[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 118 (Tuesday, June 19, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36568-36569]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-14915]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of the Secretary


Proposed Renewal of Information Collection: Payments in Lieu of 
Taxes

AGENCY: Office of Budget, Interior.

ACTION: Notice and Request for Comments.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of Budget, Office of the Secretary, 
Department of the Interior (DOI), announces the proposed extension of a 
public information collection required by the Payments in Lieu of Taxes 
Act (PILT) and seeks public comments on the provisions thereof. After 
public review, the Office of Budget will submit a renewal request for 
the information collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for review and approval.

DATES: Consideration will be given to all comments received by August 
20, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Send your written comments to the U.S. Department of the 
Interior, Office of the Secretary, Office of Budget, Attn. Niall 
O'Connor, 1849 C St. NW., MS 4106 MIB, Washington, DC 20240. Send any 
faxed comments to (202) 208-3911, attn Niall O'Connor. Comments may 
also be emailed to Niall_O'[email protected]. Individuals providing 
comments should reference OMB Control Number 1093-0005, ``Payments in 
Lieu of Taxes (PILT Act), Statement of Federal Land Payments, 43 CFR 
44.23(a).'' Before including your address, phone number, email address, 
or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should 
be aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information on 
this renewed information collection should be directed to Niall 
O'Connor at U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of the Secretary, 
Office of Budget, 1849 C St. NW., MS 4106 MIB, Washington, DC 20240. 
You may also fax requests for further information to (202) 208-3911, or 
email him at Niall_O'[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations in 5 CFR part 
1320, which implement the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-
13), require that interested members of the public and affected 
agencies have an opportunity to comment on information collection and 
recordkeeping activities

[[Page 36569]]

(see 5 CFR 1320.8(d)). This notice identifies an information collection 
activity that the Office of Budget is planning to submit to OMB for 
extension or re-approval.
    Public Law 97-258 (31 U.S.C. 6901-6907), as amended, the Payments 
in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) Act, was designed by Congress to help local 
governments recover some of the expenses they incur in providing 
services on public lands. These local governments receive funds under 
various Federal land payment programs such as the National Forest 
Revenue Act, the Mineral Lands Leasing Act, and the Taylor Grazing Act. 
PILT payments supplement the payments that local governments receive 
under these other programs. While the program is due to expire in 2012, 
the FY 2013 budget proposes a one-year extension of the current PILT 
program, maintaining the existing formula for calculating payments to 
counties. That proposal is currently pending before Congress. This 
renewal authority is being done in anticipation of reauthorization by 
Congress.
    The PILT Act requires that the Governor of each State furnish the 
Department of the Interior with a listing of payments disbursed to 
local governments by the States on behalf of the Federal Government 
under 12 statutes described in Section 6903 of 31 U.S.C. The Department 
of the Interior uses the amounts reported by the States to reduce PILT 
payments to units of general local governments from that which they 
might otherwise receive. If such listings were not furnished by the 
Governor of each affected State, the Department would not be able to 
compute the PILT payments to units of general local government within 
the States in question.
    In fiscal year 2004, administrative authority for the PILT program 
was transferred from the Bureau of Land Management to the Office of the 
Secretary of the Department of the Interior. Applicable DOI regulations 
pertaining to the PILT program to be administered by the Office of the 
Secretary were published as a final rule in the Federal Register on 
December 7, 2004 (69 FR 70557). The Office of Budget, Office of the 
Secretary is now planning to extend the information collection approval 
authority in order to enable the Department of the Interior to continue 
to comply with the PILT Act.

II. Data

    (1) Title: Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT Act), Statement of 
Federal Land Payments, 43 CFR 44).
    OMB Control Number: 1093-0005.
    Current Expiration Date: December 31, 2012.
    Type of Review: Information Collection Renewal.
    Affected Entities: State, local, or tribal government.
    Estimated annual number of respondents: 43.
    Frequency of Response: Annual.
    (2) Annual reporting and record keeping burden: Average reporting 
burden per application: 75 hours.
    Total annual reporting: 3,225 hours.
    (3) Description of the need and use of the information: The 
statutorily-required information is needed to compute payments due 
units of general local government under the PILT Act (31 U.S.C. 6901-
6907). The Act requires that the Governor of each State furnish a 
statement as to amounts paid to units of general local government under 
12 revenue-sharing statutes in the prior fiscal year. While the program 
is due to expire in 2012, the FY 2013 budget proposes a one-year 
extension of the current PILT program, maintaining the existing formula 
for calculating payments to counties. That proposal is currently 
pending before Congress. This renewal is authority is being done in 
anticipation of reauthorization by Congress.

III. Request for Comments

    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the collection of information 
is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility; (b) the 
accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the information 
collection; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of 
the collection of information on those who respond, including through 
the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Burden means the total time, effort, or financial resources 
expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, disclose or provide 
information to or for a Federal agency. This includes the time needed 
to review instructions; to develop, acquire, install and utilize 
technology and systems for the purpose of collecting, validating and 
verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and 
disclosing and providing information; to train personnel and to be able 
to respond to a collection of information, to search data sources, to 
complete and review the collection of information; and to transmit or 
otherwise disclose the information.
    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 Office of Management and Budget control number.
    All written comments will be available for public inspection in the 
Main Interior Building, 1849 C Street NW., Washington, DC during normal 
business hours, excluding legal holidays. For an appointment to inspect 
comments, please contact Niall O'Connor by telephone on (202) 513-7785, 
or by email at Niall_O'[email protected] to make an appointment. A 
valid picture identification is required for entry into the Department 
of the Interior.

Pam Haze,
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Budget, Finance, Performance, and 
Acquisition.
[FR Doc. 2012-14915 Filed 6-18-12; 8:45 am]
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