Notice2024-08820
Notice of Submission of Proposed Information Collection to OMB; Agency Request for Reinstatement of Previously Approved Collections: Traveling by Air With Service Animals-U.S. Department of Transportation Service Animal Air Transportation Form and U.S. Department of Transportation Service Animal Relief Attestation Form
Primary source
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Published
April 29, 2024
Issuing agencies
Transportation Department
Abstract
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and DOT Order 1351.29A, this notice confirms the Department's intention to renew Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Control Number 2105-0576, concerning Traveling by Air with Service Animals--U.S. Department of Transportation Service Animal Air Transportation Form, and U.S. Department of Transportation Service Animal Relief Attestation Form.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 83 (Monday, April 29, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 83 (Monday, April 29, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33443-33451]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-08820]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary
[Docket ID Number: DOT-OST-2018-0068]
Notice of Submission of Proposed Information Collection to OMB;
Agency Request for Reinstatement of Previously Approved Collections:
Traveling by Air With Service Animals--U.S. Department of
Transportation Service Animal Air Transportation Form and U.S.
Department of Transportation Service Animal Relief Attestation Form
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary (OST), Department of Transportation
(Department or DOT).
ACTION: Notice of submission to the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and DOT
Order 1351.29A, this notice confirms the Department's intention to
renew Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Control Number 2105-0576,
concerning Traveling by Air with Service Animals--U.S. Department of
Transportation Service Animal Air Transportation Form, and U.S.
Department of Transportation Service Animal Relief Attestation Form.
DATES: Written comments on this notice must be received by May 29,
2024.
ADDRESSES: You may file comments regarding the burden estimate,
including suggestions for reducing the burden, in docket number DOT-
OST-2018-0068 by any of the following methods:
<bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and follow the online instructions for submitting
comments. (You may access comments received for this notice at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> by searching docket DOT-OST-2018-0068.)
<bullet> Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, West Building, Ground Floor,
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590;
<bullet> Hand Delivery: West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140,
1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20590 between 9 a.m. and 5
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone
number is 202-366-9329.
Instructions: You must include the agency name and docket number
DOT-OST-2010-0054 at the beginning of your comment. All comments
received will be posted without change to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>,
including any personal information provided.
Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all
comments received in any of DOT's dockets by the name of the individual
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on
April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-78).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maegan Johnson or Livaughn Chapman,
Jr., Office of Aviation Consumer Protection, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590,
telephone number (202) 366-9342 (voice), (202) 366-7152 (fax);
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7d101c181a1c1353171215130e12133d191209531a120b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d3beb2b6b4b2bdfdb9bcbbbda0bcbd93b7bca7fdb4bca5">[email protected]</span></a> or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5935302f382c3e3137773a313829343837193d362d773e362f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5a36332c3b2f3d32347439323b2a373b341a3e352e743d352c">[email protected]</span></a> (email).
Arrangements to receive this document in an alternative format may be
made by contacting the above-named individuals.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DOT published a Federal Register notice with
a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the information
collections on November 13, 2023 (88 FR 77667). DOT received 149
comments on the 60-day notice, which are addressed below. The
Department proposed to amend the U.S. Department of Transportation
Service Animal Air Transportation Form by decreasing the number of
questions on the form to reduce burdens on individuals with
disabilities, including instructions to clarify how to complete the
form, and making other clarifying and formatting changes to the form
that will allow individuals to better navigate the form.
OMB Control Number: 2105-0576.
Title: Traveling by Air with Service Animals.
Type of Request: Reinstatement of information collections.
