44 U.S.C. § 3507 — Public information collection activities;

Page 166 TITLE 44—PUBLIC PRINTING AND DOCUMENTS § 3507 activities with State, local, and tribal governments on the Y2K problem, and promote appropriate Federal roles with respect to private sector activities in this area. (d) The Chair and the Director of the Office of Man- agement and Budget shall report jointly at least quar- terly to me on the progress of agencies in addressing the Y2K problem. (e) The Chair shall identify such resources from agen- cies as the Chair deems necessary for the implementa- tion of the policies set out in this order, consistent with applicable law. SEC. 3. Responsibilities of Agency Heads. (a) The head of each agency shall: (1) assure that efforts to address the Y2K problem re- ceive the highest priority attention in the agency and that the policies established in this order are carried out; and (2) cooperate to the fullest extent with the Chair by making available such information, support, and as- sistance, including personnel, as the Chair may request to support the accomplishment of the tasks assigned herein, consistent with applicable law. (b) The heads of executive departments and the agen- cies designated by the Chair under section 2(a) of this order shall identify a responsible official to represent the head of the executive department or agency on the Council with sufficient authority and experience to commit agency resources to address the Y2K problem. SEC. 4. Responsibilities of Interagency and Executive Of- fice Councils. Interagency councils and councils within the Executive Office of the President, including the President’s Management Council, the Chief Informa- tion Officers Council, the Chief Financial Officers Council, the President’s Council on Integrity and Effi- ciency, the Executive Council on Integrity and Effi- ciency, the National Science and Technology Council, the National Performance Review, the National Eco- nomic Council, the Domestic Policy Council, and the National Security Council shall provide assistance and support to the Chair upon the Chair’s request. SEC. 5. Information Coordination Center. (a) To assist the Chair in the Y2K response duties included under section 2(c) of this order, there shall be established the Information Coordination Center (ICC) in the General Services Administration. (b) At the direction of the Chair, the ICC will assist in making preparations for information sharing and co- ordination within the Federal Government and key components of the public and private sectors, coordi- nating agency assessments of Y2K emergencies that could have an adverse affect on U.S. interests at home and abroad, and, if necessary, assisting Federal agen- cies and the Chair in reconstitution processes where ap- propriate. (c) The ICC will: (1) consist of officials from executive agencies, des- ignated by agency heads under subsection 3(a)(2) of this order, who have expertise in important management and technical areas, computer hardware, software or security systems, reconstitution and recovery, and of additional personnel hired directly or by contract, as required, to carry out the duties described under sec- tion 5 of this order; (2) work with the Council and the Office of Manage- ment and Budget to assure that Federal efforts to re- store critical systems are coordinated with efforts managed by Federal agencies acting under existing emergency response authorities. (d) The Chair of the President’s Council on Year 2000 Conversion shall designate a Director of the ICC. SEC. 6. Judicial Review. This Executive order is in- tended only to improve the internal management of the executive branch and does not create any right or ben- efit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or equity by a party against the United States, its agen- cies, or instrumentalities, its officers or employees, or any other person. WILLIAM J. CLINTON. § 3507. Public information collection activities; submission to Director; approval and delega- tion (a) An agency shall not conduct or sponsor the collection of information unless in advance of the adoption or revision of the collection of in- formation— (1) the agency has— (A) conducted the review established under section 3506(c)(1); (B) evaluated the public comments re- ceived under section 3506(c)(2); (C) submitted to the Director the certifi- cation required under section 3506(c)(3), the proposed collection of information, copies of pertinent statutory authority, regulations, and other related materials as the Director may specify; and (D) published a notice in the Federal Reg- ister— (i) stating that the agency has made such submission; and (ii) setting forth— (I) a title for the collection of informa- tion; (II) a summary of the collection of in- formation; (III) a brief description of the need for the information and the proposed use of the information; (IV) a description of the likely re- spondents and proposed frequency of re- sponse to the collection of information; (V) an estimate of the burden that shall result from the collection of infor- mation; and (VI) notice that comments may be sub- mitted to the agency and Director; (2) the Director has approved the proposed collection of information or approval has been inferred, under the provisions of this section; and (3) the agency has obtained from the Direc- tor a control number to be displayed upon the collection of information. (b) The Director shall provide at least 30 days for public comment prior to making a decision under subsection (c), (d), or (h), except as pro- vided under subsection (j). (c)(1) For any proposed collection of informa- tion not contained in a