Justification for Non-Substantive Change Request

Justification for Non-Substantive Changes to Preparation of Annual Reports to Congress for the Collection & Use of Fees for 988 Services by States & Other Jurisdictions Under the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020

OMB Control No. 3060-1301

The Commission is requesting approval for non-substantive changes to the fillable questionnaire associated with the FCC’s Preparation of Annual Reports to Congress for the Collection & Use of Fees for 988 Services by States & Other Jurisdictions Under the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020 information collection, OMB Control No. 3060-1301. The proposed changes involve adding detailed instructions for filling out the questionnaire and updating the relevant timeframe for which the Commission seeks the information to be collected, so as to elicit more accurate responses and meet the statutory requirements for the information to be collected.

Pursuant to the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020,¹ the Commission is required to submit an annual “Fee Accountability Report” to the Committees on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and Appropriations of the Senate, and the Committees on Energy and Commerce and Appropriations of the House of Representatives, detailing “the status in each State, political subdivision of a State, Indian Tribe, or village or regional corporation serving” an Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act region, of the collection and distribution of fees or charges for “the support or implementation of 9-8-8 services,” including “findings on the amount of revenues obligated or expended by each [state, political entity, and subdivision] for any purpose other than the purpose for which any such fees or charges are specified.” The Commission collects information for the preparation of the annual Fee Accountability Report through an emailed survey that appropriate officials of States and political subdivisions thereof, Indian Tribes, and village or regional corporations serving a region established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, as amended² can use to submit data pertaining to the collection and distribution of revenues from fees and charges for the support or implementation of 988 services, including the use of such collected fees and charges for any purpose other than for the support or implementation of 988 services.

In addition to updating the relevant reporting year for the information to be collected, this submission proposes to revise the annual questionnaire to include detailed instructions to assist respondents in filling out the questionnaire. After receiving the first round of responses to the first questionnaire in July 2022, the Bureau determined that adding clarifying instructions would elicit more accurate information regarding the collection and distribution of revenues from fees and charges for the support or implementation of 988 services.

This proposed clarification would not add to or otherwise change the information to be collected, and would impose no additional burden on respondents. The proposed clarification will assist the Commission in meeting its statutory obligations under the 988 Act.

1 Pub. L. No. 116-172, 134 Stat. 832 (2020) (988 Act).

2 43 U.S.C. §§ 1601 et seq.