OMB BULLETIN NO. 00-05

TO THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES 

SUBJECT: Fiscal Year 2001 Information Collection Budget

1. What is the purpose of this Bulletin? This bulletin instructs your Chief Information

Officer (CIO) how to prepare and submit information to the OMB Office of Information

and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) that will be the basis for the Fiscal Year 2001 Information

Collection Budget. This annual report describes the information collection burden

imposed by the Federal government on the public, progress of the agencies towards the

burden reduction goals set forth in the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), and

agency activities to improve the public’s access to Federal information resources. 

2. When are responses to the Bulletin due? Submissions are due to OIRA no later than

Friday, November 17, 2000.

3. Who must respond to this Bulletin? The Chief Information Officers from the following

agencies must comply with the requirements of this Bulletin:

Department of Agriculture

Department of Commerce 

Department of Defense 

Department of Education 

Department of Energy 

Department of Health and Human Services 

Department of Housing and Urban Development 

Department of the Interior 

Department of Justice 

Department of Labor 

Department of State 

Department of Transportation 

Department of the Treasury 

Department of Veterans Affairs 

Environmental Protection Agency 

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR Secretariat)

Federal Communications Commission

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
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Federal Trade Commission

National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

National Science Foundation

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Securities and Exchange Commission

Small Business Administration

Social Security Administration

If your agency is not listed here, you do not need to do anything under this Bulletin.

4. What is the governmentwide Paperwork Reduction Goal for FY 2001? The

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 requires OMB to “set an annual Government-wide goal

for the reduction of information collection burdens by at least . . . 5 percent during each of

the fiscal years 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001.” 44 U.S.C. 3505(a)(1). In accordance with

the Act, and in light of the agencies’ statutory and programmatic requirements as reflected

in prior ICBs, OMB is setting a “Government-wide goal for the reduction of information

collection burdens” for FY 2001 of 5 percent.

5. What must my agency’s submission include? Your CIO is required to submit the

following information:

A. a cover letter describing agency initiatives that have resulted or will result in specific

reductions of burden on the public;

B. your agency’s Information Collection Budget submission and supporting material,

prepared in accordance with the instructions in Appendix A; and

C. data regarding your agency’s compliance with the information collection provisions of

the Paperwork Reduction Act, prepared in accordance with the instructions in

Appendix B, including your agency’s plan for remedying any current PRA violations

and an evaluation of your agency’s performance during the past year in remedying

PRA violations.

Your CIO must also comply with the memorandum from John Spotila, Administrator of

OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, regarding your agency’s plans for

implementing electronic government and the Government Paperwork Elimination Act

(GPEA). The plans under this memorandum are due by October 31, 2000, but your

agency should prepare them in coordination with the submission under this Bulletin. A

copy of the memorandum is included as Appendix C.

All submissions should be consistent with OMB fiscal and policy guidance.
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6. In what format should the CIO provide this information to OMB? OMB would like

this submission electronically on a 3.5" diskette with a hard copy of the cover letter from

your CIO. Please label the diskette with the agency name and the filenames of the

submission. Please use the following file formats.

A. Where this Bulletin instructs you to prepare a table, you should submit the table in one

of the following formats, in order of preference:

(1) Microsoft Excel 97 or earlier;

(2) Lotus 1-2-3, Release 9 or earlier; or

(3) A dot-delimited ASCII file (a “.” separates each cell in a row).

B. Otherwise, you should submit the information requested in one of the following

formats, in order of preference:

(1) WordPerfect, version 8.0 or earlier; or

(2) Microsoft Word 97 or earlier. 

7. What is the legal authority under which OMB is requiring this information? This

Bulletin is issued pursuant to the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921, as amended; the

Budget and Accounting Procedures Act of 1950, as amended; and the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995.

8. Where must these submissions be delivered? The information required under this

Bulletin must be delivered no later than November 17, 2000, to:

David Rostker

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs

The Office of Management and Budget

725 17th Street, NW - Room 10202

Washington, D.C. 20503

9. Will OMB conduct hearings on my agency’s submission? OMB will schedule, as

needed, hearings with an agency on its progress toward burden reductions goals and

agency compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act.

10. Who should I contact for further information? Questions about specific agency

matters should be directed to your agency's Desk Officer within OMB's Office of

Information and Regulatory Affairs. 
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Questions about this Bulletin should be directed to David Rostker, tel. (202) 395-3897,

email: drostker@omb.eop.gov.

11. When does this Bulletin expire? This Bulletin expires September 30, 2001. 

Attachments
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Bulletin No. 00-05

Appendix A

INFORMATION COLLECTION BUDGET (ICB)

1. What is the purpose of this Appendix? This appendix explains what information you

will need to gather from within your agency to develop your Information Collection

Budget (ICB) submission for FY 2001 and what you must submit to OMB and how.

A. Part 1 discusses how you should begin working on your ICB submission and offers

general ideas we would like you to keep in mind.

