[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 155 (Wednesday, August 12, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48334-48335]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-19753]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of the Secretary

[155D1114PD DS62100000 DPD000000.000000]


Proposed Renewal of Information Collection: OMB Control Number 
1093-0005, Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) Act, Statement of Federal 
Lands Payments, (43 CFR 44)

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Office of Budget.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 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 October 
13, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Send your written comments to the U.S. Department of the 
Interior, Office of the Secretary, Office of Budget, Attn. Dionna 
Kiernan, 1849 C St. NW., MS 7413 MIB, Washington, DC 20240. Send any 
faxed comments to (202) 219-2849, attn Dionna Kiernan. Comments may 
also be emailed to [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: To request a copy of the information 
collection request, any explanatory information and related forms, see 
the contact information provided in the ADDRESSES section above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    This notice is for renewal of information collection.
    The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations at 5 CFR part 
1320, which implement the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 
3501 et seq., require that interested members of the public and 
affected agencies have an opportunity to comment on information 
collection and recordkeeping activities (see 5 CFR 1320.8(d)).
    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. The FY 2016 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

[[Page 48335]]

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, 2015.
    Type of Review: Information Collection Renewal.
    Affected Entities: State, local, or tribal government.
    Estimated annual number of respondents: 45.
    Frequency of responses: Annual.
    (2) Annual reporting and recordkeeping burden:
    Total annual reporting per response: 53 hours.
    Total number of estimated responses: 45.
    Total annual reporting: 2,385 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. The FY 2016 
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.

III. Request for Comments

    The Departments invite comments on:
    (a) Whether the collection of information is necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the agencies, including whether 
the information will have practical utility;
    (b) The accuracy of the agencies' estimate of the burden of the 
collection of information and the validity of the methodology and 
assumptions used;
    (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 
respondents, 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, and 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 use 
technology and systems for the purposes 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, and 
to complete and review the collection of information; and to transmit 
or otherwise disclose the information.
    All written comments, with names and addresses, will be available 
for public inspection. If you wish us to withhold your personal 
information, you must prominently state at the beginning of your 
comment what personal information you want us to withhold. We will 
honor your request to the extent allowable by law. If you wish to view 
any comments received, you may do so by scheduling an appointment by 
using the contact information provided in the ADDRESSES section above. 
A valid picture identification is required for entry into the 
Department of the Interior.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information 
collection; they also will become a matter of public record.
    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.

    Dated: August 5, 2015.
Olivia B. Ferriter,
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Budget, Finance, Performance, and 
Acquisition.
[FR Doc. 2015-19753 Filed 8-11-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4334-63-P