Notice2023-00371
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: Qualification Information for Candidates to Advisory Committees
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
January 11, 2023
Issuing agencies
Civil Rights Commission
Abstract
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights ("Commission" or "USCCR") is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of qualification information for advisory committee candidates by the agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act ("PRA"), Federal agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, and to allow 60 days for public comment.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 7 (Wednesday, January 11, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 7 (Wednesday, January 11, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1557-1558]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-00371]
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COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions,
and Approvals: Qualification Information for Candidates to Advisory
Committees
AGENCY: U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (``Commission'' or
``USCCR'') is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the
proposed collection of qualification information for advisory committee
candidates by the agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA''),
Federal agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register
concerning each proposed collection of information, and to allow 60
days for public comment.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 7, 2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by subject matter
``Qualification Information for Candidates to Advisory Committees,''
and by any of the following methods:
<bullet> You may electronically submit written comments to USCCR at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e39396818f8a80828585828a9190a39690808091cd848c95"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="077772656b6e64666161666e757447727464647529606871">[email protected]</span></a> and/or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#691a0a0a0613081b1d291c1a0a0a1b470e061f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="433020202c392231370336302020316d242c35">[email protected]</span></a>.
<bullet> Mail: Sheryl Cozart, Senior Attorney-Advisor, Office of
the General Counsel, Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Commission on
Civil Rights, 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 1150, Washington, DC
20425.
<bullet> Hand Delivery/Courier: Same as Mail above.
Please submit your comments using only one method. All comments
must be submitted in English, or if not, accompanied by an English
translation. Comments will be posted as received to <a href="http://www.usccr.gov/news/advisory-committees-news">www.usccr.gov/news/advisory-committees-news</a> and/or <a href="https://www.usccr.gov/news/commission-news">https://www.usccr.gov/news/commission-news</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sheryl Cozart, Senior Attorney-
Advisor, Office of the General Counsel, Office of the General Counsel,
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite
1150, Washington, DC 20425; phone: 202-839-7255; email:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#ff8c9c9c90859e8d8bbf8a8c9c9c8dd1989089"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a7d4c4c4c8ddc6d5d3e7d2d4c4c4d589c0c8d1">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.,
Federal agencies must obtain approval from the Office of Management and
Budget (``OMB'') for each collection of information they conduct or
sponsor. ``Collection of Information'' is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3)
and 5 CFR 1320.3 and includes agency requests or requirements that
members of the public obtain or report information. Section
3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A), requires Federal
agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register concerning
each proposed collection of information, before submitting the
collection to OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement, the
USCCR is publishing notice of the proposed collection of information
listed below. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not
required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays
a currently valid OMB control number.\1\
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\1\ 44 U.S.C. 3512, 5 CFR 1320.5(b)(2)(i) and 1320.8(b)(3)(vi).
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Title: ``Qualification Information for Candidates to Advisory
Committees.'' This is a request for a new OMB control number.
Abstract: The Commission studies civil rights issues and
subsequently publishes reports with recommendations to inform the
President, Congress, and the public. The USCCR's Advisory Committees
were created to provide input and make recommendations to the
Commission concerning discrimination and denial of equal protection of
law, the right to vote, and related civil rights issues. The Commission
was established by the Civil Rights Act of 1957, Public Law 815-315,
and subsequently modified in the Civil Rights Commission Amendments Act
of 1994, 42 U.S.C. 1975a. These laws direct the Commission to establish
Advisory Committees for each state, the District of Columbia, and five
U.S. territories. These non-discretionary, statutory Advisory
Committees are subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA),
Public Law 92-463 codified as 5 U.S.C. app. 2.
[[Page 1558]]
As noted above, the 56 Advisory Committees advise the Commission on
civil rights issues that the Committees choose to evaluate. The
Commission may also ask Advisory Committees to take up a civil rights
topic in support of a Commission investigation. After a Committee's
report is submitted, the Commission may invite the Advisory Committee
Chair to discuss the report, including the findings and
recommendations, at regularly scheduled Commission business meetings.