B. Part 2 describes how to prepare a chart which lists all of the transactions that affected

your burden totals for FY 2000 and a chart that lists all of the expected transactions

which you used to estimate your FY 2001 total burden.

C. Part 3 describes how to prepare a chart showing the changes in your agency’s total

burden from FY 1999 to FY 2001, broken down into different kinds of program

changes and adjustments.

D. Part 4 instructs you to describe a limited number of significant examples of your

agency’s paperwork reductions and increases for FY 2000 and planned reductions and

increases for FY 2001, grouped by how or why the change occurred.

This appendix is very similar to last year’s. The only significant difference is discussed in

question 5.
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Part 1: Preparation

2. What do I need to know before I start working on the ICB submission? 

A. Burden Reduction Goals: The governmentwide burden reduction goal for FY 2001

is five percent of the FY 2000 total burden. To help in this regard, you need to make

every effort to ensure that your agency will achieve the “maximum practicable”

reductions given your agency’s statutory and programmatic responsibilities.

B. Agency Initiatives: In the cover letter to your agency’s submission under this

Bulletin, the CIO should describe agency initiatives that have resulted or will result in

specific burden reduction. These initiatives should be reflected in your ICB

submission. 

C. Categorizing Burden Changes: We are working to improve the quality of the

information you provide to us and we provide to the public. One way is by breaking

down changes from one year to the next. In parts 2 and 3, we ask you to designate

changes in burden for each collection as either adjustments and or one of three

different kinds of program changes. In part 4, we ask you to break program changes

down even further for the purpose of giving greater detail on your agency’s most

significant burden changes. You should look at these categories and keep them in

mind when you request information from your agency.

D. Dollar Costs: Many agencies now report paperwork burden in terms of dollar costs,

as well as burden hours. For example, the burden of a regulatory recordkeeping

requirement is more readily estimated in terms of the dollar cost (e.g., for the space

and equipment needed for storage) than time. Similarly, the burden of a third-party

disclosure (e.g., the table describing the nutritional content of packaged foods on food

containers) is also more readily estimated in terms of cost. (These dollar costs are

separate from hour burdens and are not hour burdens that are converted into dollars.) 

Starting with the last ICB, we reported both the hour and financial burdens of

information collections as you reported them in your information collection requests. 

Thus, when discussing burden, you should include, as appropriate, both burden hours

and dollar costs.

3. What do I need to do before I start working on the ICB submission? The first thing

you should do, upon receipt of these instructions, is review the monthly inventory of

information collections that you receive from OMB. We intend to publish our database’s

number for September 30, 2000, as the burden total for FY 2000. Therefore, you need to

make sure our database records are accurate and consistent with your records. If there are

discrepancies between your agency’s records and our database, you will need to work with

your OIRA desk officer to determine the cause of the discrepancy and the appropriate

remedy. Please pay special attention to the cost estimates. (Remember the 83-I and our
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computer tracking system record costs in thousands of dollars, not dollars.) Submit

any corrections to our database to your OIRA desk officer on a Form 83-C with a

complete explanation.

4. How do I begin working on the ICB? There are always two parts to the ICB, a review

of the previous fiscal year (FY 2000) and a look toward the next (FY 2001). You should

begin working on the look toward FY 2001. You may wish to wait to begin the review of

FY 2000 until after September 30, 2000.

Work with the program officials in your agency to identify all potential changes in

information collection activities in FY 2001. Make sure you have, for each change, an

OMB number (if assigned), the expected program change and/or expected adjustment for

burden hours and costs. You will need this information to estimate your agency’s FY

2001 total hour burden.

For the most important changes in burden, ask the program officials for the additional

information required in Part 4.

Important: given the governmentwide burden reduction goal of 5% for FY 2001, you

should make every effort to ensure that your agency does all that it can to contribute to

achieving this goal.
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Part 2: A Comprehensive Accounting

5. How is this accounting different than in previous years? This year’s instructions are

very similar to last year’s. The only difference is that we ask you to break out net program

changes into slightly different categories.

In particular, you will need to break out for each transaction the following information:

A. Net Program Change, which is the sum of:

(1) Change in burden due to new statutory requirements (see below);

(2) Change in burden due to lapses in OMB approval (see below); 

(3) Change in burden due to other agency actions; and

B. Adjustment (see below).

As before, if your agency conducts information collections on a regular basis with a

frequency of less than once a year, you should contact your OIRA desk officer to discuss

how you should account for these net program changes.

6. When can we attribute a program change to a new statutory requirement? You

should only attribute a program change to a new statutory requirement when the

information collection directly related to a statute enacted within the last five years (i.e.,

after January 1, 1996). This should not include increases in burden due to long-standing

statutory mandates or recurring statutory requirements. You may, however, include

changes if this is the first time your agency is implementing a statute that has been law for

many years. Please consult your OIRA desk officer if you are uncertain.

7. What changes in burden should be listed under lapses of OMB approval? You

should list under this category any change in burden that occurred when: 

A. your agency allowed an OMB approval for a collection to expire even though your

agency continued to conduct or sponsor the collection; or

B. OMB approved a collection that your agency has been conducting or sponsoring

without prior OMB approval or under an expired OMB control number.

