Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 193 / Wednesday, October 6, 2004 / Notices 59945

a Group Commander and Commanding 

Officer, Marine Safety Office, as 

provided for in Coast Guard regulations. 

The Sector San Juan Commander is 

designated: (a) Captain of the Port 

(COTP) for the San Juan COTP zone; (b) 

Federal Maritime Security Coordinator 

(FMSC); (c) Federal On Scene 

Coordinator (FOSC) for the San Juan 

COTP zone, consistent with the 

National Contingency Plan; (d) Officer 

In Charge of Marine Inspection (OCMI) 

for the San Juan Marine Inspection Zone 

and, (e) Search and Rescue Mission 

Coordinator (SMC). The Deputy Sector 

Commander is designated alternate 

COTP, FMSC, FOSC, OCMI and SMC. A 

continuity of operations order has been 

issued to address existing COTP 

regulations, orders, directives and 

policies. 

The following information is a list of 

updated command titles, addresses and 

points of contact to facilitate requests 

from the public and assist with entry 

into security or safety zones: 

Name: Sector San Juan. 

Address: Commander, U.S. Coast 

Guard Sector San Juan, 5 Calle La 

Puntilla, San Juan, PR 00901–1800. 

Contact: Operations Center, (787) 

289–2040, Sector Commander: (787) 

289–2399, Deputy Sector Commander: 

(305) 289–2300.

Dated: September 27, 2004. 

D. B. Peterman, 

Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Commander, 

Seventh Coast Guard District.

[FR Doc. 04–22503 Filed 10–5–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–15–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs 

Proposed Agency Information 

Collection Activities; Comment 

Request

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, 

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of request for comments.

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 

notice announces that an information 

collection request for Bureau of Indian 

Affairs (BIA) Form 4432, Verification of 

Indian Preference for Employment in 

the BIA and the Indian Health Service 

(IHS), OMB Control No. 1076–0160, 

needs renewal. The BIA is now seeking 

comments from interested parties to 

renew the clearance.

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted by December 6, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Written comments are to be 

mailed or hand delivered to Daisy West, 

Acting Chief, Division of Tribal 

Government Services, Office of Tribal 

Services, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1951 

Constitution Avenue, NW., MS–320–

SIB, Washington, DC 20240; Telephone: 

(202) 513–7641.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Carolyn Newman, (202) 513–7641.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

The purpose of the Indian Preference 

Form is to encourage qualified Indians 

to seek preference in employment with 

the BIA and the IHS. BIA collects 

information under the proposed 

regulations to ensure compliance with 

Indian preference hiring requirements. 

II. Method of Collection 

The information collection relates 

only to individuals applying for 

employment with the BIA and the IHS. 

The tribe’s involvement is limited to 

verifying membership information 

submitted by the applicant. 

III. Data 

Title of the collection of information:

Verification of Indian Preference for 

Employment in the BIA and IHS Form. 

Type of review: Renewal of Indian 

Preference for Employment in the BIA 

and IHS Form. 

Summary of the collection of 

information: The collection of 

information provides that certain 

persons who are of Indian descent 

receive preference when appointments 

are made to vacancies in positions with 

the BIA and IHS as well as in any unit 

that has been transferred intact from the 

BIA to a Bureau or office within the 

Department of the Interior or the 

Department of Health and Human 

Services and that continues to perform 

the functions formerly performed as part 

of the BIA or IHS. You are eligible for 

preference if (a) you are a member of a 

federally recognized Indian tribe; (b) 

you are a descendant of a member and 

you were residing within the present 

boundaries of any Indian reservation on 

June 1, 1934; (c) you are an Alaska 

Native; or (d) you possess one-half 

degree Indian blood derived from tribes 

that are indigenous to the United States. 

Description of the need for the 

information and proposed use of the 

information: The information is 

submitted in order to retain a benefit, 

namely, preference in employment with 

the BIA and IHS. 

Affected entities: Qualified Indian 

applicants and the tribe’s involvement 

in verifying membership information 

submitted by the applicant. 

