47128 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 157 / Wednesday, August 13, 2008 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

The Department of Commerce will 

submit to the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) for clearance the 

following proposal for collection of 

information under the provisions of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 

chapter 35). 

Agency: U.S. Census Bureau. 

Title: Survey of Residential Building 

or Zoning Permit Systems. 

Form Number(s): C–411. 

OMB Control Number: 0607–0350. 

Type of Request: Extension of a 

currently approved collection. 

Burden Hours: 500. 

Number of Respondents: 2,000. 

Average Hours Per Response: 15 

minutes. 

Needs and Uses: The U.S. Census 

Bureau produces statistics used to 

monitor activity in the large and 

dynamic construction industry. These 

statistics help state and local 

governments and the Federal 

government, as well as private industry, 

to analyze this important sector of the 

economy. The accuracy of the Census 

Bureau statistics regarding the amount 

of construction authorized depends on 

data supplied by building and zoning 

officials throughout the country. 

The Census Bureau uses Form C–411 

to obtain information from state and 

local building permit officials needed 

for updating the universe of permitissuing places which serves as the 

sampling frame for the Report of 

Privately-Owned Residential Building 

or Zoning Permits Issued (OMB Control 

No. 0607–0094), also known as the 

Building Permits Survey (BPS), and the 

Survey of Housing Starts, Sales, and 

Completions (OMB Control No. 0607–

0110), also known as Survey of 

Construction (SOC). These two sample 

surveys provide widely used measures 

of construction activity, including the 

economic indicators New Residential 

Construction and New Home Sales. The 

questions on Form C–411 pertain to the 

legal requirements for issuing building 

or zoning permits in the local 

jurisdictions. Information is obtained on 

such items as geographic coverage and 

types of construction for which permits 

are issued. 

The form is sent to jurisdictions when 

the Census Bureau has reason to believe 

that a new permit system has been 

established or an existing one has 

changed. This is based on information 

from a variety of sources including 

survey respondents, regional councils 

and Census’ efforts to keep abreast of 

changes in corporate status. Based on 

the information collected, the Census 

Bureau adds new permit-issuing places 

to the universe, deletes places no longer 

issuing permits, and makes changes to 

the universe to reflect those places that 

have merged. 

Failure to maintain the universe of 

permit-issuing places would result in 

deficient samples and inaccurate 

statistics. This in turn jeopardizes the 

accuracy of the above-mentioned 

economic indicators. These indicators 

are closely monitored by the Board of 

Governors of the Federal Reserve 

System and other economic policy 

makers because of the sensitivity of the 

housing industry to changes in interest 

rates. 

Affected Public: State, local or Tribal 

government; Federal government. 

Frequency: On occasion. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary. 

Legal Authority: The Census Bureau is 

authorized under Title 13, United States 

Code, Sections 9(b), 161, and 182 to 

collect information on new residential 

buildings. 

OMB Desk Officer: Brian HarrisKojetin, (202) 395–7314. 

Copies of the above information 

collection proposal can be obtained by 

calling or writing Diana Hynek, 

Departmental Paperwork Clearance 

Officer, (202) 482–0266, Department of 

Commerce, Room 6625, 14th and 

Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, 

DC 20230 (or via the Internet at 

dhynek@doc.gov). 

Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be sent 

within 30 days of publication of this 

notice to Brian Harris-Kojetin, OMB 

Desk Officer either by fax (202–395–

7245) or e-mail (bharrisk@omb.eop.gov). 

Dated: August 7, 2008. 

Gwellnar Banks, 

Management Analyst, Office of the Chief 

Information Officer. 

[FR Doc. E8–18648 Filed 8–12–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–07–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

The Department of Commerce will 

submit to the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) for clearance the 

following proposal for collection of 

information under the provisions of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 

chapter 35). 

Agency: U.S. Census Bureau. 

Title: Annual Survey of Manufactures. 

Form Number(s): MA–10000(L), MA–

10000(S), NC–99530. 

OMB Control Number: 0607–0449. 

Type of Request: Reinstatement, with 

change, of an expired collection. 

Burden Hours: 177,400. 

Number of Respondents: 50,000. 

Average Hours Per Response: 2 hours 

and 44 minutes. 

Needs and Uses: The Census Bureau 

has conducted the Annual Survey of 

Manufactures (ASM) since 1949 to 

provide key measures of manufacturing 

activity during intercensal periods. In 

census years ending in ‘‘2’’ and ‘‘7,’’

Census mail and collect the ASM as part 

of the Economic Census Covering the 

Manufacturing Sector. 

The ASM statistics are based on a 

survey that includes both a mail and 

nonmail components. The mail portion 

of the survey is comprised of a 

probability sample of approximately 

50,000 manufacturing establishments 

from a frame of approximately 128,000 

establishments. These 128,000 

establishments are comprised of 

manufacturing establishments of 

multiunit companies (companies with 

operations at more than one location) 

and large single-location manufacturing 

companies. The nonmail component is 

comprised of the remaining small and 

medium-sized single-location 

companies, approximately 218,000. No 

data are collected from companies in the 

nonmail component. Data are directly 

obtained from the administrative 

records of the Internal Revenue Service 

(IRS), the Social Security 

Administration (SSA), and the Bureau 

of Labor Statistics (BLS). The nonmail 

companies account for 63 percent of the 

population and for less than 7 percent 

of the manufacturing output. 

Starting with the 2008 ASM, 

depreciation charges for all capital 

expenditures and rental payments will 

be added to the MA–10000(L) and MA–

10000(S) forms. 

This survey is an integral part of the 

Government’s statistical program. Its 

results provide a factual background for 

decision making by the executive and 

legislative branches of the Federal 

Government. Federal agencies use the 

annual survey’s input and output data 

as benchmarks for their statistical 

programs, including the Federal Reserve 

Board’s Index of Industrial Production 

and the Bureau of Economic Analysis’

estimates of the gross domestic product 

(GDP). The data also provide the 

Department of Energy with primary 

information on the use of energy by the 

manufacturing sector to produce 

manufactured products. These data also 

are used as benchmark data for the 

Manufacturing Energy Consumption 


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