Notice2024-02572
Agency Information Collection Activities: Notice of Request for Renewal of Currently Approved Information Collection
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
February 8, 2024
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentFederal Highway Administration
Abstract
The FHWA has forwarded the information collection request described in this notice to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval of a renewal of information collection. We published a Federal Register Notice with a 60-day public comment period on this information collection on October 31, 2023. We are required to publish this notice in the Federal Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 27 (Thursday, February 8, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 27 (Thursday, February 8, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8736-8737]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-02572]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
[Docket No. FHWA-2024-0009]
Agency Information Collection Activities: Notice of Request for
Renewal of Currently Approved Information Collection
AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of request for extension of currently approved
information collection.
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SUMMARY: The FHWA has forwarded the information collection request
described in this notice to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
for approval of a renewal of information collection. We published a
Federal Register Notice with a 60-day public comment period on this
information collection on October 31, 2023. We are required to publish
this notice in the Federal Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995.
DATES: Please submit comments by March 11, 2024.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by DOT Docket ID Number
0009 by any of the following methods:
Website: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>. Follow the online instructions for submitting
comments.
Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery or Courier: U.S. Department of Transportation, West
Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE,
Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Omar Elkassed, (213) 894-6718,
Office of Stewardship, Oversight, and Program Management, Federal
Highway Administration, Department of Transportation, 888 South
Figueroa Street, Suite 440, Los Angeles, CA 90017. Office hours are
from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The comments and FHWA's responses to the 60-
day notice published October 31, 2023 at 88 FR 74557 are below:
<bullet> Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT)
[cir] Whether the proposed collection is necessary for the FHWA 's
performance:
[ssquf] The Fiscal Management Information System (FMIS), which
generates the project agreement, contains a PREFIX Field, which is
established at the onset of a project on the state's allocation. As
estimates are updated, multiple fund sources can be added to a project
at the state's discretion; however, the PREFIX field is not required to
be revised as additional federal funding sources are added. VDOT
therefore recommends that the PREFIX Field be removed from FMIS, as it
does not appear to serve any purpose from the state's perspective.
[ssquf] Response: The prefix field on the project detail screen is
an optional field and will not prevent you from obligating funds.
[cir] The accuracy of the estimated burdens:
[ssquf] Based on the complexity and the phase of project data
required, Virginia averages an estimated 1.0 to 1.5 how-s to complete a
project agreement.
[ssquf] Response: Thank you for your input on the estimated
duration to complete a project agreement in Virginia. The estimated
burdens hours in the notice is based on nationwide average.
[cir] Ways for the FHWA to enhance the quality, usefulness and
clarity of the collected information.
[ssquf] VDOT recommends that FHWA develop additional standard
reports for states to utilize on data fields in FMIS for analysis of
data as needed. That would save time so that states would not have to
create reports on their own using the Business Objects tool within
FMIS. Additionally, it would ensure that all states are consistently
reporting data from the same source in response to FHWA requests.
[ssquf] Response: FMIS has a set of standard reports in the Reports
module in FMIS and a set of Resource Center and developer created
reports in Business Objects under the following Public Folders: BUGS
University--Help, Delphi Reporting Tool (DRT), and FMIS5. If your state
would like assistance to develop specific reports for your state, you
may reach out to the FDAT for assistance.
[cir] Ways that the burden could be minimized, including the use of
electronic technology, without reducing the quality of the collected
information
[ssquf] VDOT recommends that FHWA provide clearer communication to
states when/if FHWA updates FMIS in order to allow states sufficient
time to update their IT requirements/recode data for FHWA's Electronic
Data System (EDS).
[ssquf] Response: In September 2023, we extended the FMIS system
change notification period to states from 60-
[[Page 8737]]
days to 90-days. Recipients receive notification from their Division
Office of these changes and are notified on the FMIS opening page
message board after sign in.
<bullet> California Department of Transportation
[cir] Caltrans recommends that state requests for agreement
modifications resulting in net-zero obligation be allowed when the
unobligated apportionment balance is less than the obligation amount of
the request, without considering the de-obligation portion.
[cir] Response: The Fiscal Management Information System (FMIS)
must validate funding availability in FMIS and Delphi. In the instance
of a de-obligation when unobligated apportionment balance is zero or
less than the obligation request, FMIS indicates an over-obligation
error until the de-obligation is posted to Delphi. Once posted to
Delphi, new obligations may occur up to the unobligated balance.
Title: Preparation and Execution of the Project Agreement and
Modifications.
OMB Control #: 2125-0529.
Background: Formal agreements between State Transportation
Departments and the FHWA are required for Federal-aid highway projects.
These agreements, referred to as ``project agreements'' are written
contracts between the State and the Federal government that define the
extent of work to be undertaken and commitments made concerning a
highway project. Section 1305 of the Transportation Equity Act for the
21st Century (TEA-21, Pub. L. 105-178) amended 23 U.S.C. 106(a) and
combined authorization of work and execution of the project agreement
for a Federal-aid project into a single action. States continue to have
the flexibility to use whatever format is suitable to provide the
statutory information required, and burden estimates for this
information collection are not changed.
Respondents: There are 56 respondents, including 50 State
Transportation Departments, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth
of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam,
the Virgin Islands and American Samoa. Depending on the size of and
activity in the above government agencies, the number of project
agreements executed in any agency ranges between 10 and 1,500.
Frequency: On an on-going basis as project agreements are written.
Estimated Average Burden per Response: There is a total of 23,809
agreements per year. Each agreement requires 1 hour to complete.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: Total estimated average annual
burden is 23,809 hours.
Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of
this information collection, including: (1) Whether the proposed
collection is necessary for the FHWA's performance; (2) the accuracy of
the estimated burdens; (3) ways for the FHWA to enhance the quality,
usefulness, and clarity of the collected information; and (4) ways that
the burden could be minimized, including the use of electronic
technology, without reducing the quality of the collected information.
The agency will summarize and/or include your comments in the request
for OMB's clearance of this information collection.
Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. chapter
35, as amended; and 49 CFR 1.48.
Issued On: February 5, 2024.
Jazmyne Lewis,
Information Collection Officer.
[FR Doc. 2024-02572 Filed 2-7-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-22-P
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