Background: The U.S. Department of Transportation (Department or
DOT) published a final rule to amend the Department's Air Carrier
Access Act (ACAA) regulation on the transport of service animals by air
in the Federal Register on December 10, 2020 (85 FR 79742). Under 14
CFR 382.75, airlines are permitted to require passengers traveling with
service animals to submit and provide to airlines, as a condition of
travel, a U.S. Department of Transportation Service Animal Air
Transportation Form (``Behavior and Health Attestation Form''), and, if
applicable, a U.S. Department of Transportation Service Animal Relief
Attestation Form (``Relief Attestation Form''). The Behavior and Health
Attestation Form is designed to provide
[[Page 33444]]
assurances to airlines that a service animal does not pose a direct
threat to the health and safety of passengers, crew, and others during
air transportation by requiring passengers to attest that their service
animal is currently vaccinated against rabies, has been trained to
behave in a public setting, and that the animal has not behaved
aggressively or caused serious injury to another person or animal. The
form is also designed to educate passengers traveling with service
animals on how service animals in air transportation are expected to
behave and to inform passengers traveling with service animals of the
consequences of service animal misbehavior. The Relief Attestation Form
may only be required by the airlines when a passenger is traveling with
a service animal on a flight segment scheduled to take 8 hours or more.
The purpose of this form is to provide assurances to the airlines that
the service animal will not need to relieve itself on the flight or
that the animal can relieve itself in a way that does not create a
health or sanitation issue. The form is also designed to educate
passengers of the consequences should a service animal relieve itself
on the aircraft in an unsanitary way.
The Behavior and Health Attestation Form and the Relief Attestation
Form are the only forms that airlines are permitted to require from
passengers traveling with service animals as a condition of transport,
except in rare circumstances when additional documentation may be
necessary to comply with animal transport requirements issued by a
Federal agency, a U.S. territory, or a foreign jurisdiction.
The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and its implementing
regulations, 5 Code of Federal Regulations CFR) part 1320, require
Federal agencies to issue two notices seeking public comment on
information collection activities before OMB may approve paperwork
packages. On November 13, 2023, DOT published a 60-day notice in the
Federal Register soliciting comment on the information collections, the
Behavior and Health Attestation Form and Relief Attestation form, for
which the agency seeks approval. See 85 FR 79742.
In its 60-day notice, the Department sought comment on an amended
version of its original Behavior and Health Attestation Form that was
published in DOT's final service animal rule in December of 2020. The
amended form included formatting and clarifying amendments to the form
that were intended to make the form easier for individuals with
disabilities to navigate and complete. In addition to seeking comment
on amendments to the form, the Department also sought comment on
whether the information collections were necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the Department; the accuracy of the
Department's estimated burden hours; ways to enhance the quality,
utility and clarity of the information collected; and ways to minimize
the burden of the collections on respondents. DOT received 149 comments
in response to its 60-day notice; most of the comments received,
approximately 120, were from individual commenters, while the remaining
comments were received from disability advocacy organizations, two
airlines trade organizations, and an airline contractor.
The majority of individual commenters stated that the DOT service
animal forms were burdensome for passengers with disabilities to
complete because there were too many questions on the form. Individual
commenters also noted that each airline has a different method of
collecting the forms, which makes it difficult for individuals with
disabilities to both complete the forms and submit the forms to
airlines. Individual commenters also stated that some airlines post the
forms on their websites in formats that are not accessible for
individuals with disabilities, especially individuals who are blind.
Many individual commenters requested that the Department disallow
airlines from collecting the forms altogether, or, alternatively,
substantially decrease the number or questions on the form.
Commenters representing disability advocacy organizations shared
many of the same concerns about the burdensome nature of the form
expressed by individual commenters. Disability advocates representing
individuals who are blind commented that airlines are not required to
assist blind passengers with completing the form and that many blind
passengers cannot complete the form independently and must seek the
assistance of a sighted person to both complete and submit the form to
airlines. Disability advocates also commented that it takes longer than
the 15 minutes time period estimated by DOT for individuals with
disabilities to complete the form because of the inaccessibility of the
form on airline websites and the number of questions on the form. These
commenters did not provide a suggested estimate for the amount of time
it takes individuals with disabilities to complete the form.
Some of the disability advocacy organizations commented that they
oppose airlines using third-party contractors to process the service
animal forms and noted that airline staff should be trained on DOT's
rules for processing the forms. Several advocacy organizations also
encouraged DOT to state on the form that airlines must assist
individuals with disabilities with completing the form, that the form
should only require passengers to affirm that a service animal has been
vaccinated instead of requiring the passengers to indicate the animal's
vaccination dates, and that airlines should not be permitted to contact
service animal trainers to verify that the animal has been trained. One
advocacy organization also urged DOT to replace the term ``service
animal user'' with ``service animal handler'' since ``service animal
handler'' is a defined term in DOT's ACAA regulations that refers to
either an individual with a disability traveling with the service
animal, or a third party responsible for controlling the animal who is
traveling with the passenger with a disability and service animal.