Do not include collections that your agency has discontinued and for which OMB

approval has expired. These changes should be listed as changes due to other agency

actions.
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0

0

0

0

0

TOTAL 0 0 0 0 0

FY 2000 CHANGES IN BURDEN HOURS

PROGRAM CHANGES

Due to 

Statutory 

Changes

Due to Lapse 

of OMB 

Approval

Due to 

Agency 

Actions

NET 

PROGRAM 

CHANGES

OMB # Date ADJUSTMENTS EXHIBIT

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Figure 1

8. What changes in burden should be counted as adjustments? Adjustments are changes

in burden hours due to factors over which your agency has no control, such as population

growth or economic expansion, or that do not affect what information your agency

collects or how. 

Example: If burden increased because your agency took an action to collect information

from a new segment of the economy, that would be a program change. If, instead,

burden went up because more businesses entered a segment of the economy from which

your agency already collected information, that would be an adjustment.

Example: If you reported an increase in burden because your agency changed the way it

estimates burden, that would be an adjustment.

9. How do I report to OMB all transactions that affected burden during FY 2000?

You should report every transaction that affected hour or cost burden in two tables in

formats similar to Figure 1(for changes to burden hours) and Figure 2 (for changes to

costs).

Example: If you received multiple Notices of Action from OMB affecting hour and cost

burden for a single OMB number, you should have one line in each table for each notice of

action.

Example: If a collection expired during FY 2000 and was later reinstated in FY 2000,

you will list the collection twice for FY 2000, one transaction for the expiration and one

transaction for the reinstatement.

10. What information will OMB provide to complete these tables? Soon after the end of

Fiscal Year 2000, we will provide to you Microsoft Excel files containing these two tables

with columns 1, 2, 6, and 7 completed. (If you are unable to use Microsoft Excel files,

please contact your OIRA desk officer for alternate arrangements.) You will need to
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0

0

0

0

0

TOTAL 0 0 0 0 0

FY 2000 CHANGES IN COST BURDEN ($,000)

OMB #

PROGRAM CHANGES

NET PROGRAM 

CHANGES

Due to Statutory ADJUSTMENTS EXHIBIT

Changes

Due to Lapse of 

OMB Approval

Due to Agency 

Actions

Date

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Figure 2

complete the rest of the table by dividing the burden changes listed in column 6 (net

program changes) into burden changes for column 3, 4, and 5 and indicating for which

changes you will prepare a exhibit under Part 4. 

11. What should go in each column? For each transaction, the following information goes

in the following columns:

A. In columns 1 and 2, enter the OMB number and the date of the OMB Notice of

Action, respectively.

B. In column 3, the change in hour or cost burden due to changes in statutory

requirements for each transaction (see question 6);

C. In column 4, the change in hour or cost burden due to lapses in OMB approval (enter

a negative number for expirations and a positive number for new collections or

reinstatements);

D. In column 5, the change in hour or cost burden due to program changes by the agency

that were not attributed to statutory changes or lapses in OMB approval.

Columns 3, 4, and 5 should sum up to the burden total OMB provided in column 6. You

should total columns 3 through 7 and enter the total at the bottom of each column.

In column 8, place an “X” for each transaction for which you have written a description in

Part 4 of this Appendix.

Note: Cost burden is reported in thousands of dollars, just as in the OMB computer

tracking system and on the OMB Form 83-I.
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12. How do I report to OMB transactions that we expect will affect burden during

FY 2001? You should report every transaction that you expect will affect burden during

FY 2001 in two tables in formats similar to Figures 1 and 2, excluding column 2 (Date). 

Please list expected transactions in order by OMB number. List new collections not yet

assigned an OMB number at the bottom of the list with the appropriate four digit prefix. 

We will provide empty Excel charts to complete along with the information for FY 2000.

13. Do I need to provide an entry for every transaction we expect during FY 2001? No,

you only need provide an entry for transactions that will affect your total burden for FY

2001. You also have the discretion to ignore very small transactions, but then you should

not include these changes in your FY 2001 expected total burden.
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Burden Hours 

(millions) 

Cost Burden 

($,000,000)

FY 2000 Program Changes Due to New Statutes

FY 2000 Program Changes Due to Lapses in OMB Approval

FY 2000 Program Changes Due to Agency Actions

Expected FY 2001 Program Changes Due to New Statutes

Expected FY 2001 Program Changes Due to Lapses in OMB Approval

Expected FY 2001 Program Changes Due to Agency Actions

SUMMARY TABLE OF BURDEN CHANGES

 FY 2000 Adjustments

FY 1999 Total Burden

 SUBTOTAL: FY 2000 Total Program Changes

 Expected FY 2001 Adjustments

FY 2000 Total Burden

Expected FY 2001 Total Burden

 SUBTOTAL: Expected FY 2001 Total Program Changes

3

4

5

6

7

9

10

Figure 3

Part 3: Aggregate Burden Totals

14. How do I report aggregate burden totals for FY 2000? Complete a table similar to that

shown in Figure 3, which we will provide as part of the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet file

that we provide to complete Part 2. The totals in the tables in Part 2 should be transferred

to the appropriate spreadsheet cells. (The numbers in Figure 3 correspond to the

appropriate cells in figures 1 and 2.)

