47366 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 161 / Tuesday, August 24, 2021 / Notices 

I. Background 

The Secretary of Transportation has 

discretionary authority to prescribe the 

records required to be prepared or 

compiled by certain for-hire motor 

carriers and brokers subject to the 

commercial regulations implementing 

Title 49 U.S.C., subtitle IV, part B, 

including records related to movement 

of traffic and receipts and expenditures 

of money. 49 U.S.C. 14122(a). The 

Secretary may prescribe the time period 

during which operating, accounting, 

and financial records must be preserved 

by for-hire motor carriers and brokers 

subject to the reporting requirements. 49 

U.S.C. 14122(c). In addition, some forhire motor carriers (transporting either 

passengers or property) are required to 

submit annual financial reports under 

49 U.S.C. 14123. 

FMCSA’s regulations include record 

retention requirements in several places. 

Appendix A to part 379 provides a 

generalized listing of retention times for 

records required to be prepared or 

compiled by certain for-hire motor 

carriers and brokers subject to the 

commercial regulations implementing 

Title 49 U.S.C., subtitle IV, part B. Parts 

369 and 379 of the FMCSRs contain the 

regulations relating to annual reporting 

and preservation of records. Other parts 

of the FMCSRs contain specific record 

retention requirements for records 

pertinent to that part. 

FMCSA’s predecessor agency, the 

Interstate Commerce Commission, 

published a final rule on March 18, 

1985, (50 FR 10774) which created 

‘‘Note A’’ to be applied to certain 

records listed in Appendix A. The note 

is codified at the end of Appendix A to 

part 379 and is listed as the applicable 

‘‘Retention Period’’ for several items and 

categories of records on the table in 

Appendix A. Note A indicates that the 

records so referenced shall be 

maintained as determined by the 

designated records supervisory official 

for the company. It further states that 

companies should be aware of other 

regulatory agencies’ record retention 

requirements and exercise reasonable 

care in choosing retention periods 

which reflect past experiences, 

company needs, pending litigation, and 

regulatory requirements. 

Only a few of the FMCSRs refer to the 

record-keeping requirements in 49 CFR 

part 379 as the basis for retention 

requirements. FMCSA requests 

comments providing information on the 

necessity and appropriateness of these 

references and links described below: 

1. Title 49 CFR part 369 contains 

regulations governing the reporting 

requirements for motor carriers under 

the authority of 49 U.S.C. 14123(a). 

Those reporting requirements are now 

very minimal. Only large for-hire motor 

carriers of property and large for-hire 

motor carriers of passengers are subject 

to the annual report provisions. See 49 

CFR 369.1–369.4. The records necessary 

to support these reporting requirements 

are specified in 49 CFR 369.5: ‘‘Books, 

records and carrier operating documents 

shall be retained as prescribed in 49 

CFR part 379, Preservation of Records.’’ 

2. Regulations found in 49 CFR part 

373 govern the issuance of bills of 

lading and freight or expense bills by 

for-hire motor carriers to shipper and 

receivers. With some exceptions, forhire carriers are required to issue bills 

of lading with certain specified 

information, such as receipts for 

property being transported as required 

by the Carmack Amendment, 49 U.S.C. 

14706. 49 CFR 373.101. A record of the 

information on the bill of lading is 

required to be kept in accordance with 

part 379. Property carriers are also 

required to issue freight or expense bills 

with specified information, and to retain 

copies of such documents in accordance 

with part 379, 49 CFR 373.103(a). Forhire motor carriers of property may 

enter into written agreements with 

shippers to waive any of these 

requirements, 49 U.S.C. 14101(b)(1). 

Part 373 also includes requirements 

applicable to for-hire passenger carriers 

to issue an expense bill for charter 

service, and to retain copies of such 

documents in accordance with part 379, 

49 CFR 373.103(b). 

II. Request for Public Comments 

FMCSA requests comments on 

recordkeeping activities associated with 

Appendix A to part 379 and responses 

to the questions below. 

General Question: Records Retention 

1. If other Federal or State entities 

have record retention requirements for 

similar or the same records, what type 

of records are they, how long are you 

required to retain them, and which 

Federal or State entities require them? 

