[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 207 (Wednesday, October 25, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Page 63841]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-27423]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

AGENCY: U.S. Census Bureau.
    DOC has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
clearance the following proposal for collection of information under 
the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35).

    Title: Advance Monthly Retail Sales Survey.
    Form Number(s): SM-44(00)A, SM-44(00)AS, SM-44(00)AE, SM-72(00)A.
    Agency Approval Number: 0607-0104.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Burden: 4,500 hours.
    Number of Respondents: 4,500.
    Avg Hours Per Response: 5 minutes.
    Needs and Uses: The Advance Monthly Retail Sales Survey (MARTS) 
provides an early indication of current retail sales activity at the 
United States level. Policymakers such as the Federal Reserve Board 
need to have the most timely estimates in order to anticipate economic 
trends and act accordingly. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the 
Council of Economic Advisors (CEA), and other government agencies and 
businesses use the data to formulate economic policy and make 
decisions. These estimates have a high BEA priority because of their 
timeliness. There would be approximately a month delay in the 
availability of these data if this survey were not conducted. Data are 
collected monthly from small, medium, and large size businesses, 
selected using a stratified random sampling procedure. The MARTS sample 
is re-selected periodically, generally at two year intervals. Small and 
medium-size retailers are requested to participate for those two years, 
after which they are replaced with new panel members. Smaller firms 
have less of a chance for selection due to our sampling procedure. We 
are increasing the sample size from 4,100 to 4,500 to improve the 
quality of the estimates.
    This request is for the clearance of four similar report forms SM-
44(00)A; SM-44(00)AE; SM-44(00)AS & SM-72(00)A which will be replacing 
the form B-104 previously used to collect data in this survey on the 
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) basis. The new forms will 
enable us to collect information on the North American Industry 
Classification System (NAICS) basis. All forms request similar data 
items but a variety of forms is needed to either address collecting E-
commerce sales or the firm's specific kind-of-business.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit organizations.
    Frequency: Monthly.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C., Section 182.
    OMB Desk Officer: Susan Schechter, (202) 395-5103.
    Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained 
by calling or writing Madeleine Clayton, Departmental Forms Clearance 
Officer, (202) 482-3129, Department of Commerce, room 6086, 14th and 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at 
[email protected]).
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to Susan Schechter, OMB Desk Officer, room 10201, New Executive Office 
Building, Washington, DC 20503.

    Dated: October 20, 2000.
Madeleine Clayton,
Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer.
[FR Doc. 00-27423 Filed 10-24-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P