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REGWRITER ALERT: More Guidance from OIRA on the Paperwork Reduction Act Process

December 13, 2010

RegulationWriter Alert - December 13, 2010

On December 9, 2010, Cass Sunstein, Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), Office of Management and Budget (OMB), issued Memorandum M-11-07 on Facilitating Scientific Research by Streamlining the Paperwork Reduction Act Process. This is the fourth memorandum issued by OIRA regarding the Paperwork Reduction Act since April 2010. This RegulationWriter Alert provides brief descriptions and links to all four memoranda.

Quick Links
In This Issue
Facilitating Scientific Research, December 9, 2010
Generic Clearances, May 28, 2010
Social Media, April 7, 2010
PRA Primer, April 7, 2010
OIRA Memo: Facilitating Scientific Research by Streamlining the Paperwork Reduction Act Process
M-11-07, December 9, 2010
[T]his Memorandum addresses the question of whether and how the PRA applies in the context of scientific research. ... First, it explains that the Paperwork Reduction Act does not apply to certain kinds of scientific research-specifically, collections that are neither "sponsored" nor "conducted" by the agency as well as those that are subject to what is commonly termed the "clinical exemption." Second, it describes several possible options for streamlining the PRA process, including generic clearances and emergency review; some of these options may be available to agencies engaging in scientific research. Finally, it offers suggestions for strategies that agencies can use (such as early collaboration with OMB) to expedite the PRA process as a whole.
OIRA Memo: Paperwork Reduction Act - Generic Clearances
May 28, 2010
[T]this Memorandum outlines the availability and uses of "generic" Information Collection Requests (ICRs). Clearances of generic ICRs provide a significantly streamlined process by which agencies may obtain OMB's approval for particular information collections-usually voluntary,
low-burden, and uncontroversial collections. Generic ICRs are a useful way for agencies to meet the obligations of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) while eliminating unnecessary burdens and delays. They can be used for a number of information collections, including methodological testing, customer satisfaction surveys, focus groups, contests, and website satisfaction surveys.
OIRA Memo: Social Media, Web-Based Interactive Technologies, and the Paperwork Reduction Act
April 7, 2010
This Memorandum...clarifies when and how the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (the PRA) applies to Federal agency use of social media and web-based interactive technologies. It explains that under established principles, the PRA does not apply to many uses of such media and technologies.
OIRA Memo: Information Collection Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA Primer)
April 7, 2010
This Memorandum...[provides] clarifying guidance with respect to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) in order to specify its central requirements and to increase transparency and openness.
Read: OIRA Memo of April 7, 2010, PRA Primer

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