Next, you will check to make sure your totals reflect the change between the FY 1999 and

FY 2000 totals. The “9” cells will have the published totals from the Information

Collection Budget of the United States, FY 2000. The “10” cells will have the totals

generated by our database at the end of FY 2000. If cells 9, 6, and 7 do not add up to cell

10, you will need to revisit your charts prepared for Part 2 to ensure that program changes

or adjustments listed there were not already included in the FY 1999 total. Otherwise,

please discuss any discrepancies with OIRA.

15. How do I report expected aggregate burden totals for FY 2001? Again, use the

information you collected for FY 2001 in Part 2 to complete the corresponding cells in

Figure 3. Add the aggregate burden total for FY 2000 to the expected net program

change for FY 2001 and the expected net adjustments for FY 2001 to get an expected

aggregate burden total for FY 2001.
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Part 4: Examples of Significant Burden Changes

16. What does “significant” mean? Significant burden reductions are those that

demonstrate the agency’s adherence to the principles of the Paperwork Reduction Act and

have a meaningful impact on the burden imposed on the public. Significant burden

increases are generally those that have attracted attention and/or have a meaningful impact

on the public. Significant burden changes do not include adjustments, only program

changes. We request that you limit discussion to program changes of 10,000 hours

and/or $10,000,000 or greater.

17. What kinds of burden reductions and increases should I describe? We are splitting

information on program changes into several categories. Please assign each change to

only one of the following categories. If two or more categories could apply to a single

change, select the category that is most appropriate.

A. Burden reductions should be placed into one of the following six categories.

(1) Changing Regulations: reducing information collection burden by revising

existing regulations to eliminate unnecessary requirements or by completely

changing the way you regulate;

(2) Cutting Redundancy: reducing information collection burden by raising reporting

thresholds to reduce the number of reports that need to be submitted, cutting the

frequency of periodic reporting requirements, consolidating information

collections, or working together with other agencies to share information across

programs; 

(3) Changing Forms: reducing burden by simplifying and streamlining forms, making

them easier to read and fill out and by making programs easier to apply for;

(4) Using Information Technology: reducing burden by putting in place electronic

systems that can speed the exchange of information between the government and

the public and allow respondents to use their own information technology to ease

reporting burdens;

(5) Statutory Reductions: reducing burden because of recently enacted statutes; and

(6) Other: reducing burden through other agency efforts. 

B. Burden increases should be placed into one of the following two categories:
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(1) Statutory Increases: Increasing burden due to new statutory requirements (see

question 6 for more information; and

(2) Other: Increasing burden due to other factors. 

18. What information do I need to describe these changes? At a minimum you will need:

A. title of the collection and/or title of the initiative;

B. purpose of the collection (including from whom you collect the information, what

information you collect prior to the change, and, if the collection is not a

recordkeeping requirement or a third-party disclosure, how your agency uses the

information collected);

C. what is/was changed, how it affected burden, and if part of a broader agency initiative;

D. the change in burden (hours and costs, program changes only); and

E. for statutory increases and reductions, the full name of the statute and public law

number.

19. How should I report this information? Use the format provided below for FY 2000. 

Repeat for FY 2001. Each entry should be no more than 100 words and should be in plain

language understandable to a member of the public not familiar with your programs. 

Avoid the use of acronyms or “jargon.” 

Reductions:

Changing Regulations

OMB #:

Title:

Purpose of the

Collection:

How Reduction

Achieved:

Change in Burden:

Cutting Redundancy

OMB #:

Title:

Purpose of the

Collection:

How Reduction

Achieved:

Change in Burden:
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Changing Forms

OMB #:

Title:

Purpose of the

Collection:

How Reduction

Achieved:

Change in Burden:

Using Information Technology

OMB #:

Title:

Purpose of the

Collection:

How Reduction

Achieved:

Change in Burden:

Statutory Reductions

OMB #:

Title:

Purpose of the

Collection:

How Reduction

Achieved:

Change in Burden:

Statute Title and

P.L. #:

Other

OMB #:

Title:

Purpose of the

Collection:

How Reduction

Achieved:

Change in Burden:

Increases:

Statutory Increases

OMB #:

Title:

Purpose of the

Collection:
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Why Increase

Occurred:

Change in Burden:

Statute Title and

P.L. #:

Other

OMB #:

Title:

Purpose of the

Collection:

Why Increase

Occurred:

Change in Burden:

20. May I include more than one example for each category? Do I need to include one

example for each category? You may include more than one example under each

category, but you should try to have at least one example for your agency for each. Do

not include any examples more than once. Please try to limit the total number of examples

to 15 per fiscal year. 

