(a) Authority to review and approve collection of information requests, collection of information requirements, and collections of information in current rules is delegated to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

(1) This delegation does not include review and approval authority over any new collection of information or any modification to an existing collection of information that:

(i) Is proposed to be collected as a result of a requirement or other mandate of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, or other Federal executive branch entities with authority to require the Board to conduct or sponsor a collection of information.

(ii) Is objected to by another Federal agency on the grounds that agency requires information currently collected by the Board, that the currently collected information is being deleted from the collection, and the deletion will have a serious adverse impact on the agency's program, provided that such objection is certified to OMB by the head of the Federal agency involved, with a copy to the Board, before the end of the comment period specified by the Board on the Federal Register notices specified in paragraph (1)(3)(i) of this section 1.

(iii) Would cause the burden of the information collections conducted or sponsored by the Board to exceed by the end of the fiscal year the Information Collection Budget allowance set by the Board and OMB for the fiscal year-end.

(2) The Board may ask that OMB review and approve collections of information covered by this delegation.

(3) In exercising delegated authority, the Board will:

(i) Provide the public, to the extent possible and appropriate, with reasonable opportunity to comment on collections of information under review prior to taking final action approving the collection. Reasonable opportunity for public comment will include publishing a notice in the Federal Register informing the public of the proposed collection of information, announcing the beginning of a 60-day public comment period, and the availability of copies of the “clearance package,” to provide the public with the opportunity to comment. Such Federal Register notices shall also advise the public that they may also send a copy of their comments to the Federal Reserve Board and to the OMB/OIRA Desk Officer.

(A) Should the Board determine that a new collection of information or a change in an existing collection must be instituted quickly and that public participation in the approval process would defeat the purpose of the collection or substantially interfere with the Board's ability to perform its statutory obligation, the Board may temporarily approve of the collection of information for a period not to exceed 90 days without providing opportunity for public comment.

(B) At the earliest practical date after approving the temporary extension to the collection of information, the Board will publish a Federal Register notice informing the public of its approval of the collection of information and indicating why immediate action was necessary. In such cases, the Board will conduct a normal delegated review and publish a notice in the Federal Register soliciting public comment on the intention to extend the collection of information for a period not to exceed three years.

(ii) Provide the OMB/OIRA Desk Officer for the Federal Reserve Board with a copy of the Board's Federal Register notice not later than the day the Board files the notice with the Office of the Federal Register.

(iii) Assure that approved collections of information are reviewed not less frequently than once every three years, and that such reviews are normally conducted before the expiration date of the prior approval. Where the review has not been completed prior to the expiration date, the Board may extend the report, for up to three months, without public notice in order to complete the review and consequent revisions, if any. There may also be other circumstances in which the Board determines that a three-month extension without public notice is appropriate.

(iv) Take every reasonable step to conduct the review established under 5 CFR 1320.8, including the seeking of public comment under 5 CFR 1320.8(d). In determining whether to approve a collection of information, the Board will consider all comments received from the public and other agencies. The Board will not approve a collection of information that it determines does not satisfy the guidelines set forth in 5 CFR 1320.5(d)(2), unless it determines that departure from these guidelines is necessary to satisfy statutory requirements or other substantial need.

(v)(A) Assure that each approved collection of information displays, as required by 5 CFR 1320.6, a currently valid OMB control number and the fact that a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

(B) Assure that all collections of information, except those contained in regulations, display the expiration date of the approval, or, in case the expiration date has been omitted, explain the decision that it would not be appropriate, under 5 CFR 1320.5(a)(1)(iii)(C), for a proposed collection of information to display an expiration date.

(C) Assure that each collection of information, as required by 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3), informs and provides fair notice to the potential respondents of why the information is being collected; the way in which such information is to be used; the estimated burden; whether responses are voluntary, required to obtain or retain a benefit, or mandatory; the confidentiality to be provided; and the fact that an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

(vi) Assure that each approved collection of information, together with a completed form OMB 83-I, a supporting statement, a copy of each comment received from the public and other agencies in response to the Board's Federal Register notice or a summary of these comments, the certification required by 5 CFR 1320.9, and a certification that the Board has approved of the collection of information in accordance with the provisions of this delegation is transmitted to OMB for incorporation into OMB's public docket files. Such transmittal shall be made as soon as practical after the Board has taken final action approving the collection. However, no collection of information may be instituted until the Board has delivered this transmittal to OMB.

(b) OMB will:

(1) Provide the Board in advance with a block of control numbers which the Board will assign in sequential order to and display on, new collections of information.

(2) Provide a written notice of action to the Board indicating that the Board approvals of collections of information that have been received by OMB and incorporated into OMB's public docket files and an inventory of currently approved collections of information.

(3) Review any collection of information referred by the Board in accordance with the provisions of section 1(a)(2) of this Appendix.

(c) OMB may review the Board's paperwork review process under the delegation. The Board will cooperate in carrying out such a review. The Board will respond to any recommendations resulting from such review and, if it finds the recommendations to be appropriate, will either accept the recommendations or propose an alternative approach to achieve the intended purpose.

