[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 41 (Thursday, March 1, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Page 12923]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-5011]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    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).
    Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.
    Title: Census Quality Survey to Evaluate Responses to the Census 
2000 Question on Race
    Form Number(s): CQS-1A, CQS-1B, CQS-1A(E), CQS-1B(E), CQS-
1A(E)SUPP, CQS-1B(E)SUPP, CQS-6, CQS-7(L) , CQS-8(L), CQS-1A(F), CQS-
1B(F).
    Agency Approval Number: None.
    Type of Request: New collection.
    Burden: 20,833 hours.
    Number of Respondents: 50,000.
    Avg Hours Per Response: Initial response--10 minutes; telephone 
recontact--15 minutes.
    Needs and Uses: The Census Bureau requests authorization from the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to conduct the Census Quality 
Survey to Evaluate Responses to the Census 2000 Question on Race. The 
proposed survey is the principal vehicle for evaluating fundamental 
changes to the questions on race and Hispanic origin used in Census 
2000. This survey is critical to implementing the OMB guidance on 
Aggregate and Allocation of Data on Race for Use in Civil Rights 
Monitoring and Enforcement. On October 30, 1997, the OMB issued revised 
standards by which all federal agencies, beginning with Census 2000, 
are to collect, tabulate, and present data on race and ethnicity. 
Included in these standards was the identification of a minimum of five 
racial categories--White, Black or African American, American Indian or 
Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. 
For the 1990 Census the 16 separate response categories collapsed into 
a minimum of four racial categories consistent with the 1977 OMB 
guidance: White; Black; American Indian or Alaskan Native; and Asian or 
Pacific Islander. The standards also included changes in the 
terminology used for each group and the sequencing of the questions on 
race and Hispanic origin. In the 1990 Census, the question on race 
preceded the question on Hispanic origin with two intervening 
questions. For Census 2000, the question on Hispanic origin is 
immediately before the question on race with a note to respondents to 
answer both questions. The most profound change to the standards was 
that of allowing respondents to report one or more races if they chose 
to do so. Some of the impetus for the OMB change to allow the reporting 
of one or more races came from the increasing number of interracial 
marriages and births to parents of different races in the past 25 to 35 
years. For governmental, non-governmental, and private sector data 
users, there is a need to understand how the Census 2000 race 
distributions compare to race distributions from previous censuses, 
current surveys and other data collection procedures where respondents 
were instructed to report only one race. The survey also will include 
three questions to reinforce the idea that we are interested in 
improving census quality and how the Census might conduct the next 
census.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Frequency: One time.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C., Sections 141 and 193.
    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: February 26, 2001.
Madeleine Clayton,
Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer.
[FR Doc. 01-5011 Filed 2-28-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P