Some disability advocates were pleased with the some of the
formatting and clarifying changes made by DOT to the amended form
published in DOT's 60-day notice. Specifically, some commenters stated
that they were glad to see that DOT clarified on the form that a
service animal user may insert his or her own name and contact
information if they train their own service animal. They were also glad
to see that DOT eliminated some of the fields on the form, and that DOT
added and amended section titles on the form.
Airline trade organizations and an airline contractor submitted
comments recommending that DOT make additional clarifying changes to
the form that exceed the amendments in DOT's 60-day notice. For
instance, these commenters suggested that DOT include a uniform date
format on the form, define some of the terms used in the form, attach
form instructions, remove the field that requires the passenger to
provide the date of the service animal's last vaccination, and clarify
that an animal may be refused transport if it shows that it has not
been trained to behave in public. These organizations also urged DOT to
reinstate the ``service animal handler'' field on the form and
commented that the form should require passengers to provide the
service animal's weight, color, and species (or breed), require
passengers to list the animal's work or task, and that DOT should
strengthen the Federal crime warning for making fraudulent statements
on the top of the form by including language clarifying that providing
false, fictitious or fraudulent
[[Page 33445]]
statements on the form is a felony that is subject to a maximum civil
penalty of $250,000.
Airline trade organizations provided data from five airlines on the
number of service animal forms that were collected from these airlines
from July 2022 to June 2023, and urged the Department to use those data
to update its calculation on the estimated total annual burden of the
information collection.
To address these comments, DOT refined the section titles on its
U.S. Department of Transportation Service Animal Air Transportation
Form to more accurately reflect the content of each section of the form
and removed and combined certain questions on the form to reduce the
number of check boxes, from ten check boxes to seven, and the number of
fields that passengers are required to complete on the form.
Specifically, in the first section of the form that requires the
service animal handler to provide his or her contact information, DOT
decreased the number of fields in this section, but added a check box
that requires the handler to attest that the animal is required to
assist with a disability. In the second section of the form, the
Service Animal Identification and Health Information section, the
handler is required to make a single attestation that the animal does
not have fleas or a disease, and that the animal has been vaccinated
for rabies. In the third and fourth sections of the form, the handler
is required to make four individual attestations concerning the
animal's task and behavior training and complete information on the
animal's trainer. Finally, the last section requires the handler to
check a single box to attest to three additional assurances in order to
transport the service animal.
DOT also reinstated the ``service animal handler's'' field since
the term ``service animal handler'' is defined in the Department's
rules, and eliminated the service animal user's name field, since
``service animal user'' is not a term that is defined in the
Department's rules. DOT also clarified on the form that the animal's
description must include the animal's color, and that an airline may
deny transportation to an animal if the animal shows that it has not
been trained to behave in public. Finally, in response to comments
received from both airline trade organizations and disability
advocates, DOT also developed and included in the form specific
instructions for completing the Behavior and Health Attestation Form.
In these instructions, DOT defines certain terms used within the form
(i.e., service animal and service animal handler), makes clear that the
form should be submitted to the airline and not to DOT, describes how
passengers can obtain assistance with completing the form, and provides
other instructions for completing the form. Additionally, DOT has used
data from both airline trade organizations and disability advocates to
update its annual burden calculation for the form.
DOT is aware that some of the recommendations from the commenters
have not been implemented in the amended Behavior and Health
Attestation Form published in this notice. However, as stated in the
60-day notice, the Department's next Air Carrier Access Act Advisory
Committee will consider whether substantive changes to the Behavior and
Health attestation form are necessary, such as whether to include a
question asking passengers to state the task or work their service
animal performs, whether to further reduce the number of attestation
check-boxes on the form, and whether to amend the warning language at
the top of the form.
