The Federal Communication Commission (âCommissionâ) is submitting a non-substantive change request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to add electronic reporting fields in the Alert Reporting System (ARS). The ARS was previously approved by OMB as a part of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) information collection, 3060-0207, which is approved through April 30, 2025 (see justification).
In the Report and Order, FCC 21-77 (rel. June 17, 2021), the Commission amends Part 11 of its rules to (i) encourage chief executives of states and territories to form SECCs if none exist in their states, or if the state has an SECC, to review its composition and governance criteria; (ii) include as a required element in the State EAS Plan, a certification by the SECC Chairperson or Vice-Chairperson that the SECC met (in person, via teleconference, or via other methods of conducting virtual meetings) at least once in the twelve months prior to submitting the annual updated plan to review and update their State EAS Planâand incorporate such certification into the Alert Reporting System (ARS); (iii) require that the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (Bureau) to approve or reject State EAS Plans submitted for approval within 60 days of receiptâfor those instances in which the Bureau finds defects in a submitted plan requiring correction by the SECC, that State EAS Plan will be considered to be temporarily withdrawn, restarting the 60-day review and approval period anew upon resubmission of the corrected plan in ARS; (iv) require Bureau to list the approval dates of State EAS Plans submitted on ARS on the Commissionâs website, and in the event a final decision is made to deny a plan, directly notify the chief executive of the State to which the plan applies of that determination and the reasons for such denial within 30 days of such decision; (v) adopt an EAS Plan Content Checklist composed of the plan content requirements set forth in § 11.21 of the Commissionâs rules, 47 CFR 11.21, and direct the Bureau to post the checklist on the Commissionâs website and incorporate it as an appendix in the ARS user manual; and (vi) enable the Administrator of FEMA and state, local, Tribal, and territorial governments to report false EAS and WEA alerts when they occur.
US Code:
47 USC 154(i)
Name of Law: Communications Act of 1934, as amended
US Code:
47 USC 606
Name of Law: Communications Act of 1934, as amended
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:
(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;
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.
ARS Non-substantive Change Request July 2023_final version.docx
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