PRA approval process associated with rules
For information collections associated with proposed rules there is a slightly different process that an agency must go through to get OMB approval.
Process overview for information collections associated with proposed rules
Step 1
Agency develops the information request concurrently with the proposed rule. Your agency may have an internal approval process at this stage
Who is involved?
Step 2
Agency publishes proposed rule in the Federal Register soliciting public comment on associated ICRs and submits a PRA request to OMB
Who is involved?
Step 3
OMB reviews proposed collection, and any comments received
Who is involved?
Step 4
Agency considers the public comments on the proposed rule and the information collection
Who is involved?
Who is involved?
Develop the information collection request within your agency
Agency develops the information request. Your agency may have an internal approval process at this stage.
Publish Proposed Rule in Federal Register and submit request to OMB
When the notice of proposed rulemaking goes out for comment, an agency must state the following in the rule preamble: 1) that the proposed rule contains an information collection; 2) describe and identify the collection; and 3) indicate that it has been submitted to OMB for review. This step and the solicitation for comments on the collection in the proposed rule replace the 60-day and 30-day Federal Register notices required in the more typical information collection process. The agency must also concurrently submit the proposed collection to OMB for review.
OMB reviews proposed collection
During OMB review, OMB will review the information collection and any comments received. At this stage, OMB may have comments on the collection and defer final review until the agency finalizes the associated rule. Alternately, OMB may indicate the collection is fine as is (preapproved). Either action will conclude review of the proposed collection submitted to OMB. It is important to note that neither of these actions grant final approval to collect the information, which will occur later in Step 5.
Agency considers the public comments on the proposed rule
The agency will consider public comments received on both the rule and the information collection and make changes if applicable.
Agency publishes Final Rule and submits final request to OMB
If OMB filed comments on the collection and deferred review at step 3 then the agency must resubmit the collection to OMB for review when the agency finalizes the associated rule. The agency does not need to publish another Federal Register notice at this stage. The collection will then be reviewed by OMB and approved if the collection meets the standards of the PRA.
If OMB “preapproved” the collection at step 3 and it remains unchanged from when it was preapproved then the agency can take action in ROCIS to finalize the approval and receive an OMB control number. But if there were substantive changes to the collection then the agency must resubmit the collection to OMB for review and approval. If there is uncertainty about whether the changes are substantive the agency should consult its OIRA desk officer.