proposed rule, the Direc- tor shall notify the agency involved of the deci- sion to approve or disapprove the proposed col- lection of information. (2) The Director shall provide the notification under paragraph (1), within 60 days after receipt or publication of the notice under subsection (a)(1)(D), whichever is later. (3) If the Director does not notify the agency of a denial or approval within the 60-day period described under paragraph (2)— (A) the approval may be inferred; (B) a control number shall be assigned with- out further delay; and (C) the agency may collect the information for not more than 1 year. (d)(1) For any proposed collection of informa- tion contained in a proposed rule— (A) as soon as practicable, but no later than the date of publication of a notice of proposed Page 167 TITLE 44—PUBLIC PRINTING AND DOCUMENTS § 3507 rulemaking in the Federal Register, each agency shall forward to the Director a copy of any proposed rule which contains a collection of information and any information requested by the Director necessary to make the deter- mination required under this subsection; and (B) within 60 days after the notice of pro- posed rulemaking is published in the Federal Register, the Director may file public com- ments pursuant to the standards set forth in section 3508 on the collection of information contained in the proposed rule; (2) When a final rule is published in the Fed- eral Register, the agency shall explain— (A) how any collection of information con- tained in the final rule responds to the com- ments, if any, filed by the Director or the pub- lic; or (B) the reasons such comments were re- jected. (3) If the Director has received notice and failed to comment on an agency rule within 60 days after the notice of proposed rulemaking, the Director may not disapprove any collection of information specifically contained in an agen- cy rule. (4) No provision in this section shall be con- strued to prevent the Director, in the Director’s discretion— (A) from disapproving any collection of in- formation which was not specifically required by an agency rule; (B) from disapproving any collection of in- formation contained in an agency rule, if the agency failed to comply with the requirements of paragraph (1) of this subsection; (C) from disapproving any collection of in- formation contained in a final agency rule, if the Director finds within 60 days after the pub- lication of the final rule that the agency’s re- sponse to the Director’s comments filed under paragraph (2) of this subsection was unreason- able; or (D) from disapproving any collection of in- formation contained in a final rule, if— (i) the Director determines that the agen- cy has substantially modified in the final rule the collection of information contained in the proposed rule; and (ii) the agency has not given the Director the information required under paragraph (1) with respect to the modified collection of in- formation, 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 rule- making and requests public comments. (6) The decision by the Director to approve or not act upon a collection of information con- tained in an agency rule shall not be subject to judicial review. (e)(1) Any decision by the Director under sub- section (c), (d), (h), or (j) to disapprove a collec- tion of information, or to instruct the agency to make substantive or material change to a col- lection of information, shall be publicly avail- able and include an explanation of the reasons for such decision. (2) Any written communication between the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, or any employee of the Of- fice of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and an agency or person not employed by the Fed- eral Government concerning a proposed collec- tion of information shall be made available to the public. (3) This subsection shall not require the dis- closure of— (A) any information which is protected at all times by procedures established for informa- tion which has been specifically authorized under criteria established by an Executive order or an Act of Congress to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy; or (B) any communication relating to a collec- tion of information which is not approved under this subchapter, the disclosure of which could lead to retaliation or discrimination against the communicator. (f)(1) An independent regulatory agency which is administered by 2 or more members of a com- mission, board, or similar body, may by major- ity vote void— (A) any disapproval by the Director, in whole or in part, of a proposed collection of in- formation of 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 information, 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 information 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 collection of information, the agency shall— (A) conduct the review established under section 3506(c), including the seeking of com- ment from the public on the continued need for, and burden imposed by the collection of information; and (B) after having made a reasonable effort to seek public comment, but no later than 60 days before the expiration date of the control number assigned by the Director for the cur- rently approved collection of information, sub- mit the collection of information for review and approval under this section, which shall include an explanation of how the agency has used the information that it has collected. (2) If under the provisions of this section, the Director 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 Federal Register; and (B) instruct the agency to undertake a rule- making within a reasonable time