82 FR 4875 - Information Collections Being Submitted for Review and Approval to the Office of Management and Budget

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 10 (January 17, 2017)

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the Federal Communication 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 82, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 17, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4875-4877]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-00847]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[OMB 3060-0262 and 3060-0519]


Information Collections 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, the 
Federal Communication 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

[[Page 4876]]

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 February 16, 
2017. 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 Cathy Williams, 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 Cathy Williams at (202) 418-
2918. 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 No.: 3060-0262.
    Title: Section 90.179, Shared Use of Radio Stations.
    Form No.: N/A.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit, non-for-profit 
institutions, and state, local and tribal government.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 43,000 respondents, 43,000 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: .25 up to .75 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Recordkeeping requirement and On occasion 
reporting requirement.
    Obligation To Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The 
statutory authority for this collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 
154(i), 161, 303(g), 303(r) and 332(c)(7).
    Total Annual Burden: 43,000 hours.
    Annual Cost Burden: None.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no need for 
confidentiality with this collection of information.
    Needs and Uses: The Commission was directed by the United States 
Congress, in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, to dedicate 2.4 MHz of 
electromagnetic spectrum in the 746-806 MHz band for public safety 
services. Section 90.179 requires that Part 90 licensees that share use 
of their private land mobile radio facility on non-profit, cost-sharing 
basis to prepare and keep a written sharing agreement as part of the 
station records. Regardless of the method of sharing, an up-to-date 
list of persons who are sharing the station and the basis of their 
eligibility under Part 90 must be maintained. The requirement is 
necessary to identify users of the system should interference problems 
develop. This information is used by the Commission to investigate 
interference complaints and resolve interference and operational 
complaints that may arise among the users.

    OMB Control Number: 3060-0519.
    Title: Rules and Regulations Implementing the Telephone Consumer 
Protection Act (TCPA) of 1991, CG Docket No. 02-278.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities; Individuals or 
households; Not-for-profit institutions.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 36,548 respondents; 
147,434,797 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: .004 hours (15 seconds) to 1 hour.
    Frequency of Response: Recordkeeping requirement; Annual, on 
occasion and one-time reporting requirement; Third party disclosure 
requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The 
statutory authority for the Information collection requirements is 
found in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA), Public 
Law 102-243, December 20, 1991, 105 Stat. 2394, which added Section 227 
of the Communications Act of 1934, [47 U.S.C. 227] Restrictions on the 
Use of Telephone Equipment.
    Total Annual Burden: 666,598 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: $2,745,000.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: Confidentiality is an issue 
to the extent that individuals and households provide personally 
identifiable information, which is covered under the FCC's system of 
records notice (SORN), FCC/CGB-1, ``Informal Complaints and 
Inquiries.'' As required by the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 552a, the 
Commission also published a SORN, FCC/CGB-1 ``Informal Complaints, 
Inquiries, and Requests for Dispute Assistance'', in the Federal 
Register on August 15, 2014 (79 FR 48152) which became effective on 
September 24, 2014. A system of records for the do-not-call registry 
was created by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) under the Privacy 
Act. The FTC originally published a notice in the Federal Register 
describing the system. See 68 FR 37494, June 24, 2003. The FTC updated 
its system of records for the do-not-call registry in 2009. See 74 FR 
17863, April 17, 2009.
    Privacy Impact Assessment: Yes.
    Needs and Uses: The reporting requirements included under this OMB 
Control Number 3060-0519 enable the Commission to gather information 
regarding violations of Section 227 of the Communications Act, the Do-
Not-Call Implementation Act (Do-Not-Call Act), and the Commission's 
implementing rules. If the information collection were not conducted, 
the Commission would be unable to track and enforce violations of 
Section 227 of the Communications Act, the Do-Not-Call Act, or the 
Commission's implementing rules. The Commission's implementing rules 
provide consumers with protections from many unwanted telephone 
solicitations and other commercial calls.
    The National Do-Not-Call Registry supplements the company-specific 
do-not-call rules for those consumers who wish to continue requesting 
that particular companies not call them. Any company that is asked by a 
consumer, including an existing customer, not to call again must honor 
that request for five (5) years.
    A provision of the Commission's rules, however, allows consumers to 
give specific companies permission to call them through an express 
written agreement. Nonprofit organizations are exempt from the Do-Not-
Call Registry requirements.

