with respect to the modified collection of infor-
mation, at least 60 days before the issuance of
the final rule.
‘‘(5) This subsection shall apply only when an agency
publishes a notice of proposed rulemaking and requests
public comments.
‘‘(6) The decision by the Director to approve or not
act upon a collection of information contained in an agen-
cy rule shall not be subject to judicial review.
‘‘(e)(1) Any decision by the Director under subsection
(c), (d), (h), or (j) to disapprove a collection of informa-
tion, or to instruct the agency to make substantive or ma-
terial change to a collection of information, shall be pub-
licly available and include an explanation of the reasons
for such decision.
‘‘(2) Any written communication between the Admin-
istrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Af-
fairs, or any employee of the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs, and an agency or person not employed
by the Federal Government concerning a proposed collec-
tion of information shall be made available to the public.
‘‘(3) This subsection shall not require the disclosure
of—
‘‘(A) any information which is protected at all
times by procedures established for information
which has been specifically authorized under criteria
established by an Executive order or an Act of Con-
gress to be kept secret in the interest of national
defense or foreign policy; or
‘‘(B) any communication relating to a collection
of information, the disclosure of which could lead to
retaliation or discrimination against the communica-
tor.
‘‘(f)(1) An independent regulatory agency which is
administered by 2 or more members of a commission,
board, or similar body, may by majority vote void—
‘‘(A) any disapproval by the Director, in whole
or in part, of a proposed collection of information
that agency; or
‘‘(B) an exercise of authority under subsection
(d) of section 3507 concerning that agency.
‘‘(2) The agency shall certify each vote to void such
disapproval or exercise to the Director, and explain the
reasons for such vote. The Director shall without further
delay assign a control number to such collection of infor-
mation, and such vote to void the disapproval or exercise
shall be valid for a period of 3 years.
‘‘(g) The Director may not approve a collection of in-
formation for a period in excess of 3 years.
‘‘(h)(1) If an agency decides to seek extension of the
Director’s approval granted for a currently approved col-
lection of information, the agency shall—
‘‘(A) conduct the review established under sec-
tion 3506(c), including the seeking of comment from
the public on the continued need for, and burden im-
posed by the collection of information; and
‘‘(B) after having made a reasonable effort to
seek public comment, but no later than 60 days be-
fore the expiration date of the control number as-
signed by the Director for the currently approved
collection of information, submit the collection of in-
formation for review and approval under this sec-
tion, which shall include an explanation of how the
agency has used the information that it has col-
lected.
‘‘(2) If under the provisions of this section, the Direc-
tor disapproves a collection of information contained in an
existing rule, or recommends or instructs the agency to
make a substantive or material change to a collection of
information contained in an existing rule, the Director
shall—
‘‘(A) publish an explanation thereof in the Fed-
eral Register; and
‘‘(B) instruct the agency to undertake a rule-
making within a reasonable time limited to consider-
ation of changes to the collection of information con-
tained in the rule and thereafter to submit the col-
lection of information for approval or disapproval
under this chapter.
‘‘(3) An agency may not make a substantive or mate-
rial modification to a collection of information after such
collection has been approved by the Director, unless the
modification has been submitted to the Director for review
and approval under this chapter.
‘‘(i)(1) If the Director finds that a senior official of
an agency designated under section 3506(a) is sufficiently
independent of program responsibility to evaluate fairly
whether proposed collections of information should be ap-
proved and has sufficient resources to carry out this re-
sponsibility effectively, the Director may, by rule in ac-
cordance with the notice and comment provisions of chap-
ter 5 of title 5, United States Code, delegate to such offi-
cial the authority to approve proposed collections of infor-
mation in specific program areas, for specific purposes,
or for all agency purposes.
‘‘(2) A delegation by the Director under this section
shall not preclude the Director from reviewing individual
collections of information if the Director determines that
circumstances warrant such a review. The Director shall
retain authority to revoke such delegations, both in gen-
eral and with regard to any specific matter. In acting for
the Director, any official to whom approval authority has
been delegated under this section shall comply fully with
the rules and regulations promulgated by the Director.
‘‘(j)(1) The agency head may request the Director to
authorize collection of information prior to expiration of
time periods established under this chapter, if an agency
head determines that—
‘‘(A) a collection of information—
‘‘(i) is needed prior to the expiration of
such time periods; and
‘‘(ii) is essential to the mission of the agen-
cy; and
‘‘(B) the agency cannot reasonably comply with
the provisions of this chapter within such time peri-
ods because—
‘‘(i) public harm is reasonably likely to re-
sult if normal clearance procedures are fol-
lowed; or
‘‘(ii) an unanticipated event has occurred
and the use of normal clearance procedures is
reasonably likely to prevent or disrupt the col-
lection of information related to the event or is