You may find it useful, when 

answering this question, to submit your 

responses in a table format. If you wish 

to do so, go to the docket FMCSA–2019– 

0074 at Regulations.gov and fill out and 

submit the table as part of your 

comment to this RFI. This table may be 

found in the supporting materials for 

the docket and includes current FMCSA 

existing recordkeeping requirements in 

Part 379 and those under consideration. 

Information can be added to each 

requirement concerning whether other 

agencies collect this information from 

you and for how long they request 

retention. 

Retention Times 

2. How long do you hold each of the 

records listed in Appendix A that are 

subject to Note A now? 

3. Do you hold them that long ONLY 

because of the requirement in Appendix 

A? 

If yes, how long would you hold them 

in the ordinary course of business 

regardless of the Appendix A 

requirement? 

Numbers and Costs of Records 

Retention 

4. For each category of records 

maintained for FMCSA, how many 

records do you maintain, e.g., how 

many physical pages/volumes of 

electronic information do you retain? 

How many and which categories of 

records are also subject to the 

requirements of another regulatory 

entity? 

5. Can you provide an estimate for 

how much it costs to store each category 

of records per year? Does this cost 

reflect retaining paper records, 

electronic records, or both? 

Note A 

6. Should any of the items listed in 

Appendix A that do not refer to Note A 

be modified to adopt Note A? 

7. As Note A does not provide a 

specific retention period, should those 

items remain in Appendix A or be 

removed? 

8. Is it helpful to retain Note A? Why 

or why not? 

Issued under authority delegated in 49 CFR 

1.87. 

Meera Joshi, 

Deputy Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2021–18169 Filed 8–23–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Transit Administration 

[FTA Docket No. FTA 2021–0007] 

Agency Information Collection Activity 

Under OMB Review 

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, 

DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of request for comments. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 

notice announces that the Information 

Collection Requirements (ICRs) 

abstracted below have been forwarded 

to the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) for review and comment. The 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 161 / Tuesday, August 24, 2021 / Notices 47367 

ICR describe the nature of the 

information collection and their 

expected burdens. 

DATES: Comments must be submitted on 

or before September 23, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be sent 

within 30 days of publication of this 

notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/ 

PRAMain. Find this particular 

information collection by selecting 

‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open 

for Public Comments’’ or by using the 

search function. 

Comments are Invited On: Whether 

the proposed collection of information 

is necessary for the proper performance 

of the functions of the Department, 

including whether the information will 

have practical utility; the accuracy of 

the Department’s estimate of the burden 

of the proposed information collection; 

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and ways to minimize the 

burden of the collection of information 

on respondents, including the use of 

automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

A comment to OMB is best assured of 

having its full effect if OMB receives it 

within 30 days of publication of this 

notice in the Federal Register. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tia 

Swain, Office of Administration, 

Management Planning Division, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE, Mail Stop TAD– 

10, Washington, DC 20590, (202) 366– 

0354 or tia.swain@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(PRA), Public Law 104–13, Section 2, 

109 Stat. 163 (1995) (codified as revised 

at 44 U.S.C. 3501–3520), and its 

implementing regulations, 5 CFR part 

1320, require Federal agencies to issue 

two notices seeking public comment on 

information collection activities before 

OMB may approve paperwork packages. 

44 U.S.C. 3506, 3507; 5 CFR 1320.5, 

1320.8(d)(1), 1320.12. On May 28, 2021 

FTA published a 60-day notice (86 FR 

16442) in the Federal Register soliciting 

comments on the ICR that the agency 

was seeking OMB approval. FTA 

received no comments after issuing this 

60-day notice. Accordingly, DOT 

announces that these information 

collection activities have been reevaluated and certified under 5 CFR 

1320.5(a) and forwarded to OMB for 

review and approval pursuant to 5 CFR 

1320.12(c). 