Estimated number of respondents:

Approximately a total of 5,000 

applications for preference in 

employment are received annually by 

the BIA field offices. 

Proposed frequency of responses: On 

occasion as needed. 

Burden: The average burden of 

submitting an Indian Preference Form is 

30 minutes including time for reviewing 

instructions, searching data sources and 

assembling the information needed. We 

estimate that the annual public burden 

is 2,500 hours. 

Estimated cost: There are no costs to 

consider, except postage and the cost of 

duplicating the original verification 

form, because verification of the 

information is already available for 

other reasons. The form will be used by 

an applicant to seek documentation of 

Indian descent or membership from 

either a tribal official or the BIA. 

IV. Request for Comments 

The Department of the Interior invites 

comments on: 

(a) Whether the collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the BIA, 

including whether the information will 

have practical utility; 

(b) The accuracy of the BIA’s estimate 

of the burden (including the hours and 

cost) of the proposed collection of 

information, including the validity of 

the methodology and assumption used; 

(c) Ways to enhance the quality, 

utility, and clarity of the information to 

be collected; and 

(d) Ways to 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 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology. 

Burden means the total time, effort, or 

financial resources expended by persons 

to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose 

or provide information to or for a 

Federal agency. This includes the time 

needed to review instructions; to 

develop, acquire, install and utilize 

technology and systems for the purpose 

of collecting, validating, and verifying 

information, processing and 

maintaining information, and disclosing 

and providing information, to search 

data sources, to complete and review 

the collection of information; and to 

transmit or otherwise disclose the 

information. 

Comments submitted in response to 

this notice will be summarized and/or 

included in the request for OMB 

approval of this information collection. 

They also will become a matter of 

public record. 

All written comments will be 

available for public inspection in Room 

59946 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 193 / Wednesday, October 6, 2004 / Notices 

320 of the South Interior Building, 1951 

Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, 

DC from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, excluding legal 

holidays. If you wish to have your name 

and address withheld from public view, 

you must state this prominently at the 

beginning of your comments. We will 

honor your request to the extent 

allowable by law. There may be 

instances when we will withhold 

comments from the public for other 

reasons. Comments submitted by 

businesses or business representatives 

will be made available for public 

review. 

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 

Office of Management and Budget 

control number.

Dated: September 28, 2004. 

David W. Anderson, 

Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs.

[FR Doc. 04–22455 Filed 10–5–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–4J–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs 

Tribal Court Budget Data Collection 

Instrument

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, 

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Information 

Collection. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Indian Affairs 

is seeking comments on a collection of 

information about tribal courts and 

Courts of Indian Offenses, the caseloads 

and kinds of cases, the number of 

personnel necessary to meet legal 

requirements, and the costs of operating 

tribal courts for budget and other 

purposes. Data of this nature was 

collected under the auspices of tribal 

representatives of the Judicial 

Subgroup—BIA/Tribal Budget Advisory 

Council. They now desire to associate 

with the Bureau of Indian Affairs 

(Bureau) for the collection of this data. 

Accordingly, OMB approval and a 

control number are being requested.

DATES: Submit comments on or before 

December 6, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Ralph 

Gonzales, Office of Tribal Services, 

Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1951 

Constitution Avenue, NW., MS–320–

SIB, Washington, DC 20240; Telephone 

(202) 513–7629; Fax (202) 208–5113.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: You 

may request further information or 

obtain copies of the proposed 

information collection request from 

Ralph Gonzales, Office of Tribal 

Services, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1951 

Constitution Avenue, NW., MS–320–

SIB, Washington, DC 20240; Telephone 

(202) 513–7629; Fax (202) 208–5113.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The data 

collection instrument will gather 

information about a tribal court’s 

operation relative to its costs, number of 

court personnel employed, adequacy of 

facilities, tribal codes enforced, 

geographical area of operation, and 

traditional mediation procedures used. 

