2017-10331. Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request

AGENCY:

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

ACTION:

Notice, request for comment.

SUMMARY:

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) invites comment on a proposal to extend for three years, with revision, the voluntary Ongoing Intermittent Survey of Households (FR 3016; OMB No. 7100-0150).

On June 15, 1984, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) delegated to the Board authority under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) to approve of and assign OMB control numbers to collection of information requests and requirements conducted or sponsored by the Board. In exercising this delegated authority, the Board is directed to take every reasonable step to solicit comment. In determining whether to approve a collection of information, the Board will consider all comments received from the public and other agencies.

DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before July 21, 2017.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments, identified by FR 3016, by any of the following methods:

• Agency Web site: http://www.federalreserve.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments at http://www.federalreserve.gov/​apps/​foia/​proposedregs.aspx.
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
• Email: [e-mail]. Include OMB number in the subject line of the message.
• FAX: [phone] or [phone].
• Mail: Ann E. Misback, Secretary, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20551.

All public comments are available from the Board's Web site at http://www.federalreserve.gov/​apps/​foia/​proposedregs.aspx as submitted, unless modified for technical reasons. Accordingly, your comments will not be edited to remove any identifying or contact information. Public comments may also be viewed electronically or in paper form in Room 3515, 1801 K Street (between 18th and 19th Streets NW) Washington, DC 20006 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on weekdays.

Additionally, commenters may send a copy of their comments to the OMB Desk Officer—Shagufta Ahmed—Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20503 or by fax to [phone].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

A copy of the PRA OMB submission, including the proposed reporting form and instructions, supporting statement, and other documentation will be placed into OMB's public docket files, once approved. These documents will also be made available on the Federal Reserve Board's public Web site at: http://www.federalreserve.gov/​apps/​reportforms/​review.aspx or may be requested from the agency clearance officer, whose name appears below.

Federal Reserve Board Clearance Officer—Nuha Elmaghrabi—Office of the Chief Data Officer, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551 [phone]. Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) users may contact [phone], Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC, 20551.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Request for Comment on Information Collection Proposal

The Board invites public comment on the following information collection, which is being reviewed under authority delegated by the OMB under the PRA. Comments are invited on the following:

a. Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the Federal Reserve's functions; including whether the information has practical utility;

b. The accuracy of the Federal Reserve's estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;

c. Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected;

d. Ways to minimize the burden of information collection on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology; and

e. Estimates of capital or startup costs and costs of operation, maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.

At the end of the comment period, the comments and recommendations received will be analyzed to determine the extent to which the Federal Reserve should modify the proposed revisions prior to giving final approval.

Proposal to approve under OMB delegated authority the extension for three years, with revision, of the following report:

Report title: Ongoing Intermittent Survey of Households.

Agency form number: FR 3016.

OMB control number: 7100-0150.

Frequency: Monthly.

Respondents: Households and individuals.

Estimated number of respondents: 500.

Estimated average hours per response: 1.58 minutes.

Estimated annual burden hours: 158 hours.

General Description of Report: The Board uses this voluntary survey to obtain household-based information specifically tailored to the Board's policy, regulatory, and operational responsibilities. The Board primarily uses the survey to study consumer financial decisions, attitudes, and payment behavior. Currently, the University of Michigan's Survey Research Center (SRC) includes survey questions on behalf of the Board in an addendum to their regular bi-weekly Survey of Consumer Attitudes and Expectations. The SRC conducts the survey by telephone with a sample of 500 households and asks questions of special interest to the Board.

Proposed revisions: The Board proposes to eliminate the Division of Consumer and Community Affairs and other divisions' SRC surveys, as well as non-SRC surveys, as these surveys have not been conducted since 2010 and are not expected to be utilized in the next several years.

Legal authorization and confidentiality: The Board's Legal Division has determined that Section 2A of the Federal Reserve Act (“FRA”) requires that the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Open Market Committee maintain long run growth of the monetary and credit aggregates commensurate with the economy's long run potential to increase production, so as to promote effectively the goals of maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates (12 U.S.C. 225a). Under section 12A of the FRA, the Federal Open Market Committee is required to implement regulations relating to the open market operations conducted by Federal Reserve Banks with a view to accommodating commerce and business and with regard to their bearing upon the general credit situation of the country (12 U.S.C. 263). Because the Board and the Federal Open Market Committee use the information obtained on the FR 3016 to fulfill these obligations, these statutory provisions provide the legal authorization for the collection of information on the FR 3016. The FR 3016 is a voluntary survey. No issue of confidentiality normally arises under the FR 3016, as names and any other characteristics that would permit personal identification of respondents are not reported to the Board. However, should the Board obtain such information, it would likely be exempt under exemption 6 of the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(6)) to the extent that it includes “personnel and medical files and similar files the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.”

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, May 17, 2017.

Ann E. Misback,

Secretary of the Board.