Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Conflict of Interest Disclosure for Non-Federal Government Individuals Who Are Candidates To Conduct Peer Reviews Required by the OMB Peer Review Bulletin, 41966-41967 [2020-15038]

Download as PDF 41966 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 134 / Monday, July 13, 2020 / Notices Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. Dated: July 7, 2020. Tracey L. Thompson, Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 2020–14957 Filed 7–10–20; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–22–P bass fishery, and (3) provide recommendations to the Council and Commission on draft alternatives for the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Commercial/Recreational Allocation Amendment. Meeting materials will be posted to the Council’s website prior to the meeting. Special Accommodations The meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aid should be directed to M. Jan Saunders, (302) 526–5251, at least 5 days prior to the meeting date. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [RTID 0648–XA279] Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC); Public Meeting Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Notice; public meeting. AGENCY: The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s (Council) Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Advisory Panel will hold a public webinar meeting, jointly with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Advisory Panel. DATES: The meeting will be held on Wednesday, July 29, 2020, from 5:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held via webinar, which can be accessed at: https://mafmc.adobeconnect.com/fsb-apjul-2020/. Meeting audio can also be accessed via telephone by dialing 1– 800–832–0736 and entering room number 4472108. Council address: Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 800 N State Street, Suite 201, Dover, DE 19901; telephone: (302) 674–2331; www.mafmc.org. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher M. Moore, Ph.D., Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, telephone: (302) 526–5255. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The MidAtlantic Fishery Management Council’s Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Advisory Panel will meet via webinar jointly with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Advisory Panel. The objectives of this meeting are: (1) Review and comment on the recommendations of the Scientific and Statistical Committee and Monitoring Committee for 2021 specifications for all three species, (2) provide recommendations to the Council and Commission on the February 2021 recreational black sea Dated: July 7, 2020. Tracey L. Thompson, Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 2020–14955 Filed 7–10–20; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–22–P jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 20:25 Jul 10, 2020 Jkt 250001 DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Conflict of Interest Disclosure for Non-Federal Government Individuals Who Are Candidates To Conduct Peer Reviews Required by the OMB Peer Review Bulletin The Department of Commerce will submit the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. We invite the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the public’s reporting burden. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register on April 30, 2020, (85 FR 23950) during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. Title: Conflict of Interest Disclosure for Non-Federal Government Individuals Who Are Candidates To Conduct Peer Reviews Required by the OMB Peer Review Bulletin. PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 OMB Control Number: 0648–0567. Form Number(s): None. Type of Request: Regular submission (extension of a current information collection). Number of Respondents: 321. Average Hours per Response: 30 minutes for each Conflict of Interest Disclosure form. Total Annual Burden Hours: 161. Needs and Uses: This request is for extension of a currently approved collection. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued government-wide guidance to enhance the practice of peer review of government science documents. OMB’s Final Information Quality Bulletin for Peer Review (‘‘Peer Review Bulletin’’ or PRB) (available at https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/ omb/memoranda_fy2005_m05-03/) establishes minimum peer review standards for influential scientific information that Federal agencies intend to disseminate. The Peer Review Bulletin also directs Federal agencies to adopt or adapt the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) policy for evaluating conflicts of interest when selecting peer reviewers who are not Federal government employees (federal employees are subject to Federal ethics requirements). For peer review purposes, the term ‘‘conflicts of interest’’ means any financial or other interest which conflicts with the service of the individual because it could: (1) Significantly impair the individual’s objectivity; or (2) create an unfair competitive advantage for any person or organization. NOAA has adapted the NAS policy and developed two confidential conflict disclosure forms which the agency will use to examine prospective reviewers’ potential financial conflicts and other interests that could impair objectivity or create an unfair advantage. One form is for peer reviewers of studies related to government regulation and the other form is for all other influential scientific information subject to the Peer Review Bulletin. In addition, the latter form has been adapted by NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research for potential reviewers of scientific laboratories. The forms include questions about employment as well as investment and property interests and research funding. Both forms also require the submission of curriculum vitae. NOAA is seeking to collect this information from potential peer reviewers who are not government employees when conducting a peer review pursuant to the PRB. The information collected in the conflict of interest disclosure is essential to E:\FR\FM\13JYN1.SGM 13JYN1 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 134 / Monday, July 13, 2020 / Notices NOAA’s compliance with the OMB PRB, and helps to ensure that government studies are reviewed by independent, impartial peer reviewers. Affected Public: Individuals or households. Frequency: On occasion. Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary. Legal Authority: This information collection request may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view the Department of Commerce collections currently under review by OMB. Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of this notice on the following website www.reginfo.gov/ public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting ‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or by using the search function and entering either the title of the collection or the OMB Control Number 0648–0567. Sheleen Dumas, Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Commerce Department. [FR Doc. 2020–15038 Filed 7–10–20; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–22–P DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Office of the Secretary [Docket ID: DoD–2020–OS–0066] Proposed Collection; Comment Request Federal Voting Assistance Program, Defense Department (DoD). ACTION: Information collection notice. AGENCY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Federal Voting Assistance Program announces a proposed public information collection and seeks public comment on the provisions thereof. Comments are invited on: Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; the accuracy of the agency’s estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the information collection on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 20:25 Jul 10, 2020 Jkt 250001 Consideration will be given to all comments received by September 11, 2020. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number and title, by any of the following methods: Federal eRulemaking Portal: https:// www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Mail: DoD cannot receive written comments at this time due to the COVID–19 pandemic. Comments should be sent electronically to the docket listed above. Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name, docket number and title for this Federal Register document. The general policy for comments and other submissions from members of the public is to make these submissions available for public viewing on the internet at https:// www.regulations.gov as they are received without change, including any personal identifiers or contact information. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on this proposed information collection or to obtain a copy of the proposal and associated collection instruments, please contact the Office of Information Management, DoD, at whs.mcalex.esd.mbx.dd-dod-informationcollections@mail.mil, ATTN Ms. Angela James, or call 571–372–7574. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title; Associated Form; and Omb Number: Election Administration and Voting Survey (EAVS) Section B Data Standard (ESB Data Standard); OMB Control Number 0704–FVAP. Needs and Uses: The President of the United States designated the Secretary of Defense to administer the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) As Modified by the Military and Overseas Voting Empowerment Act, 52 United States Code (U.S.C.) 20301. UOCAVA is the principal enabling statute that grants authority for the Department of Defense (DoD) to facilitate absentee voting amongst members of the Uniformed Services and Merchant Marine, their eligible family members, and all citizens residing outside the United States who are absent from the United States. The 1988 Executive Order (E.O.) 12642 names the Secretary of Defense as the ‘‘Presidential designee’’ for administering UOCAVA. In the Department of Defense Instruction (DoDI) 1000.04, Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP), the Secretary of Defense delegated UOCAVA-related responsibilities first to the Under Secretary of Defense for DATES: PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 41967 Personnel and Readiness (USD[P&R]), and then, in turn, to the FVAP Director. The DoDI 1000.04 also updates the policy and responsibilities for FVAP under E.O. 12642. The Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act of 2009 enacted key reforms to the absentee voting process for military and overseas voters. These reforms include the transmission of balloting materials no later than 45 days prior to each federal election. Additionally, each state must offer military and overseas voters an opportunity to receive balloting materials electronically. Sections 52 U.S.C. 20301 (b [6,11]) and 20308 (b [1]) require FVAP to provide a report to the President and the Congress on program effectiveness and conduct a statistical analysis on UOCAVA voter participation. These sections also state that FVAP shall work with the United States Election Assistance Commission (EAC) and the chief State election official of each State to develop standards for States to report data on the number of absentee ballots transmitted and received, and that FVAP is to store the data collected. In order to evaluate the MOVE Act’s reforms and perform the actions prescribed in 52 U.S.C. 20301 (b [6,11]) and 20308 (b [1]), FVAP requires transaction-level data that can associate specific UOCAVA ballot business process