Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Secretarial Elections

AGENCY:

Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice of information collection; request for comment.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) are proposing to renew an information collection.

DATES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before March 24, 2022.

ADDRESSES:

Send written comments on this information collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget's Desk Officer for the Department of the Interior by email at OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov; or via facsimile to (202) 395-5806. Please provide a copy of your comments to Steven Mullen, Information Collection Clearance Officer, Office of Regulatory Affairs and Collaborative Action—Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1001 Indian School Road NW, Suite 229, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87104; or by email to comments@bia.gov. Please reference OMB Control Number 1076-0183 in the subject line of your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request additional information about this ICR, contact Jeanette Hanna, Deputy Bureau Director, Indian Services, Office of Indian Services, BIA, by email at jeanette.hanna@bia.gov or telephone at (202) 208-2874. You may also view the ICR at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we provide the general public and other Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on new, proposed, revised, and continuing collections of information. This helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. It also helps the public understand our information collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format.

A Federal Register notice with a 60-day public comment period soliciting comments on this collection of information was published on September 7, 2021 (86 FR 50153). No comments were received.

As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burdens, we are again soliciting comments from the public and other Federal agencies on the proposed ICR that is described below. We are especially interested in public comment addressing the following:

(1) Whether or not the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether or not the information will have practical utility;

(2) The accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;

(3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and

(4) How might the agency minimize the burden of the 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 response.

Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of public record. Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment—including your personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Abstract: Under the Indian Reorganization Act, Tribes have the right to organize and adopt constitutions, bylaws, and any amendments thereto, and ratify charters of incorporation, through elections called by the Secretary of the Interior, according to rules prescribed by the Secretary. See 25 U.S.C. 476, 477, 503. The Secretary's rules for conducting these elections, known as “Secretarial elections,” and approving the results are at 25 CFR 81. In most cases, the Tribe requests a Secretarial election; however, an individual voting member of a Tribe may also request a Secretarial election by petition. These rules also establish the procedures for an individual to petition for a Secretarial election.

The BIA requires the Tribe to submit a formal request for Secretarial election, including: A Tribal resolution; the document or language to be voted on in the election; a list of all Tribal members who are age 18 or older in the next 120 days (when the election will occur), including their last known addresses, voting districts (if any), and dates of birth, in an electronically sortable format.

While much of the information the Tribe prepares for a Secretarial election ( e.g., list of members eligible to vote) would be required if the Tribe instead conducted its own Tribal election, the Secretary's rules establish specifics on what a Tribal request or petition for election must contain. These specifics are necessary to ensure the integrity of Secretarial elections and allow the BIA and Tribal personnel the ability to consistently administer elections.

Title of Collection: Secretarial Elections.

OMB Control Number: 1076-0183.

Form Number: N/A.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Respondents/Affected Public: Federally recognized Tribes and their members.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 252,041.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 252,041.

Estimated Completion Time per Response: Varies from 15 minutes to 40 hours.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 64,305.

Respondent's Obligation: Required to Obtain a Benefit.

Frequency of Collection: On occasion.

Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: $146,160.

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.

The authority for this action is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq ).