[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 108 (Friday, June 5, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32176-32179]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-13707]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Indian Gaming Commission


Renewals of Information Collections and Request for New 
Collection Under the Paperwork Reduction Act

AGENCY: National Indian Gaming Commission, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC or Commission) is seeking 
comments on the renewal of information collections for the following 
activities: (i) Indian gaming management contract-related submissions, 
as authorized by Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Control Number 
3141-0004 (expires on October 31, 2015); (ii) Indian gaming fee 
payments-related submissions, as authorized by OMB Control Number 3141-
0007 (expires on November 30, 2015); (iii) minimum internal control 
standards for class II gaming submission and recordkeeping 
requirements, as authorized by OMB Control Number 3141-0009 (expires on 
October 31, 2015); (iv) facility license-related submission and 
recordkeeping requirements, as authorized by OMB Control Number 3141-
0012 (expires on October 31, 2015); and (v) minimum technical standards 
for class II gaming systems and equipment submission and recordkeeping 
requirements, as authorized by OMB Control Number 3141-0014 (expires on 
November 30, 2015).
    In addition, the Commission will be requesting an OMB control 
number for a new information collection, i.e., voluntary stakeholder 
surveys to be conducted by the NIGC. The Commission is seeking generic 
clearance to be able to gather tribal stakeholder feedback on services, 
trainings, and/or technical assistance that it provides to gaming 
tribes; with the feedback to be used in planning for service/training/
technical assistance modification and prioritization.
    The gathering of this information is in keeping with the purposes 
of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which include: Providing a 
statutory basis for the

[[Page 32177]]

operation of gaming by Indian tribes as a means of promoting tribal 
economic development, self-sufficiency, and strong tribal governments; 
ensuring that the Indian tribe is the primary beneficiary of the gaming 
operation; and declaring that the establishment of independent federal 
regulatory authority for gaming on Indian lands, the establishment of 
federal standards for gaming on Indian lands, and the establishment of 
the Commission are necessary to meet congressional concerns regarding 
gaming and to protect such gaming as a means of generating tribal 
revenue. 25 U.S.C. 2702.

DATES: Submit comments on or before August 4, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Comments can be mailed, faxed, or emailed to the attention 
of: Armando J. Acosta, National Indian Gaming Commission, c/o 
Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street NW., Mail Stop #1621, 
Washington, DC 20240. Comments may be faxed to (202) 632-7066 and may 
be sent electronically to [email protected], subject: PRA renewals.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Armando J. Acosta at (202) 632-7003; 
fax (202) 632-7066 (not toll-free numbers).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Request for Comments

    You are invited to comment on these collections concerning: (i) 
Whether the collections of information are necessary for the proper 
performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the 
information will have practical utility; (ii) the accuracy of the 
agency's estimates of the burdens (including the hours and cost) of the 
proposed collections of information, including the validity of the 
methodologies and assumptions used; (iii) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; (iv) ways to 
minimize the burdens of the information collections on those who are to 
respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other collection techniques or forms of 
information technology. Please note that an agency may not conduct or 
sponsor, and an individual need not respond to, a collection of 
information unless it has a valid OMB control number.
    It is the Commission's policy to make all comments available to the 
public for review at its headquarters, located at 90 K Street NE., 
Suite 200, Washington, DC 20002. 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 may ask in your comment that the Commission 
withhold your personal identifying information from public review, the 
Commission cannot guarantee that it will be able to do so.

II. Data

    Title: Management Contract Provisions.
    OMB Control Number: 3141-0004.
    Brief Description of Collection: The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act 
(IGRA or the Act), Public Law 100-497, 25 U.S.C. 2701, et seq., 
established the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC or Commission) 
and laid out a comprehensive framework for the regulation of gaming on 
Indian lands. Amongst other actions necessary to carry out the 
Commission's statutory duties, the Act requires the NIGC Chairman to 
review and approve all management contracts for the operation and 
management of class II and/or class III gaming activities, and to 
conduct background investigations of persons with direct or indirect 
financial interests in, and management responsibility for, management 
contracts. 25 U.S.C. 2710, 2711. The Commission is authorized to 
``promulgate such regulations and guidelines as it deems appropriate to 
implement'' IGRA. 25 U.S.C. 2706(b)(10). The Commission has promulgated 
parts 533, 535, and 537 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations, to 
implement these statutory requirements.
    Section 533.2 requires a tribe or management contractor to submit a 
management contract for review within 60 days of execution, and to 
submit all of the items specified in Sec.  533.3. Section 535.1 
requires a tribe to submit an amendment to a management contract within 
30 days of execution, and to submit all of the items specified in Sec.  
535.1(c). Section 535.2 requires a tribe or a management contractor, 
upon execution, to submit the assignment by a management contractor of 
its rights under a previously approved management contract. Section 
537.1 requires a management contractor to submit all of the items 
specified in Sec.  537.1(b) (c) in order for the Commission to conduct 
background investigations on: Each person with management 
responsibility for a management contract; each person who is a director 
of a corporation that is a party to a management contract; the ten 
persons who have the greatest direct or indirect financial interest in 
a management contract; any entity with a financial interest in a 
management contract; and any other person with a direct or indirect 
financial interest in a management contract, as otherwise designated by 
the Commission. This collection is mandatory, and the benefit to the 
respondents is the approval of Indian gaming management contracts, and 
any amendments thereto.
    Respondents: Tribal governing bodies and management contractors.
    Estimated Annual Responses: 183 (submissions of contracts, contract 
amendments, contract assignments, and background investigation 
material).
    Estimated Time per Response: Depending on the type of submission, 
the range of time can vary from 10.0 burden hours to 50.0 burden hours 
for one item.
    Frequency of Response: Usually no more than once per year.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours on Respondents: 3,840.
    Estimated Total Non-hour Cost Burden: $0.

    Title: Fees.
    OMB Control Number: 3141-0007.
    Brief Description of Collection: The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act 
(IGRA or the Act), 25 U.S.C. 2701, et seq., laid out a comprehensive 
framework for the regulation of gaming on Indian lands. Amongst other 
actions necessary to carry out the Commission's statutory duties, the 
Act requires Indian tribes that conduct a class II and/or class III 
gaming activity to pay annual fees to the Commission on the basis of 
the assessable gross revenues of each gaming operation using rates 
established by the Commission. 25 U.S.C. 2717. The Commission is 
authorized to ``promulgate such regulations and guidelines as it deems 
appropriate to implement'' IGRA. 25 U.S.C. 2706(b)(10). The Commission 
has promulgated part 514 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations, to 
implement these statutory requirements.
    Section 514.6 requires a tribe to submit, along with its fee 
payments, quarterly fee statements (worksheets) showing its assessable 
gross revenues for the previous fiscal year in order to support the 
computation of fees paid by each gaming operation. Section 514.7 
requires a tribe to submit a notice within 30 days after a gaming 
operation changes its fiscal year. Section 514.15 allows a tribe to 
submit fingerprint cards to the Commission for processing by the 
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), along with a fee to cover the 
NIGC's and FBI's cost to process the fingerprint cards on behalf of the 
tribes. Part of this collection is mandatory and the other part is 
voluntary. The required submission of the fee worksheets allows the 
Commission to both set and adjust

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fee rates, and to support the computation of fees paid by each gaming 
operation. In addition, the voluntary submission of fingerprint cards 
allows a tribe to conduct statutorily mandated background 
investigations on applicants for key employee and primary management 
official positions.
    Respondents: Indian gaming operations.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 422.
    Estimated Annual Responses: 66,200.
    Estimated Time per Response: Depending on the type of submission, 
the range of time can vary from 0.3 burden hours to 2.0 burden hours 
for one item.
    Frequency of Response: Quarterly (for fee worksheets); varies (for 
fingerprint cards and fiscal year change notices).
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 22,730.
    Estimated Total Non-hour Cost Burden: $0.

