a Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (Public Law 96-511).

b OMB Regulation 5 CFR 1320, Controlling Paperwork Burdens on the Public.

c Executive Order 12291 of February 1, 1981.

d Departmental Regulation 1512-1, USDA Regulatory Decisionmaking Requirements.

a Burden. The total time, effort, or financial resources expended by persons to provide information to a Federal agency. This includes the time to read or hear, develop, modify, construct or assemble; to conduct tests, inspections, polls, observations necessary to obtain the information; to organize, review, maintain, disclose, or report the information; and to store, file or maintain the information.

b Collection of Information. Obtaining or soliciting the facts or opinions by an agency through the use of written report forms, application forms, schedules, questionnaires, reporting or recordkeeping requirements, or other similar methods calling for either:

c Federal Information Locator System. A government-wide automated information system used to detect duplications in information collections.

d Information Collection Budget. A limit imposed annually by OMB allowing the Department to conduct information collection activities. The figure is expressed in hours of burden on the public.

e Information Collection Request. A written report form, application Torm, schedule, questionnaire, reporting or recordkeeping requirement, or similar method calling for the collection of information.

f Practical Utility. The ability of an agency to use the information it collects, particularly the capablility to process such information in a timely and useful fashion.

g Recordkeeping Requirement. Requirement imposed by an agency on persons or businesses to maintain specified records that are not customarily kept as ordinary business records. These records are not necessarilv provided to an agency.

h Senior IRM Official. The Assistant Secretary for Administration is the Senior IRM Official for the Department. Each agency within the Department is also required to name a Senior IRM Official.

a The Information Management Division. Office of Information Resources Management, serves as the focal point for all Departmentwide matters relating to information collection and paperwork reduction. IMD will:

b Senior Agency IRM Officials will:

c Agency Clearance Officers will:

a Before developing an information collection, the initiating organization needs to assure that it can justify the practical utility of the collection and that it has made plans for how it will use the information. The initiating organization must be able to answer the types of questions raised in Appendix D and also make sure that they have:

b In determining the burden associated with the information collection, unless directed to do so, do not conduct special surveys on which to base estimates of burden. Use informal consultations with less than 10 respondents or base the estimate on experience gained with a pretest or with related forms.

c Many information collections are related to or part of agency regulations and procedures. These regulations also need to be reviewed to insure that they are easy to understand and levy the least burden possible. (See DR 1512-1.)

d When developing information collection requirements, agencies should consult with known interested parties and trade associations within that subject area.

e Agencies and IMD share responsibility for assuring that the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the Department's functions and is not unnecessarily duplicated elsewhere.

f IMD is available to work with agency personnel as they develop their information collection packages. IMD will also act as liaison between the Department and OMB in obtaining clearance.

a OMB regulations allow them up to 90 calendar days for their review process. IMD needs 10 calendar days for its review of the completed package prior to submission to OMB. Therefore, agency submissions must be submitted to IMD 100 calendar days prior to the expiration date of currently approved collections or in advance of the beginning of a new collection.

b Each information collection package submitted for approval should include the following items:

c During its review process, IMD will work with agency contacts to resolve any areas of concern.

d After review and concurrence, IMD will forward three copies of the completed package to OMB. One copy is kept for the official Departmental files and one copy is available for public distribution upon request.

a OMB requires each Department to submit annual exhibits estimating the hours of burden to be imposed on the public in the next fiscal year and verification of accomplishments in prior years. Formats, reduction goals, and methods for computations are determined by OMB each year.

b The current OMB instructions require a five percent reduction in the Department's burden each year. This reduction must be accomplished by program changes, (A thorough explanation of program change may be found in Appendix A, page 2, section 19-4. All changes not classified as program changes are categorized as adjustments.) To achieve these reductions, agencies must carefully r3view their rules and regulations and follow the steps outlined in section 9a. They must also be prepared to offset increases in some collections by identifying decreases in others.

c One required exhibit in the ICB submission identifies the new information collections proposed for the upcoming fiscal year. Agencies should plan their information collection needs far in advance and expect strict adherence to the estimates for new information collections that were submitted in the Information Collection Budget. They must be prepared to reduce other new proposed or existing collections if unexpected new collections are needed during the fiscal year to keep the new burden at or below the approved levels.

d IMO will assume responsibility for submitting final ICB exhibits and narrative explanations to OMB in time to meet assigned due dates. Agency clearance contacts will be notified by IMD of their assigned requirements, their participation in training sessions on current procedures for ICB exhibit preparations, and participation in ICB hearings at OMB.