Copies of the revised form and accompanying instructions reflecting
the changes are included in this notice.
Accordingly, the Department announces that these information
collection activities have been re-evaluated and certified under 5 CFR.
1320.5(a) and forwarded to OMB for review and approval pursuant to 5
CFR 1320.12(c). Before OMB decides whether to approve these proposed
collections of information, it must provide 30 days for public comment.
44 U.S.C. 3507(b); 5 CFR 1320.12(d). Federal law requires OMB to
approve or disapprove paperwork packages between 30 and 60 days after
the 30-day notice is published. 44 U.S.C. 3507(b)-(c); 5 CFR
1320.12(d); see also 60 FR 44978, 44983 (Aug. 29, 1995). The 30-day
notice informs the regulated community to file relevant comments to OMB
and affords the Agency adequate time to review and respond to public
comments before rendering a decision. See 60 FR 44983 (Aug. 29, 1995).
Therefore, respondents should submit any comments to OMB within 30 days
of publication to best ensure their full consideration. 5 CFR
1320.12(c); see also 60 FR 44983 (Aug. 29, 1995).
This notice addresses the information collection requirements set
forth in the Department's regulation 14 CFR 382.75, which allows
airlines to require passengers traveling with service animals to
provide the airline with the two forms of documentation developed by
the Department as a condition of travel. The renewed OMB control number
will be applicable to all the provisions set forth in this notice.
As noted above, the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) and its
implementing regulations, 5 CFR part 1320, require Federal agencies to
issue two notices seeking public comment on information collection
activities before OMB may approve paperwork packages. A Federal agency
generally cannot conduct or sponsor a collection of information, and
the public is generally not required to respond to an information
collection, unless it is approved by OMB under the PRA and displays a
currently valid OMB Control Number. In addition, notwithstanding any
other provisions of law, no person shall generally be subject to
monetary penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information
if the collection of information does not display a valid OMB Control
Number. See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6.
For each of these information collections, the title, a description
of the respondents, and an estimate of the annual recordkeeping and
periodic reporting burden are set forth below.
1. Requirement to prepare and submit to airlines the DOT Air
Transportation Service Animal Behavior and Health Attestation Form
(Behavior and Health Attestation Form).
Respondents: Passengers with disabilities traveling on aircraft
with service animals.
Number of Respondents: The Department estimates that 639,709
respondents will complete the Service Animal Health and Attestation
form. This estimate was calculated by using data provided from Airlines
for America (A4A) on the number of Behavior and Health Attestation
Forms collected by five of its member airlines between July 1, 2022,
through June 30, 2023, and passenger trip data as represented in the
origination and destination (O&D) data,\1\ collected by DOT from
airlines during this same time period.
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\1\ According to DOT's Bureau of Transportation Statistics
(BTS), the Airline Origin and Destination Survey is a 10% sample of
airline tickets from reporting carriers collected by the Office of
Airline Information of the BTS. Data include origin, destination and
other itinerary details of passengers transported. This database is
used to determine air traffic patterns, air carrier market shares
and passenger flows. <a href="https://www.transtats.bts.gov/DatabaseInfo.asp?QO_VQ=EFI&Yv0x=D">https://www.transtats.bts.gov/DatabaseInfo.asp?QO_VQ=EFI&Yv0x=D</a>.
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According to A4A, five of its member airlines received 319,057
Behavior and Health Attestation Forms between July 1, 2022, through
June 30, 2023.\2\ The number of trips reported for these five airlines
for this same time period was 352,265,055. DOT only permits airlines to
collect its Behavior and Health
[[Page 33446]]
Attestation Form from passengers no more than once per trip, or once
for every one-way flight or once per round-trip flight, although some
airlines that receive permission to store a passenger's Form may
collect the form less than once per trip. As such, the estimated number
of trips for the purposes of estimating the number of forms collected
is 176,132,528 (352,265,055 trips divided by 2). Based on these
figures, the rate of Behavior and Health Attestation Forms received by
airlines is .00181 (319,057 forms divided by 176,132,528 trips), or
1.81 forms received by airlines per 1,000 for each trip.
