6356 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 27 / Wednesday, February 9, 2000 / Notices

Written comments and

recommendations for the proposed

information collection should be sent

within 30 days of publication of this

notice to Susan Schechter, OMB Desk

Officer, Room 10201, New Executive

Office Building, Washington, DC 20503.

Dated: February 1, 2000.

Linda Engelmeier,

Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Office

of the Chief Information Officer.

[FR Doc. 00–2963 Filed 2–8–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–07–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau

2001 Residential Finance Survey

ACTION: Proposed collection; comment

request.

SUMMARY: The Department of

Commerce, as part of its continuing

effort to reduce paperwork and

respondent burden, invites the general

public and other federal agencies to take

this opportunity to comment on

proposed and/or continuing information

collections, as required by the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,

Public Law 104–13 (44 U.S.C.

3506(c)(2)(A).

DATES: Written comments must be

submitted on or before April 10, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments

to Linda Engelmeier, Departmental

Forms Clearance Officer, Department of

Commerce, Room 5027, 14th and

Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington,

DC 20230, or by e-mail at

LEngelme@doc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or

copies of the information collection

instruments and instructions should be

directed to Walter L. Busse, U.S. Census

Bureau, Housing and Household

Economic Statistics Division, Room

1445–3, Washington, DC 20233–8500,

and telephone (301)457–3220.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

The U.S. Census Bureau has

conducted the Residential Finance

Survey (RFS) every 10 years as part of

the decennial census since 1950. The

RFS is the only survey designed to

collect and produce data about the

financing of nonfarm, privately-owned

residential properties.

The RFS does the following:

• Collects, tabulates, and presents

data for properties, the standard unit of

reference for financial transactions

related to housing. In most other

demographic surveys, the unit of

reference is the person, household, or

housing unit;

• Provides the only source of

information on property, mortgage, and

financial characteristics for multi-unit

rental properties.; and

• Conducts interviews of property

owners and mortgage lenders, resulting

in more accurate information on

property and mortgage characteristics.

Some uses of the RFS data are:

• As benchmark data for estimates of

several economic aggregates prepared by

the Bureau of Economic Analysis, such

as the gross domestic product (GDP) and

the national income accounts;

• As the only source of information

on the acquisition, financing, and

ownership of multifamily rental

properties;

• As source of data for developing

benchmark per-unit estimates of rents

collected, operating expenses, and

capital expenditures on different classes

of rental properties;

• As the basis for developing an

estimate of the number of age-restricted

housing units and other categories of

seniors’ housing units, and to study how

they are financed;

• As data to help the Department of

Housing and Urban Development

regulate the Government Sponsored

Enterprises and to monitor these

organizations’ progress in reaching

established goals, such as to expand

housing opportunities for working class

and low-income families, and for

families in underserved communities;

• As a source of information on the

sources and uses of mortgage credit in

rural areas and the rates and terms

relative to metropolitan areas;

• As a source of data on credit

extensions of individuals and on

residential investor-property finance;

• As the only source of information

on non-traditional sources of mortgage

credit, such as individuals, trust funds,

and philanthropic organizations;

• As the basis for studying the role

second mortgages, mortgage

refinancings, and home equity loans

play in financing modeling;

• As an excellent and comprehensive

source of information on the ability of

all Americans to have equal access to

mortgage credit; and

• As the basis for strategic planning

and business decisions by firms

involved with housing or mortgage

credit.

We are undertaking several steps to

make sure that the content for the 2001

RFS addresses the changes that occurred

in the mortgage industry during the

1990s. This includes bringing together a

group of primary RFS data users and

mortgage finance experts from in and

out of government to develop the

questionnaire content. We are also

conducting cognitive testing with

property owners and mortgage lenders

to obtain their input on the RFS content

and collection procedures, and to

improve the validity of the questions

asked.

II. Method of Collection

In the RFS, we select a sample of

addresses identified in Census 2000.

From this sample, we first decide if a

property is a homeowner property or a

rental property. This determines the

type of questionnaire the respondent

will complete. A homeowner property is

defined as one having fewer than five

units where the owner of the property

lives in one of the units. A rental

property is one with five or more units

or a property of fewer than five units

with none being owner occupied.

Condominium apartments are

homeowner properties if the owner lives

in the unit and rental properties if the

owner does not live in the unit.

Forms

We anticipate using the following four

questionnaires to collect data for the

2001 RFS.

• An ‘‘owner seeker’’ letter will be

mailed to units at basic street addresses

having two or more housing units in

order to identify the name and address

of the owner or the owner’s agent and

to determine if the property is a

homeowner property or a rental

property.

• A homeowner questionnaire will be

mailed to all addresses with only one

unit, to all mobile homes, and to units

identified on the ‘‘owner seeker’’ letter

as having fewer than five units, one of

which is owner occupied. If the

property is mortgaged, the respondent

will be asked to report the person or

institution to whom mortgage payments

are made.

• A rental and vacant property

questionnaire will be mailed to owners

or agents of properties with five or more

housing units or those with fewer than

five units when none is owner occupied

as indicated by responses on the ‘‘owner

seeker’’ letter and the homeowner

questionnaire. As with the homeowner

questionniare, the respondents are

asked to whom mortgage payments are

made.

