[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 23 (Wednesday, February 4, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5368-5369]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-2262]


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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 renewal of the OMB approval of information collection 
for Private Rental Survey (OMB Control Number 1084-0033) and request 
for comment.

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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 March 5, 2004.

ADDRESSES: You may direct comments to the Desk Officer for the 
Department of the Interior, OMB-OIRA, and to submit them via e-mail to 
[email protected] or via facsimile to (202) 395-6566. 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 identify, 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.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Private Rental Survey.
    OMB Control Number: 1084-0033.
    Bureau Form Number: OS-2000 and OS-2001.
    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. 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 November 21, 2003, we published a Federal Register notice 
(volume 68, Number 225, page 65726-65727) 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 15 regions every fourth 
year, surveying three to four regions each year.

[[Page 5369]]

    Description of Respondents: Individual property owners and small 
businesses or organizations (real estate managers, appraisers, or 
property managers).
    Estimated Annual Responses: 3,872.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: 767 
hours (refer to burden chart). There are no recordkeeping requirements.

                                              Response Burden Chart
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                                                     Number of                       Hours per
            Form No.                 Number of     responses per   Total annual      response      Burden  hours
                                    respondents     respondent     per responses     (minutes)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OS-2000.........................           3,672               1           3,672              12             734
OS-2001.........................             200               1             200              10              33
                                 -----------------
    Total.......................           3,872  ..............           3,872  ..............             767
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    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 with 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 
March 5, 2004.
    PAM Information Collection Clearance Officer: Debra E. Sonderman, 
(202) 208-6352.

    Dated: January 29, 2004.
Debra E. Sonderman,
Director, Office of Acquisition and Property Management.
[FR Doc. 04-2262 Filed 2-3-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-RF-P