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\2\ Comment from Airlines for America, <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/comment/DOT-OST-2018-0068-32515">https://www.regulations.gov/comment/DOT-OST-2018-0068-32515</a>.
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According to BTS data, U.S. and foreign airlines reported a total
of 706,861,040 O&D trips between July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023.
Using the rate of .00181 or 1.81 forms received by airlines per 1,000
for each trip, we estimate that 639,709 forms (706,861,040 total trips,
divided by 2, and multiplied by .00181 rate of forms received by
airlines) were submitted to airlines between July 1, 2022, through June
30, 2023. Assuming that one passenger traveling with a service animal
represents each form, DOT estimates that 639,709 passengers will have
submitted service animal forms between July 1, 2022, through June 30,
2023.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: We estimate that
completing the Behavior and Health Attestation Form would require 20
minutes (.333 hours) per response, including the time it takes to
retrieve an electronic or paper version of the form from the airline's
website, reviewing the instructions, and completing the questions. The
Department previously estimated that it took passengers 15 minutes to
complete its Behavior and Health Attestation Form, but a number of
individuals commented that it took more than 15 minutes to complete the
form, although none of the commenters stated the amount of time it
takes to complete the form.
Based on this estimate, passengers would spend a total of 213,023
hours annually (0.333 hours x 639,709 forms) to retrieve and complete
an accessible version of the form. Passengers would fill out the forms
on their own time without pay. To estimate the value of this
uncompensated activity, we use median wage data from the Bureau of
Labor Statistics.\3\ We use a post-tax wage estimate of $18.48 ($22.26
median for all occupations minus a 17% percent estimated tax rate). The
estimated annual value of this time is $3,936,668 ($18.48 x 213,023
hours).\4\
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\3\ For a discussion of estimating the value of uncompensated
activities, see ``Valuing Time in U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services Regulatory Impact Analyses: Conceptual Framework and
Best Practices'' from the Department of Health and Human Services,
available at <a href="https://aspe.hhs.gov/system/files/pdf/257746/VOT.pdf">https://aspe.hhs.gov/system/files/pdf/257746/VOT.pdf</a>.
\4\ Bureau of Labor Statistics (2022). ``May 2022 National
Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates: United States.'' May
2022 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates (<a href="http://bls.gov">bls.gov</a>).
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2. Requirement to prepare and submit to airlines the DOT Service
Animal Relief Attestation Form.
Respondents: Passengers with disabilities traveling on aircraft
with service animals on flight segments scheduled to take 8 hours or
more.
Number of Respondents: The Department estimates that 5 percent of
the Behavior and Health Attestation Form would be collected for round
trip flights scheduled to take 8 hours or more and would also have to
complete the Relief Attestation Form, for a total of 31,985 forms
(639,709 forms x 0.05).
Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: We estimate that
completing the form would require 15 minutes (.25 hours) per response,
including the time it takes to retrieve an electronic or paper version
of the form from the airline's website, reviewing the instructions, and
completing the questions. Passengers would spend a total of 7,996 hours
annually (0.25 hours x 31,985 forms) to retrieve an accessible version
of the form and complete the form. Passengers would fill out the forms
on their own time without pay, as they would with the Animal Behavior
and Health Attestation Form. The estimated annual value of this time is
$147,770 ($18.48 x 7,996 hours).
Comments Invited
We invite comments on the Relief Attestation Form renewal and on
the formatting and clarity amendments made to the Behavior and Health
Attestation Form. We also invite comments on: (a) whether the
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of
the functions of the Department, including whether the information will
have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Department's estimate
of the burden of the proposed information collection; (c) ways to
enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information to be
collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of
information on respondents.
All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the
request for OMB approval. All comments will also become a matter of
public record on the docket.
Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. chapter
35, as amended; and 59 CFR 1.48.
BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P
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Issued in Washington, DC.
Livaughn Chapman Jr.,
Deputy Assistant General Counsel, Office of Aviation Consumer
Protection.
[FR Doc. 2024-08820 Filed 4-26-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-9X-C
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