Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 199 / Wednesday, October 15, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 61785 

and the consequent billing for that 

work, its PAI expenditures for the 

current year fail to meet the twelve and 

one-half percent (12.5%) requirement; 

or 

(6) If, in the reasonable judgment of 

the recipient’s governing body, it would 

not be economical and efficient for the 

recipient to expend its full twelve and 

one-half percent (12.5%) of Corporation 

funds on PAI activities, provided that 

the recipient has handled and expects to 

continue to handle at least twelve and 

one-half percent (12.5%) of cases 

brought on behalf of eligible clients 

through its PAI program(s). 

(d)(1) A waiver of special accounting 

and bookkeeping requirements of this 

part may be granted by LSC, if the 

recipient shows to the satisfaction of 

LSC that such waiver will advance the 

purpose of this part as expressed in 

§§ 1614.1 and 1614.2. 

(2) As provided in 45 CFR 1627.3(c) 

with respect to subgrants, alternatives to 

Corporation audit requirements or to the 

accounting requirements of this Part 

may be approved for subgrants by LSC; 

such alternatives for PAI subgrants shall 

be approved liberally where necessary 

to foster increased PAI participation. 

(e) Waivers of the PAI expenditure 

requirement may be full or partial, that 

is, the Corporation may waive all or 

some of the required expenditure for a 

fiscal year. 

(1) Applications for waivers of any 

requirement under this Part may be for 

the current or next fiscal year. All such 

applications must be in writing. 

Applications for waivers for the current 

fiscal year must be received by the 

Corporation during the current fiscal 

year. 

(2) At the expiration of a waiver a 

recipient may seek a similar or identical 

waiver. 

(f) All waiver requests shall be 

addressed to LSC. The Corporation shall 

make a written response to each such 

request postmarked not later than thirty 

(30) days after its receipt. If the request 

is denied, the Corporation will provide 

the recipient with an explanation and 

statement of the grounds for denial. If 

the waiver is to be denied because the 

information submitted is insufficient, 

the Corporation will inform the 

recipient as soon as possible, both orally 

and in writing, about what additional 

information is needed. Should the 

Corporation fail to so respond, the 

request shall be deemed to be granted. 

§ 1614.10 Failure to comply. 

(a)(1) If a recipient fails to comply 

with the expenditure required by this 

part and that recipient fails without 

good cause to seek a waiver during the 

term of the grant or contract, the 

Corporation shall withhold from the 

recipient’s grant payments an amount 

equal to the difference between the 

amount expended on PAI and twelve 

and one-half percent (12.5%) of the 

recipient’s basic field award. 

(2) If the Corporation determines that 

a recipient failed without good cause to 

seek a waiver, the Corporation shall give 

the recipient written notice of that 

determination. The written notice shall 

state the determination, the amount to 

be withheld, and the process by which 

the recipient may appeal the 

determination. 

(3) The appeal process will follow the 

procedures for the appeal of disallowed 

costs set forth at 45 CFR 1630.7(c)–(g), 

except that: 

(i) The subject matter of the appeal 

shall be limited to the Corporation’s 

determination that the recipient failed 

without good cause to seek a waiver; 

and 

(ii) Withholding of funds shall be the 

method for the Corporation to recover 

the amount to be withheld. 

(b) If a recipient fails with good cause 

to seek a waiver, or applies for but does 

not receive a waiver, or receives a 

waiver of part of the PAI requirement 

and does not expend the amount 

required to be expended, the PAI 

expenditure requirement for the ensuing 

year shall be increased for that recipient 

by an amount equal to the difference 

between the amount actually expended 

and the amount required to be 

expended. 

(c)(1) Any funds withheld by the 

Corporation pursuant to this section 

shall be made available by the 

Corporation for use in providing legal 

services through PAI programs. When 

such funds are available for 

competition, LSC shall publish notice of 

the requirements concerning time, 

format, and content of the application 

and the procedures for submitting an 

application for such funds. 

Disbursement of these funds for PAI 

activities shall be made through a 

competitive solicitation and awarded on 

the basis of efficiency, quality, 

creativity, and demonstrated 

commitment to PAI service delivery to 

low-income people. Competition for 

these funds may be held in the 

recipient’s service area, or if the 

recipient from which funds are 

withheld is the only LSC recipient 

applying for the funds in the 

competitive solicitation, in additional 

service areas. 

