[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 230 (Friday, December 1, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 83898-83900]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-26473]


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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; Building Permits Survey Program

AGENCY: Census Bureau, Department of 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 revision of the current Office of Management and Budget 
clearance for the surveys known as the Report of Building or Zoning 
Permits Issued for New Privately-Owned Housing Units (C-404) and the 
Survey of Residential Building or Zoning Permit Systems (C-411).

DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed 
information collection must be received on or before January 30, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments by

[[Page 83899]]

email to [email protected]. Please reference the Building 
Permits Survey Program in the subject line of your comments. You may 
also submit comments, identified by Docket Number USBC-2023-0013, 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 Aidan Smith, Construction Indicator Programs, Economic Indicators 
Division, U.S. Census Bureau, 301-763-2972, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Census Bureau plans to request a revision of the current Office 
of Management and Budget clearance for the surveys known as the Survey 
of Residential Building or Zoning Permit Systems (C-411) and the Report 
of Building or Zoning Permits Issued for New Privately-Owned Housing 
Units (C-404). The C-411 and the C-404 are related collections sharing 
the same universe called the Active Governments File (AGF) universe. 
The C-411 is utilized to update the permit issuing status of all 
jurisdictions in the AGF. The C-404 is utilized to collect both monthly 
and annual data on the totals of new housing unit permits issued. These 
two surveys, currently cleared separately under control numbers 0607-
0350 and 0607-0094, respectively, will therefore be combined under one 
control number and will be collectively called the Building Permits 
Survey Program.
    The Census Bureau uses these surveys to produce statistics 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. Building permits for new private housing units also are a 
component of The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index.
    The Census Bureau uses the Form C-411 or individual questions from 
the form, as needed, 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 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.
    For New Residential Construction (which includes Housing Units 
Authorized by Building Permits, Housing Starts, and Housing 
Completions), Form C-404 is used to collect the estimate for Housing 
Units Authorized by Building Permits. For New Residential Construction 
and Sales, the number of housing units authorized by building permits 
is a key component utilized in the estimation of housing units started, 
completed, and sold.
    The Census Bureau uses Form C-404 to collect information on changes 
to the geographic coverage of permit-issuing places, the number and 
valuation of new residential housing units authorized by building 
permits, and additional information on residential permits valued at $2 
million or more, including, but not limited to, site address and type 
of building. The Building Permits Survey is the only source of 
statistics on residential construction for states and smaller 
geographic areas. The Census Bureau uses the detailed geographic data 
collected from state and local officials on new residential 
construction authorized by building permits in the development of 
annual population estimates that are used by government agencies to 
allocate funding and other resources to local areas. Policymakers, 
planners, businesses, and others also use the detailed geographic data 
to monitor growth, plan for local services, and to develop production 
and marketing plans.

II. Method of Collection

    Survey of Residential Building or Zoning Permit Systems (C-411):
    One of three variants of the Form C-411 is sent to a jurisdiction 
when the Census Bureau needs to verify whether a new permit system has 
been established or an existing one has changed. This is based on the 
length of time since the jurisdiction last verified their permit 
issuing status, or 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 was previously a mailed 
paper form, the Census Bureau plans to add this collection to the 
standard online collection instrument (Centurion) in 2024.
    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.
    Prior to 2022, the universe of permit issuing places was updated 
every 10 years. In 2012 and every ten years prior, we mailed the survey 
to approximately 20,000 jurisdictions that were designated in our 
records as non-permit issuing jurisdictions, or permit issuing 
jurisdictions that needed verification of coverage. In processing the 
2012 survey, it was determined that it was too burdensome to the Census 
Bureau's staff to process all 20,000 jurisdictions in the same year. As 
a result, the process was spread out into 5-year intervals, starting 
with the mailing in 2017. In 2017, we mailed 3,500 priority 
jurisdictions of the potential 20,000, with the intent of mailing 
another priority group in 2022 to complete the 10-year collection 
cycle. The planned 2022 mailing was deferred. Beginning January 2023, 
we began updating the universe annually and as a result, we can now 
incorporate more frequent updates to non-permit issuing jurisdictions. 
Beginning in 2024 we expect to attempt to collect information from 
3,150 jurisdictions annually using either the C-411(C) or C-411(M) 
regarding the existence of new permit-issuing systems, or to resolve 
coverage questions or issues concerning existing permit-issuing systems 
using the C-411(V). This will allow us to attempt collection on all 
20,000 jurisdictions approximately every seven years, on a rotating 
basis.
    Report of Building or Zoning Permits Issued for New Privately-Owned 
Housing Units (C-404):

[[Page 83900]]

    Respondents may submit their data via internet or a mailed or faxed 
form. Some respondents choose to report over the phone or to send 
proprietary files containing permit information in lieu of returning 
the form.
    The survey universe is comprised of approximately 20,000 local 
governments that issue building permits. Due to resource availability 
and the time required to complete the data review and analysis, the 
Census Bureau collects data from a selection of permit-issuing 
jurisdictions monthly, and the remainder of the jurisdictions annually. 
We collect this information monthly for about approximately 8,600 
permit-issuing jurisdictions. We also collect this information annually 
for about 11,400 permit-issuing jurisdictions.

III. Data

    OMB Control Numbers: 0607-0094, 0607-0350.
    Form Numbers: C-404, C-411.
    Type of Review: Regular submission, request for a revision of a 
currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: State and local governments.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: C-404--20,000; C-411--3,150.
    Estimated Time Per Response: C-404--8 minutes for monthly 
respondents who report via internet, mail, or faxing the form, 23 
minutes for annual respondents who report via internet, mail or faxing 
the form, and 3 minutes for monthly and annual respondents who report 
by telephone or send electronic files or printouts. C-411--15 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: C-404--17,229 hours; C-411--
788 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. 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 Under Secretary for 
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2023-26473 Filed 11-30-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P