Request for Comments of a Previously Approved Information Collection(s)

AGENCY:

Office of the Secretary, DOT.

ACTION:

Notice and request for comments.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below is being forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. A Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the information collection was published on June 4, 2018. One comment was received that does not warrant any adjustments to the forms.

DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before September 12, 2018.

ADDRESSES:

Send comments regarding the burden estimate, including suggestions for reducing the burden, to the Office of Management and Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for the Office of the Secretary of Transportation, 725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503.

Comments are invited on: Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Department, including whether the information will have practical utility; the accuracy of the Department's estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection; ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. Marc Pentino, Departmental Office of Civil Rights, Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, (202) 366-6968, or at marc.pentino@dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program Collections.

OMB Control Number: 2105-0510.

Type of Request: Renewal of a Previously Approved Information Collection.

Abstract: The following information collections are associated with the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program: Uniform Report of DBE Awards or Commitments and Payments, Uniform Certification Application Form, Annual Affidavit of No Change, DOT Personal Net Worth Form, and Reporting Requirements for Percentages of DBEs in Various Categories. All five collections were previously approved under one OMB Control Number (2105-0510) to allow DOT to more efficiently administer the DBE program. The DBE program is mandated by statute, including Section 1101(b) of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) (Pub. L. 114-94) and 49 U.S.C. 47113. DOT's final regulations implementing these statutes are 49 CFR parts 23 and 26. The information to be collected is necessary because it helps to ensure that State and local recipients that let federally-funded contracts carry out their mandated responsibility to provide a level playing field for small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.

Uniform Report of DBE Awards/Commitments and Payments

Affected Public: DOT financially-assisted State and local transportation agencies.

Number of Respondents: 1,250.

Frequency: Once/twice per year.

Number of Responses: One/two.

Total Annual Burden: 9,000 hours.

Uniform Certification Application Form

Affected Public: Firms applying to be certified as DBEs.

Number of Respondents: 9,500.

Frequency: Once during initial certification.

Number of Responses: One.

Total Annual Burden: 76,000 hours.

Annual Affidavit of No Change

Affected Public: Certified DBEs.

Number of Respondents: Approximately 38,465 certified DBE firms.

Frequency: Once per year.

Number of Responses: One.

Total Annual Burden: 57,698 hours.

Personal Net Worth Form

Affected Public: Firms applying to be DBEs.

Number of Respondents: 9,500.

Frequency: Once.

Number of Responses: One.

Total Annual Burden: 19,000 hours.

Percentage of DBEs in Various Categories

Affected Public: States (through their Unified Certification Programs).

Number of Respondents: 53 (50 states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands).

Frequency: Once per year.

Number of Responses: One.

Total Annual Burden: 161.6 hours.

Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended; and 49 CFR 1:48.

Appendix B to Part 26—Uniform Report of DBE Awards or Commitments and Payments Form

Instructions for Completing the Uniform Report of DBE Awards/Commitments and Payments

Recipients of Department of Transportation (DOT) funds are expected to keep accurate data regarding the contracting opportunities available to firms paid for with DOT dollars. Failure to submit contracting data relative to the DBE program will result in noncompliance with Part 26. All dollar values listed on this form should represent the DOT share attributable to the Operating Administration (OA): Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to which this report will be submitted.

1. Indicate the DOT (OA) that provides your Federal financial assistance. If assistance comes from more than one OA, use separate reporting forms for each OA. If you are an FTA recipient, indicate your Vendor Number in the space provided.

2. If you are an FAA recipient, indicate the relevant AIP Numbers covered by this report. If you are an FTA recipient, indicate the Grant/Project numbers covered by this report. If more than ten attach a separate sheet.

3. Specify the Federal fiscal year (i.e., October 1-September 30) in which the covered reporting period falls.

4. State the date of submission of this report.

5. Check the appropriate box that indicates the reporting period that the data provided in this report covers. For FHWA and FTA recipients, if this report is due June 1, data should cover October 1-March 31. If this report is due December 1, data should cover April 1-September 30. If the report is due to the FAA, data should cover the entire fiscal year.

