DRAFT (August 16, 1999) - The Center for Regulatory ...

1 DRAFT ( august 16, 1999 )THE PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT OF 1995:IMPLEMENTING GUIDANCEFOROMB REVIEWOFAGENCY information COLLECTIONOFFICE OF information AND Regulatory AFFAIRSOFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGETA ugust 16, 1999 DRAFT ( august 16, 1999 ) DRAFT ( august 16, 1999 ) DRAFT ( august 16, 1999 )PREFACEThe Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reviews, approves or disapproves proposedagency information collections in light of the policy criteria and internal agency planningprocedures established by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). Since 1942, the PRAand its predecessors have established policy and procedural requirements instructing agencieshow to collect information . This Implementing Guidance is intended to support agency compliance with the PRA. It is basedon the PRA, and OMB s 55 years of experience in overseeing agency compliance with the PRAand in working with agencies to understand its underlying policy standards.

2 It providesadditional interpretive guidance elaborating on the legal requirements under the PRA and OMB simplementing regulations. Although the scope of the PRA and its provisions have changed over the years, the underlyingpolicy standards of the PRA remain the same. An agency's collection of information is to:Cminimize the burden on respondents and the cost of the collection to the agency, Cserve an agency purpose in meeting a specific agency need, Cmaximize practical utility, and Cnot unnecessarily duplicate available Implementing Guidance describes the responsibilities and authorities applicable to thecollection of information under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. First, it describes theresponsibilities of each agency that conducts or sponsors a collection of information , whether itconsists of a questionnaire, a recordkeeping requirement, a third-party disclosure, a label, or anyother form of collection of information from the public.

3 Second, the Implementing Guidancesets forth the responsibilities and authorities of Implementing Guidance is organized as a reference tool. It begins with a general discussionof the PRA and its primary policy criteria. It then provides a more specific discussion of agencyplanning and evaluation of each DRAFT information collection , as called for by the PRA, the OMBregulation implementing the PRA, and OMB Form 83-I. OMB Form 83-I, together with theSupporting Statement and other necessary documentation, is the means by which each agencysubmits to OMB a proposed collection of information for review and approval. Each of thesedocuments is included as an Appendix in this Implementing Guidance. The Appendices alsoinclude examples of PRA notices published in the Federal Register, suggested procedures forestimating burden, and answers to frequently asked statistical questions.

4 IiDRAFT ( august 16, 1999 )The Table of Contents is organized to help identify where to look for answers to specificquestions. OMB staff are also available to discuss detailed issues and answer questions aboutindividual collections of promulgated a preliminary DRAFT of this Implementing Guidance on February 3, 1997,requesting comments from the public and agencies. OMB received a number of comments, andhas modified the Implementing Guidance accordingly. OMB also redrafted the discussion ofpaperwork burden, originally found in Chapter This Implementing Guidance replacesthe information collection Review Handbook, issued January ( august 16, 1999 )TABLE OF CONTENTSC hapter I. The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 .. 1A. What Does The Paperwork Reduction Act Do? .. 11. Basic Structure .. 12. Goals.. 23. How Is the Public Protected by the PRA?

5 44. What information Is Covered? .. 4B. What Are Agencies Required to Do? .. 51. Centralized Agency Review.. 52. Advance Opportunity for Public Comment.. 63. How Does an Agency Demonstrate to OMB That it Has Prepared a collection ofInformation Properly? .. 64. Public Notice of OMB Review.. 75. information for Respondents.. 7C. How Does OMB Review Collections of information ? .. 7D. What Else Is Part of an OMB Review? .. 8E. What Is an information collection Budget .. 9F. How Do the Public and Other Agencies Participate .. 10 Chapter II. What Is The Scope of The PRA? .. 11A. What Government Activity Does The PRA Cover? .. 111. Which Agencies Need to Comply? .. 11a. Independent Regulatory Agencies.. 11b. Exempt Agencies.. 122. What Does it Mean to Conduct a collection of information ? .. 123. What Does it Mean to Sponsor a collection of information ?