21. How does this tie in to the charts in Part 2? For each example, identify the

corresponding transaction in the charts for Part 2 by placing an “X” in column 8.
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Bulletin No. 00-05

Appendix B

Compliance with the Information Collection Provisions of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and 5 C.F.R. 1320

1. What does this Appendix require? This appendix explains what you must submit to

OMB to report violations of the information collection provisions of the Paperwork

Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 and OMB’s implementing regulations, 5 C.F.R. 1320, over

the last fiscal year and what actions you have been taking to resolve violations identified in

past years and this year. OMB is required to report PRA violations to Congress and will

report the information you submit in the Information Collection Budget of the United

States, Fiscal Year 2001. See Appendix B of the Information Collection Budget of the

United States, Fiscal Year 2000.

2. What information do I need to collect? 

A. Compile information on all of the violations of the PRA committed by your agency,

intentionally or unintentionally, during Fiscal Year 2000. This includes violations

listed in previous Information Collection Budgets that had been unresolved as of

September 30, 1999.

For each violation you should know:

(1) why the violation occurred;

(2) when the violation occurred;

(3) how the violation was discovered;

(4) what actions have been or will be taken to remedy the violation; and

(5) when the violation was or will be remedied.

B. Compile information to followup on the timetable and plan your agency submitted to

OMB in response to Donald R. Arbuckle’s memorandum to Chief Information Officers

dated May 4, 1999. (See Appendix C of the Information Collection Budget of the

United States, Fiscal Year 2000.) 

(1) For each violation on the timetable, report whether your agency met the proposed

timetable and explain any deviations.

(2) Confirm that all violations reported in response to that memo have been resolved.
B-2

(3) Evaluate your agency’s compliance with the plan submitted to OMB and explain

any measures your agency will take, if necessary, to improve your agency’s

compliance with the PRA. 

3. How do I report this information to OMB? 

A. Compile the information in question 2A into two tables. The first table will list only

those violations due to the accidental expiration of a OMB approval while the

collection was still being conducted. The second table will list all other violations.

(1) Create the first table with a column for each of the following items in this order:

OMB number; title; date of expiration; date of reinstatement; and date

discontinued. List each collection in numerical order by OMB number. If the

collection has or will be reinstated, leave the last column blank. If the collection

was discontinued instead of reinstated, leave the “date of reinstatement” column

blank and give the date the collection was discontinued in the final column.

(2) Create the second table with a column for each of the following items in order:

OMB number; title; description of the violation; and how discovered and

remedied. Again, list each collection in order of OMB number. Give the four digit

prefix under which the collection would have been listed if an OMB number was

never assigned. Under “description of the violation,” give a brief phrase which

says what was done wrong. Under “how discovered and remedied,” briefly

describe how the violation was discovered and what actions are being or were

taken to correct the violation. Indicate if an information collection request has

been submitted to OMB or, if OMB has already taken action, give the action date. 

Note: if you do not use Microsoft Excel, please use a word processor to create

this table. See Table B.3 of the Information Collection Budget of the United

States, Fiscal Year 2000 as a model for this table.

B. Report on the information requested in question 2B by doing the following:

(1) Include a copy of the timetable, marked to show the actual dates of Federal

Register notices and OMB approval;

(2) Report in a narrative whether your agency has resolved all of the violations

reported in your response (which includes all violations reported in the

Information Collection Budget of the United States, Fiscal Year 1998) and, if it

hasn’t, why; and

(3) Report in a narrative on your agency’s compliance with its plan to prevent

violations and any changes your agency will make to improve compliance, if

necessary.
B-3

4. What additional materials will you provide us? To assist you in reviewing your

agency’s actions over FY 2000 for PRA violations, OMB will send at the end of FY 2000

a list generated from the official computer records. The list will detail collections that

expired during the last fiscal year and had not been reinstated as of September 30, 2000,

and collections that were reinstated during the fiscal year. These lists are for your

information only. Do not report on collections that are not in violation.
C-1

Bulletin No. 00-05

Appendix C

Memorandum from John Spotila regarding GPEA Planning and Compliance
This memorandum outlines the plan each agency must submit under OMB Memorandum

M-00-10, “OMB Procedures and Guidance on Implementing the Government Paperwork

Elimination Act.” These plans will be an important component in our collective efforts to

promote electronic government that improves efficiency and customer service through the use of

information technology. The Federal government’s overall transition to electronic government

relies heavily on agency use of the Internet and other electronic methods to receive and deliver

information and services. Careful agency planning is critical to ensure that this transition

succeeds. As part of this planning, agencies should reevaluate how they do business by updating

business processes to take advantage of the automation. Agencies should also consider

automating groups of processes that serve a common customer together, and coordinating with

other agencies, to achieve customer-centric approaches to electronic government.

Background. OMB M-00-10 requires that each agency must submit to OMB, by October 31,

2000, its plan for implementing the Government Paperwork Elimination Act (the Act) 105-277. 

