[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 137 (Tuesday, July 18, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40731-40732]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-11346]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Transportation Security Administration
Intent To Request Renewal From OMB of One Current Public
Collection of Information: Registered Traveler Pilot (RT) Pilot
Program; Satisfaction and Effectiveness Measurement Data Collection
Instruments
AGENCY: Transportation Security Administration, DHS.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) invites
public comment on one currently approved information collection
requirement abstracted below that we will submit to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for renewal in compliance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act.
DATES: Send your comments by September 18, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed or delivered to Katrina Wawer,
Attorney-Advisor, Office of the Chief Counsel, TSA-2, Transportation
Security Administration, 601 South 12th Street, Arlington, VA 22202-
4220.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katrina Wawer at the above address, or
by telephone (571) 227-1995 or facsimile (571) 227-1381.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Comments Invited
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
3501 et seq.), an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is
not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it
displays a valid OMB control number. Therefore, in preparation for OMB
review and approval of the following information collection, TSA is
soliciting comments to--
(1) Evaluate whether the proposed information requirement is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency,
including whether the information will have practical utility;
(2) Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden;
(3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and
(4) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those
who are to respond, including using appropriate automated, electronic,
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms
of information technology.
Information Collection Requirement
1652-0019; Registered Traveler Pilot (RT) Pilot Program;
Satisfaction and Effectiveness Measurement Data Collection Instruments.
TSA is expanding the scope of the Registered Traveler (RT) Pilot
Program, which is currently in operations at one airport and is already
approved by OMB, to test and evaluate specific technologies and
business processes related to the RT concept. In addition, TSA will add
additional locations using the RT Pilot Program's public/private
partnership. For the purpose of continuing metrics analysis, testing
interoperability of systems, and testing the private/public model of
operations, TSA sought emergency processing from OMB in order to begin
collecting information in June 2006. OMB issued its temporary approval
on June 12, 2006, and TSA is now seeking to renew the RT Pilot
Program's control number.
TSA will receive and retain personal information on individuals who
volunteer to participate in the program that Sponsoring Entities (i.e.,
airport authorities and/or aircraft operators under agreement with TSA
to conduct RT operations) will collect and transmit through a Central
Information Management System (CIMS), which will be under contract with
TSA. This information will allow TSA to complete and adjudicate name-
based security threat assessments and allow Sponsoring Entities to
issue an RT card to approved applicants.
In addition, TSA will administer two instruments, which OMB
previously approved, to measure the satisfaction of RT pilot
participants and key stakeholders. TSA will administer the first
instrument, customer service surveys, electronically via the TSA Web
site. TSA estimates the hour burden for the surveys to be 72,000 hours,
based on 288,000 respondents and a 15-minute burden per respondent. The
second instrument, stakeholder interviews, will be used by TSA to
periodically conduct in person interviews to ensure that stakeholders'
issues are fully addressed and to facilitate accurate assessments of
local concerns. Stakeholders include representatives of participating
airports, air carriers, vendor staff, and relevant associations, as
well as Federal Security Directors and their staff. TSA estimates the
hour burden for the stakeholder interviews to be 120 hours, based on 6-
8 interviews per location (not including
[[Page 40732]]
TSA employees) and a 45-minute burden per interview.
Finally, in order for TSA to further develop the Registered
Traveler Pilot Program, it is seeking to expand the information
collection to include two additional categories of respondents: (1)
Companies wishing to serve as Service Providers (i.e., companies
procured by the Sponsoring Entities to implement RT services); and (2)
Airport authorities and aircraft operators wishing to participate in
Registered Traveler.
Companies Wishing To Serve as Service Providers
If a company wishes to serve as a Service Provider for the
Registered Traveler Pilot Program, it will have to undergo a process to
confirm that it is a legitimate business that does not pose or is
suspected of posing a threat to transportation or national security.\1\
TSA has determined that the most effective way to pre-qualify companies
seeking participation in Registered Traveler is to collect basic
financial information about the company and to conduct security threat
assessments (including fingerprint-based criminal history records
check) on the company's (including its subcontractors) key
personnel.\2\ TSA estimates that up to 12 companies will wish to serve
as an enrollment and/or verification provider and will need to provide
information for the process. These 12 companies will have to submit
general information (organization, legal, and ownership) about
themselves so that TSA may conduct a security threat assessment to
confirm that they do not pose, or are not suspected of posing, a threat
to transportation or national security. TSA estimates that each company
will take up to 12 hours to provide TSA with this information.