limited to consideration of changes to the collection of information contained in the rule and there- after to submit the collection of information Page 168 TITLE 44—PUBLIC PRINTING AND DOCUMENTS § 3508 for approval or disapproval under this sub- chapter. (3) An agency may not make a substantive or material modification to a collection of infor- mation after such collection has been approved by the Director, unless the modification has been submitted to the Director for review and approval under this subchapter. (i)(1) If the Director finds that a senior official of an agency designated under section 3506(a) is sufficiently independent of program responsi- bility to evaluate fairly whether proposed col- lections of information should be approved and has sufficient resources to carry out this respon- sibility effectively, the Director may, by rule in accordance with the notice and comment provi- sions of chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code, delegate to such official the authority to ap- prove proposed collections of information in spe- cific 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 re- viewing 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 general 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 Direc- tor to authorize a collection of information, if an agency head determines that— (A) a collection of information— (i) is needed prior to the expiration of time periods established under this subchapter; and (ii) is essential to the mission of the agen- cy; and (B) the agency cannot reasonably comply with the provisions of this subchapter be- cause— (i) public harm is reasonably likely to re- sult if normal clearance procedures are fol- lowed; (ii) an unanticipated event has occurred; or (iii) the use of normal clearance proce- dures is reasonably likely to prevent or dis- rupt the collection of information or is rea- sonably likely to cause a statutory or court ordered deadline to be missed. (2) The Director shall approve or disapprove any such authorization request within the time requested by the agency head and, if approved, shall assign the collection of information a con- trol number. Any collection of information con- ducted under this subsection may be conducted without compliance with the provisions of this subchapter for a maximum of 180 days after the date on which the Director received the request to authorize such collection. (Added Pub. L. 104–13, § 2, May 22, 1995, 109 Stat. 176; amended Pub. L. 104–106, div. E, title LVI, § 5605(d), Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 700; Pub. L. 106–398, § 1 [[div. A], title X, § 1064(b)], Oct. 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1654, 1654A–275.) Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 3507, added Pub. L. 96–511, § 2(a), Dec. 11, 1980, 94 Stat. 2819; amended Pub. L. 99–500, § 101(m) [title VIII, § 817], Oct. 18, 1986, 100 Stat. 1783–308, 1783–338, and Pub. L. 99–591, § 101(m) [title VIII, § 817], Oct. 30, 1986, 100 Stat. 3341–308, 3341–338, related to sub- mission to Director of public information collection re- quest for an approval or delegation to a senior official of an agency prior to the general amendment of this chapter by Pub. L. 104–13. Another prior section 3507, Pub. L. 90–620, Oct. 22, 1968, 82 Stat. 1304, provided for cooperation of agencies in making information available, prior to the general amendment of this chapter by Pub. L. 96–511. See sec- tion 3510(a) of this title. AMENDMENTS 2000—Subsecs. (e)(3)(B), (h), (j). Pub. L. 106–398 sub- stituted ‘‘subchapter’’ for ‘‘chapter’’ wherever appear- ing. 1996—Subsec. (j)(2). Pub. L. 104–106 substituted ‘‘180 days’’ for ‘‘90 days’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2000 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 106–398 effective 30 days after Oct. 30, 2000, see section 1 [[div. A], title X, § 1065] of Pub. L. 106–398, Oct. 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1654, formerly set out as an Effective Date note under former section 3531 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1996 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 104–106 effective 180 days after Feb. 10, 1996, see section 5701 of Pub. L. 104–106, Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 702. EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Oct. 1, 1995, except as otherwise pro- vided, see section 4(a) of Pub. L. 104–13, set out as a note under section 3501 of this title. § 3508. Determination of necessity for informa- tion; hearing Before approving a proposed collection of in- formation, the Director shall determine whether the collection of information by the agency is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility. Before making a determination the Director may give the agency and other interested persons an op- portunity to be heard or to submit statements in writing. To the extent, if any, that the Direc- tor determines that the collection of informa- tion by an agency is unnecessary for any reason, the agency may not engage in the collection of information. (Added Pub. L. 104–13, § 2, May 22, 1995, 109 Stat. 179.) Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 3508, added Pub. L. 96–511, § 2(a), Dec. 11, 1980, 94 Stat. 2821, related to determination of whether collection of information is necessary for prop- er performance of functions of agency prior to the gen- eral amendment of this chapter by Pub. L. 104–13. Another prior section 3508, Pub. L. 90–620, Oct. 22, 1968, 82 Stat. 1304, related to unlawful disclosure of in- formation, penalties, and release of information to other agencies, prior to the general amendment of this