transactions with the ultimate outcome on whether the ballot was received and accepted for counting in each Federal election. Affected Public: Individuals or Households. Annual Burden Hours: 69. Number of Respondents: 827. Responses per Respondent: 1. Annual Responses: 827. Average Burden per Response: 5 minutes. Frequency: Semi-Annually. To help better assist UOCAVA voters, FVAP and the Council of State Governments worked to refine a transformative new data schema called the Election Administration and Voting Survey (EAVS) Section B (ESB) Data Standard. The ESB Data Standard builds on other data standardization efforts and allows FVAP to analyze the three key parts of the voting process: (1) Ballot request; (2) ballot transmission; and (3) ballot return. The ESB Data Standard collects transactional data from the absentee voter’s experience in the election process that, when aggregated, align to the post-election survey questions administered by the EAC’s Administration and Voting Survey (EAVS) data specifically focused on administration of UOCAVA. To that E:\FR\FM\13JYN1.SGM 13JYN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 134 (Monday, July 13, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41966-41967]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-15038]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Conflict of Interest Disclosure for Non-Federal Government 
Individuals Who Are Candidates To Conduct Peer Reviews Required by the 
OMB Peer Review Bulletin

    The Department of Commerce will submit the following information 
collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. We invite the 
general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and 
continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of 
our information collection requirements and minimize the public's 
reporting burden. Public comments were previously requested via the 
Federal Register on April 30, 2020, (85 FR 23950) during a 60-day 
comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public 
comments.
    Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Commerce.
    Title: Conflict of Interest Disclosure for Non-Federal Government 
Individuals Who Are Candidates To Conduct Peer Reviews Required by the 
OMB Peer Review Bulletin.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0567.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Regular submission (extension of a current 
information collection).
    Number of Respondents: 321.
    Average Hours per Response: 30 minutes for each Conflict of 
Interest Disclosure form.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 161.
    Needs and Uses: This request is for extension of a currently 
approved collection.
    The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued government-wide 
guidance to enhance the practice of peer review of government science 
documents. OMB's Final Information Quality Bulletin for Peer Review 
(``Peer Review Bulletin'' or PRB) (available at https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/omb/memoranda_fy2005_m05-03/) establishes 
minimum peer review standards for influential scientific information 
that Federal agencies intend to disseminate.
    The Peer Review Bulletin also directs Federal agencies to adopt or 
adapt the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) policy for evaluating 
conflicts of interest when selecting peer reviewers who are not Federal 
government employees (federal employees are subject to Federal ethics 
requirements). For peer review purposes, the term ``conflicts of 
interest'' means any financial or other interest which conflicts with 
the service of the individual because it could: (1) Significantly 
impair the individual's objectivity; or (2) create an unfair 
competitive advantage for any person or organization. NOAA has adapted 
the NAS policy and developed two confidential conflict disclosure forms 
which the agency will use to examine prospective reviewers' potential 
financial conflicts and other interests that could impair objectivity 
or create an unfair advantage. One form is for peer reviewers of 
studies related to government regulation and the other form is for all 
other influential scientific information subject to the Peer Review 
Bulletin. In addition, the latter form has been adapted by NOAA's 
Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research for potential reviewers of 
scientific laboratories.
    The forms include questions about employment as well as investment 
and property interests and research funding. Both forms also require 
the submission of curriculum vitae. NOAA is seeking to collect this 
information from potential peer reviewers who are not government 
employees when conducting a peer review pursuant to the PRB. The 
information collected in the conflict of interest disclosure is 
essential to

[[Page 41967]]

NOAA's compliance with the OMB PRB, and helps to ensure that government 
studies are reviewed by independent, impartial peer reviewers.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority:
    This information collection request may be viewed at 
www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view the Department of 
Commerce collections currently under review by OMB.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of 
this notice on the following website www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. 
Find this particular information collection by selecting ``Currently 
under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search 
function and entering either the title of the collection or the OMB 
Control Number 0648-0567.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2020-15038 Filed 7-10-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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