You can access a copy of the memorandum on OMB’s web page at

http://www.whitehouse.gov/OMB/memoranda/m00-10.html. As the Director explained in the

memorandum, “each agency must build on their existing efforts to implement electronic

government”; “prioritize agency implementation ... based on achievability and net benefit”; and

“coordinate the plan and schedule with their strategic IT planning activities that support program

responsibilities consistent with the budget process.” Section 3 of the Director’s guidance

describes other factors that agencies need to consider. Guidance on other implementation issues

covered by the Act will follow shortly from the Departments of Treasury, Justice, and Commerce,

and the National Archives and Records Administration. 

What transactions must your agency address in its plan? Under the Act, agencies must offer

the option, when practicable, for the maintenance, submission, or disclosure of information by

electronic means by October 2003. To implement the Act, and electronic government more

broadly, your plan must address how your agency will rely on information technology to carry out

the following types of transactions:
2

C Information collections under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (Attachment A). This

is important because providing for optional electronic reporting, recordkeeping, and

disclosure, and related processing of that information can decrease the public’s paperwork

burden and can increase the practical utility of the information.

C Non-PRA covered transactions (Attachment B). This includes:

C Interagency reporting requirements. This is important because electronic reporting

between Federal agencies can reduce costs and increase information’s practical

utility. 

C Information products that agencies disseminate to the public. This is important

because agencies can distribute information more widely, more efficiently, and at a

lower cost by making it available electronically. 

C Other transactions. If your agency identifies any other transactions important in

implementing electronic government it may report them here. 

Attachment A and Attachment B outline the content and format of the plan. Attachment C

requests supplemental information for any transactions that your agency has determined pose a

“high risk” (based on a risk analysis). For guidance on high risk transactions, see Part II, Sections

3 and 5, of OMB Memorandum M-00-10. Because your plan will explain how your agency will

expand its use of electronic methods to carry out its business, it does not need to address those

transactions that already provide a fully electronic option. 

What must your agency’s submission include? You must submit the following information to

OMB by October 31, 2000:

 C a brief (e.g., one to two pages) cover letter on your agency’s overall strategy and efforts

to comply with the Act;

 C your agency’s plan for PRA collections (Attachment A);

 C your agency’s plan for interagency reporting, information dissemination activities, and

other agency identified transactions (Attachment B); and

 C your agency’s plan for any high risk transactions identified (Attachment C).

How should your agency’s plan relate to strategic IT planning in the budget process? You

should ensure that the plan is consistent with OMB fiscal and policy guidance. If your agency will

need additional resources to implement the plan, your agency’s budget request under OMB

Circular A-11 (e.g., through Exhibit 300B) should reflect that need and tie to the plan. Agency

Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) reports should address, as appropriate,

progress in implementing the Act and electronic government. 

Do agencies need to include issues related to the Electronic Signatures in Global and

National Commerce Act (ESIGN)? ESIGN covers most business, consumer, and commercial

transactions and overlaps with some transactions covered by the Act, primarily with regard to

regulated transactions. ESIGN requires some additional analysis and a more rapid
3

implementation schedule but has the same fundamental goal as the Act in promoting electronic

government. OMB will promulgate guidance on ESIGN in consultation with the agencies.

In what format should the CIO provide this information to OMB? You should submit this

information via e-mail. If this is not possible, provide the information on a 3.5” diskette, labeled

with the agency name and the filenames of the submission. You should submit the cover letter and

the information requested in Attachment C as word processor or simple text files. You should

submit the tables called for in Attachments A and B as separate tabular files in one of the

following formats (in order of preference):

1. Microsoft Excel 97 or earlier; 

2. Lotus 1-2-3 Release 9 or earlier;

3. Microsoft Word 97 or earlier; or

4. WordPerfect, version 8.0 or earlier.

When and to whom should your agency respond and where should it send the responses?

You must transmit plans to OIRA no later than Tuesday, October 31, 2000. Please transmit the

plans to:

Jonathan Womer: jwomer@omb.eop.gov

Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs

Office of Management and Budget

725 17th Street, NW - Room 10236

Washington, DC 20503

Whom should you contact for further information? Should you have any questions regarding

this memorandum, contact Jonathan Womer in OIRA at (202) 395-3785.

Attachments
4

Attachment A – Collections of Information under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA).

What is the purpose of this Attachment? This Attachment explains what information your

agency must submit regarding plans for providing a fully electronic option for transactions that are

part of the information collection process, consistent with OMB Memorandum M-00-10 on

implementing the Act. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501-20), the

collection of information is:

“the obtaining, causing to be obtained, soliciting, or requiring the disclosure to an agency,

third parties or the public of information by or for an agency by means of identical

questions posed to, or identical reporting, recordkeeping, or disclosure requirements

imposed on, ten or more persons, whether such collection of information is mandatory,

voluntary, or required to obtain or retain a benefit.” (5 C.F.R. 1320.4)

In providing an electronic option by October 2003, you will need to assess the practicability of

optional electronic reporting and further electronic correspondence with the respondents for its

collections of information that require OMB approval. If you determine that optional electronic

reporting and/or electronic communication with the respondents is not practicable, you must

explain why to OMB in the table below. 

