2023-05320. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Limited Access Death Master File (LADMF) Accredited Conformity Assessment Body Application for Firewalled Status Form

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 December 27, 2022, during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.

Agency: National Technical Information Service, Commerce.

Title: Limited Access Death Master File Accredited Conformity Assessment Body Application for Firewalled Status Form.

OMB Control Number: 0692-0015.

Form Number(s): NTIS FM101.

Type of Request: Regular submission. Extension of currently approved collection.

Number of Respondents: 65.

Average Hours per Response: 1 hour.

Burden Hours: 65.

Needs and Uses: NTIS issued a final rule establishing a program through which persons may become eligible to obtain access to Death Master File (DMF) information about an individual within three years of that individual's death. The final rule was promulgated under Section 203 of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013, Public Law 113-67 (Act). The Act prohibits the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) from disclosing DMF information during the three-year period following an individual's death (Limited Access DMF), unless the person requesting the information has been certified to access the Limited Access DMF pursuant to certain criteria in a program that the Secretary establishes. The Secretary delegated the authority to carry out Section 203 to the Director of NTIS.

The final rule requires that, in order to become certified, a Person must submit a written attestation from an “Accredited Conformity Assessment Body” (ACAB), as defined in the final rule, that such Person has systems, facilities, and procedures in place to protect the security of the Limited Access DMF, as required under 15 CFR 1110.102(a). A Certified Person also must provide a new written attestation periodically for renewal of its certification as specified in the final rule. The ACAB must be independent of the Person or Certified Person seeking certification, unless it is a conformity assessment body that qualifies for “firewalled status” pursuant to 15 CFR 1110.502.

The Firewalled Status Application Form collects information that NTIS will use to evaluate whether the respondent qualifies for “firewalled status” under the regulations, and, therefore, can provide a written attestation in lieu of an independent ACAB's attestation. This information includes specific requirements of 15 CFR 1110.502(b), which the responding ACAB must certify are satisfied, and the provision of specific information by the responding ACAB, such as the identity of the Person or Certified Person that would be the subject of the attestation and the basis upon which the certifications were made.

Affected Public: Accredited Conformity Assessment Bodies seeking firewalled status under 15 CFR 1110.502 because they are “owned, managed, or controlled by [the] Person or Certified Person that is the subject of attestation or audit by the Accredited Conformity Assessment Body applying the characteristics set forth under section 1110.501(a)(1).”

Frequency: Once a year.

Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.

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 0692-0015.

Sheleen Dumas,

Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Commerce Department.