[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 12 (Wednesday, January 19, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 3132-3133]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-1001]



[[Page 3131]]

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Part III





General Services Administration





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41 CFR Parts 101-11 and 102-195



Federal Management Regulation; Interagency Reports Management Program; 
Final Rule

  Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 12 / Wednesday, January 19, 2005 / 
Rules and Regulations  

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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

41 CFR Parts 101-11 and 102-195

[FMR Amendment 2005-02; FMR Case 2004-102-6]
RIN 3090-AI01


Federal Management Regulation; Interagency Reports Management 
Program

AGENCY: Office of Governmentwide Policy, General Services 
Administration (GSA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The General Services Administration (GSA) is amending the 
Federal Management Regulation (FMR) to delete the specific requirements 
of the Interagency Reports Management Program.

DATES: Effective Date: January 19, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Regulatory Secretariat, Room 4035, 
GS Building, Washington, DC, 20405, (202) 208-7312, for information 
pertaining to status or publication schedules. For clarification of 
content, contact Mr. David Pritzker, Regulatory Information Service 
Center (MI), at (202) 482-7340. Please cite FMR Amendment 2005-02, FMR 
case 2004-102-6.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

    This final rule deletes from the Federal Management Regulation 
(FMR) the specific requirements of the Interagency Reports Management 
Program. GSA has determined that these requirements no longer serve a 
useful purpose, in view of the evolution of Federal records management 
practices affecting records creation and Federal policies that 
encourage agencies to share information electronically, when authorized 
by law and regulation, particularly as an alternative to collecting 
additional information from the public. This action is being published 
as a final rule because it applies only to agency management and, 
therefore, is not required to be published in the Federal Register for 
notice and comment.
    For more than 30 years, GSA has had an Interagency Reports 
Management Program, which has governed reporting requirements imposed 
by a Federal agency on one or more other Federal agencies. Regulations 
of this program were part of a centralized implementation of 
Governmentwide reports management policies and guidelines specifically 
intended to ensure that interagency reports were cost-effective, non-
duplicative, and complied with applicable information laws and 
regulations. The GSA regulations adopted in 1973 were amended several 
times but remained substantially similar in content until September 
2001. They provided for a system of oversight and approval that 
included a procedure for advance approval by GSA of proposed 
interagency reporting requirements, assignment of GSA control numbers 
and expiration dates, and maintenance of an inventory of approved 
interagency reporting requirements. Agencies were asked to refrain from 
responding to non-approved reporting requirements and to inform GSA of 
any such requests.
    In September 2001, GSA substantially revised its regulations for 
the Interagency Reports Management Program, eliminating the requirement 
for agencies to obtain GSA's approval before initiating an interagency 
report (66 FR 48357, September 20, 2001). GSA noted that this change 
would shorten the time between when an agency determines a need for 
interagency information and when the agency could initiate an 
interagency report to obtain that information. The change was intended 
to let agencies take advantage of information technology to get the 
information they need to accomplish their missions. However, the 
revised regulations (41 CFR Part 102-195) still require agencies to do 
an annual review of the reporting requirements they impose on other 
agencies to assure that they remain necessary, and to submit certain 
data to GSA and other agencies, if requested. The 2001 rules also 
require agencies to notify GSA when a report is no longer needed and to 
submit to GSA every three years cost information and other details 
about all reporting requirements they impose upon other agencies for 
which responding agencies as a whole would need more than 100 hours to 
comply.
    The current GSA regulations on interagency reporting requirements 
have their roots in an era when almost all such reporting was done on 
paper and was relatively labor-intensive. They were originally adopted 
under a directive of the Office of Management and Budget that was 
eliminated in 1995 as ``no longer pertinent'' (see 60 FR 30444, June 8, 
1995). With the development of electronic information technology and 
the shifting of focus to emphasize electronic information sharing among 
agencies, retention of even the reduced requirements of the 2001 rules 
places an unnecessary burden on agencies that seems to have minimal 
benefit, if any.

B. Executive Order 12866

    The General Services Administration (GSA) has determined that this 
final rule is not a significant regulatory action for the purposes of 
Executive Order 12866.

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    This final rule will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities within the meaning of the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601, et seq., because the rule 
applies only to internal management and will not have a significant 
impact on the public.

D. Paperwork Reduction Act

    The Paperwork Reduction Act does not apply because the changes to 
the FMR do not impose information collection requirements that require 
the approval of the Office of Management and Budget under 44 U.S.C. 
3501, et seq.

E. Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act

    This final rule is exempt from Congressional review under 5 U.S.C. 
801 since it relates solely to agency management.

List of Subjects in 41 CFR Parts 101-11 and 102-195

    Archives and records, Computer technology, Government property 
management.

    Dated: December 21, 2004.
Stephen A. Perry,
Administrator of General Services.

0
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, GSA amends 41 CFR parts 101-
11 and 102-195 as set forth below:

0
1. The authority citation for 41 CFR parts 101-11 and 102-195 continues 
to read as follows:

    Authority: 40 U.S.C. 486(c).

CHAPTER 101--FEDERAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS

PART 101-11--FEDERAL RECORDS AND STANDARD AND OPTIONAL FORMS

0
2. Amend part 101-11 by revising the part heading to read as set forth 
above.
0
3. Revise section 101-11.0 to read as follows:


Sec.  101-11.0  Cross-reference to the Federal Management Regulation 
(FMR) (41 CFR chapter 102, parts 1 through 220).

    For information on records and standard and optional forms, see FMR 
parts 102-193 and 102-194 (41 CFR parts 102-193 and 102-194).

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CHAPTER 102--FEDERAL MANAGEMENT REGULATION

PART 102-195 [REMOVED AND RESERVED]

0
4. Remove and reserve part 102-195.

[FR Doc. 05-1001 Filed 1-18-05; 8:45 am]
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