80 FR 15570 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 56 (March 24, 2015)

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 56 (Tuesday, March 24, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15570-15571]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-06597]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    The Department of Commerce will submit to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of 
information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 
U.S.C. chapter 35).
    Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.
    Title: Survey of Residential Building or Zoning Permit Systems.
    OMB Control Number: 0607-0350.
    Form Number(s): C-411(V), C-411(M), C-411(C).
    Type of Request: Reinstatement, without change, of an expired 
collection.
    Number of Respondents: 2,000.
    Average Hours per Response: 15 minutes.
    Burden Hours: 500.
    Needs and Uses: The U.S. Census Bureau is requesting reinstatement 
of the recently expired Form C-411, ``Survey of Residential Building or 
Zoning Permit Systems.'' 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 accuracy of the Census Bureau statistics regarding the 
amount of construction authorized depends on data supplied by building 
and zoning officials throughout the country. The Census Bureau uses 
Form C-411 to obtain information from state and local building permit 
officials needed for updating the universe of permit-issuing places 
which serves as the sampling frame for the Report of Privately-Owned 
Residential Building or Zoning Permits Issued (OMB number 0607-0094), 
also known as the Building Permits Survey (BPS), and the Survey of 
Housing Starts, Sales, and Completions (OMB number 0607-0110), also 
known as Survey of Construction (SOC). These two sample surveys provide 
widely used measures of construction activity, including the principal 
economic indicators New Residential Construction and New Home Sales. 
Data from the BPS and SOC are also used by the Bureau of Economic 
Analysis (BEA) in the calculation of estimates of the Residential Fixed 
Investment portion of the Nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In 
addition, data from the BPS are used by the Census Bureau in the 
calculation of annual population estimates; these estimates are widely 
used by government agencies to allocate funding and other resources to 
local governments.
    The questions on Form C-411 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.
    No changes are planned to the C-411(V) form. We have updated the 
form layouts of forms C-411(M) and C-411(C) to provide clarification 
and improve questionnaire flow.
    The appropriate form is sent to a jurisdiction when the 
Manufacturing and Construction Division (MCD) has reason to believe 
that a new permit system has been established or an existing one has 
changed. This is based on information from a variety of sources 
including survey respondents, regional councils and the Census Bureau's 
Geography Division which keeps abreast of changes in corporate status. 
Responses typically approach 85 percent.
    We use the information to verify the existence of new permit 
systems or changes to existing systems. Based on the information, we 
add new permit-issuing places to the universe, delete places no longer 
issuing permits, and

[[Page 15571]]

make changes to the universe to reflect those places that have merged.
    Failure to maintain the universe of permit-issuing places would 
result in deficient samples and inaccurate statistics. This in turn 
jeopardizes the accuracy of the above mentioned economic indicators. 
These indicators are closely monitored by the Board of Governors of the 
Federal Reserve System and other economic policy makers because of the 
sensitivity of the housing industry to changes in interest rates.
    Affected Public: State, local or Tribal government.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13, United States Code, Sections 9(b), 161, 
and 182.
    This information collection request may be viewed at 
www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view Department of Commerce 
collections currently under review by OMB.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to [email protected] or fax to (202) 395-5806.

    Dated: March 18, 2015.
Glenna Mickelson,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015-06597 Filed 3-23-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P