Your plan should focus on its recurring information collections. You do not need to address onetime, non-recurring collections (e.g., a one-time research survey) in the plans your agency submits

to OMB. 

Does OMB have information on PRA collections that already have been automated? Your

agency does not need to report existing fully electronic transactions in the table. A fully

electronic option for a PRA collection is one that has no compulsory paper-based reporting

requirements, signatures, correspondence, or dissemination to or with the respondents. To help

you identify any such collections, OIRA will provide you a list of your agency’s collections that

our PRA system indicates currently allow for at least some electronic reporting. Each agency

should review this list to determine which of the collections provide a fully electronic option (you

can access OMB’s listing of all currently approved collections at

http://www.whitehouse.gov/library/omb/OMBINV.html). In addition, a recent memorandum

from the President’s Management Council is gathering information on “Meeting the Requirements

of the December 17, 1999 Presidential Memorandum on Electronic Government.” The

information reported under this memorandum on placing on-line the forms for the top 500

government services will be made available to the agencies to build upon in developing the

required plan and schedule.

What does your agency need to report in Attachment A? Submit the following information as

a separate electronic file and in tabular format.

1. Agency: The name of the Federal department or agency responsible for the collection.
5

2. Bureau: The name of the bureau or office responsible for the collection. If none exists, or if

the transaction spans more than one bureau, leave this field blank.

3. Name: The name of the collection (or group of related collections). As appropriate you may

report related collections together as one record in the table below. For example, if three

forms are required to apply for and receive a grant from your agency, you may report all three

collections together. This is especially useful to demonstrate how automation can help to

provide customer-centric approaches to electronic government that integrate discrete

collections. As another example, if a specific reporting requirement in a regulation requires

four different submissions of related information you may report those collections together.

Further, you may list separate groups of related collections as one record in the table if they

are functionally similar and will be automated together on-line in the same time frame. For

example, if your agency has multiple grants with multiple applications and all the applications

will be put on-line at the same time, then the “application for agency grants in program area

X” may be aggregated as one collection category.

4. Description: A short description of the nature of the collection(s). Please be brief.

5. Description of respondents: The respondents to the collection(s). Use broad categories

(e.g., banks, individuals, State governments, etc.).

6. Number of Respondents: A numerical estimate of the total number of separate persons or

entities that will respond to the information collections listed in #7 below.

7. OMB control numbers: Provide the collections’ OMB PRA control number(s), separated by

a comma and a space if there is more than one (i.e., 0354-0123, 0354-0143, 0354-0432, etc.). 

Some groups of collections may have more than one control number, and these may be

reported as one entry with multiple OMB control numbers. Conversely, a control number

may cover a number of separate collections; thus, a single OMB control number may be

repeated.

8. Completion Date: Indicate when your agency will offer a fully electronic reporting option for

the collection(s) in question (format: mm/yyyy). If there are no current plans for a fully

electronic option, indicate “Unknown”.

9. Post 10/2003: If the date in the previous field is “Unknown” or later than 10/2003, describe

in 1-2 sentences why the transaction will not be automated by 10/2003. Identify any

statutory, practicability, or other barriers. If the date in the previous field is 10/2003 or earlier

leave this field blank.

10. Electronic Signature: Indicate whether the agency plans to use electronic signatures with this

collection(s) (“YES”/”NO”). For guidance on electronic signatures, see Part II, Section 2 and

7, of OMB Memorandum M-00-10.
6

What is an example of the table that your agency must prepare under Attachment A?

 Agency Bureau Name Description Description of

Respondents

Number ofRespondents

OMBControlNumbers

CompletionDate

Post 10/2003 Electronic

Signature

Agency ofFederalGovernment

Bureau ofGrantMaking

Medicalresearch grants

The agencyaccepts andreviewsapplications formedicalresearch.

Universities,ResearchInstitutes,Hospitals

3,000 ####-

####,####-####

06/2002 YES

Agency ofFederalGovernment

Bureau ofBenefitProgram

Applicationfor benefitprogram

Citizens applyfor the benefitprogram andthe agencyjudges if theymeet thequalificationsand delivers thebenefits.

Citizens 65,000 ####-

####

Unknown Because of

their situation itis unlikely thatapplicants willbe able to usean electronicoption byOctober 2003.

NO

Agency ofFederalGovernment

Bureau ofOversight

Pollutionfilings ofregulatedentities

Required firmsreport onpollutionmeasurementsand their workto comply withregulations

Firms in theregulatedindustry.

10,000 ####-

####,####-####,####-####

07/2002 YES
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Attachment B – Interagency Reporting Requirements

What is the purpose of this Attachment? This Attachment explains what information your

agency must submit regarding its plans for offering an electronic option for interagency reporting,

information dissemination activities, and other agency-identified transactions, consistent with

OMB Memorandum M-00-10 on implementing the Act. 