[[Page 4877]]

    On September 21, 2004, the Commission released the Safe Harbor 
Order establishing a limited safe harbor in which callers will not be 
liable for placing autodialed and prerecorded message calls to numbers 
ported from a wireline service to a wireless service within the 
previous 15 days. The Commission also amended its existing National Do-
Not-Call Registry safe harbor to require telemarketers to scrub their 
lists against the Registry every 31 days.
    On June 17, 2008, in accordance with the Do-Not-Call Improvement 
Act of 2007, the Commission revised its rules to minimize the 
inconvenience to consumers of having to re-register their preferences 
not to receive telemarketing calls and to further the underlying goal 
of the National Do-Not-Call Registry to protect consumer privacy 
rights. The Commission released a Report and Order in CG Docket No. 02-
278, FCC 08-147, amending the Commission's rules under the TCPA to 
require sellers and/or telemarketers to honor registrations with the 
National Do-Not-Call Registry so that registrations would not 
automatically expire based on the then-current five year registration 
period. Specifically, the Commission modified Sec.  64.1200(c)(2) of 
its rules to require sellers and/or telemarketers to honor numbers 
registered on the Registry indefinitely or until the number is removed 
by the database administrator or the registration is cancelled by the 
consumer.
    On February 15, 2012, the Commission released a Report and Order in 
CG Docket No. 02-278, FCC 12-21, revising its rules to: (1) Require 
prior express written consent for all autodialed or prerecorded 
telemarketing calls to wireless numbers and for all prerecorded 
telemarketing calls to residential lines; (2) eliminate the established 
business relationship exception to the consent requirement for 
prerecorded telemarketing calls to residential lines; (3) require 
telemarketers to include an automated, interactive opt-out mechanism in 
all prerecorded telemarketing calls, to allow consumers more easily to 
opt out of future robocalls during a robocall itself; and (4) require 
telemarketers to comply with the 3% limit on abandoned calls during 
each calling campaign, in order to discourage intrusive calling 
campaigns. Finally, the Commission also exempted from the Telephone 
Consumer Protection Act requirements prerecorded calls to residential 
lines made by health care-related entities governed by the Health 
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.
    On August 11, 2016, the Commission released a Report and Order in 
CG Docket No. 02-278, FCC 16-99, adopting rules to implement the TCPA 
amendments Congress enacted in Section 301 of the Bipartisan Budget Act 
of 2015. The Commission adopted rules implementing the law's exception 
from the prior express consent requirement for autodialed or 
prerecorded calls to wireless numbers ``solely to collect a debt owed 
to or guaranteed by the United States,'' and placing limits on the 
number and duration of autodialed or prerecorded calls to wireless 
numbers ``to collect a debt owed or guaranteed by the United States.'' 
Federal government callers and contractors making these calls on behalf 
of the federal government, without prior express consent of the called 
party, may call the person or persons responsible for paying the debt 
at one of three phone numbers specified in the rules, may call three 
times during a 30-day period, may call between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. 
local time at the debtor's location, may not call once the debtor 
requests that the calls cease, and must transfer the stop-call request 
to the new servicer if the debt servicer changes. Callers must notify 
debtors of their right to request that no further autodialed or 
prerecorded calls be made to the debtor for the life of the debt. 
Prerecorded calls may not exceed 60 seconds, excluding required 
disclosures and stop-calling instructions. Text messages are limited to 
160 characters, including required disclosures, which may be sent in a 
separate text message. Calls may be made (1) once the debt is 
delinquent and, (2) if the debt is not yet delinquent, then after one 
of the following events and in the 30 days before one of the following 
events: The end of a grace, deferment, or forbearance period; 
expiration of an alternative payment arrangement; or occurrence of a 
similar time-sensitive event or deadline affecting the amount or timing 
of payments due.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-00847 Filed 1-13-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6712-01-P