[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 81 (Wednesday, April 27, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24971-24972]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-08919]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Telecommunications and Information Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities, Submission for Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB) Review and Emergency Approval; Comment 
Request; Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act--Application for 
Broadband Grant Programs

    The Department of Commerce will submit the following information 
collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
emergency review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995, on or after the date of publication of this 
notice. We invite the general public and other Federal agencies to 
comment on proposed, and continuing information collections, which 
helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements 
and minimize the public's reporting burden.
    Agency: National Telecommunications and Information Administration 
(NTIA), Commerce.
    Title: Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act--Application for 
Broadband Grant Programs.
    OMB Control Number: 0660-XXXX.
    Form Number(s): N/A.
    Type of Request: Emergency submission, New Information Collection 
Request.
    Number of Respondents: 950 respondents.
    Average Hours per Response: 14 hours for Middle Mile grant 
application and 4 hours for the State Equity Planning program 
application.
    Burden Hours: 10,300 hours.
    Needs and Uses: NTIA requests emergency review and approval of the 
emergency collection to ensure that the agency can meet the statutory 
deadlines Congress set forth for the Infrastructure Act Broadband Grant 
Programs. Given

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the challenges that the grant application process can pose for 
disadvantaged communities, NTIA seeks to make this process more 
equitable for all of its potential applicants for the broadband grant 
programs enacted in the Infrastructure Act, including those with 
limited resources and/or technical expertise. In order to do so, NTIA 
created new forms for use in the application process which will provide 
structured questions and guidance concerning the kind of discrete and 
structured data required for successful applications. The new forms 
will create greater efficiencies in the NTIA grant program, which will 
likely result in enhanced timing and information accuracy beneficial to 
program applicants. NTIA believes that a significant number of these 
prospective applicants will be Tribal governments or other entities 
associated with disadvantaged communities. NTIA further believes that 
the above-discussed new forms will offer these applicants greater 
opportunities for meaningful participation in the Broadband programs 
than they would otherwise enjoy while lessening overall application 
review burdens.
    Affected Public: Entities applying for Infrastructure Act Broadband 
Grant Program funding.
    Frequency: Once per application.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory for entities applying for 
Infrastructure Act Broadband Grant Program funding.
    Legal Authority: Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act 
(Infrastructure Act), 2021, Public Law 117-58, 135 Stat. 429.
    This information collection request may be viewed at 
www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view the Department of 
Commerce collections currently under review by OMB.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of 
this notice on the following website www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. 
Find this particular information collection by selecting ``Currently 
under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search 
function and entering the title of the collection.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2022-08919 Filed 4-26-22; 8:45 am]
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