[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 189 (Tuesday, September 30, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56318-56319]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-24795]


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

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians


New Information Collection

AGENCY: Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Submission of Information Collection to the Office of 
Management and Budget.

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

SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians announces the 
submission of an information collection concerning Individual Indian 
Money (IIM) Accounts. This is a new collection for the Office of the 
Special Trustee for American Indians. Previously, this information 
collection, Individual Indian Money (IIM), OMB Control No. 1076-0154, 
had been submitted and cleared as a Bureau of Indian Affairs 
responsibility. The Bureau of Indian Affairs collection will expire 
prior to or concurrent with the time the new collection is approved by 
the Office of Management and Budget and assigned a new control number. 
The request to the Office of Management and Budget is to approve the 
new collection for a period of three years.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before October 30, 2003.

ADDRESSES: You may telefax your comments to: Attention: Desk Officer 
for the Interior Department, Office of Management and Budget, at (202) 
395-6566. You may also e-mail comments to: OIRA [email protected]. 
Send a copy of your comments to: Sarah Yepa, Office of Trust 
Regulations, Policies and Procedures, Office of the Special Trustee for 
American Indians, 505 Marquette NW., Suite 1000, Albuquerque, NM 87102.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sarah Yepa, Telephone (505) 816-1003, 
Fax (505) 816-1377.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The American Indian Trust Fund Management 
Reform Act of 1994 (the Reform Act) makes provision for the Office of 
the Special Trustee for American Indians to administer trust fund 
accounts for individuals and tribes. The collection of information is 
required to facilitate the processing of deposits, investments, and 
distribution of monies held in trust by the U.S. Government and 
administered by the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians. 
The collection of information provides the information needed to 
establish procedures to: deposit and retrieve funds from accounts, 
perform transactions such as cashing checks, reporting lost or stolen 
checks, stopping payment of checks, and general verification of account 
activities.
    The collection showed 1,577,125 total burden hours when it was 
maintained by the Bureau of Indian Affairs with the OMB Control Number 
1076-0154. Upon review of the collection, a total of 990,211 burden 
hours have been removed from the public burden; 114,700 burden hours 
are part of the federal burden; the remaining burden is the result of 
re-evaluating the number of responses for each collection. The review 
by the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians resulted in a 
reduction of responses from 1,997,500 to 677,675; this is a reduction 
of 1,329,825 responses. The reduction in the overall burden results 
from activity generated by the collection. We reviewed the number of 
respondents. To arrive at the number of total respondents, we added 500 
tribes to the 285,000 IIM accounts, for a total of 285,500 respondents. 
As required under 5 CFR 1320.8(d), a Federal Register notice soliciting 
comments on the proposed renewal of this collection of information was 
published on June 19, 2003 (68 FR 36837); no comments were received.
    Request for Comments: The Office of the Special Trustee for 
American Indians requests your comments on this collection concerning:
    (a) The necessity of this information collection for the proper 
performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the 
information will have practical utility;

[[Page 56319]]

    (b) The accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden (hours and 
cost) of the collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
    (c) Ways we could enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
    (d) Ways we could minimize the burden of the collection of the 
information on the respondents, such as through the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
    OMB Control Number: 1035-000X.
    Type of review: New collection.
    Title: Trust Funds for Tribes and Individual Indians, 25 CFR 115.
    Brief Description of collection: This information collection is 
used to process deposits, investments, and distribution of monies held 
in trust by the Special Trustee for individual Indians and tribal 
governments and in the administration of these accounts. The 
respondents submit information in order to gain or retain a benefit, 
namely, access to funds held in trust. This collection covers 12 
different kinds of submissions with the burden ranging from \1/2\ hour 
to 16\1/2\ hours.
    Respondents: Individual tribal members or tribes who wish to 
initiate some activity on their account.
    Number of Respondents: 285,500.
    Estimated Time per Response: Varies from \1/2\ hour to 16\1/2\ 
hours.
    Estimated Number of Responses Annually: 677,675.
    Frequency of Response: As needed.
    Total Annual Burden to Respondents: 472,214 hours.
    Please note that an agency may not sponsor or request, and an 
individual need not respond to, a collection of information unless it 
has a valid OMB Control Number. OMB has up to 60 days to make a 
decision on the submission for renewal, but may make a decision after 
30 days. Therefore, to receive the best consideration of your comments, 
you should submit them closer to 30 days than 60 days.
    This regulation requires an information collection under the 
Paperwork Reduction Act. The existing OMB approval was originally 
submitted and cleared by the Bureau of Indian Affairs under OMB Control 
Number 1076-0154; it will be allowed to expire because the new 
collection of information will be assumed by the Office of the Special 
Trustee for American Indians. The information required is necessary for 
account holders to obtain and or retain benefits from Individual Indian 
Money (IIM) and tribal trust fund accounts. The collection of 
information hourly burden varies from \1/2\ hour to 16\1/2\ hours, 
depending upon the specific need of the account holder and the form 
used for that purpose. The table below explains the collection 
activity.

                                         Table of Burden for 25 CFR 115
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                 of                   Public respondents
                                                 respondents  --------------------------------------------------
                                              ----------------                                   $10.00 x total
                 CFR section                     of    Hourly burden   Total annual    hourly burden =
                                                   annual       per response    hourly burden     Total hourly
                                                  responses                                       burden cost
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15.705.......................................         142,500           \1/2\          71,250           $712,500
115.813......................................             500         16\1/2\           8,250             82,500
115 814......................................  ..............  ..............  ..............  .................
115.806......................................  ..............  ..............  ..............  .................
115.820......................................              75           \1/2\              38                380
115.815......................................             500          1\1/4\             625              6,250
115.101......................................         285,000           \1/2\         142,500          1,425,000
115.503......................................          71,250           \1/2\          35,625            356,250
115.409......................................           1,425           \1/2\             713              7,130
115.421......................................  ..............  ..............  ..............  .................
115.427......................................  ..............  ..............  ..............  .................
115.417......................................           1,425           \1/2\             713              7,130
115.601......................................         100,000               1         100,000          1,000,000
115.607......................................          75,000          1\1/2\         112,500          1,125,000
                                              -----------------
    Public total annual burden...............         677,675  ..............         472,214         $4,722,140
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Documentation has been prepared and submitted to the Office of 
Management and Budget for review and approval of the information 
request.
    We request comments on the information collection request. You may 
submit them to the locations in the ADDRESSES section. Your comments 
sent to the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians will be 
available for public review at the Albuquerque location in the 
ADDRESSES section during regular business hours, Monday through Friday 
except for legal holidays. If you wish your name or address withheld, 
you must state this prominently at the beginning of your comment. We 
will honor your request to the extent allowed by law. There also may be 
circumstances in which we would withhold from the record a respondent's 
identity, as allowable by law. 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.

Ross O. Swimmer,
Special Trustee for American Indians.
[FR Doc. 03-24795 Filed 9-29-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-2W-P