3060-0918 December 2013
CORES Update/Change Form, FCC Form 161
SUPPORTING STATEMENT
A. Justification:
Existing Information Collection Requirements:
1. FCC Form 161, “CORES Update/Change Form,” is part of the Commission’s Registration System (CORES). This form maybe found at: www.fcc.gov/Forms/Form161/161.pdf.
Applicants/entities (respondents) use FCC Form 161 to update/change their name, address, contact representative, telephone, e-mail address, fax number, etc., which was previously entered into the CORES database.
The Commission uses FCC Form 161 to allow applicants and licensees doing business with the FCC to keep their account information current.
The Commission will also use FCC Form 161 to update/change information in the Commission’s database.
For businesses and individuals1, the FCC Registration Number (FRN) is its Federal Communications Commission-issued FCC FRN. The FRN is a unique account number that is used for identification purposes only.
The FCC has updated FCC Form 161 to include a “personal security question,” and a “custom personal security question.”
The FCC has incorporated the “certification statement” and “signature line” that have comprised FCC Form 162. The addition of these two elements has not affected the various burden estimates for this collection.
Proposed
Information Collection Requirements (The FCC has not adopted any of
these proposed requirements):
On December 7, 2010, the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), Amendment of Part 1 of the Commission’s Rules, Concerning Practice and Procedure, Amendment of CORES Registration System, MD Docket Number 10-234, FCC 10-192. Among other things, in this NPRM the FCC has proposed to:
(1) eliminate some of our exceptions to the requirement that entities and individuals provide their Taxpayer Identification Number (“TIN”) at the time of registration;
(2) require FRN holders to provide their e-mail addresses;
(3) give FRN holders the option to identify multiple points of contact; and
(4) require FRN holders to indicate their tax-exempt status and notify the Commission of pending bankruptcy proceedings.
All other remaining existing information collection requirements in this NPRM would stay as they are.
The various burden estimates will also remain the same.
New Information Collection Requirements:
The FCC is currently sending, by U.S. Postal Service, confirmations of CORES registrations and updates.
The FCC will transition to sending confirmations by e-mail where we have email addresses for the CORES registrants. This is because:
E-mailing confirmations instead of sending hard copies will save the FCC considerable amount of money, including labor, paper and postage.
(2) Additionally, it is more efficient to transmit confirmation electronically on a real-time base.
This information collection contains personally identifiable information on individuals (PII). 2
(a) The FCC maintains a system of records notice (SORN), FCC/OMD-9, “Commission Registration System (CORES),” to cover the collection, purposes(s), storage, safeguards, and disposal of the PII that individual respondents may submit on FCC Form 161.
(b) The FCC published this SORN last on April 5, 2006 (71 FR 17234, 17253).
Statutory authority for this collection of information is the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, Public Law 104-134, Chapter 10, § 31001.
2. The Commission uses the information that applicants provide on FCC Form 161 to update and/or to change their CORES information.3
(a) This is necessary to ensure that the Commission has accurate information to identify applicant filer and to ensure proper crediting of the transaction and money, if applicable.
(b) Applicants (respondents) may update/change their data via the FCC Internet webpage: www.fcc.gov/frnreg.
3. Respondents may provide the information on FCC Form 161 electronically via the FCC’s webpage: www.fcc.gov/frnreg, or respondents may continue to file the paper version of FCC Form 161.
4. There is no similar information already available. The Commission is required to obtain this information from any applicants and/or licensees doing business with the Commission.
5. In conformance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Commission is making an effort to minimize the burden on all respondents, regardless of size.
(a) The collection will have minimal impact on all respondents.
(b) The Commission has limited its collection of information to only the extent needed to identify a person or business interacting with the Government.
6. The FRN is used each time a person or entity does business with the Commission. Although this unique number is stored in the Commission’s CORES database, it is an integral part of each filing or service/benefit request. It also serves to identify the filer so as to ensure proper crediting of the transaction and money, if applicable.
7. This information is only collected to update/change data in the CORES system.
8. The Commission published a Notice in the Federal Register on July 11, 2013 (78 FR 41796), which initiated a 60-day comment period. No comments were submitted following publication of the notice.
9. Respondents will not receive any payments or gifts.
10. Consistent with the provisions of the Privacy Act, the Taxpayer Information Number, i.e., Social Security Number and/or the Employee Identification Number, will not be made available to the public. A privacy act statement is included on FCC Form 161 so that applicants (respondents) are informed of the need to obtain the information.4
(a) The Commission maintains a SORN, FCC/OMD-9, “Commission Registration System (CORES)” to cover the collection, purpose(s), storage, safeguards, and disposal of the PII that individual respondents may submit on FCC Form 161.
(b) FCC Form 161 includes a privacy statement to inform applicants (respondents) of the Commission’s need to obtain the information and the protections that the FCC has in place to protect the PII.
11. This collection does not address any private matters of a sensitive nature. In addition:
(a) The Commission assigns each applicant that registers in CORES a FCC Registration Number (FRN), as explained above.
(b) Furthermore, the Commission will redact any sensitive information before it makes FCC forms and other documents available for public inspection.
(c) The FCC has a SORN, FCC/OMD-9, “Commission Registration System (CORES),” which covers the PII that applicants submit on FCC Form 161, as noted above.5
(d) Furthermore, the Commission will redact any PII submitted on this form before it makes FCC Form 161 available for public inspection.
