Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments for a New Information Collection

Issuing agencies

Abstract

The FHWA has forwarded the information collection request described in this notice to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve a new information collection. 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 91 Issue 199 (Friday, October 16, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 199 (Friday, October 16, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65841-65842]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-21228]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

[Docket No. FHWA-2026-1123]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments 
for a New Information Collection

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The FHWA has forwarded the information collection request 
described

[[Page 65842]]

in this notice to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve 
a new information collection. We are required to publish this notice in 
the Federal Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Please submit comments by November 16, 2026.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by DOT Docket ID Number 
1123 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: Charles Matthews, 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#fe9d969f8c929b8dd0939f8a8a969b898dbe9a918ad0999188"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a0c3c8c1d2ccc5d38ecdc1d4d4c8c5d7d3e0c4cfd48ec7cfd6">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>, Office of the Chief Financial Officer, 
Federal Highway Administration, Department of Transportation, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. Office hours are from 6 a.m. to 
3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We published a Federal Register Notice with 
a 60-day public comment period on this information collection on August 
12, 2026, at [91 FR 52108]. The notice received two comments. The 
comments and FHWA's responses are below:
    The comments received by the recipient include (1) Is the 
collection necessary?; (2) Is the burden estimate accurate?; (3) Ways 
to enhance the quality and clarity of the collected information; and 
(4) Ways to limit burden without reducing the quality of the collected 
information.
    FHWA appreciates the feedback and understands that this could 
require extra work from the States. Unfortunately, because of the 
complexity of our programs, we rely heavily on the States to provide 
the requested information. Since each State operates differently, the 
grant accrual calculation and process consolidate all State responses 
and FHWA uses a standardized process to calculate the quarterly grant 
accrual to compensate for the differences.
    The burden is our best guess at how much time it takes a State to 
complete the annual survey. However, burden on the States depends on 
several factors. Several factor examples include State personnel (new 
vs seasoned employee), familiarity with completing the annual survey 
(1st time versus 7th time), and knowledge of the Federal grants 
management process and procedures. However, we have taken steps to 
reduce the burden by States to research variances. The steps taken by 
FHWA include providing the States with the program and projects that 
make up the variance.
    We are continuously enhancing our grants process so that the 
estimate on our financial statements is conservative, yet appropriate 
for the fiscal year end reporting to meet the Departmental, financial 
statement auditors, and Federal government-wide expectations. This 
estimate is required per the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles 
as well as other accounting authoritative sources.
    We do welcome and value your feedback. We will keep your comments 
in mind when we further enhance our quarterly grant accrual process.
    Title: Annual Grants State Survey & Quarterly Lookback Analysis.
    Background: Respondents are required to answer 29 questions 
regarding Federal-aid grant payments and billing cycles. FHWA reviews 
the prior fiscal year (FY) survey questions to determine if updates are 
required based on the Departmental OIG external financial statement 
audit and/or process changes and improvements. The survey is sent out 
annually to the division offices/States in the May/June timeframe. The 
survey responses are due from the division offices/States to FHWA in 
the July/August timeframe.
    The responses from the annual survey are key inputs to calculating 
the quarterly grant accrual for the Federal-aid program by States. The 
responses are updated in the grant accrual data analytics Excel 
workbook file by State, program, project, and other data attributes. 
The estimated quarterly grant accrual is compared to the subsequent 
quarter's disbursements to validate the effectiveness of the quarterly 
grant accrual calculation referred to as the lookback analysis. States 
with a $50 million dollar variance and at least +/- 20% variance or 
more are required to provide FHWA with an explanation. FHWA reviews the 
responses from the division offices/States for adequacy, and if 
required, and sends a follow-up email to the division offices/States to 
provide additional information. Approximately seven States are required 
to provide a variance explanation. FHWA identifies the programs and 
projects that make up the variance. States are only required to provide 
explanations for the programs and projects that make up the variance. 
The number of required explanations is approximately ten per quarter 
per State. In total, FHWA reviews approximately 70 variance 
explanations per quarter.
    The quarterly lookback analysis and the data analytics are used to 
analyze payment trends, make enhancements to the grant accrual process, 
provide reasonable estimates for the grant liabilities and expenses, 
satisfy accounting principles and guidance requirements, and provide 
support for internal and external audits. The quarterly grant accrual 
calculations and the lookback analyses are performed for quarters 1-4.
    Respondents: 50 State DOTs and District of Columbia.
    Frequency: Annually for the Grants State Survey and Quarterly for 
the Lookback Analysis.
    Estimated Average Burden per Response: 5.32 hours per respondent 
per application per form.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: The total burden hours for 
States are 1,951.15 hours (271.15 hours for annual grants State survey 
and 1,680 hours for four lookback analysis quarters).
    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: October 14, 2026.
Jazmyne Lewis,
Information Collection Officer.
[FR Doc. 2026-21228 Filed 10-15-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-22-P


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