[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 67 (Tuesday, April 7, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19475-19477]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-07208]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
[3060-0804; FRS 16621]
Information Collection Being Submitted for Review and Approval to
Office of Management and Budget
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens,
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. Pursuant to the Small Business
Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, the FCC seeks specific comment on how it
might ``further reduce the information collection burden for small
business concerns with fewer than 25 employees.''
The Commission may not conduct or sponsor a collection of
information unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) 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 OMB control number.
DATES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be submitted on or before May 7, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent 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. Your comment must be submitted into
www.reginfo.gov per the above instructions for it to be considered. In
addition to submitting in www.reginfo.gov also send a copy of your
comment on the proposed information collection to Nicole Ongele, FCC,
via email to [email protected] and to
[[Page 19476]]
[email protected]. Include in the comments the OMB control number
as shown in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information or copies
of the information collection, contact Nicole Ongele at (202) 418-2991.
To view a copy of this information collection request (ICR) submitted
to OMB: (1) Go to the web page http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain, (2) look for the section of the web page called ``Currently
Under Review,'' (3) click on the downward-pointing arrow in the
``Select Agency'' box below the ``Currently Under Review'' heading, (4)
select ``Federal Communications Commission'' from the list of agencies
presented in the ``Select Agency'' box, (5) click the ``Submit'' button
to the right of the ``Select Agency'' box, (6) when the list of FCC
ICRs currently under review appears, look for the Title of this ICR and
then click on the ICR Reference Number. A copy of the FCC submission to
OMB will be displayed.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As part of its continuing effort to reduce
paperwork burdens, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), the FCC invited the general public and
other Federal Agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the
following information collection. Comments are requested concerning:
(a) 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; (b) the accuracy
of the Commission's burden estimates; (c) ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information collected; and (d) 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. Pursuant to the Small Business
Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Public Law 107-198, see 44 U.S.C.
3506(c)(4), the FCC seeks specific comment on how it might ``further
reduce the information collection burden for small business concerns
with fewer than 25 employees.''
OMB Control Number: 3060-0804.
Title: Universal Service--Rural Health Care Program.
Form Numbers: FCC Forms 460, 461, 462, 463, 465, 466, and 467.
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Respondents: Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit
institutions; Federal Government; and State, Local, or Tribal
governments.
Number of Respondents and Responses: 10,494 unique respondents;
93,687 responses.
Estimated Time per Response: 0.30-17 hours.
Frequency of Response: On occasion, One-time, Annual, Quarterly,
and Monthly reporting requirements.
Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
Statutory authority for this collection of information is contained in
sections 1-4, 201-205, 214, 254, 303(r), and 403 of the Communications
Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151-154, 201-205, 214, 254, 303(r),
and 403, unless otherwise noted.
Total Annual Burden: 382,741 hours.
Total Annual Cost: No Cost.
Privacy Impact Assessment: No Impact(s).
Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no assurance of
confidentiality provided to respondents concerning this information
collection. Information submitted on FCC Forms for the RHC Program is
subject to public inspection and is used by USAC to update and expand
the RHC Program dataset as part of its Open Data Platform. However,
respondents may request materials or information submitted to the
Commission or to USAC be withheld from public inspection under 47 CFR
0.459 of the FCC's rules.
Needs and Uses: The Commission seeks OMB approval of revisions
(change in reporting and recordkeeping requirements) to this
information collection as a result of the 2019 Promoting Telehealth
Report and Order (WC Docket No. 17-310; FCC 19-78; 84 FR 54952, October
11, 2019). This collection is utilized for the RHC support mechanism of
the Commission's universal service fund (USF). The collection of this
information is necessary so that the Commission and the Universal
Service Administrative Company (USAC) will have sufficient information
to determine if entities are eligible for funding pursuant to the RHC
universal service support mechanism, to determine if entities are
complying with the Commission's rules, and to prevent waste, fraud, and
abuse. This information is also necessary in order to allow the
Commission to evaluate the extent to which the RHC Program is meeting
the statutory objectives specified in section 254(h) of the 1996 Act,
and the Commission's performance goals for the RHC Program.
This information collection is being revised to: (1) Extend some of
the existing information collection requirements for the Healthcare
Connect Fund and Telecommunications (Telecom) Programs; (2) revise some
of the information collection requirements for the Healthcare Connect
Fund and Telecom Programs and (3) add some new information collection
requirements applicable to both the Healthcare Connect Fund Program and
the Telecom Program as a result of the 2019 Promoting Telehealth Report
and Order. As part of this information collection, the Commission is
also revising the FCC Form templates for both programs, reformatting
and revising the Telecommunications Program Invoice Template, and
creating a new Post-Commitment Request Form consistent with the changes
adopted in the 2019 Promoting Telehealth Report and Order and to
promote transparency into the RHC Program procedures and requirements.
The Healthcare Connect Fund Program currently includes FCC Forms
460, 461, 462, and 463 and the Telecom Program currently includes FCC
Forms 465, 466, and 467. The revisions to these FCC Form templates,
where applicable, are intended to make the RHC Program information
requests consistent between the programs, to the extent possible, and
help to ensure and verify that RHC Program participants are not
engaging in fraudulent conduct or otherwise violating the Commission's
rules. Some of the changes to the FCC Form templates have different
effective dates. Therefore, for administrative ease, we have indicated
the applicable funding year of the FCC Form template, and where a
specific form includes changes applicable to funding year 2020 and
others to funding year 2021, we have provided separate forms applicable
to each funding year. In the 2019 Promoting Telehealth Report and
Order, the Commission directed USAC to streamline the data collection
requirements and consolidate the program forms to the extent possible.
Such streamlining and consolidation will not affect the underlying
information collected as part of this information collection, but may
change the format in which it may be collected. The information on the
FCC Form templates is a representative description of the information
to be collected via an online portal and is not intended to be a visual
representation of what each applicant or service provider will see, the
order in which they will see information, or the exact wording or
directions used to collect the information. Where possible, information
already provided by applicants from previous filing years or
[[Page 19477]]
that was pre-filed in the system portal will be carried forward and
auto-generated into the form to simplify the information collection for
applicants. Additionally, in the 2019 Promoting Telehealth Report and
Order, the Commission adopted rules to reflect the changes in the
Report and Order. The new and revised rules impacted by this collection
are listed and described within the collection.
Federal Communications Commission.
Cecilia Sigmund,
Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2020-07208 Filed 4-6-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P