The data is gathered under the authority 

of the Indian Tribal Justice Act, Public 

Law 103–176 (25 U.S.C. 3601) (the Act) 

which provides at Section 101(f):

‘‘INFORMATION CLEARINGHOUSE OF 

TRIBAL JUSTICE SYSTEMS. The Office shall 

maintain an information clearinghouse 

(which shall include an electronic data base) 

on tribal justice systems and Courts of Indian 

Offenses, including (but not limited to) 

information on staffing, funding, model tribal 

codes, tribal justice activities, and tribal 

judicial decisions.’’

The data gathered will primarily be 

used for budgetary purposes. The Act 

further provides at Section 1(2) ‘‘the 

United States has a trust responsibility 

to each tribal government that includes 

the protection of the sovereignty of each 

tribal government.’’ Section 1(4) 

provides ‘‘Indian tribes possess the 

inherent authority to establish their own 

form of government, including tribal 

justice systems.’’ The Bureau must 

perform its fiduciary responsibility and 

assist tribal governments in supporting 

tribal judicial systems by bringing tribal 

courts to par with non-Indian court 

systems. The data collected under this 

initiative will be a start toward 

achieving this objective. 

Tribal governments will be given the 

opportunity to document their tribal 

court’s unmet need. The data will be 

collected electronically to reduce the 

burden upon the tribal government in 

providing tribal court data. Data will be 

gathered as a part of the Bureau’s budget 

cycle and will be collected only once 

annually.

The Assistant Secretary—Indian 

Affairs established a BIA/Tribal Budget 

Advisory Council to provide advice on 

the development of a budget for the 

Bureau. The Council determined that 

the tribal courts were a priority because 

of the continued lack of adequate 

funding. A Judicial Subgroup was 

formed to determine what information 

was needed from the courts to meet all 

their funding needs. This group derives 

its authority to request the information 

from Section 101(f) of the Indian Tribal 

Justice Act, Public Law 103–176 (25 

U.S.C. 3601). The lack of adequate 

funding has created a critical backlog in 

caseload for tribal courts, causing some 

cases to be dismissed because the courts 

cannot hear the cases in a timely 

manner. The consequences of this 

backlog is that justice is not provided in 

a timely manner, many legitimate cases 

are dismissed, and all sectors of Indian 

Country, including law abiding citizens 

as well as the law-breakers, get the 

impression that crime can be committed 

on an Indian reservation with impunity. 

The Subgroup has identified the need 

for the following information: Tribe(s) 

operating a tribal court system; 

population covered/serviced; 

geographical area covered by the court; 

number and kinds of court personnel 

presently and that which is needed to 

provide adequate judicial services; 

facilities available/needed; kinds and 

number of caseloads; jury and judicial 

hearings required; evaluation of services 

provided, including personnel; span of 

civil and criminal control. The 

information will be provided annually 

to allow time for inclusion in the 

Bureau’s budget cycle. 

Request for Comments 

The Bureau of Indian Affairs requests 

your comments on this collection 

concerning: 

(a) The necessity of this information 

collection for the proper performance of 

the functions of the agency, including 

whether the information will have 

practical utility; 

(b) The accuracy of the agency’s 

estimate of the burden (hours and cost) 

of the collection of information, 

including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions used; 

(c) Ways we could enhance the 

quality, utility and clarity of the 

information to be collected; and 

(d) Ways we could minimize the 

burden of the collection of the 

information on the respondents, such as 

through the use of automated collection 

techniques or other forms of information 

technology. 

Please note that an agency may not 

sponsor or request, and an individual 

need not respond to, a collection of 

information unless it has a valid OMB 

Control Number. 

It is our policy to make all comments 

available to the public for review at the 

location listed in the ADDRESSES section, 

room 320, during the hours of 8 a.m. to 

5 p.m. (EST), Monday through Friday, 

except for legal holidays. If you wish to 

have your name and/or address 

withheld, you must state this 

prominently at the beginning of your 

comments. We will honor your request 

according to the requirements of the