Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Supportive Services (DBE/SS) Accomplishments Report

Forms and Documents

Document Name	Status
30Day FRN.pdf Supplementary Document	2023-12-04
DBESS_Updated Supporting Statement.docx Supporting Statement A	2023-11-27
60 Day FRN.pdf Supplementary Document	2023-09-26

IC Document Collections

IC ID	Document Title	Status
260274	Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Supportive Services (DBE/SS) Submissions Other-DBESS Statement of Work	New

ICR Details

OMB Control No:	ICR Reference No: 202305-2125-001
Status: Received in OIRA	Previous ICR Reference No:
Agency/Subagency: DOT/FHWA	Agency Tracking No:
Title: Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Supportive Services (DBE/SS) Accomplishments Report
Type of Information Collection: New collection (Request for a new OMB Control Number)	Common Form ICR:  No
Type of Review Request: Regular	Date Submitted to OIRA: 12/06/2023

	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	36 Months From Approved
Responses	53	0
Time Burden (Hours)	212	0
Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0

---

Abstract: The FHWA, Office of Civil Rights (HCR), has legislative authority under 23 USC 140(c) to allocate up to $10 million annually to State DOTs for the purpose of providing services to Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs) to improve their ability to compete on federally assisted contracts as prime and subcontractors. The regulations for the DBE/SS program are found in 230 Subpart B – Supportive Services for Minority, Disadvantaged, and Women Business Enterprises (The DBE/SS program is a FHWA discretionary grant program that has been identified as a Departmental and FHWA equity initiative. DBE/SS is also included in the Department’s Justice 40 initiative. To be eligible for funding for the DBE/SS program, State DOTs must submit a Statement of Work (SOW) to FHWA for review and approval for compliance with program intent, regulatory requirements, and federal cost principles. As a discretionary grant program, State DOTs receiving funding must provide reports to the FHWA to evaluate the progression of the program. See 23 CFR 230.204(h). While HCR has created guidance for State DOTs to follow in creating their SOWs, they are currently submitted in paper form and the contents and size of the submissions vary. Similarly, the reports from State DOTs are not uniform and do not always include the information necessary for FHWA to evaluate the success of the program. To address this, HCR has created a DBE/SS fillable SOW template and a DBE/SS Accomplishments Report for State DOTs to use to replace paper submissions. This template and report form are new and will be accessible electronically through the Civil Rights Connect System. While use of the SOW template will be voluntary, it will allow HCR to receive SOWs that are uniform in content and size. This will allow HCR to streamline its review and approval process in order to distribute funding in a more timely manner. Furthermore, the annual report will allow HCR to collect essential statistical and narrative data needed to evaluate the effectiveness of State DOT DBE/SS programs nationally.

---

Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 23 USC 140(c)
  

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

---

Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

---

Federal Register Notices & Comments
60-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	88 FR 66122	09/26/2023
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	88 FR 84183	12/04/2023
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

---

Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 1

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Supportive Services (DBE/SS) Submissions

---

ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Request	Previously Approved	Change Due to New Statute	Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate	Change Due to Potential Violation of the PRA
Annual Number of Responses	53	0	0	53	0	0
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	212	0	0	212	0	0
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0	0	0	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: Yes

Burden Increase Due to: Miscellaneous Actions

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: This is a new collection so there is no burden reduction or increase.

---

Annual Cost to Federal Government: $24,217

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     No

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     No

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? No

---

Common Form ICR:  No

---

On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).

The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:

(a) It is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions;

(b) It avoids unnecessary duplication;

(c) It reduces burden on small entities;

(d) It uses plain, coherent, and unambiguous language that is understandable to respondents;

(e) Its implementation will be consistent and compatible with current reporting and recordkeeping practices;

(f) It indicates the retention periods for recordkeeping requirements;

(g) It informs respondents of the information called for under 5 CFR 1320.8 (b)(3) about:

(i) Why the information is being collected;

(ii) Use of information;

(iii) Burden estimate;

(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);

(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and

(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;

(h) It was developed by an office that has planned and allocated resources for the efficient and effective management and use of the information to be collected.

(i) It uses effective and efficient statistical survey methodology (if applicable); and

(j) It makes appropriate use of information technology.

If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.

Certification Date: 12/06/2023

---