2019-22124. Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Questionnaire for Building Permit Official

AGENCY:

U.S. Census Bureau, Commerce.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES:

To ensure consideration, written comments must be submitted on or before December 9, 2019.

ADDRESSES:

Direct all written comments to Thomas Smith, PRA Liaison, U.S. Census Bureau, 4600 Silver Hill Road, Room 7K250A, Washington, DC 20233 (or via the internet at [e-mail]). You may also submit comments, identified by Docket Number USBC-2019-0011, 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 copies of the information collection instrument(s) and instructions should be directed to William Abriatis, U.S. Census Bureau, EID, CENHQ, Room 7K181, 4600 Silver Hill Road, Washington, DC 20233, telephone [phone] (or via the internet at [e-mail]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

The U.S. Census Bureau plans to request a three-year extension of the current Office of Management and Budget (OMB) clearance of the Questionnaire for Building Permit Official (SOC-QBPO). The Census Bureau uses the Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) electronic questionnaire SOC-QBPO to collect information from state and local building permit officials on: (1) The types of residential permits they issue, (2) the length of time a permit is valid, (3) how they store permits, and (4) the geographic coverage of the permit system. We need this information to carry out the sampling for the Survey of Housing Starts, Sales, and Completions (OMB number 0607-0110), also known as Survey of Construction (SOC). The SOC provides widely used measures of construction activity, including the Principal Economic Indicators New Residential Construction and New Residential Sales.

The current OMB clearance is scheduled to expire on May 31, 2020. We will continue to use the current CAPI questionnaire. The overall length of the interview and the sample size will not change.

II. Method of Collection

The Census Bureau uses its field representatives to obtain information on the operating procedures of a permit office using the SOC-QBPO. The field representative visits the permit office, conducts the interview with office staff, and completes this electronic form.

III. Data

OMB Control Number: 0607-0125.

Form Number(s): SOC-QBPO.

Type of Review: Regular submission.

Affected Public: State and local Government.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,017.

Estimated Time per Response: 15 minutes.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 254 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. Section 131 and 182.

IV. Request for Comments

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden (including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; (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 automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

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.

Sheleen Dumas,

Departmental Lead PRA Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Commerce Department.