(2) Recipients shall expend funds 

awarded through the competitive 

process in paragraph (c)(1) of this 

section in addition to twelve and onehalf percent (12.5%) of their Basic 

Field-General awards. 

(d) The withholding of funds under 

this section shall not be construed as 

any action under 45 CFR parts 1606, 

1618, 1623, or 1630. 

Dated: October 9, 2014. 

Stefanie K. Davis, 

Assistant General Counsel. 

[FR Doc. 2014–24456 Filed 10–14–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Part 12 

[PS Docket Nos. 13–75, 11–60; FCC 13– 

158] 

Improving 9–1–1 Reliability; Reliability 

and Continuity of Communications 

Networks, Including Broadband 

Technologies 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Final rule; announcement of 

effective date. 

SUMMARY: In this document, the 

Commission announces that the Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB) has 

approved, for a period of three years, an 

information collection associated with 

the Commission’s Report and Order, 

FCC 13–158, published at 79 FR 3123 

on January 17, 2014, and at 79 FR 7589 

on February 10, 2014. This notice is 

consistent with the Report and Order, 

which stated that the Commission 

would publish a document in the 

Federal Register announcing OMB 

approval and the effective date of 

requirements subject to OMB approval. 

Specifically, this document announces 

the effective date of initial and annual 

reliability certification requirements for 

covered 911 service providers, 

including any associated record 

retention requirements. 

DATES: 47 CFR 12.4(c), 12.4(d)(1), and 

12.4(d)(3) are effective October 15, 2014. 

The effective date of 47 CFR 4.9(h), 

which requires a modification of 

existing OMB information collection 

3060–0484, will be published separately 

in the Federal Register once approved 

by OMB. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

additional information contact Cathy 

Williams, Cathy.Williams@fcc.gov, (202) 

418–2918. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

document announces that, on October 1, 

2014, OMB approved information 

collection requirements contained in the 

Commission’s Report and Order, FCC 


wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with RULES
61786 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 199 / Wednesday, October 15, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 

13–158, Improving 9–1–1 Reliability; 

Reliability and Continuity of 

Communications Networks, Including 

Broadband Technologies, published at 

79 FR 3123 on January 17, 2014 and at 

79 FR 7589 on February 10, 2014. These 

requirements involve initial and annual 

reliability certifications for covered 911 

service providers and associated record 

retention requirements. The OMB 

Control Number is 3060–1202. The 

Commission publishes this notice as an 

announcement of the effective date of 

the certification requirements. 

The Report and Order also amended 

§ 4.9 of the Commission’s rules 

regarding outage notification to public 

safety answering points (PSAPs). The 

effective date of 47 CFR 4.9(h), which 

requires a modification of existing OMB 

information collection 3060–0484, will 

be published separately in the Federal 

Register once approved by OMB. 

If you have any comments on the 

burden estimates listed below, or how 

the Commission can improve the 

collections and reduce any burdens 

caused thereby, please contact Cathy 

Williams, Federal Communications 

Commission, Room 1–C823, 445 12th 

Street SW., Washington, DC 20554. 

Please include the OMB Control 

Number, 3060–1202, in your 

correspondence. The Commission will 

also accept your comments via the 

Internet if you send them to PRA@

fcc.gov. 

To request materials in accessible 

formats for people with disabilities 

(Braille, large print, electronic files, 

audio format), send an email to fcc504@

fcc.gov or call the Consumer and 

Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 

418–0530 (voice), (202) 418–0432 

(TTY). 

Synopsis 

As required by the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507), 

the FCC is notifying the public that it 

received OMB approval on October 1, 

2014, for new information collection 

requirements contained in the 

Commission’s rules at 47 CFR 12.4(c), 

12.4(d)(1), and 12.4(d)(3). Under 5 CFR 

1320, an agency may not conduct or 

sponsor a collection of information 

unless it displays a current, valid OMB 

Control Number. No person shall be 

subject to any penalty for failing to 

comply with a collection of information 

subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act 

that does not display a current, valid 

OMB Control Number. The OMB 

Control Number is 3060–1202. The 

foregoing notice is required by the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Pub. 

