[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 251 (Friday, December 29, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 83073-83074]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-33307]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR


Office of Acquisition and Property Management; Agency Information 
Collection Activities: Submitted for Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) Review; Comment Request

AGENCY: Office of Acquisition and Property Management (PAM), Office of 
the Secretary, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of a new information collection that is based upon 
revision of a currently approved information collection (OMB Control 
Number 1006-0009) and request for comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), we 
are submitting to OMB for review and approval an information collection 
request (ICR), titled ``Private Rental Survey.'' We are also soliciting 
comments from the public on this ICR.

DATES: Submit written comments by January 29, 2001.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments directly to the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for 
the Department of the Interior (1084-NEW), 725 17th Street, N.W., 
Washington, D.C. 20503. Mail or hand carry a copy of your comments to 
the Department of the Interior; Office of Acquisition and Property 
Management; Attention: Linda Tribby; Mail Stop 5512; 1849 C Street, NW, 
Washington, DC 20240. Comments may also be submitted electronically to 
[email protected]. Our practice is to make comments, including 
names and home addresses of respondents, available for public review 
during regular business hours. Individual respondents may request that 
we withhold their home address from the record, which we will honor to 
the extent allowable by law. There may be circumstances in which we 
would withhold from the record a respondent's identity, as allowable by 
the law. If you wish us to withhold your name and/or address, you must 
state this prominently at the beginning of your comment. However, we 
will not consider anonymous comments. We will make all submissions from 
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying 
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or 
businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety.

[[Page 83074]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Linda Tribby, Departmental Quarters 
Program Manager, telephone (202) 219-0728.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION:
    Title: Private Rental Survey.
    OMB Control Number: 1084-NEW (replaces OMB No. 1006-0009).
    Bureau Form Number: OS-2000 and OS-2001 (replace Bureau of 
Reclamation Forms 7-2226 and 7-2227).
    Abstract: Public Law 88-459 authorizes Federal agencies to provide 
housing for Government employees under specified circumstances. In 
compliance with OMB Circular A-45 (Revised), Rental and Construction of 
Government Quarters, a review of private rental market housing rates is 
required at least once every 5 years to ensure that the rental, utility 
charges, and charges for related services to occupants of Government 
Furnished Quarters (GFQ) are comparable to corresponding charges in the 
private sector. To avoid unnecessary duplication and inconsistent 
rental rates, PAM conducts housing surveys in support of quarters 
management programs for the Departments of the Interior (DOI), 
Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Justice, Transportation, Treasury, 
Health and Human Services, and Veterans Affairs. DOI's Bureau of 
Reclamation previously performed these information collections under 
the currently approved OMB Control No. 1006-0009. This collection of 
information provides data that helps DOI as well as other Federal 
agencies to manage GFQ in compliance with the requirements of OMB 
Circular A-45 (Revised). If the collection activity were not performed, 
there would be no basis for determining open market rental costs for 
GFQ.
    On August 18, 2000, we published a Federal Register notice (65 FR 
50555-50556) with the required 60-day comment period announcing that we 
would submit this collection of information to OMB for approval. We 
received no comments in response to the notice.
    Frequency of Collection: We survey each of 16 regions every third 
year, surveying five to six regions each year.
    Description of Respondents: Individual property owners and small 
businesses or organizations (real estate managers, appraisers, or 
property managers).
    Estimated Annual Responses: 5,279.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: 1,046 
hours (refer to burden chart). There are no recordkeeping requirements.

                                              Response Burden Chart
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     Number of                       Hours per
            Form no.                 Number of     responses per   Total annual    response  (in   Burden hours
                                    respondents     respondent       responses       minutes)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OS-2000.........................           4,979               1           4,979              12             996
OS-2001.........................             300               1             300              10              50
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................           5,279  ..............           5,279  ..............           1,046
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost'' 
Burden: None.
    Comments: The PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.) provides that an agency 
may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, 
a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB 
control number. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA requires each agency 
``* * * to provide notice * * * and otherwise consult with members of 
the public and affected agencies concerning each proposed collection of 
information * * *'' Agencies must specifically solicit comments to:
    (a) Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the agency to perform its duties, including whether the 
information is useful;
    (b) Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of 
the proposed collection of information;
    (c) Enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of the information 
to be collected; and,
    (d) Minimize the burden on the respondents, including the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    If you wish to comment in response to this notice, send your 
comments directly to the office listed under the ADDRESSES section of 
this notice. The OMB has up to 60 days to approve or disapprove the 
information collection but may respond after 30 days. Therefore, to 
ensure maximum consideration, OMB should receive public comments by 
January 29, 2001.
    PAM Information Collection Clearance Officer: Debra E. Sonderman, 
(202) 208-6352.

    Dated: December 20, 2000.
Debra E. Sonderman,
Director, Office of Acquisition and Property Management.
[FR Doc. 00-33307 Filed 12-28-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-RF-U