[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 12 (Thursday, January 21, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6295-6296]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-01186]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

U.S. 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 (C-
411)

    The Department of Commerce will submit the following information 
collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. We invite 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. Public comments were previously requested via the 
Federal Register on November 9, 2020 during a 60-day comment period. 
This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.
    Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.
    Title: Survey of Residential Building or Zoning Permit Systems (C-
411).
    OMB Control Number: 0607-0350.
    Form Number(s): C-411(v), C-411(m), C-411(c).
    Type of Request: Regular submission, Request for an Extension, 
without Change, of a Currently Approved Collection.
    Number of Respondents: 820 annual average.
    Average Hours per Response: 15 minutes.
    Burden Hours: 205.
    Needs and Uses: The U.S. Census Bureau is requesting an extension 
of a currently approved collection for Form C-411, ``Survey of 
Residential Building or Zoning Permit Systems.''
    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 
accuracy of the Census Bureau statistics regarding the amount of 
construction authorized depends on data supplied by building and zoning 
officials throughout the country. The Census Bureau uses Form C-411 to 
obtain information from state and local building permit officials 
needed for updating the universe of permit-issuing places which serves 
as the sampling frame for the Report of Privately-Owned Residential 
Building or Zoning Permits Issued (OMB number 0607-0094), also known as 
the Building Permits Survey (BPS), and the Survey of Housing Starts, 
Sales, and Completions (OMB number 0607-0110), also known as Survey of 
Construction (SOC). These two sample surveys provide widely used 
measures of construction activity, including the principal economic 
indicators, New Residential Construction and New Home Sales. Data from 
the BPS and SOC are also used by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) 
in the calculation of estimates of the Residential Fixed Investment 
portion of the Nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In addition, data 
from the BPS are used by the Census Bureau in the calculation of annual 
population estimates; these estimates are widely used by government 
agencies to allocate funding and other resources to local governments.
    The questions on Form C-411 pertain to the legal requirements for 
issuing building or zoning permits in the local jurisdictions. 
Information is obtained on such items as geographic coverage and types 
of construction for which permits are issued.
    The appropriate form 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 from a variety of sources including survey respondents, 
regional councils and the Census Bureau's Geography Division, which 
keeps abreast of changes in corporate status. We anticipate 
approximately a 50% response rate to the mailed C-411 forms, which is 
supplemented with existing known information from the C-404 monthly and 
annual collection, individual follow-ups with jurisdictions by email or 
phone, and publicly available information to maintain

[[Page 6296]]

coverage for the universe of permit issuing places. We anticipate 
having accurate and up to date coverage for the universe for over 85% 
of jurisdictions as a result of these combined operations.
    We use the information to verify the existence of new permit 
systems or changes to existing systems. Based on the information, the 
Census Bureau adds new permit-issuing places to the universe, deletes 
places no longer issuing permits, and makes changes to the universe to 
reflect those places that have merged.
    Failure to maintain the universe of permit-issuing places would 
result in deficient samples and inaccurate statistics. This in turn 
jeopardizes the accuracy of the above-mentioned economic indicators. 
These indicators are closely monitored by the Board of Governors of the 
Federal Reserve System and other economic policy makers because of the 
sensitivity of the housing industry to changes in interest rates.
    Affected Public: State, Local, or Tribal government.
    Frequency: Every five years with annual follow-up, as needed.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C., Sections 131 and 182.
    This information collection request may be viewed at 
www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view the Department of 
Commerce collections currently under review by OMB.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of 
this notice on the following website www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. 
Find this particular information collection by selecting ``Currently 
under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search 
function and entering either the title of the collection or the OMB 
Control Number 0607-0350.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2021-01186 Filed 1-19-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P