6 12a. When Is an Agency a Sponsor of a Recordkeeping Requirement? .. 13b. When Is an Agency a Sponsor of a Third-party Disclosure? .. 13c. When Is an Agency a Sponsor of a Grantee? .. 13d. When Is an Agency a Sponsor of a Privately Conducted Survey? .. 144. How Does the PRA Apply to Collections of information from State and LocalGovernments? .. 145. Is the PRA Limited in Scope Geographically? .. 14B. Who Should Request OMB Approval? .. 151. Conducting Agency .. 15a. General.. 15b. Multiple Conducting Agencies.. 16(1) What Happens If Agencies Use the Same collection of information butRespondents Differ? .. 16(2) What Happens If Agencies Are Collecting the Same information from theSame Respondents? .. 16ivDRAFT ( august 16, 1999 )2. Sponsoring Agency .. 16a. General.. 16b. What Happens If Multiple Agencies Sponsor a collection of information ?

7 16C. What Types of Collections Are Covered? .. 161. collection of information .. 17a. Method of collection .. 17b. Respondent's Obligation to Comply.. 18c. Purpose of collection .. 182. Person.. 18a. Current Federal Employees and Military Personnel.. 18b. Respondents' Employees.. 19c. Retired Federal Employees and Military Personnel on Inactive Status.. 193. Ten or More Persons.. 195. Disclosure to Third Parties or the Public.. 216. Recordkeeping Requirements.. 227. General Purpose Statistics.. 228. Modifications to Collections of information Previously Approved by OMB.. 23D. What Collections of information Are Exempt? .. 23E. What Items Are Generally Considered Not to Be information ? .. 251. Affidavits, Oaths, Affirmations, Certifications, Receipts, Changes of Address,Consents, or Acknowledgments.. 252. Samples of Products or of Any Other Physical Objects.

8 263. Facts or Opinions Obtained Through Direct Observation by an Employee or Agentof the Sponsoring Agency or Through Nonstandardized Oral Communication inConnection with Such Direct Observation.. 264. Facts or Opinions Submitted in Response to General Solicitations of Commentsfrom the General Public Provided That No Respondent Is Required to SupplySpecific information Pertaining to the Commenter, Except as Necessary for Self-identification and as a Condition to the Agency's Full Consideration of theComment .. 265. information from Individuals (Including Those in Control Groups) UnderTreatment or Clinical Examination in Connection with Research on or Prophylaxisto Prevent a Clinical Disorder, Direct Treatment of That Disorder, or theInterpretation of Biological Analyses of Body Fluids, Tissues, or Other Specimens,or the Identification or Classification of Such Specimens.

9 276. Facts or Opinions Requested from a Single Person .. 277. Examinations Designed to Test the Aptitude, Abilities, or Knowledge of thePersons Tested and the collection of information for Identification or Classificationin Connection with Such Examinations.. 278. Facts or Opinions Solicited in Connection with Public Hearings or Meetings .. 279. information Solicited Through Nonstandardized Follow-up Questions Designed toClarify Responses to Approved Collections of information ..2810. Like Items Designated by OMB .. 28vDRAFT ( august 16, 1999 )Chapter III. How Is the Public Protected by the PRA? .. 291. No Person Shall Be Subject to Any Penalty.. 302. Notwithstanding Any Other Provision of Law.. 323. Penalty.. 334. Display.. 335. Inform.. 34 Chapter IV. Criteria for OMB Approval .. 37A. What Are the Criteria? .. 37B. How Does OMB Use and Interpret These Criteria?

10 391. Purpose.. 402. Need.. 403. Practical Utility.. 414. Unnecessary Duplication.. 415. Burden.. 42a. Types of Activities That Constitute Burden.. 42(1) Reviewing Instructions .. 42(2) Developing, Acquiring, Installing, and Utilizing Technology and Systemsfor the Purpose of Collecting, Validating, and Verifying information .. 43(3) Developing, Acquiring, Installing, and Utilizing Technology and Systemsfor the Purpose of Processing and Maintaining information .. 43(4) Developing, Acquiring, Installing, and Utilizing Technology and Systemsfor the Purpose of Disclosing and Providing information .. 44(5) Adjusting the Existing Ways to Comply with Any Previously ApplicableInstructions or Requirements .. 44(6) Training Personnel to Be Able to Respond to a collection of Information44(7) Searching Data Sources .. 45(8) Completing and Reviewing the collection of information .