6. Provide the name and address of the recipient.

7. State your overall DBE goal(s) established for the Federal fiscal year of the report being submitted to and approved by the relevant OA. Your overall goal is to be reported as well as the breakdown for specific Race Conscious and Race Neutral projections (both of which include gender-conscious/neutral projections). The Race Conscious projection should be based on measures that focus on and provide benefits only for DBEs. The use of contract goals is a primary example of a race conscious measure. The Race Neutral projection should include measures that, while benefiting DBEs, are not solely focused on DBE firms. For example, a small business outreach program, technical assistance, and prompt payment clauses can assist a wide variety of businesses in addition to helping DBE firms.

Section A: Awards and Commitments Made During This Period

The amounts in items 8(A)-10(I) should include all types of prime contracts awarded and all types of subcontracts awarded or committed, including: professional or consultant services, construction, purchase of materials or supplies, lease or purchase of equipment and any other types of services. All dollar amounts are to reflect only the Federal share of such contracts and should be rounded to the nearest dollar.

Line 8: Prime contracts awarded this period: The items on this line should correspond to the contracts directly between the recipient and a supply or service contractor, with no intermediaries between the two.

8(A). Provide the total dollar amount for all prime contracts assisted with DOT funds and awarded during this reporting period. This value should include the entire Federal share of the contracts without removing any amounts associated with resulting subcontracts.

8(B). Provide the total number of all prime contracts assisted with DOT funds and awarded during this reporting period.

8(C). From the total dollar amount awarded in item 8(A), provide the dollar amount awarded in prime contracts to certified DBE firms during this reporting period. This amount should not include the amounts sub contracted to other firms.

8(D). From the total number of prime contracts awarded in item 8(B), specify the number of prime contracts awarded to certified DBE firms during this reporting period.

8(E&F). This field is closed for data entry. Except for the very rare case of DBE-set asides permitted under 49 CFR part 26, all prime contracts awarded to DBES are regarded as race-neutral.

8(G). From the total dollar amount awarded in item 8(C), provide the dollar amount awarded to certified DBEs through the use of Race Neutral methods. See the definition of Race Neutral in item 7 and the explanation in item 8 of project types to include.

8(H). From the total number of prime contracts awarded in 8(D), specify the number awarded to DBEs through Race Neutral methods.

8(I). Of all prime contracts awarded this reporting period, calculate the percentage going to DBEs. Divide the dollar amount in item 8(C) by the dollar amount in item 8(A) to derive this percentage. Round the percentage to the nearest tenth.

Line 9: Subcontracts awarded/committed this period: Items 9(A)-9(I) are derived in the same way as items 8(A)-8(I), except that these calculations should be based on subcontracts rather than prime contracts. Unlike prime contracts, which may only be awarded, subcontracts may be either awarded or committed.

9(A). If filling out the form for general reporting, provide the total dollar amount of subcontracts assisted with DOT funds awarded or committed during this period. This value should be a subset of the total dollars awarded in prime contracts in 8(A), and therefore should never be greater than the amount awarded in prime contracts. If filling out the form for project reporting, provide the total dollar amount of subcontracts assisted with DOT funds awarded or committed during this period. This value should be a subset of the total dollars awarded or previously in prime contracts in 8(A). The sum of all subcontract amounts in consecutive periods should never exceed the sum of all prime contract amounts awarded in those periods.

9(B). Provide the total number of all sub contracts assisted with DOT funds that were awarded or committed during this reporting period.

9(C). From the total dollar amount of sub contracts awarded/committed this period in item 9(A), provide the total dollar amount awarded in sub contracts to DBEs.

9(D). From the total number of sub contracts awarded or committed in item 9(B), specify the number of sub contracts awarded or committed to DBEs.

9(E). From the total dollar amount of sub contracts awarded or committed to DBEs this period, provide the amount in dollars to DBEs using Race Conscious measures.

9(F). From the total number of sub contracts awarded or committed to DBEs this period, provide the number of sub contracts awarded or committed to DBEs using Race Conscious measures.

9(G). From the total dollar amount of sub contracts awarded/committed to DBEs this period, provide the amount in dollars to DBEs using Race Neutral measures.

9(H). From the total number of sub contracts awarded/committed to DBEs this period, provide the number of sub contracts awarded to DBEs using Race Neutral measures.