(d) This delegation may, as provided by 5 CFR 1320.16(c), be limited, conditioned, or rescinded, in whole or in part at any time. OMB will exercise this authority only in unusual circumstances and, in those rare instances, will do so, subject to the provisions of 5 CFR 1320.10(f) and 1320.10(g), prior to the expiration of the time period set for public comment in the Board's Federal Register notices and generally only if:

(1) Prior to the commencement of a Board review (e.g., during the review for the Information Collection Budget). OMB has notified the Board that it intends to review a specific new proposal for the collection of information or the continued use (with or without modification) of an existing collection;

(2) There is substantial public objection to a proposed information collection: or

(3) OMB determines that a substantially inadequate and inappropriate lead time has been provided between the final announcement date of the proposed requirement and the first date when the information is to be submitted or disclosed. When OMB exercises this authority it will consider that the period of its review began the date that OMB received the Federal Register notice provided for in section 1(a)(3)(i) of this Appendix.

(e) Where OMB conducts a review of a Board information collection proposal under section 1(a)(1), 1(a)(2), or 1(d) of this Appendix, the provisions of 5 CFR 1320.13 continue to apply.

(a) Authority to review and approve currently valid (OMB-approved) collections of information, including collections of information contained in existing rules, that have a total annual burden of 5,000 hours or less and a burden of less than 500 hours per respondent is delegated to the Managing Director of the Federal Communications Commission.

(1) This delegation does not include review and approval authority over any new collection of information, any collections whose approval has lapsed, any substantive or material modification to existing collections, any reauthorization of information collections employing statistical methods, or any information collections that exceed a total annual burden of 5,000 hours or an estimated burden of 500 hours per respondent.

(2) The Managing Director may ask that OMB review and approve collections of information covered by the delegation.

(3) In exercising delegated authority, the Managing Director will:

(i) Provide the public, to the extent possible and appropriate, with reasonable opportunity to comment on collections of information under review prior to taking final action on reauthorizing an existing collection. Reasonable opportunity for public comment will include publishing a notice in the Federal Register and an FCC Public Notice informing the public that a collection of information is being extended and announcing the beginning of a 60-day comment period, notifying the public of the “intent to extend an information collection,” and providing the public with the opportunity to comment on the need for the information, its practicality, the accuracy of the agency's burden estimate, and on ways to minimize burden, including the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses. Such notices shall advise the public that they may also send a copy of their comments to the OMB/Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs desk officer for the Commission.

(A) Should the Managing Director determine that a collection of information that falls within the scope of this delegation must be reauthorized quickly and that public participation in the reauthorization process interferes with the Commission's ability to perform its statutory obligation, the Managing Director may temporarily reauthorize the extension of an information collection, for a period not to exceed 90 days, without providing opportunity for public comment.

(B) At the earliest practical date after granting this temporary extension to an information collection, the Managing Director will conduct a normal delegated review and publish a Federal Register notice soliciting public comment on its intention to extend the collection of information for a period not to exceed three years.

(ii) Assure that approved collections of information are reviewed not less frequently than once every three years and that such reviews are conducted before the expiration date of the prior approval. When the review is not completed prior to the expiration date, the Managing Director will submit the lapsed information collection to OMB for review and reauthorization.

(iii) Assure that each reauthorized collection of information displays an OMB control number and, except for those contained in regulations or specifically designated by OMB, displays the expiration date of the approval.

(iv) Inform and provide fair notice to the potential respondents, as required by 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3), of why the information is being collected; the way in which such information is to be used; the estimated burden; whether responses are voluntary, required, required to obtain or retain a benefit, or mandatory; the confidentiality to be provided; and the fact that an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

(v) Transmit to OMB for incorporation into OMB's public docket files, a report of delegated approval certifying that the Managing Director has reauthorized each collection of information in accordance with the provisions of this delegation. The Managing Director shall also make the certification required by 5 CFR 1320.9, e.g., that the approved collection of information reduces to the extent practicable and appropriate, the burden on respondents, including, for small business, local government, and other small entities, the use of the techniques outlined in the Regulatory Flexibility Act. Such transmittals shall be made no later than 15 days after the Managing Director has taken final action reauthorizing the extension of an information collection.

(vi) Ensure that the personnel in the Commission's functional bureaus and offices responsible for managing information collections receive periodic training on procedures related to meeting the requirements of this part and the Act.

(b) OMB will:

(1) Provide notice to the Commission acknowledging receipt of the report of delegated approval and its incorporation into OMB's public docket files and inventory of currently approved collections of information.

(2) Act upon any request by the Commission to review a collection of information referred by the Commission in accordance with the provisions of section 2(a)(2) of this appendix.

(3) Periodically assess, at its discretion, the Commission's paperwork review process as administered under the delegation. The Managing Director will cooperate in carrying out such an assessment. The Managing Director will respond to any recommendations resulting from such a review and, if it finds the recommendations to be appropriate, will either accept the recommendation or propose an alternative approach to achieve the intended purpose.

(c) This delegation may, as provided by 5 CFR 1320.16(c), be limited, conditioned, or rescinded, in whole or in part at any time. OMB will exercise this authority only in unusual circumstances.