Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Requests for Indian Land Title and Records Information

AGENCY:

Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice of information collection; request for comment.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) are proposing to renew an information collection.

DATES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before August 19, 2024.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection request (ICR) should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) through https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRA/icrPublicCommentRequest?ref_nbr=202212-1076-001 or by visiting https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain and selecting “Currently under Review—Open for Public Comments” and then scrolling down to the “Department of the Interior.”

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request additional information about this ICR, contact Steven Mullen, Information Collection Clearance Officer, Office of Regulatory Affairs and Collaborative Action—Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1001 Indian School Road NW, Suite 229, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87104; comments@bia.gov; (202) 924-2650. Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. You may also view the ICR at https://www.reginfo.gov/public/Forward?SearchTarget=PRA&textfield=1076-0196.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) and 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), we provide the general public, and other Federal agencies, with an opportunity to comment on new, proposed, revised, and continuing collections of information. This helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. It also helps the public understand our information collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format.

A Federal Register notice with a 60-day public comment period soliciting comments on this collection of information was published on January 5, 2023 (88 FR 879). No comments were received.

As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burdens, we are again soliciting comments from the public and other Federal agencies on the proposed ICR that is described below. We are especially interested in public comment addressing the following:

(1) Whether or not the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether or not the information will have practical utility;

(2) The accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;

(3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and

(4) How might the agency minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of response.

Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of public record. Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment—including your personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Abstract: The Land Title and Records Office (LTRO) maintains title documents for land that the United States holds in trust or restricted status for individual Indians or Tribes (Indian land), much like counties and other localities maintain title documents for fee land within their jurisdictions. Individuals or entities that are requesting information regarding title documents—either for property they own or for property they seek to lease or encumber—must provide certain information to the LTRO in order for LTRO to accurately identify the property for which they are seeking information. LTRO uses the information provided by individuals or entities in order to identify the property so that they can retrieve the appropriate title documents and produce reports for that property. The collection of information is found in § 150.305, which provides that anyone requesting title documents or reports must provide certain information, such as the name of the reservation where the land is located and the tract number or legal description.

Title of Collection: Requests for Indian Land Title and Records Information.

OMB Control Number: 1076-0196.

Form Number: None.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals, private sector, government.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 36.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 36.

Estimated Completion Time per Response: 0.5 hours.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 19 hours (consisting of 10 hours for private sector respondents, 3 hours for individual respondents, and 6 hours for government respondents).

Respondent's Obligation: Required to Obtain a Benefit.

Frequency of Collection: Once per year for applications; 4 times per year for progress reports.

Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: $500.

An agency may not conduct or sponsor and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

The authority for this action is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).