• A lender questionnaire will be

mailed to financial institutions,

government agencies, firms or

individuals to whom mortgage

payments are made, as indicated on the

homeowner and the rental and vacant

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 27 / Wednesday, February 9, 2000 / Notices 6357

property questionnaires. The

questionnaire is designed to collect data

on both first and junior (second or third)

mortgages, including home equity lines

of credit.

Timing

The ‘‘owner seeker’’ letters and the

first round of the homeowner

questionnaires are scheduled for

mailout in early 2001. A second mailing

of the homeowner questionnaires (those

identified by the owner seeker letter) is

expected in early spring 2001. The

rental and vacant property

questionnaires are scheduled for initial

mailing in early 2001. The lender

questionnaires are to be mailed in two

primary cycles, the first in summer 2001

and the second in early fall 2001, with

possible additional smaller mailings

from follow-up operations.

Enumeration

The RFS is essentially a centralized

mail-out/mail-back operation. We will

limit our field interviewing for property

owners to cases in which the owner was

either not identified or failed to respond

to the original mailed questionnaires

and follow-up letters. Follow-up

interviewing of lenders will occur in

two stages. For financial institutions,

follow-up telephone inquiries will be

made. Follow-up for mortgages held by

individuals will involve a telephone call

and, if necessary, a personal visit by

Census Bureau field representatives

from the 12 census regional offices.

III. Data

OMB Number: Not available.

Form Number:

D–2900 (Homeowner Questionnaire)

D–2901 (Rental and Vacant Property

Qustionnaire)

D–2902 (Lender Questionnaire)

D–2905(L) (Owner Seeker Letter)

Type of Review: Regular submission.

Affected Public: Individual property

owners and lending institutions.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

D–2900—35,000 respondents

D–2901—35,000 respondents

D–2902—50,000 respondents

D–2905(L)—210,000 respondents

Estimated Time Per Response:

D–2900 @ 30 minutes/response =

17,500 hours

D–2901 @ 45 minutes/response =

26,250 hours

D–2902 @ 30 minutes/response =

25,000 hours

D–2905(L) @ 2.5 minutes/response =

8,750 hours

Estimated Total Annual Burden

Hours: 77,500 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Cost: The

only cost to a respondent is the time

necessary to respond to this survey.

There is no monetary cost to the

respondent.

Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory.

Legal Authority: Title 13, U.S.C.,

Section 141 and Section 1113(d) of the

Right to Financial Privacy Act (12

U.S.C. Section 3413(d)).

IV. Request for Comments

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether

the proposed collection of the

information is necessary for the proper

performance of the functions of the

agency, including whether the

information shall have practical utility;

(b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate

of the burden (including hours and cost)

of the proposed collection of

information; (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

respondents, including through the use

of automated collection techniques or

other forms of information technology.

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.

Dated: February 3, 2000.

Linda Engelmeier,

Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Office

of the Chief Information Officer.

[FR Doc. 00–2962 Filed 2–8–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–07–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of Economic Analysis

BEA Customer Satisfaction Survey;

Proposed Information Collection;

Comment Request

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of

Commerce, as part of its continuing

effort to reduce paperwork and

respondent burden, invites the general

public and other Federal agencies to

take this opportunity to comment on

proposed and/or continuing information

collections, as required by the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,

Public Law 104–13 (44 U.S.C.

3506(c)(2)(A)).

DATES: Interested persons are invited to

submit comments on or before April 10,

2000.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments

to Linda Engelmeier, Departmental

Forms Clearance Officer, Department of

Commerce, Room 5027, 14th and

Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington,

DC 20230, (or via e-mail at

LEngelmeier@doc.gov).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or

copies of the information collection

instrument and instructions should be

directed to: Verna M. Learnard, U.S.

Department of Commerce, Bureau of

Economic Analysis, BE–53, Washington,

DC 20230, or by telephone at 202–606–

9690.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

As one of the Nation’s leading

statistical agencies, the Bureau of

Economic Analysis (BEA) provides

reliable and consistent measures of

economic activity that are essential to

intelligent decision making of business

people and policy makers and to the

efficient operations of financial markets.

The purpose of the BEA Customer

Satisfaction Survey will be to obtain

feedback from customers on the quality

of BEA products and services. The

results of the information collected will

serve to assist BEA in improving the

quality of its data products and its

methods of dissemination.

II. Method of Collection

The Survey and a cover letter with

instructions on how to complete the

survey will be mailed to 7,500 potential

respondents. BEA will request that

responses be returned 30 days after the

mailing. The survey will be designed so

that all responses are anonymous and

therefore eliminates the necessity for

recordkeeping of respondents.

III. Data

OMB Number: lllll.

Type of Review: New.

Affected Public: Individuals from

profit and non-profit organizations and

individuals from other Federal, state,

and local government agencies.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

7,500.

Estimated Response Time: 15

minutes.

Estimated Total Annual Burden

Hours: 1,875.

Estimated Total Annual Cost: The

only cost to the respondents is that of

their time.

Legal Authority: Executive Order

12862, Section 1(b), of September 11,

1993.

IV. Request for Comments

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether

the proposed collection of information

is necessary for the proper performance

of the functions of the agency, including

whether the information shall have