information collection requirements 
are necessary for the proper performance of the agency's functions to 
protect workers, including whether the information is useful;
     The accuracy of OSHA's estimate of the burden (time and 
costs) of the information collection requirements, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
     The quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
collected; and
     Ways to minimize the burden on employers who must comply; 
for example, by using automated or other technological information, and 
transmission techniques.

III. Proposed Actions

    OSHA is requesting that OMB extend the approval of the information 
collection requirements contained in Occupational Safety and Health 
State Plans.
    The agency is requesting an adjustment increase to adjust the 
number of burden hours associated with the developmental steps 
necessary for certain states in the developmental process, including 
Maine, Massachusetts and Illinois. In addition, the number of 
Complaints About State Program Administration (CASPAs) and State Plan 
Changes were modified to depict more realistically the current trends 
in these numbers. As a result, the total burden hours have increased 
from 11,055 to 11,370 (an increase of 315 burden hours).
    OSHA will summarize the comments submitted in response to this 
notice and will include this summary in the request to OMB to extend 
the approval of the information collection requirements.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved data collection.
    Title: Occupational Safety and Health State Plans.
    OMB Control Number: 1218-0247.
    Affected Public: State, Local, and Tribal, Governments.
    Number of Respondents: 29.
    Number of Responses: 1,299.
    Frequency of Responses: On occasion; Quarterly; Annually.
    Average Time per Response: Varies.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 11,370.
    Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $0.

IV. Public Participation--Submission of Comments on This Notice and 
Internet Access to Comments and Submissions

    You may submit comments in response to this document as follows: 
(1) electronically at https://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal; or (2) by facsimile (fax), if your comments, 
including attachments, are not longer than 10 pages you may fax them to 
the OSHA Docket Office at 202-693-1648. All comments, attachments, and 
other material must identify the agency name and the OSHA docket number 
for the ICR (OSHA-2011-0197). You may supplement electronic submission 
by uploading document files electronically.
    Comments and submissions are posted without change at https://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, OSHA cautions commenters about 
submitting personal information such as social security numbers and 
dates of birth. Although all submissions are listed in the https://www.regulations.gov index, some information (e.g., copyrighted 
material) is not publicly available to read or download from this 
website. All submission, including copyrighted material, are available 
for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office. Information on 
using the https://www.regulations.gov website to submit comments and 
access the docket is available at the website's ``User Tips'' link. 
Contact the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-2350, (TTY (877) 889-5627) 
for information about materials not available from the website, and for 
assistance in using the internet to locate docket submissions.

V. Authority and Signature

    James S. Frederick, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for 
Occupational Safety and Health, directed the preparation of this 
notice. The authority for this notice is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3506 et seq.) and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 8-2020 
(85 FR 58393).

    Signed at Washington, DC, on November 26, 2024.
James S. Frederick,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2024-28305 Filed 12-2-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-26-P
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