[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 58 (Wednesday, March 26, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Page 16767]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-06642]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    The Department of Commerce will submit to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of 
information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 
U.S.C. chapter 35).
    Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.
    Title: Survey of Construction--Questionnaire for Building Permit 
Official.
    OMB Control Number: 0607-0125.
    Form Number(s): SOC-QBPO.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Burden Hours: 225.
    Number of Respondents: 900.
    Average Hours per Response: 15 minutes.
    Needs and Uses: The information collected on the SOC-QBPO is 
necessary to carry out the sampling for the Survey of Housing Starts, 
Sales and Completions (OMB number 0607-0110), also known as the Survey 
of Construction (SOC). Government agencies and private companies use 
statistics from SOC to monitor and evaluate the large and dynamic 
housing construction industry.
    The U.S. Census Bureau is requesting an extension of the currently 
approved collection, scheduled to expire on May 31, 2014. The SOC-QBPO 
is an electronic questionnaire. Census Bureau field representatives 
(FRs) use Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) to collect the 
data. We will continue to use the current CAPI questionnaire without 
any revisions and are requesting approval of continued use of the 
existing questionnaire in the field. The overall length of the 
interview and the sample size also will not change.
    The Census Bureau FRs use the SOC-QBPO to obtain information on the 
operating procedures of a permit office. This enables them to locate, 
classify, list, and sample building permits for residential 
construction. These permits are used as the basis for the sample 
selected for SOC. The Manufacturing and Construction Division (MCD), 
within the Census Bureau, also uses the information to verify and 
update the geographic coverage of permit offices.
    Failure to collect this information would make it difficult, if not 
impossible, to classify accurately and sample building permits for the 
SOC. The SOC produces data for two principal economic indicators: New 
Residential Construction (housing starts and housing completions) and 
New Residential Sales. Information from the SOC is also used in the 
estimation of the value of new residential construction put in place 
for the Census Bureau's data on construction spending.
    Affected Public: State, local, or tribal government.
    Frequency: Annually.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C., Section 182.
    OMB Desk Officer: Brian Harris-Kojetin, (202) 395-7314.
    Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained 
by calling or writing Jennifer Jessup, Departmental Paperwork Clearance 
Officer, (202) 482-0336, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th and 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at 
[email protected]).
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to Brian Harris-Kojetin, OMB Desk Officer either by fax (202-395-7245) 
or email ([email protected]).

    Dated: March 21, 2014.
Glenna Mickelson,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2014-06642 Filed 3-25-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P