9(I). Of all subcontracts awarded this reporting period, calculate the percentage going to DBEs. Divide the dollar amount in item 9(C) by the dollar amount in item 9(A) to derive this percentage. Round the percentage to the nearest tenth.

Line 10: Total contracts awarded or committed this period. These fields should be used to show the total dollar value and number of contracts awarded to DBEs and to calculate the overall percentage of dollars awarded to DBEs.

10(A)-10(B). These fields are unavailable for data entry.

10(C-H). Combine the total values listed on the prime contracts line (Line 8) with the corresponding values on the subcontracts line (Line 9).

10(I). Of all contracts awarded this reporting period, calculate the percentage going to DBEs. Divide the total dollars awarded to DBEs in item 10(C) by the dollar amount in item 8(A) to derive this percentage. Round the percentage to the nearest tenth.

Section B: Breakdown by Ethnicity & Gender of Contracts Awarded to DBEs This Period

11-17. Further breakdown the contracting activity with DBE involvement. The Total Dollar Amount to DBEs in 17(C) should equal the Total Dollar Amount to DBEs in 10(C). Likewise, the total number of contracts to DBEs in 17(F) should equal the Total Number of Contracts to DBEs in 10(D).

Line 16: The “Non-Minority” category is reserved for any firms whose owners are not members of the presumptively disadvantaged groups already listed, but who are either “women” OR eligible for the DBE program on an individual basis. All DBE firms must be certified by the Unified Certification Program to be counted in this report.

Section C: Payments on Ongoing Contracts

Line 18(A-E). Submit information on contracts that are currently in progress. All dollar amounts are to reflect only the Federal share of such contracts, and should be rounded to the nearest dollar.

18(A). Provide the total number of prime and sub-contracts where work was performed during the reporting period.

18(B). Provide the total dollar amount paid to all firms performing work on contracts.

18(C). From the total number of contracts provided in 18(A) provide the total number of contracts that are currently being performed by DBE firms for which payments have been made.

18(D). From the total dollar amount paid to all firms in 18(A), provide the total dollar value paid to DBE firms currently performing work during this period.

18(E). Provide the total number of DBE firms that received payment during this reporting period. For example, while 3 contracts may be active during this period, one DBE firm may be providing supplies or services on all three contracts. This field should only list the number of DBE firms performing work.

18(F). Of all payments made during this period, calculate the percentage going to DBEs. Divide the total dollar value to DBEs in item 18(D) by the total dollars of all payments in 18(B). Round the percentage to the nearest tenth.

Section D: Actual Payments on Contracts Completed This Reporting Period

This section should provide information only on contracts that are closed during this period. All dollar amounts are to reflect the entire Federal share of such contracts, and should be rounded to the nearest dollar.

19(A). Provide the total number of contracts completed during this reporting period that used Race Conscious measures. Race Conscious contracts are those with contract goals or another race conscious measure.

19(B). Provide the total dollar value of prime contracts completed this reporting period that had race conscious measures.

19(C). From the total dollar value of prime contracts completed this period in 19(B), provide the total dollar amount of dollars awarded or committed to DBE firms in order to meet the contract goals. This applies only to Race Conscious contracts.

19(D). Provide the actual total DBE participation in dollars on the race conscious contracts completed this reporting period.

19(E). Of all the contracts completed this reporting period using Race Conscious measures, calculate the percentage of DBE participation. Divide the total dollar amount to DBEs in item 19(D) by the total dollar value provided in 19(B) to derive this percentage. Round to the nearest tenth.

20(A)-20(E). Items 21(A)-21(E) are derived in the same manner as items 19(A)-19(E), except these figures should be based on contracts completed using Race Neutral measures.

20(C). This field is closed.

21(A)-21(D). Calculate the totals for each column by adding the race conscious and neutral figures provided in each row above.

21(C). This field is closed.

21(E). Calculate the overall percentage of dollars to DBEs on completed contracts. Divide the Total DBE participation dollar value in 21(D) by the Total Dollar Value of Contracts Completed in 21(B) to derive this percentage. Round to the nearest tenth.

22. Name of the Authorized Representative preparing this form.

23. Left blank for future use.

24. Signature of the Authorized Representative.

25. Phone number of the Authorized Representative.

**Submit your completed report to your Regional or Division Office.