[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 216 (Friday, November 7, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66393-66394]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-26539]


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

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs

[145A2100DD/A0T501010.999900/AAK3000000]


Renewal of Agency Information Collection for Verification of 
Indian Preference for Employment in BIA and IHS

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of submission to OMB.

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

SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is submitting to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) a request for renewal for the collection of 
information, ``Verification of Indian Preference for Employment in BIA 
and IHS.'' The information collection is currently authorized by OMB 
Control Number 1076-0160, which expires November 30, 2014.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
December 8, 2014.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on the information collection to the 
Desk Officer for the Department of the Interior at the Office of 
Management and Budget, by facsimile to (202) 395-5806 or you may send 
an email to: [email protected]. Please send a copy of your 
comments to: Ms. Laurel Iron Cloud, Chief, Division of Tribal 
Government Services, Office of Indian Services, Bureau of Indian 
Affairs, 1849 C Street NW., Mail Stop 4513 MIB, Washington, DC 20240; 
facsimile: (202) 208-5113; email: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Laurel Iron Cloud, telephone (202) 
513-7641. You may review the information collection request online at 
http://www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to review Department of 
the Interior collections under review by OMB.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    BIA is seeking renewal of the approval for the information 
collection conducted under 25 U.S.C. 43, 36 Stat. 472, inter alia, and 
implementing regulations, at 25 CFR part 5, regarding verification of 
Indian preference for employment. The purpose of Indian preference is 
to encourage qualified Indian persons to seek employment with the BIA 
and Indian Health Service (IHS) by offering preferential treatment to 
qualified candidates of Indian heritage. BIA collects the information 
to ensure compliance with Indian preference hiring requirements. The 
information collection relates only to individuals applying for 
employment with the BIA and IHS. The tribe's involvement is limited to 
verifying membership information submitted by the applicant. The 
collection of information allows certain persons who are of Indian 
descent to receive preference when appointments are made to vacancies 
in positions with the BIA and IHS as well as in any unit that has been 
transferred intact from the BIA

[[Page 66394]]

to a Bureau or office within the Department of the Interior or the 
Department of Health and Human Services and that continues to perform 
functions formerly performed as part of the BIA and IHS. You are 
eligible for preference if (a) you are a member of a federally 
recognized Indian tribe; (b) you are a descendent of a member and you 
were residing within the present boundaries of any Indian reservation 
on June 1, 1934; (c) you are an Alaska native; or (d) you possess one-
half degree Indian blood derived from tribes that are indigenous to the 
United States. No changes are being made to the form.

II. Request for Comments

    On July 18, 2014, BIA published a notice announcing the renewal of 
this information collection and provided a 60-day comment period in the 
Federal Register (79 FR 42031). There were no comments received in 
response to this notice.
    The BIA requests your comments on this collection concerning: (a) 
The necessity of the information collection for the proper performance 
of the functions of the agencies, including whether the information 
will have practical utility; (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.
    Please note that an agency may not sponsor or conduct, and an 
individual need not respond to, a collection of information unless it 
displays a valid OMB Control Number.
    It is our policy to make all comments available to the public for 
review at the location listed in the ADDRESSES section during the hours 
of 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday except 
for legal holidays. Before including your address, phone number, email 
address or other personally identifiable information in your comment, 
you should be aware that your entire comment--including your personally 
identifiable information--may be made publicly available at any time. 
While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personally 
identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we 
will be able to do so.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 1076-0160.
    Title: Verification of Indian preference for Employment in the BIA 
and IHS.
    Brief description of collection: Submission of this information by 
Indian applicants for jobs with BIA and IHS allows the Personnel 
Offices of BIA and IHS to verify that the individual meets the 
requirements for Indian preference in hiring. Response is required to 
obtain the benefit of preferential hiring. The collection of this 
information is voluntary. Response is required to obtain or retain a 
benefit.
    Type of Review: Extension without change of a currently approved 
collection.
    Respondents: Qualified Indian persons who are seeking preference in 
employment with the BIA and IHS.
    Number of Respondents: 5,000 per year, on average.
    Number of Responses: 5,000 per year, on average.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Estimated Time per response: 30 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 2,500 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Non-Hour Dollar Cost: $6,920 (postage and 
copying costs). This reflects an increase to the non-hour cost burden 
by $400 (from $6,520 to $6,920) to reflect the increase in postage 
costs.

    Dated: November 4, 2014.
Elizabeth K. Appel,
Director, Office of Regulatory Affairs and Collaborative Action--Indian 
Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2014-26539 Filed 11-6-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-4J-P