Therefore, TSA estimates that the total hour burden for providing this
general company information to be 144 hours [12 companies x 12 hours
per company].
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\1\ An RT Service Provider can be: (1) An Enrollment Provider
(EP) thatcollects the biographic and biometric information from RT
applicants, collects user fees from RT applicants, and issues RT
cards to RT participants; (2) a Verification Provider (VP) that
verifies the identity of the RT participant in the airport in
accordance with TSA-issued RT standards; or (3) a combined
Enrollment and Verification Provider. The term ``Service Provider''
is used in this document as a term of collective reference to RT
vendors of all three categories.
\2\ Key personnel are defined as: (1) Officers, principals, and
programmanagers responsible for RT operations; and (2) all employees
that collect, handle or use RT applicant or participant data.
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TSA will also collect personally identifying information about
company key personnel (such as name, contact information, and date of
birth) in order to conduct security threat assessments, including a
fingerprint-based criminal history records checks. TSA estimates that
this information will be collected for a maximum of 25 individuals per
company and that providing this information will take about three hours
per person. Therefore, TSA estimates that the maximum total hour burden
for providing information on company officers and key personnel to be
900 hours [300 individuals (12 companies x 25 individuals per company)
x 3 hours per individual].
Thus, TSA estimates the total hour burden for the company re-
qualification process to be 1,044 hours [144 hours for general company
information + 900 hours for information on company officers and key
personnel].
Airport and Air Carrier Participation Approval
If an airport authority or aircraft operator wishes to participate
in the Registered Traveler Pilot Program, TSA will require it to submit
a Statement of Interest. TSA estimates that up to 50 entities will
apply to participate and that it will take each airport one hour to
prepare and submit its Statement of Interest. Therefore, TSA estimates
the total burden hour for each entity seeking to participate in
Registered Traveler to be 50 hours [50 airports x 1 hour per airport/
air carrier].
TSA is currently proceeding with RT pilots at approximately 10-20
airports. TSA requires potential Sponsoring Entities seeking to
participate in Registered Traveler to submit a Plan of Operations,
including a Validation and Verification Report, which demonstrates how
the potential Sponsoring Entities' operations comply with TSA-issued
Registered Traveler standards. TSA estimates that approximately 20
potential Sponsoring Entities will submit a Plan of Operations and that
it will take each entity 40 hours to prepare the Plan. Therefore, TSA
estimates the total hour burden for entities submitting a Plan of
Operations to be 800 hours [20 entities x 40 hours per airport].
Thus, TSA estimates the total hour burden for the participation
approval process to be approximately 850 hours [50 hours for
preparation and submittal of a Statement of Interest (50 airports/air
carriers x 1 hour per airport/air carrier) + 800 hours for preparation
and submittal of a Plan of Operations (20 airports/air carriers x 40
hours per airport/air carrier].
TSA estimates that expanding the Registered Traveler Pilot
Program's information collection to include companies wishing to serve
as service providers and airports wishing to participate will add a
maximum of $2,400,000 to the cost burden. In order to prepare the Plan
of Operations, airports will likely require the services of a certified
public accountant to complete the Validation and Verification Report
for their vendors. TSA estimates that it will cost about $200,000 per
company and that between 6 and 12 vendor companies will participate in
Registered Traveler. Built into this $200,000 figure is the cost per
company to conduct a CHRC, which TSA estimates to be $750.00 ($30.00
per individual CHRC x 12 individuals per company). Therefore, TSA
estimates a total burden cost ranging between $1,200,000 [for 6
companies ($200,000 per company x 6 companies)] and $2,400,000 [for 12
companies ($200,000 x 12 companies)].
Issued in Arlington, Virginia, on July 12, 2006.
Peter Pietra,
Director of Privacy Policy and Compliance.
[FR Doc. E6-11346 Filed 7-17-06; 8:45 am]
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