L. 104–13, October 1, 1995, and 44 

U.S.C. 3507. 

The total annual reporting burdens 

and costs for the respondents are as 

follows: 

OMB Control Number: 3060–1202. 

OMB Approval Date: October 1, 2014. 

OMB Expiration Date: October 31, 

2017. 

Title: Improving 9–1–1 Reliability, 

Reliability and Continuity of 

Communications Including Networks, 

Broadband Technologies. 

Form Number: Not applicable (annual 

online certification). 

Respondents: Business or other forprofit entities; not-for-profit institutions. 

Number of Respondents and 

Responses: 1,000 respondents, 1,000 

responses. 

Estimated Time per Response: Varies 

by respondent. Average of 170 hours per 

annual certification. 

Frequency of Response: Annual 

reporting requirement and 

recordkeeping requirement. 

Obligation to Respond: Mandatory. 

The statutory authority for the 

collection of this information is 

contained in sections 1, 4(i), 4(j), 4(o), 

201(b), 214(d), 218, 251(e)(3), 301, 

303(b), 303(g), 303(r), 307, 309(a), 316, 

332, 403, 615a–1, and 615c of the 

Communications Act of 1934, as 

amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i)–(j) & (o), 

201(b), 214(d), 218, 251(e)(3), 301, 

303(b), 303(g), 303(r), 307, 309(a), 316, 

332, 403, 615a–1, and 615c. 

Total Annual Burden: 169,982 hours. 

Total Annual Cost: $0. 

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: 

The Commission will treat as 

presumptively confidential and exempt 

from routine public disclosure under 

the federal Freedom of Information Act: 

(1) Descriptions and documentation of 

alternative measures to mitigate the 

risks of nonconformance with 

certification standards; (2) information 

detailing specific corrective actions 

taken; and (3) supplemental information 

requested by the Commission or Bureau 

with respect to a certification. The 

Commission does not consider 

confidential the fact of filing a 

certification or the responses provided 

on the face of the certification. 

Privacy Impact Assessment: No 

impact(s). 

Needs and Uses: On December 12, 

2013, the Commission released a Report 

and Order, PS Docket Nos. 13–75, 11– 

60; FCC 13–158 (the Report and Order) 

adopting rules. These rules are codified 

at 47 CFR 12.4. The Report and Order 

requires covered 911 service providers, 

defined in § 12.4(a)(4), to certify 

annually whether they comply with 

specified best practices with respect to 

critical 911 circuit diversity, central 

office backup power, and diverse 

network monitoring. If a covered 911 

service provider does not comply with 

specific certification elements set forth 

in § 12.4(c), it must provide a brief 

explanation of what alternative 

measures it has taken, in light of the 

provider’s particular facts and 

circumstances, to ensure reliable 911 

service with respect to those elements. 

A service provider may also respond by 

demonstrating that a particular 

certification element is not applicable to 

its network, but must include a brief 

explanation of why the element does 

not apply. 

The information will be collected 

through an online system administered 

by the Commission’s Public Safety and 

Homeland Security Bureau for review 

and analysis to verify that covered 911 

service providers are taking reasonable 

measures to maintain reliable 911 

service, as required under § 12.4(b). In 

certain cases, based on the information 

included in the certifications and on 

subsequent coordination with 

individual providers, the Commission 

may require remedial action to correct 

vulnerabilities in a service provider’s 

911 network if it determines that the 

service provider has not, in fact, 

adhered to the best practices 

incorporated in the certification, or in 

the case of providers employing 

alternative measures, that those 

measures were not reasonably sufficient 

to mitigate the associated risks of failure 

in these key areas. 

The purpose of this information 

collection is to verify that covered 911 

service providers are taking reasonable 

measures to provide reliable service, as 

evidenced by their certification of 

compliance with specified best practices 

or reasonable alternative measures. The 

Commission adopted these rules in light 

of widespread 911 outages during the 

June 2012 derecho storm in the Midwest 

and Mid-Atlantic states, which revealed 

that multiple service providers did not 

take adequate precautions to maintain 

reliable service. By holding covered 911 

service providers accountable for 

reliable service, the Commission seeks 

to ensure that all Americans have access 

to critical 911 communications during 

emergencies and other times of need. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Marlene H. Dortch, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2014–24474 Filed 10–14–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 


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