Notice2022-22951
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Special Census Program
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
October 21, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentCensus Bureau
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 203 (Friday, October 21, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 203 (Friday, October 21, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64003-64004]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-22951]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Census Bureau
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment
Request; Special Census Program
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 May 25, 2022, during a 60-day comment period. This
notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.
Agency: U.S. Census Bureau, Department of Commerce.
Title: Special Census Program.
OMB Control Number: 0607-0368.
Form Number(s): SC-Q, SC-Q(S), SC-CQ, SC-CQ(S), SC-Q-TL, SC-Q-
TL(S), SC-CQ-TL, SC-CQ-TL(S), SC-Q-GE, SC-Q-GE(S), SC-RQ, SC-RQ(S), SC-
900.
Type of Request: Regular submission, Request for Reinstatement,
with Change, of a Previously Approved Collection.
Number of Respondents: 357,080 (annual estimate). The number of
respondents was incorrectly listed as 340,000 on the 60-day Federal
Register Notice. The number has been updated to account for quality
control reinterview and Governmental Units requesting a Cost Estimate.
Average Hours per Response: Approximately 10 minutes for the
Special Census data collection and 45 minutes for the Governmental Unit
Cost Estimate Request form.
Burden Hours: 59,560 (annual estimate). The number of burden hours
was incorrectly listed as 56,667 on the 60-day Federal Register Notice.
The number has been updated to account for quality control reinterview
and Governmental Units requesting a Cost Estimate.
Needs and Uses: A Special Census is a basic enumeration of
population, housing units, group quarters, and units at transitory
locations, conducted by the Census Bureau at the request of a
Governmental Unit. Title 13, United States Code, section 196 authorizes
the Census Bureau to conduct Special Censuses on a cost reimbursable
basis for the government of any state, county, city, or other political
subdivision. This includes the District of Columbia, American Indian
Reservations, Alaska Native villages, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Island
Areas, and other Governmental Units that require current population
data between decennial censuses.
A full Special Census is a basic enumeration of population, housing
units, group quarters, and units at transitory locations for an area
entirely within the jurisdiction of a local Governmental Unit
requesting the Special Census. A partial Special Census is conducted
using the same methodologies and procedures as a regular or full
Special Census, but it is for a subset of areas within the jurisdiction
of the local Governmental Unit. The areas requested in a partial
Special Census must contain at least one full tract that is completely
within the jurisdiction of the Governmental Unit and can contain
additional contiguous tracts or blocks. For example, Governmental Units
may choose to conduct a partial Special Census with just those tracts
that might have experienced a large population growth or a boundary
change.
Local officials frequently request a Special Census when there has
been a significant population change in their community due to
annexation, boundary changes, growth, or the addition of new group
quarters facilities. Communities may also consider a Special Census if
there was a significant number of vacant housing units during the
previous decennial census that are now occupied. Many states use
Special Census population statistics to determine the distribution of
state funds to local jurisdictions. Local jurisdictions may use the
data to plan new schools, transportation systems, housing programs, or
water treatment facilities.
The 2020 Special Census Program will accept requests for cost
estimates from Governmental Units starting in March 2023 and continuing
through May 2027; data collection will start no earlier than January
2024 and will continue through September 2028. Governmental Units will
complete a Cost Estimate Request form (SC-900) to request a Special
Census. Additional information will be announced on the Census Bureau
website.
A Cost Estimate Request form (SC-900) will be available on the
Census Bureau website by February 2023. Governmental Units will submit
this form to the Census Bureau. Once this form has been reviewed by the
Census Bureau, the Governmental Unit and the Census Bureau will
coordinate to identify the exact geographic boundaries for the Special
Census. Then the Special Census Program will coordinate within the
Census Bureau to determine a cost estimate and timeline for the Special
Census and will present them to the Governmental Unit. The cost of a
Special Census varies depending on the Governmental Unit's housing and
population counts and whether a Governmental Unit requests a full or
partial Special Census. The cost estimate outlines the anticipated
costs to the sponsoring Governmental Unit for staffing, materials, data
processing and tabulation. Included with the cost estimate is a
Memorandum of Agreement. Once a signed Memorandum of Agreement and
initial payment are transmitted to the Census Bureau, the Special
Census process will begin.
