Occupational Safety and Health State Plans; Extension of the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Approval of Information Collection (Paperwork) Requirements

AGENCY:

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.

ACTION:

Request for public comments.

SUMMARY:

OSHA solicits public comments concerning its request to extend OMB's approval of information collection regarding the State Plans program and regulations for the development and enforcement of state occupational safety and health standards.

DATES:

Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by June 21, 2022.

ADDRESSES:

Electronically: You may submit comments, including attachments, electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions online for submitting comments.

Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov. Documents in the docket are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index; however, some information ( e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly available to read or download through the website. All submissions, including copyrighted material, are available for inspection through the OSHA Docket Office. Contact the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-2350 (TTY (877) 889-5627) for assistance in locating docket submissions.

Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and the OSHA docket number for this Federal Register notice (OSHA-2017-0012). OSHA will place comments, including personal information, in the public docket, which may be available online. Therefore, OSHA cautions interested parties about submitting personal information such as Social Security numbers and birthdates. For further information on submitting comments, see the “Public Participation” heading in the section of this notice titled SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Seleda Perryman or Theda Kenney, Directorate of Standards and Guidance, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, telephone (202) 693-2222.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

The Department of Labor, as part of a continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent ( i.e., the State plans) burden, conducts a preclearance process to provide the public with an opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing information collection requirements in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA-95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This program ensures that information is in the desired format, the reporting burden (time and costs) is minimal, the collection instruments are clearly understood, and OSHA's estimate of the information collection burden is accurate. OSHA is soliciting comments concerning the extension of the information collection requirements contained in the series of regulations establishing requirements for the submission, initial approval, continuing approval, final approval, monitoring, and evaluation of OSHA-approved State Plans:

• 29 CFR part 1902, State Plans for the Development and Enforcement of State Standards;
• 29 CFR part 1953, Changes to State Plans for the Development and Enforcement of State Standards;
• 29 CFR part 1954, Procedures for the Evaluation and Monitoring of Approved State Plans; and
• 29 CFR part 1956, State Plans for the Development and Enforcement of State Standards Applicable to State and Local Government Employees in States Without Approved Private Employee Plans.

Section 18 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (29 U.S.C. 667) offers an opportunity to the states to assume responsibility for the development and enforcement of state standards through the mechanism of an OSHA-approved State Plan. Absent an approved plan, states are precluded from enforcing occupational safety and health standards in the private sector with respect to any issue for which Federal OSHA has promulgated a standard. Once approved and operational, the state adopts standards and provides most occupational safety and health enforcement and compliance assistance in the state under the authority of its plan, instead of Federal OSHA. States also must extend their jurisdiction to cover state and local government employees and may obtain approval of State Plans limited in scope to these workers. To obtain and maintain State Plan approval, a state must submit various documents to OSHA describing program structure and operation, including any modifications thereto as they occur, in accordance with the identified regulations. OSHA funds 50 percent of the costs required to be incurred by an approved State Plan, with the state at least matching and providing additional funding at its discretion.

II. Special Issues for Comment

OSHA has a particular interest in comments on the following issues:

• Whether the proposed information collection requirements are necessary for the proper performance of the agency's functions, including whether the information is useful;
• The accuracy of OSHA's estimate of the burden (time and costs) of the information collection requirements, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
• The quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; and
• Ways to minimize the burden on employers who must comply—for example, by using automated or other technological information collection and transmission techniques.

III. Proposed Actions

The agency is requesting an adjustment decrease to adjust the number of burden hours associated with the developmental steps necessary for certain states in the developmental process, including Maine, Illinois, and Virgin Islands. In addition, the number of CASPAs and State Plan Changes was modified to depict more realistically the current trends in these numbers. As a result, the total burden hours have decreased slightly from 11,369 to 11,055 (a decrease of 314 burden hours).

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Title: Occupational Safety and Health Plans.

OMB Control Number: 1218-0247.

Affected Public: Designated state government agencies that are seeking or have submitted and obtained approval for State Plans for the development and enforcement of occupational safety and health standards.

Number of Respondents: 28.

Frequency: On occasion; Quarterly; Annually.

Average Time per Response: Various.

Estimated Total Number of Responses: 1,255.

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 11,055.

Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $0.

IV. Public Participation—Submission of Comments on This Notice and Internet Access to Comments and Submissions

You may submit comments in response to this document as follows: (1) electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal eRulemaking Portal; (2) by facsimile (fax); or (3) by hard copy. Please note: While OSHA's Docket Office is continuing to accept and process submissions by regular mail, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Docket Office is closed to the public and not able to receive submissions to the docket by hand, express mail, messenger, and courier service. All comments, attachments, and other material must identify the agency name and the OSHA docket number for this ICR (Docket No. OSHA-2011-0861). You may supplement electronic submissions by uploading document files electronically. If you wish to mail additional materials in reference to an electronic or a facsimile submission, you must submit them to the OSHA Docket Office (see the section of this notice titled ADDRESSES ). The additional materials must clearly identify electronic comments by your name, date, and the docket number so the agency can attach them to your comments.

Because of security procedures, the use of regular mail may cause a significant delay in the receipt of comments.

Comments and submissions are posted without change at http://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, OSHA cautions commenters about submitting personal information, such as their social security number and date of birth. Although all submissions are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index, some information ( e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly available to read or download from this website. All submissions, including copyrighted material, are available for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office.

Information on using the http://www.regulations.gov website to submit comments and access the docket is available at the website's “User Tips” link. Contact the OSHA Docket Office for information about materials not available from the website and for assistance in using the internet to locate docket submissions.

V. Authority and Signature

James S. Frederick, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, directed the preparation of this notice. The authority for this notice is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3506 et seq. ) and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 1-2012 (77 FR 3912).