2024-00655. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program

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 3, 2023, during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.

Agency: National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), Commerce.

Title: State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program (SDECGP).

OMB Control Number: 0660–XXXX.

Form Number(s): None.

Type of Request: New information collection.

Number of Respondents: 56 for the Application Form, Specific Projects Form, and Consolidated Budget Form; 11 for the DE Plan Amendments Form.

Average Hours per Response: 11 hours.

Burden Hours: 571 hours.

Needs and Uses: With this information collection, NTIA will review the proposed applications and budgets of applicants to evaluate alignment to SDECGP requirements and program priorities. Applicants will have more structured questions and guidance for their applications. The forms will ultimately reduce the applicant burden by making the application process clearer and simpler. Additionally, the structured forms will reduce application errors and the number of application updates needed after the applications have been submitted. NTIA will use the information collected in the DE Plan Amendments Form to review changes made to the applicant's Digital Equity Plan after acceptance in order to evaluate alignment to program requirements and between the applicant's Plan and proposed SDECGP activities.

Affected Public: States, Territories, or possessions of the United States applying for Infrastructure Act Broadband Grant Program funding.

Frequency: Annually.

Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.

Legal Authority: Sections 60304(c) and 60304(d) of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, Public Law 117–58, 135 Stat. 429 (November 15, 2021).

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 the title of the collection.

Sheleen Dumas,

Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary of Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.