The Commission may notify the U.S. Congressional delegation for the
particular locale that the advisory committee within their jurisdiction
has published a report. In addition, the Commission may distribute
Committee reports to the federal, state, and local bodies that are
identified in the Committee report. Lastly, individual Commissioners
often attend the Advisory Committee meetings, which are open to the
general public.
The USCCR identifies candidates for advisory committee membership
through a variety of methods, including, but not limited to, public
requests for nominations; recommendations from existing advisory
committee members; consultations with knowledgeable persons outside the
USSCR (academia, non-profits, other state or federal government
agencies, academia, etc.); and Commissioners' and USCCR staff's
professional knowledge of those experienced in civil rights. Following
the identification process, the USCCR develops a list of proposed
members with the relevant points of view needed to ensure membership
balance. The USCCR Commissioners then vote to appoint individuals to
serve four-year terms as Advisory Committee Members. Advisory Committee
Members are generally classified as Representatives. Representatives
provide the viewpoints of entities or recognizable groups and are
expected to potentially represent a particular and known bias or
perspective.
The collection of information is necessary to support the USCCR
Advisory Committees by placing qualified individuals on them as
members. Pursuant to the FACA, an agency must ensure that a committee
is balanced with respect to the viewpoints represented and the
functions to be performed by that committee. Consistent with this, in
order to select individuals for potential membership on an advisory
committee, the USCCR must determine that potential members are
qualified to serve on an advisory committee and that the viewpoints are
properly balanced on the committee.
USCCR staff would use the information collected to determine the
members come from the rich and diverse backgrounds of all of the United
States and its Territories that USCCR wishes to have represented on its
Advisory Committees, to determine the civil rights experience and
expertise of potential advisory committee members, and to ensure that
the membership on a committee is balanced.
The USCCR seeks to collect the following information: Information
that supports an individual's state or territory residency
requirements, civil rights experience and expertise to serve on an
advisory committee, including a letter discussing their qualifications,
resume or curriculum vitae, and/or other similar biographical
information documents such as name and address and social media
handles. Additionally, the USCCR seeks to collect information that
ensures membership balance (e.g., represented viewpoint category), and
that potential members broadly represent the demographics and/or
viewpoints of the United States and its Territories' varied and diverse
backgrounds including, but not limited to, education, occupation,
political affiliation and/or ideology, race/ethnicity, national origin,
gender, sexual orientation, disability status, age, religion, and
veteran status.
With respect to the collection of information, the USCCR invites
comments on:
<bullet> Whether the proposed collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the
Commission, including whether the information will have a practical
use;
<bullet> The accuracy of the Commission's estimate of the burden of
the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
<bullet> Ways to enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of
the information to be collected; and
<bullet> Ways to minimize the burden of collection of information
on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate
automated electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection
techniques or other forms of information technology; e.g., permitting
electronic submission of responses.
You should submit only information that you wish to make available
publicly. If you wish the Commission to consider information that you
believe is exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act,
a petition for confidential treatment of the exempt information may be
submitted according to the procedures established in Sec. 704.1 of the
Commission's regulations.\2\
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\2\ 45 CFR 704.1.
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The Commission reserves the right, but shall have no obligation, to
review, pre-screen, filter, redact, refuse or remove any or all of your
submission from <a href="http://www.USCCR.gov">http://www.USCCR.gov</a> or other USCCR website to which it
posts comments that it may deem to be inappropriate for publication,
such as obscene language. All submissions that have been redacted or
removed that contain comments on the merits of the Information
Collection Request will be retained in the public comment file and will
be considered as required under the Administrative Procedure Act and
other applicable laws, and may be accessible under the Freedom of
Information Act.
Burden Statement: The respondent burden for this collection is
estimated to be as follows for each currently vacant Advisory
Committee:
Estimated Number of Respondents: 22.
Estimated Average Burden Hours per Respondent: 1.5 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 33 hours.
Frequency of Collection: As needed.
There are no capital costs or operating and maintenance costs
associated with this collection.
(Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.)
Dated: January 6, 2022.
David Ganz,
General Counsel, USCCR.
[FR Doc. 2023-00371 Filed 1-10-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6335-01-P
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This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.