    Title: Minimum Internal Control Standards for Class II Gaming.
    OMB Control Number: 3141-0009.
    Brief Description of Collection: The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act 
(IGRA or the Act), 25 U.S.C. 2701, et seq., laid out a comprehensive 
framework for the regulation of gaming on Indian lands. Amongst other 
actions necessary to carry out the Commission's statutory duties, the 
Act directs the Commission to monitor class II gaming conducted on 
Indian lands on a continuing basis in order to adequately shield Indian 
gaming from organized crime and other corrupting influences, to ensure 
that the Indian tribe is the primary beneficiary of the gaming 
operation, and to assure that gaming is conducted fairly and honestly 
by both the operator and players. 25 U.S.C. 2702(2), 2706(b)(1). The 
Commission is also authorized to ``promulgate such regulations and 
guidelines as it deems appropriate to implement'' IGRA. 25 U.S.C. 
2706(b)(10). The Commission has promulgated part 543 of title 25, Code 
of Federal Regulations, to aid it in monitoring class II gaming on a 
continuing basis.
    Section 543.3 requires a tribal gaming regulatory authority (TGRA) 
to submit to the Commission a notice requesting an extension to the 
deadline (by an additional six months) to achieve compliance with the 
requirements of the new tier after a gaming operation has moved from 
one tier to another. Section 543.5 requires a TGRA to submit a detailed 
report after the TGRA has approved an alternate standard to any of the 
NIGC's minimum internal control standards, and the report must contain 
all of the items specified in Sec.  543.5(a)(2). Section 543.23(c) 
requires a tribe to maintain internal audit reports and to make such 
reports available to the Commission upon request. Section 543.23(d) 
requires a tribe to submit two copies of the agreed-upon procedures 
(AUP) report within 120 days of the gaming operation's fiscal year end. 
This collection is mandatory and allows the NIGC to confirm tribal 
compliance with the minimum internal control standards in the AUP 
reports.
    Respondents: Tribal governing bodies.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 368.
    Estimated Time per Response: Depending on the tier level of the 
gaming facility, the range of time can vary from 95.0 burden hours to 
115.0 burden hours for one AUP audit report.
    Frequency of Response: Annually.
    Estimated Total Annual Hourly Burden to Respondents: 40,538.
    Estimated Total Non-hour Cost Burden: $0.

    Title: Facility License Notifications and Submissions.
    OMB Control Number: 3141-0012.
    Brief Description of Collection: The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act 
(IGRA or the Act), 25 U.S.C. 2701, et seq., laid out a comprehensive 
framework for the regulation of gaming on Indian lands. Amongst other 
actions necessary to carry out the Commission's statutory duties, the 
Act requires Indian tribes that conduct class II and/or class III 
gaming to issue ``a separate license . . . for each place, facility, or 
location on Indian lands at which class II [and class III] gaming is 
conducted,'' 25 U.S.C. 2710(b)(1), (d)(1), and to ensure that ``the 
construction and maintenance of the gaming facilities, and the 
operation of that gaming is conducted in a manner which adequately 
protects the environment and public health and safety.'' 25 U.S.C. 
2710(b)(2)(E). The Commission is authorized to ``promulgate such 
regulations and guidelines as it deems appropriate to implement'' IGRA. 
25 U.S.C. 2706(b)(10). The Commission has promulgated part 559 of title 
25, Code of Federal Regulations, to implement these requirements.
    Section 559.2 requires a tribe to submit a notice (that a facility 
license is under consideration for issuance) at least 120 days before 
opening any new facility on Indian lands where class II and/or class 
III gaming will occur, with the notice containing all of the items 
specified in Sec.  559.2(b). Section 559.3 requires a tribe to submit a 
copy of each newly issued or renewed facility license within 30 days of 
issuance. Section 559.4 requires a tribe to submit an attestation 
certifying that by issuing the facility license, the tribe has 
determined that the construction, maintenance, and operation of that 
gaming facility is conducted in a manner that adequately protects the 
environment and the public health and safety. Section 559.5 requires a 
tribe to submit a notice within 30 days if a facility license is 
terminated or expires or if a gaming operation closes or reopens. 
Section 559.6 requires a tribe to maintain and provide applicable and 
available Indian lands or environmental and public health and safety 
documentation, if requested by the NIGC. This collection is mandatory 
and enables the Commission to perform its statutory duty by ensuring 
that tribal gaming facilities on Indian lands are properly licensed by 
the tribes.
    Respondents: Indian tribal gaming operations.
    Estimated Annual Responses: 143.
    Estimated Time per Response: Depending on the type of submission, 
the range of time can vary from 1.0 burden hours to 10.0 burden hours 
for one item.
    Frequency of Response: Varies.
    Estimated Total Annual Hourly Burden to Respondents: 452.
    Estimated Total Non-hour Cost Burden: $0.

    Title: Minimum Technical Standards for Class II Gaming Systems and 
Equipment.
    OMB Control Number: 3141-0014.
    Brief Description of Collection: The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act 
(IGRA or the Act), 25 U.S.C. 2701, et seq., laid out a comprehensive 
framework for the regulation of gaming on Indian lands. Amongst other 
actions necessary to carry out the Commission's statutory duties, the 
Act directs the Commission to monitor class II gaming conducted on 
Indian lands on a continuing basis in order to adequately shield Indian 
gaming from organized crime and other corrupting influences, to ensure 
that the Indian tribe is the primary beneficiary of the gaming 
operation, and to assure that gaming is conducted fairly and honestly 
by both the operator and players. 25 U.S.C. 2702(2), 2706(b)(1). The 
Act allows Indian tribes to use ``electronic, computer, or other 
technologic aids'' to conduct class II gaming activities. 25 U.S.C. 
2703(7)(A). The Commission is authorized to ``promulgate such 
regulations and guidelines as it deems appropriate to implement'' IGRA. 
25 U.S.C. 2706(b)(10). The Commission has promulgated part 547 of title 
25, Code of Federal Regulations, to aid it in monitoring class II 
gaming facilities that

