[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 84 (Monday, May 3, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23594-23595]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-10936]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of the Census


1999--2001 Company Organization Survey; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort 
to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public 
and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on 
proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Pub. L. 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A)).

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before July 2, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Linda Engelmeier, 
Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 
5033, 14th and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument and instructions should 
be directed to Paul Hanczaryk, Bureau of the Census, Room 2747, Federal 
Building 3, Washington, DC 20233-6100; telephone (301) 457-2580.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Census Bureau conducts the annual Company Organization Survey 
(COS) in order to update and maintain a central, multipurpose business 
register, known as the Standard Statistical Establishment List (SSEL). 
In particular, the COS supplies critical information to the SSEL 
concerning the establishment composition, organizational structure, and 
operating

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characteristics of multi-establishment companies.
    The SSEL serves two fundamental purposes:
     First and most important, it provides sampling populations 
and enumeration lists for the Census Bureau's economic surveys and 
censuses, and it serves as an integral part of the statistical 
foundation underlying those programs. Essential for this purpose is the 
SSEL's ability to identify all known United States business 
establishments and their parent companies. Further, the SSEL must 
accurately record basic business attributes needed to control sampling 
and enumeration. These attributes include industrial and geographic 
classifications, measures of size and economic activity, ownership 
characteristics, and contact information (for example, name and 
address).
     Second, it provides establishment data that serve as the 
basis for the annual County Business Patterns (CBP) statistical series. 
The CBP reports present data on a number of establishments, first 
quarter payroll, annual payroll, and mid-March employment summarized by 
industry and employment size class for the United States, states, the 
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, counties, and county-equivalents. No 
other annual or more frequent series of industry statistics provides 
comparable detail, particularly for small geographic areas.

II. Method of Collection

    The Census Bureau will conduct the 1999-2001 COS in the same manner 
as the 1998 COS. These collections will direct inquiries to 
approximately 80,000 multi-establishment companies, which operate over 
1.1 million establishments. This panel will be drawn from the SSEL 
universe of nearly 200,000 multi-establishment companies, which operate 
1.6 million establishments. Additionally, the panel will include 
approximately 10,000 new single-establishment companies that will 
become active during 1999.
    The mailing list for the 1999 COS will include a certainty 
component, consisting of all multi-establishment companies with 50 or 
more employees, and those multi-establishment companies with 
administrative record values that indicate organizational changes. The 
mailing list also will include new entities that are most likely to 
report affiliation with multi-establishment companies. A non-certainty 
component will be drawn from the remaining multi-establishment 
companies based on employment size.
    All companies will receive the COS inquiries by mail, and most will 
respond by mail. As a test of new electronic reporting methods, a very 
small number of companies will receive and return responses by secure 
Internet transmission. Additionally, more than 1,300 larger enterprises 
(accounting for approximately 36 percent of covered establishments) 
will return their COS reports by other electronic means. All other 
survey respondents will return a paper questionnaire. Data content is 
identical for all reporting modes.
    The instrument will include inquiries on ownership or control by a 
domestic parent, ownership or control by a foreign parent, and 
ownership of foreign affiliates. Further, the instrument will list an 
inventory of establishments belonging to the company and its 
subsidiaries, and will request updates to these inventories, including 
additions, deletions, and changes to information on EIN, name and 
address, industrial classifications, payroll, end-of-year operating 
status, mid-March employment, first quarter payroll, and annual 
payroll.
    Additionally, the Census Bureau will pilot certain questions in the 
1999--2001 COS in order to enhance future content. We will include 
questions on the number of leased employees working in the multi-
establishment company, questions designed to improve the accuracy of 
establishment-level industrial classification codes, and questions on 
the inventory of Federal employer identification numbers belonging to 
the company. These additional questions will be directed to less than 
500 companies.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0607-0444.
    Form Number: NC-9901.
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit, not-for-profit 
institutions.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 90,000 enterprises.
    Estimated Time Per Response: 1.55 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 140,000.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $2,100,000 @ $15/hr.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.

    Legal Authority: Title 13 of United States Code, Sections 182, 
195, 224, and 225.

IV. Request for Comments

    Comments are invited on: (a) 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; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden 
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; 
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information 
collection; they also will become a matter of public record.

    Dated: April 27, 1999.
Linda Engelmeier,
Departmental Forms Clearance Officer,
Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 99-10936 Filed 4-30-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P