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

Published date27 December 2019
Citation84 FR 71410
Record Number2019-27925
SectionNotices
CourtFederal Communications Commission
Federal Register, Volume 84 Issue 248 (Friday, December 27, 2019)
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 248 (Friday, December 27, 2019)]
                [Notices]
                [Pages 71410-71411]
                From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
                [FR Doc No: 2019-27925]
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                FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
                [OMB 3060-1222; FRS 16292]
                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, 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 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 should be submitted on or before January 27,
                2020. 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 listed 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 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: 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.
                 OMB Control Number: 3060-1222.
                 Title: Inmate Calling Services Annual Reporting, Certification, and
                Consumer Disclosure Requirements.
                 Form Number(s): FCC Form 2301(a) and FCC Form 2301(b).
                 Type of Review: Revision of a currently-approved collection.
                 Respondents: Business or other for profit.
                 Number of Respondents and Responses: 20 respondents; 20 responses.
                 Estimated Time per Response: 5 hours-80 hours.
                 Frequency of Response: Annual reporting and certification
                requirements; third party disclosure requirement.
                 Obligation to Respond: Mandatory. Statutory authority for this
                information collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 1, 4(i), 4(j), 201,
                225, 276, and 303(r) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47
                U.S.C. 151, 154(i)-(j), 201, 225, 276, and 303(r).
                 Total Annual Burden: 2,000 hours.
                 Total Annual Cost: No cost.
                 Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
                 Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: The Commission anticipates
                treating as presumptively confidential any particular information
                identified as proprietary by providers of inmate calling services
                (ICS).
                 Needs and Uses: Section 201 of the Communications Act of 1934 Act,
                as amended (Act), 47 U.S.C. 201, requires that ICS providers'
                interstate and international rates and practices be just and
                reasonable. Section 276 of the Act, 47 U.S.C. 276, requires that
                payphone service providers (including ICS providers) be fairly
                compensated for completed calls.
                 In the Second Report and Order and Third Further Notice of Proposed
                Rulemaking (Second Report and Order), WC Docket No. 12-375, FCC 15-136,
                the Commission undertook comprehensive reform of the ICS rules. The
                Commission, among other things, established new rate caps for
                interstate and intrastate ICS calls and limited and capped ancillary
                service charges. To enable the Commission to ensure compliance with the
                rules adopted in the Second Report and Order and
                [[Page 71411]]
                monitor the effectiveness of the ICS reforms, the Commission required
                all ICS providers to file annual reports providing data and other
                information on their ICS operations.
                 In particular, the Commission required each ICS provider to file a
                report annually specifying, for the prior calendar year: Interstate,
                international, and intrastate minutes of use by facility; and the name,
                size, and type of facility being served; fees for any ancillary
                services, the amount of these fees, and the number of times each fee
                was imposed; monthly site commission payments; rates and minutes of use
                for video calling services by facility, as well as ancillary fee
                charges for such services; the number of disability-related calls,
                problems associated with such calls, and ancillary fees charged in
                connection with such calls; and the number of complaints received
                related to, for example, dropped calls and poor call quality and the
                number of instances of each by TTY and TRS users. The annual reports
                ensure that the Commission has access to the information it needs to
                fulfill its regulatory duties, while minimizing the burden on ICS
                providers.
                 The Commission required that an ICS provider certify annually the
                accuracy of the data and other information submitted in the provider's
                annual report and the provider's compliance with the Commission's ICS
                rates. Pursuant to the authority delegated to it by the Commission in
                the Second Report and Order, the Commission's Wireline Competition
                Bureau (Bureau) created standardized templates for the annual reports
                (FCC Form 2301(a)) and certifications (FCC Form 2301(b)). The Bureau
                provided instructions that explain the reporting and certification
                requirements and reduce the burden of the data collection. The
                Commission also required ICS providers to disclose to consumers their
                interstate, intrastate, and international rates and ancillary service
                charges.
                 On June 13, 2017, the D.C. Circuit vacated the video visitation
                requirements in the annual report. Pursuant to the D.C. Circuit's
                mandate, the Commission has removed the video visitation reporting
                requirements in the annual report and amended the instructions to
                reflect the removal of this requirement. As part of the Commission's
                continued administration of the ICS data collection, the Commission has
                modified the instructions for FCC Form 2301(a) and FCC Form 2301(b) in
                several additional respects. These changes make the instructions
                clearer and will make the annual reports easier to understand and
                analyze. The amended instructions require ICS providers to: Submit all
                reports using the electronic Excel template provided by the Commission,
                and to provide the data in a machine-readable, manipulatable format;
                provide city and state information for each facility served; group the
                facilities served by underlying contracts in the section for ICS Rates;
                separately report and explain their rates for debit/prepaid calls and
                collect calls; report fixed site commission payments by facility as
                well as by contract; and explain certain entries, including any entry
                that omits requested information. These changes will impose only a
                minimal additional burden on providers because they address only
                information that providers usually and customarily compile in the
                normal course of their business activities. The information will help
                the Commission continue to analyze changes in the ICS industry, to
                monitor compliance with the ICS rules, and to enforce these rules.
                Federal Communications Commission.
                Cecilia Sigmund,
                Federal Register Liaison Officer, Office of the Secretary.
                [FR Doc. 2019-27925 Filed 12-26-19; 8:45 am]
                 BILLING CODE 6712-01-P
                

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