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are using electronic, computer, or other technologic aids to conduct 
class II gaming.
    Section 547.5(b)(2) requires a tribal gaming regulatory authority 
(TGRA) to submit a notice regarding a grandfathered class II gaming 
system's approval. Section 547.5(b)(5) requires a TGRA to maintain 
records of approved modifications that affect the play of a 
grandfathered class II gaming system, and must make the records 
available to the Commission upon request. Section 547.5(d)(3) requires 
a TGRA to maintain records of approved emergency hardware and software 
modifications to a class II gaming system (and a copy of the testing 
laboratory report) so long as the gaming system remains available to 
the public for play, and must make the records available to the 
Commission upon request. Section 547.5(f) requires a TGRA to maintain 
records of its following determinations: (i) Regarding a testing 
laboratory's (that is owned or operated or affiliated with a tribe) 
independence from the manufacturer and gaming operator for whom it is 
providing the testing, evaluating, and reporting functions; (ii) 
regarding a testing laboratory's suitability determination based upon 
standards no less stringent than those set out in 25 CFR 
533.6(b)(1)(ii) through (v) and based upon no less information than 
that required by 25 CFR 537.1; and/or (iii) the TGRA's acceptance of a 
testing laboratory's suitability determination made by any other gaming 
regulatory authority in the United States. The TGRA must maintain said 
records for a minimum of three years and must make the records 
available to the Commission upon request. Section 547.17 requires a 
TGRA to submit a detailed report for each enumerated standard for which 
the TGRA approves an alternate standard, and the report must contain 
the items identified in Sec.  547.17(a)(2). This collection is 
mandatory and allows the NIGC to confirm tribal compliance with NIGC 
regulations on ``electronic, computer, or other technologic aids'' to 
conduct class II gaming activities.
    Respondents: Tribal governing bodies.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 32.
    Estimated Annual Responses: 326.
    Estimated Time per Response: Depending on the type of submission, 
the range of time can vary from 6.0 burden hours to 9.5 burden hours 
for one item.
    Frequency of Response: Annually.
    Estimated Total Annual Hourly Burden to Respondents: 3,076.
    Estimated Total Non-hour Cost Burden: $ 0.

    Title: Voluntary NIGC Stakeholder Satisfaction Surveys.
    OMB Control Number: 3141-__.
    Brief Description of Collection: The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act 
(IGRA or the Act), 25 U.S.C. 2701, et seq., laid out a comprehensive 
framework for the regulation of gaming on Indian lands. Amongst other 
actions necessary to carry out the Commission's statutory duties, the 
Act directs the Commission to provide trainings and technical 
assistance to tribal gaming operations regulated by IGRA. 25 U.S.C. 
2706(d)(2).
    The Commission is requesting a new clearance to conduct voluntary 
stakeholder surveys in order to: (i) Determine the stakeholders' 
satisfaction with the level(s) of service, trainings, and/or technical 
assistance provided by the Commission; (ii) identify any perceived 
weaknesses in those services, trainings, and/or technical assistance; 
(iii) seek any other information on the service, training, and/or 
technical assistance received; (iv) seek suggestions on improving the 
product or its format; and (v) seek suggestions for other services, 
trainings, and/or technical assistance. This new collection will be 
voluntary and the information gleaned from these surveys will be used 
to help direct service, training, and/or technical assistance 
improvement efforts, and to assist the Commission in better identifying 
the needs of its stakeholders. The Commission will take precautions to 
ensure that the respondents are aware that they are not under any risk 
for not responding or for the content of their responses.
    Respondents: Tribal governing bodies.
    Average Expected Annual Number of Stakeholder Satisfaction Surveys: 
2.
    Respondents: 242.
    Annual responses: 484.
    Frequency of Response: Once per survey (average of 15 minutes per 
response).
    Burden hours: 121.
    Estimated Total Non-hour Cost Burden: $ 0.

Shannon O'Loughlin,
Chief of Staff.
[FR Doc. 2015-13707 Filed 6-4-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7565-01-P