1625-0012 30-day FR Notice

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 99 (Tuesday, May 22, 2018)]

[Notices]

[Pages 23698-23699]

From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[FR Doc No: 2018-10858]

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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[Docket No. USCG-2018-0134]

Collection of Information Under Review by Office of Management

and Budget; OMB Control Number: 1625-0012

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Thirty-day notice requesting comments.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 the

U.S. Coast Guard is forwarding an Information Collection Request (ICR),

abstracted below, to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Office

of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), requesting an extension

of its approval for the following collection of information: 1625-0012,

Certificate of Discharge to Merchant Mariner; without change. Our ICR

describes the information we seek to collect from the public. Review

and comments by OIRA ensure we only impose paperwork burdens

commensurate with our performance of duties.

[[Page 23699]]

DATES: Comments must reach the Coast Guard and OIRA on or before June

21, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Coast Guard docket

number [USCG-2018-0134] to the Coast Guard using the Federal

eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. Alternatively, you

may submit comments to OIRA using one of the following means:

(1) Email: [email protected].

(2) Mail: OIRA, 725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503, attention

Desk Officer for the Coast Guard.

A copy of the ICR is available through the docket on the internet

at http://www.regulations.gov. Additionally, copies are available from:

Commandant (CG-612), Attn: Paperwork Reduction Act Manager, U.S. Coast

Guard, 2703 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave SE, Stop 7710, Washington, DC

20593-7710.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Anthony Smith, Office of

Information Management, telephone 202-475-3532, or fax 202-372-8405,

for questions on these documents.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Public Participation and Request for Comments

This Notice relies on the authority of the Paperwork Reduction Act

of 1995; 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended. An ICR is an application to

OIRA seeking the approval, extension, or renewal of a Coast Guard

collection of information (Collection). The ICR contains information

describing the Collection's purpose, the Collection's likely burden on

the affected public, an explanation of the necessity of the Collection,

and other important information describing the Collection. There is one

ICR for each Collection. The Coast Guard invites comments on whether

this ICR should be granted based on the Collection being necessary for

the proper performance of Departmental functions. In particular, the

Coast Guard would appreciate comments addressing: (1) The practical

utility of the Collection; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden of

the Collection; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity

of information subject to the Collection; and (4) ways to minimize the

burden of the Collection on respondents, including the use of automated

collection techniques or other forms of information technology. These

comments will help OIRA determine whether to approve the ICR referred

to in this Notice.

We encourage you to respond to this request by submitting comments

and related materials. Comments to Coast Guard or OIRA must contain the

OMB Control Number of the ICR. They must also contain the docket number

of this request, [USCG-2018-0134], and must be received by June 21,

2018.

Submitting Comments

We encourage you to submit comments through the Federal eRulemaking

Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. If your material cannot be

submitted using http://www.regulations.gov, contact the person in the

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document for alternate

instructions. Documents mentioned in this notice, and all public

comments, are in our online docket at http://www.regulations.gov and

can be viewed by following that website's instructions. Additionally,

if you go to the online docket and sign up for email alerts, you will

be notified when comments are posted.

We accept anonymous comments. All comments received will be posted

without change to http://www.regulations.gov and will include any

personal information you have provided. For more about privacy and the

docket, you may review a Privacy Act notice regarding the Federal

Docket Management System in the March 24, 2005, issue of the Federal

Register (70 FR 15086).

OIRA posts its decisions on ICRs online at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain after the comment period for each ICR. An OMB Notice

of Action on each ICR will become available via a hyperlink in the OMB

Control Number: 1625-0012.

Previous Request for Comments

This request provides a 30-day comment period required by OIRA. The

Coast Guard published the 60-day notice (83 FR 9010, March 2, 2018)

required by 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2). That Notice elicited one comment. The

commenter expressed concern about the burden of the master signing all

three copies of the collection in ink. The commenter explained that

when the entire crew is discharged, the master must sign his name in

excess of 60 times. The commenter also proposed allowing digital

signatures on the collection.

In response to the burden of signing a certificate more than once,

the Coast Guard is bound by regulation in 46 CFR 14.307(a) to require

the certificate and its copies to be ink signed. We may consider

changing this regulation at a future time. The Coast Guard will not

accept electronic signed certificates at this time because the

regulation expressly states they must be ink signed. Additionally, the

Coast Guard has not evaluated or selected any certain software for

electronic signatures from the public and do not currently have the

capabilities to implement electronic signature verification.

Accordingly, no changes have been made to the Collections.

Information Collection Request

Title: Certificate of Discharge to Merchant Mariner.

OMB Control Number: 1625-0012.

Summary: Title 46, United States Code 10311 requires each master or

individual in charge of a vessel, to prepare a Certificate of Discharge

to Merchant Mariners for each mariner being discharged from the vessel.

These documents are used to establish evidence of sea service aboard

U.S. flagged merchant vessels for merchant mariners to upgrade their

credentials, establish proof of eligibility for union and other

benefits, and in litigation where vessel service is an issue.

Need: The information collected provides the U.S. Coast Guard

evidence of sea service used in determining eligibility for issuance of

a merchant mariner credential, to determine eligibility for various

benefits such as medical and retirement, and to provide information to

the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) on the availability of

mariners in a time of a national emergency.

Forms: CG-718A. Certificate of Discharge to Merchant Mariner.

Respondents: Shipping companies, masters or individuals in charge

of a vessel.

Frequency: On occasion.

Hour Burden Estimate: The estimated annual burden remains 1,478

hours a year.

Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C.

Chapter 35, as amended.

Dated: May 16, 2018.

James D. Roppel,

U.S. Coast Guard, Acting Chief, Office of Information Management.

[FR Doc. 2018-10858 Filed 5-21-18; 8:45 am]

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