[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 88 (Friday, May 6, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27444-27445]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-10624]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
[OMB 3060-0804]
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 (44 U.S.C.
3501-3520), 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.
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.
DATES: Written PRA comments should be submitted on or before July 5,
2016. 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
[email protected] and to [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information about the
information collection, contact Nicole Ongele at (202) 418-2991.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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: 18,534 respondents; 134,912
responses.
Estimated Time per Response: 0.1-40 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(i), 4(j), 201-205, 214, 254, and 403 of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151-154, 201-205,
218-220, 254, 303(r), 403 and 405.
Total Annual Burden: 287,817 hours.
[[Page 27445]]
Total Annual Cost: No Cost.
Privacy Impact Assessment: No Impact(s).
Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: The Commission is not
requesting that the respondents submit confidential information to the
Commission. Respondents may, however, request confidential treatment
for information they believe to be confidential under 47 CFR 0.459 of
the Commission's rules. We note that the universal service
administrator, the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC),
must preserve the confidentiality of all data obtained from respondents
and contributors to the universal service support program mechanism;
must not use the data except for purposes of administering the
universal service support program; and must not disclose data in
company-specific form unless directed to do so by the Commission.
Needs and Uses: The Commission is seeking Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) approval to revise the information collection requirements
contained in this collection. There is a change in the reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
This collection is utilized for the rural health care (RHC) support
mechanism of the Commission's universal service fund (USF). The
collection of the information is necessary so that the Commission and
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. In addition, the
information is necessary in order to allow the Commission to evaluate
the extent to which the RHC Programs are meeting the statutory
objectives specified in section 254(h) of the 1996 Act, and the
Commission's own performance goals for the Healthcare Connect Fund.
This information collection is being revised to: (1) Eliminate the
information requirement for the Internet Access Program; (2) extend
some of the existing collection requirements for the Healthcare Connect
Fund, the Skilled Nursing Facilities Pilot Program, the 2006 Pilot
Program, and the Telecommunications Program; and (3) revise some of the
existing information collection requirements for the Healthcare Connect
Fund and the Telecommunications Programs. This information collection
is organized by program indicating which information collection
requirements are being eliminated, extended, and/or revised for each
RHC Program. The Healthcare Connect Fund includes FCC Forms 460, 461,
462, and 463, and the Telecommunications Program includes FCC Forms
465, 466, 467. At the time of the Commission's last information
collection submission, 2006 Pilot Program participants were using the
FCC Forms for the Telecommunications and Internet Access Programs. 2006
Pilot Program participants and former 2006 Pilot Program participants,
however, can now seek funding from the Healthcare Connect Fund and the
Telecommunications Programs using the forms for those programs. The
revisions to these FCC Forms, where applicable, are intended to make
the RHC Program information requests consistent between the programs,
to the extent possible. Since the last revision to this information
collection, USAC has upgraded its information technology environment to
create an integrated online application and administrative process for
the Healthcare Connect Fund and all Healthcare Connect Fund forms are
being submitted and processed via the online portal. Similarly, the
information collection requirements associated with the
Telecommunications Program have also been placed online. Taken as a
whole, the implementation of these automated systems should reduce
administrative burdens and costs for applicants, service providers, and
USAC. Since the application processes have now been automated, the
Commission will, in this information collection request, submit
templates describing the type of information that will be requested
from RHC Program participants, rather than submitting paper forms. As
part of this information collection, we propose to make the revisions
to this information collection and all RHC forms processed via the
online portal effective January 1, 2017. The current FCC Forms will
remain in effect until that date.
Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016-10624 Filed 5-5-16; 8:45 am]
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