[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 39 (Thursday, February 27, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Page 8957]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-4910]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Public Information Collection Requirement Submitted to Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for Review
February 21, 1997.
The Federal Communications Commission has submitted the following
information collection requirement to OMB for review and clearance
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. Section 3507.
Persons wishing to comment on this information collection should
contact Timothy Fain, Office of Management and Budget, Room 10236,
NEOB, Washington, D.C. 20503, (202) 395-0651. For further information,
contact Dorothy Conway, Federal Communications Commission, (202) 418-
0217.
Please note: The Commission has requested emergency review of this
collection by February 28, 1997, under the provisions of 5 CFR Section
1320.13.
Federal Communications Commission.
OMB Control No.: 3060-0536.
Title: Rules and Requirements for Telecommunications Relay Services
(TRS) Interstate Cost Recovery.
Form No.: FCC Form 431.
Action: Revised Collection.
Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.
Estimated Annual Burden: 5000 respondents; 3.1 hours per response
(avg.); 15593 hours total annual burden.
Needs and Uses: Title IV of the Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990 (ADA) requires the Commission to ensure that telecommunications
relay services are available, to the extent possible, to individuals
with hearing and speech disabilities in the United States. To fulfill
this mandate, the Commission adopted rules that require the provision
of TRS service beginning July 26, 1993. The Commission set minimum
standards for TRS providers and established a shared-funding mechanism
(TRS Fund) for recovering the costs of providing interstate TRS. The
Commission also appointed the National Exchange Carrier Association
(NECA) the TRS Fund administrator, and directed NECA to establish a
non-paid, voluntary advisory committee to monitor cost recovery
matters.
The Commission's rules require all carriers providing interstate
telecommunications services to contribute to the TRS Fund. The amount
contributed is the product of the carrier's gross interstate revenues
for the previous year and a contribution factor determined annually by
the Commission. Contributions are calculated in accordance with a TRS
Fund Worksheet which is prepared each year by the Commission and
published in the Federal Register. Payments from the fund are made to
eligible TRS providers and are designed to cover the reasonable costs
incurred in providing interstate TRS service. The TRS Fund
administrator files a proposed payment formula and estimated fund
requirements with the Commission each year, and this payment formula is
subject to Commission approval. See 47 CFR Sec. 64.601-64.608 for rules
and requirements governing telecommunications relay services. On
December 17, 1996, the Commission's Common Carrier Bureau released an
order approving the contribution factor for the April 1997 through
March 1998 contribution period and the 1997 TRS Fund Worksheet (FCC
Form 431) and also making several revisions to the form.
The foregoing estimates include the time for reviewing
instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and
maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the burden
estimates or any other aspect of the collection of information
including suggestions for reducing the burden to the Federal
Communications Commission, Records Management Division, Paperwork
Reduction Project, Washington, DC 20554.
Federal Communications Commission.
William F. Caton,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 97-4910 Filed 2-26-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-F