12. The Commission estimates that:
(a) There are 80,000 respondents6 who are required to file FCC Form 161. They are broken down as follow:
Individuals & households (“individuals”) - 45,000
Businesses and other for-profit entities (“businesses”) - 19,000
State, local or tribal governments (“governments”) - 13,000
Institutions and other non-profits (“institutions”) - 3,000
(b) The average burden on respondents is approximately ten minutes (0.167 hours) based on FCC staff's knowledge and familiarity with the availability of the data that respondents are required to have to file FCC Form 161, “CORES Registration Form:” The number of responses is calculated as one response per applicant and a one time reporting requirement to register with the FCC).
Individuals: 45,000 responses x 0.167 hour (10 minutes) = 7,515 hours
Businesses: 19,000 responses x 0.167 hour (10 minutes) = 3,173 hours
Governments: 13,000 responses x 0.167 hour (10 minutes) = 2,171 hours
(4) Institutions: 3,000 responses x 0.167 hour (10 minutes) = 501 hours
Total Number of Respondents: 80,000 (applicants)
Total Number of Responses: 80,000 responses
Total Annual Hourly Burden: 7,515 hrs + 3,173 hrs + 2,171 hrs +501 hrs = 13,360 hours
The Commission estimates that respondents will use the equivalent of a senior staff person at the GS- 13/Step 5 ($48.51 per hour) to complete and file FCC Form 161:
(1) Individuals: 7,515 hours x $48.51/hour = $64,564.21
(2) Businesses: 3,173 hours x $48.51/hour = $153,927.11
(3) Governments: 2,171 hours x $48.51/hour = $105,318.55
(4) Institutions: 501 hours x $48.51/hour = $24,304.28
Total “In House” Costs: $64,564.21 + $153,927.11 + $105,318.55 + $24,304.28 = $648,114.15
(c) As noted in Question 1, the FCC is currently sending, by U.S. Postal Services, confirmations of CORES registrations and updates. The FCC will transition to sending confirmations by email where we have email addresses for CORES registrants.
(d) The FCC estimates the annual saving on in-house costs can amount to as much as $86,000.00 when the conversion is completed.
(e) Based on the activities in 2012, $29,000.00, or 34 percent, of this estimated saving on in-house costs is attributable to FCC Form 160, “CORES Registration Form”, and $57,000.00, or 66 percent is attributable to Form 161, “CORES Update/Changes Form”.
(f) The estimated in-house cost savings are the result of reduced systems/ infrastructure cost, postage, paper, envelopes, printing service and labor cost.
13. The Total Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden estimates:
(a) Total annualized capital/startup costs: $.00
(b) Total annual costs (O&M): $0.00
(c) Total annualized cost requested: $0.00
14. There are no costs to the Federal Government:
(a) Congress requires the FCC to collect section 9 regulatory fees, which provide the major funding source for the FCC’s operating budget; and
(b) The FCC considers the costs to administer the regulatory fee program, including processing FCC Form 161, as part of its regular operations.
15. The Commission has made these adjustments to this information collection, as follows:
(a) Increased our estimate for the total number of respondents—from 57,600 to 80,000 respondents and made the corresponding increases in the total number of responses annually, due to empirical evidence providing a more accurate basis for the Commission’s estimate of the number of respondents filing FCC Form 161 annually.
(b) The increase in the number of respondents for 3060-0917 is due to the Commission’s estimate that there will be an increase of approximately 50,000 respondents and responses as a result of those who will be registering in CORES and then begin filing FCC Form 323, “Ownership Report for Commercial Broadcast Stations.”
(c) As noted in Question 1, the FCC is currently sending, by U. S. Postal Service, confirmations of CORES registrations and updates. The FCC will transition to sending confirmations by email where we have email addresses for CORES registrants. E-mailing confirmations instead of sending hard copies will save the FCC considerable amount of money, including labor, paper and postage. Additionally, it is more efficient to transmit confirmations electronically on a real-time base.
16. The data will not be published for statistical use.
17. We are seeking continued OMB approval not to display the expiration date of OMB approval of the information collection.
(a) Once the form is printed, waiving the OMB expiration date will obviate the Commission’s need to maintain paper stocks of forms rather than destroying them away because of an outdated OMB expiration date or change our electronic forms that are available on the Internet or Right Fax system.
(b) The Commission will use an edition date in lieu of an OMB expiration date.
(c) Additionally, the Commission published all OMB-approved information collections in 47 CFR § 0.408.
18. There are no exceptions to item 19 of the OMB 83-I “Certification Statement.”
B. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods:
This information collection does not employ any statistical methods.
1 The FCC has determined, upon closer examination, that most of the “individuals” who are filing FCC Form 161 are doing so in their “entrepreneurial capacity” as business owners, which exempts most of the information that they provide from personally identifiable information (PII) covered by the Privacy Act. Nonetheless, there is a system of records notice, FCC/OMD-9, “Commission Registration System (CORES)” to cover any PII data that they may provide.
2 Ibid.
3 CORES provides applicants (respondents) with a CORES registration number, which the Commission uses to identify applicants and their business account information with the FCC. This number is used solely for identification purposes.
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid.
6 Based on actual number of responses in 2012, rounded up to thousands.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| File Title | Supporting Statement |
| Author | twatson |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2021-01-28 |