C Interagency reporting encompasses ongoing, periodic reports among agencies. Examples

of interagency reporting are the exchange of personnel and pay-roll reports between

agencies or the annual reporting of information to another agency. 

C Information dissemination activities refer to the dissemination of “information

dissemination products,” publications that are intended for the general public. OMB

guidance on “information dissemination products” can be found in Circular A-130,

Sections 6.c, 6.h, 8.a(5), 8.a(6), and 8.a(8). An example of an “information dissemination

product” is the ongoing and periodic release of labor statistics. 

C Agency-identified transactions are any other transactions that your agency believes are

important to address and that are not captured elsewhere in the plan.

Fully electronic transactions do not need to be reported in this table. If your agency already fully

reports (or receives if an interagency reporting requirement is from your agency) in an electronic

form, you do not need to identify that transaction in your plans.

What does your agency need to report in this section? Submit the following information as a

separate electronic file and in tabular format.

1. Agency: The name of the Federal department or agency responsible for the reporting or

dissemination products.

2. Bureau: The name of the bureau or office responsible for the report or dissemination. If none

exists, or if the report or dissemination product spans more than one bureau, leave this field

blank.

3. Name: The name of the interagency report or information dissemination product (or group of

similar reports or products). You may report on categories of similar reports or dissemination

products instead of specific reports or dissemination products if the reports or products are

functionally similar and would be automated together on-line in the same time frame.

4. Description: A short description of the interagency report or information dissemination

product (or groups of reports or products). Please be brief. 

5. Description of Partners: Federal agencies or Dissemination product users. For an

interagency report, indicate which Federal agencies submit reports to the agency listed in #1

above, or if interagency forms are used (e.g. personnel information) for administrative tasks

simply put “Federal Agencies.” For information dissemination, describe who receives the

information dissemination product. Use broad categories (e.g., banks, individuals, State

governments, etc.).

6. Number of Respondents: A rough numerical estimate of the number of separate agencies,

persons, or entities described in #5 above.
8

7. Completion Date: Indicate when the reports or products will offer a fully electronic reporting

or dissemination option (format: mm/yyyy). If there are no current plans for a fully electronic

option, indicate “Unknown”.

8. Past 10/2003: If the date in the previous field is “Unknown” or later than 10/2003 describe in

1-2 sentences why the transaction will not be automated by 10/2003. Identify any statutory,

practicability, or other barriers. If the date in the previous field is 10/2003 or earlier leave this

field blank.

9. Electronic Signature: Indicate whether the agency plans to use electronic signatures with this

transaction(s) (“YES”/”NO”). For guidance on electronic signatures, see Part II, Sections 2

and 7, of OMB Memorandum M-00-10.
9

What is an example of the table your agency must prepare under Attachment B?

 Agency Bureau Name Description Description of

Partners

Number ofRespondents

CompletionDate

Post10/2003

ElectronicSignature

Agency ofFederalGovernment 

Bureau ofPersonnel

Interagencyreporting onpersonneltransfer

The agencysends personnelinformation toanother agencywhen anemployeetransfers to thatagency.

Federal Agencies 73 04/2002 YES

Agency ofFederalGovernment

Bureau ofAnalysis

Report onProjectedManufacturingGrowth inEconomy from2002-2007

Providing thereport tobusiness andacademiccommunity.

ManufacturingBusinesses,Academics

500 06/2001 NO
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Attachment C - High Risk Transactions 

What is the purpose of this Attachment? This Attachment explains the additional information

you must provide for those transactions listed in Attachments A or B that you have identified as

high risk, consistent with OMB Memorandum M-00-10 on implementing the Act. Section 3(a)(2)

of OMB M-00-10 states:

"Agency considerations of cost, risk, and benefit, as well as any measures taken to

minimize risks, should be commensurate with the level of sensitivity of the transaction. 

Low-risk information processes may need only minimal consideration, while high-risk

processes may need extensive analysis."

This Attachment covers those high risk collections that require additional risk management

measures. We expect that in most cases, your agency will only need to address a small number of

particularly sensitive information collections or those involving very large numbers of

respondents. 

What should the additional report contain? For each high risk transaction listed in

Attachments A or B that requires additional risk management measures, please submit a separate

page to answer the following:

1. What is the name of the related information collection(s)? Use the exact "Name" used in the

table submission outline in Attachment A or B.

2. Describe the transaction. What information is being exchanged? What is the value of this

transaction to the government and the transaction partners?

3. If it is not practicable to automate the transaction as part of the plan, why? What is your

strategy to make such conversion practicable?

4. How sensitive is the transaction? How is your agency managing the risk (e.g., management or

legal controls, information security practices, authentication techniques, or other business

processes)? Please describe the measures being taken.

5. Is your agency considering/using more than one electronic signature option? If the transaction

involves more than 50,000 responses per year and your agency will not offer multiple electronic

signature options, why not?

What should be the format of the response to Attachment C? Please indicate clearly which

response relates to which question. You may determine the length and specific format of this

information.