2020-24765. 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.

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 [e-mail]. 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, [phone], or [e-mail].

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 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.