The Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) establishes policies and procedures for controlling paperwork burdens imposed by Federal agencies on the public. The purpose of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), which governs information collections, is to minimize paperwork, ensure public benefit; improve Government programs; improve the quality and use of Federal information to strengthen decision making; accountability; and openness in Government and society; and much, much more.
Federal agencies are prohibited from enforcing paperwork requirements that are not approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) or that do not display the OMB approval number.
Notice: Sixty Day Comment Period
As part of the process to invite public comments on information collection requests (ICRs), the PRA requires that the agency publish a notice in the Federal Register regarding each request that notifies the public of the sixty-day comment period. Once that comment period is closed, MSHA reviews, summarizes, and provides a response to each comment in the supporting statement. Comments may lead to improvements in the information collection forms.
Notice: Thirty Day Comment Period
MSHA then submits the ICR to the DOL OCIO that will review and forward to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which administers the PRA, and will publish a notice in the Federal Register to notify the public of the request and to give a final thirty-day comment opportunity.
Information Collection Request (IRC) approved by OMB
Paperwork Reduction Act FAQs