Before OMB decides whether to 

approve these proposed collections of 

information, it must provide 30 days for 

public comment. 44 U.S.C. 3507(b); 5 

CFR 1320.12(d). Federal law requires 

OMB to approve or disapprove 

paperwork packages between 30 and 60 

days after the 30-day notice is 

published. 44 U.S.C. 3507 (b)–(c); 5 CFR 

1320.12(d); see also 60 FR 44978, 44983, 

Aug. 29, 1995. OMB believes that the 

30-day notice informs the regulated 

community to file relevant comments 

and affords the agency adequate time to 

digest public comments before it 

renders a decision. 60 FR 44983, Aug. 

29, 1995. Therefore, respondents should 

submit their respective comments to 

OMB within 30 days of publication to 

best ensure having their full effect. 5 

CFR 1320.12(c); see also 60 FR 44983, 

Aug. 29, 1995. 

The summaries below describe the 

nature of the information collection 

requirements (ICRs) and the expected 

burden. The requirements are being 

submitted for clearance by OMB as 

required by the PRA. 

Title: Survey of FTA Stakeholders. 

OMB Control Number: 2132–0564. 

Type of Request: Renewal with 

revisions of a previously approved 

information collection. 

Abstract: Executive Order 12862, 

‘‘Streamlining Service Delivery and 

Improving Customer Service,’’ requires 

FTA to identify its stakeholders and 

address how the agency will provide 

services in a manner that seeks to 

streamline service delivery and improve 

the experience of its customers. FTA is 

seeking a three-year approval for an 

existing information collection with 

revisions. Changes in methodology will 

improve the quality of stakeholder 

feedback, and non-substantive changes 

to the survey instrument will more 

accurately assess the data collected from 

from transit agencies, states and 

metropolitan planning organizations. 

FTA will utilize the survey to assess 

how its services are perceived by its 

customers, learn about opportunities for 

improvement and establish goals to 

measure results. The data captured from 

the survey will provide this information 

and enable FTA to make improvements 

where necessary. The survey will be 

limited to data collections that solicit 

voluntary opinions and will not involve 

information that is required by 

regulations. The estimated number of 

respondents is 6,454, an increase of 

5,266 respondents from the previous 

request of 1,188 respondents. There is 

an increase in the number of 

respondents due to FTA’s efforts to 

expand outreach to a broader crosssection of FTA stakeholders. 

Respondents are split into two groups. 

Group A includes Chief Executive 

Officers (CEOs) and other executive 

leaders of transit agencies, state DOTs, 

and other FTA stakeholders. Group B 

includes unit supervisors and 

professional staff such as engineers, 

urban planners and budget analysts 

from the same organizations. The 

previous IC only targeted respondents in 

Group A. The current IC targets 

respondents in both Group A and Group 

B. To further expand stakeholder 

outreach, FTA accessed an additional 

database, and allowed multiple 

respondents to submit responses from a 

single organization. Previously, since 

only CEOs or other top executive leader 

of an organization responded, there 

could be only one response per 

organization because there is only one 

top executive leader per organization. 

However, the expansion of the target 

population to other labor categories 

allows multiple people from the same 

organization to respond to the survey 

(CEO, engineer, urban planner, etc.). 

There is a decrease in the estimated 

annual total burden hours, despite the 

increase in number of respondents, in 

large part because FTA found that 

respondents spent less time interacting 

with the previous survey than 

estimated. In addition to stakeholder 

outreach outlined in #8 above, in 2019, 

FTA utilized survey analytics to 

appropriately determine the amount of 

time spent filling out the survey. 

Respondents: Transit agencies, States, 

and Metropolitan Planning 

Organizations. 

Estimated Annual Burden on 

Respondents: 6,454. 

Estimated Annual Number of 

Responses: 6,454. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 807. 

Frequency: Biennial. 

Nadine Pembleton, 

Director, Office of Management Planning. 

[FR Doc. 2021–18206 Filed 8–23–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–57–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Internal Revenue Service 

Proposed Extension of Information 

Collection Request Submitted for 

Public Comment; Comment Request 

on Burden Related to Form 911, 

Request for Taxpayer Advocate 

Service Assistance (and Application 

for Taxpayer Assistance Order) 

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), 

Treasury. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The Internal Revenue Service, 

as part of its continuing effort to reduce 

paperwork and respondent burden, 


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