On May 1, 2015, the FCC sent an emergency form approval request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), requesting that the FY 2016 Forms 470 and 471 be approved by July 1, 2015. The request states that “…emergency approval is necessary to ensure that the revised FCC Form 470, which is part of this information collection, is available to E-rate applicants for funding year 2016 through a new online portal by July 1, 2015 (or very soon thereafter). The Bureau would not be able to make this target under the standard Paperwork Reduction Act approval process. We therefore respectfully request OMB approval for this collection by July 1, 2015.”
The FCC is requesting the revised forms due to new rules tied to E-rate modernization. The FCC’s public notice appeared in the Federal Register on May 8, 2015, and the deadline for public comment is June 8, 2015.
A summary of the data to be collected on the FY2016 Form 470 may be found here [link to 470 attachment], and the draft Form 471 here.