[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 217 (Monday, November 9, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71305-71306]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-24765]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Survey of Residential Building or Zoning Permit Systems

AGENCY: U.S. Census Bureau, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of information collection, request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, invites the general public and other 
Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information 
collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information 
collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The 
purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment on the 
proposed extension of the Survey of Residential Building or Zoning 
Permit Systems, prior to the submission of the information collection 
request (ICR) to OMB for approval.

DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed 
information collection must be received on or before January 8, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments by 
email to [email protected]. Please reference Survey of 
Residential Building or Zoning Permit Systems in the subject line of 
your comments. You may also submit comments, identified by Docket 
Number USBC-2020-0028, to the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. All comments received are part of the public 
record. No comments will be posted to http://www.regulations.gov for 
public viewing until after the comment period has closed. Comments will 
generally be posted without change. All Personally Identifiable 
Information (for example, name and address) voluntarily submitted by 
the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit Confidential 
Business Information or otherwise sensitive or protected information. 
You may submit attachments to electronic comments in Microsoft Word, 
Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
specific questions related to collection activities should be directed 
to William Abriatis, U.S. Census Bureau, Economic Indicators Division, 
(301) 763-3686, or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Census Bureau plans to request a three-year extension of a 
currently approved collection of the Form C-411. The Census Bureau 
produces statistics used to monitor activity in the large and dynamic 
construction industry. These statistics help state and local 
governments and the Federal government, as well as private industry, to 
analyze this important sector of the economy.
    The Census Bureau uses the Form C-411 or questions from the form to 
obtain information needed to update the universe of permit-issuing 
places from state and local building permit and zoning officials. 
Questions on the form pertain to the legal requirements for issuing 
building or zoning permits in

[[Page 71306]]

the local jurisdictions. Information is obtained on such items as 
geographic coverage and types of construction for which permits are 
issued.
    The universe of permit-issuing places is the sampling frame for the 
Building Permits Survey (BPS) and the Survey of Construction (SOC). 
These two sample surveys provide widely used measures of construction 
activity, including the monthly Principal Federal Economic Indicators 
Housing Units Authorized by Building Permits and Housing Starts.

II. Method of Collection

    One of three variants of the Form C-411 is sent to a jurisdiction 
when the Census Bureau has reason to believe that a new permit system 
has been established or an existing one has changed. This is based on 
information the Census Bureau obtains from a variety of sources 
including survey respondents, regional planning councils, and data from 
the Census Bureau's Geography Division on newly incorporated 
jurisdictions. While the C-411 is currently a mailed paper form, the 
Census Bureau is considering adding this collection to the standard 
online collection instrument (Centurion) in the future.
    There are three versions of the form:

 C-411(V) for verification of coverage for jurisdictions with 
existing permit systems
 C-411(M) for municipalities where a new permit system may have 
been established
 C-411(C) for counties where new permit systems may have been 
established.

    Forms are mailed every five years to approximately 3,500 
jurisdictions that the Census Bureau has reason to believe have new or 
changed permit-issuing places. The Census Bureau may follow up with 
individual jurisdictions between mailings via email or phone as 
necessary to maintain the permit issuing universe. The Census Bureau 
follows up with approximately 150 jurisdictions annually between 
mailouts. The next 5-year mailout is scheduled for 2022.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0607-0350.
    Form Number(s): C-411(V), C-411(M), and C-411(C).
    Type of Review: Regular submission, Request for an Extension, 
without Change, of a Currently Approved Collection.
    Affected Public: State or local governments.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 820 responses (averaged from 5 
years of responses).
    Estimated Time per Response: 15 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 205 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0. (This is not the cost of 
respondents' time, but the indirect costs respondents may incur for 
such things as purchases of specialized software or hardware needed to 
report, or expenditures for accounting or records maintenance services 
required specifically by the collection.)
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C. Sections 131 and 182.

IV. Request for Comments

    We are soliciting public comments to permit the Department/Bureau 
to: (a) Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is 
necessary for the proper functions of the Department, including whether 
the information will have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the accuracy 
of our estimate of the time and cost burden for this proposed 
collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions 
used; (c) Evaluate ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; and (d) Minimize the reporting burden 
on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. We will include, or summarize, each comment in our 
request to OMB to approve this ICR. 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 us in your comment to withhold 
your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2020-24765 Filed 11-6-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P