80 FR 10093 - Information Collection Being Submitted for Review and Approval to the Office of Management and Budget

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 37 (February 25, 2015)

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 Commission) invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collections. 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 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.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 37 (Wednesday, February 25, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10093-10094]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-03845]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[3060-0806]


Information Collection Being Submitted for Review and Approval to 
the Office of Management and Budget

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 Commission) 
invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this 
opportunity to comment on the following information collections. 
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 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 should be submitted on or before March 27, 
2015. 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 contacts below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Direct all PRA comments to Nicholas A. Fraser, OMB, via 
email [email protected]; and to Nicole Ongele, FCC, via 
email [email protected] and to [email protected]. Include in the comments 
the OMB control number as shown in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section 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 OMB control number of 
this ICR and then click on the ICR Reference Number. A copy of the FCC 
submission to OMB will be displayed.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0806.
    Title: Universal Service--Schools and Libraries Universal Service 
Program, FCC Forms 470 and 471.
    Form Numbers: FCC Forms 470 and 471.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Not-for-profit institutions, and state, local or 
tribal government public institutions.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 82,000 respondents, 82,000 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 3 hours to fill out FCC Form 470 and 4 
hours to fill out the FCC Form 471 plus 0.5 hours for each form for the 
ten-year recordkeeping requirement.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion, annual reporting, and 
recordkeeping requirements.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. 
Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 47 
U.S.C.s 151--154, 201--205, 218--220, 254, 303(r), 403, and 405.
    Total Annual Burden: 334,000 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: No cost.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no assurance of 
confidentiality provided to respondents concerning this information 
collection. If the Commission requests applicants to submit information 
that the respondents believe is confidential, respondents may request 
confidential treatment of their information under 47 CFR 0.459 of the 
Commission's rules.
    Needs and Uses: FCC Forms 470 and 471 collect the information the 
Commission and the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) need 
to administer the schools and libraries universal service mechanism 
(informally known as the E-rate program), determine if entities are 
eligible for funding pursuant to the schools and libraries support 
mechanism, determine the amount of support entities seeking funding are 
eligible to receive, determine if entities are complying with the 
Commission's rules, and prevent waste, fraud, and abuse. The forms 
collect specific information to establish that economically 
disadvantaged schools and rural schools receive a greater share of E-
rate program funding based on the percentage of students eligible in 
that school district for the national school lunch program (NSLP) (or 
other acceptable indicators of economic disadvantage determined by the 
Commission). The student poverty level needed to determine discounts 
for

[[Page 10094]]

libraries are based on the NSLP information for the school district 
nearby. In the E-rate Modernization Order, among other things, the 
Commission took steps to streamline the application process, provide 
exemptions from competitive bidding, implement a ``district-wide'' 
discount calculation mechanism, establish budgets for internal 
broadband connectivity, and extend the document retention period to ten 
years. FCC Forms 470 and 471 execute these changes for the E-rate 
application process and enable the Commission to collect data to 
facilitate measurement of progress towards the adopted performance 
goals established in the E-rate Modernization Order.
    In addition, this collection is necessary to allow the Commission 
to evaluate the extent to which the E-rate program is meeting the 
statutory objectives specified in section 254(h) of the 1996 Act.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Office of the Managing Director.
[FR Doc. 2015-03845 Filed 2-24-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P