For the 2020 Special Census Program, the Census Bureau will use an
internet self-response instrument for
[[Page 64004]]
respondents to self-respond to the Special Census questionnaire.
Respondents will have a number of weeks to respond to the Special
Census questionnaire using the internet self-response instrument. At
the start of the Special Census, the Census Bureau will send an
invitation letter to known housing units in the Governmental Unit's
Special Census area with information needed to respond online. Reminder
letters and postcards will be sent to each known housing unit to
encourage self-response and provide information needed to do so.
After the end of the Special Census self-response period, the
Census Bureau will conduct follow-up operations in the field to
enumerate housing units that did not respond using the internet self-
response instrument as well as housing units that did not receive
mailed materials. These housing units will be contacted by a field
representative who will conduct a Special Census interview using a
paper questionnaire. The field operations will also enumerate group
quarters and transitory locations in the Governmental Unit's Special
Census area using a paper questionnaire. During the field operations,
Special Census field representatives will conduct listing to verify the
current address lists for the Special Census area and add, delete, or
update the addresses of living quarters as needed, based on their
observation of housing units, transitory locations, and group quarters.
The Special Census questionnaires will collect the same information
that was gathered during the 2020 Census.
Several quality assurance measures will be implemented for each
Special Census to ensure that high-quality data are gathered using the
most efficient and cost-effective procedures. These include edits
incorporated into the online questionnaire and the ability to validate
potentially erroneous responses in the field. Independent quality
assurance checks, such as initial field representative observation and
review of completed questionnaires, will be conducted by field
supervisors and office staff. Quality control field supervisors will
conduct the Dependent Quality Check to verify that production field
representatives performed all listing and mapping tasks completely and
accurately. Reinterview of a sample of field questionnaires will also
be implemented by a quality control field representative to ensure the
quality of the data collected in the field.
The 2020 Census disclosure avoidance methodology will be used with
a few changes for the Special Census Program. The minimum statistical
area for which any partial Special Censuses can be conducted is a 2020
Census tabulation tract. This is different from the 2010 Special Census
Program where partial Special Censuses were done by block. Due to this
change in methodology, only Governmental Units whose jurisdictions
encompass one or more 2020 Census tracts will be able to request a
partial Special Census. Furthermore, this methodological change
necessitates that a block or tract can only be included in a Special
Census one time between 2023 and 2028. A Governmental Unit may request
multiple partial Special Censuses, but they cannot be of overlapping
areas. Finally, the geography included in the Special Census will
impact which data products the Governmental Units receive based on
disclosure avoidance considerations. Some Governmental Units will not
receive the full suite of data products; however, for those impacted
Governmental Units, the Census Bureau will define the allowable data
products that the Governmental Unit will receive prior to signing the
Memorandum of Agreement.
Governmental Units that request a Special Census will receive the
data files by email once data processing and disclosure avoidance have
been completed for the Special Census. The data will also be posted at
<a href="http://data.census.gov">data.census.gov</a> for public use. These data will not be used to update
official 2020 Census data products and apportionment counts, but they
may be used to update data in the Census Bureau's Population Estimates
Program.
Changes from the 60-day Federal Register Notice include the change
in the estimated number of respondents and respondent burden hours. In
addition, the application fee has been eliminated; the Special Census
Program will no longer require Governmental Units to pay a fee when
submitting a Special Census Cost Estimate Request form.
As the Census Bureau develops automated tools and methods for data
collection and listing for the 2030 Decennial Census, the Special
Census Program may incorporate this additional automation throughout
the decade. Updates to the operational design will be implemented no
earlier than 2026. The incorporation of additional automation may
increase data collection quality and efficiency, resulting in a cost
savings for Governmental Units, but the extent of those cost savings is
currently unknown.
Affected Public: Individuals or households; State, Local, or Tribal
government.
Frequency: As requested by Government Units. Each tract or block
can only be enumerated one time during the 2020 Special Census Program
(between 2023 and 2028).
Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C. 196.
This information collection request may be viewed at
<a href="http://www.reginfo.gov">www.reginfo.gov</a>. 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 <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>.
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 0607-0368.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information
Officer, Department of Commerce.
[FR Doc. 2022-22951 Filed 10-20-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on October 21, 2022.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.