[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 152 (Tuesday, August 7, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41200-41201]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-19677]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau


2002 Survey of Business Owners and Self-Employed Persons (SBO) 
Pretest

ACTION: Proposed collection, comment request.

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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, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A)).

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before October 9, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Madeleine Clayton, 
Departmental Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 
6086, 14th and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via 
the Internet at [email protected]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument(s) and instructions 
should be directed to (Valerie Strang, Bureau of the Census, CSD, Room 
1183-3, Washington, DC 20233-6400, (301) 457-3316).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Census Bureau plans to conduct a pretest of the 2002 Survey of 
Business Owners and Self-Employed Persons (SBO), previously known as 
the Survey of Minority-Owned Business Enterprises and the Survey of 
Women-Owned Business Enterprises (SMOBE/SWOBE). In the SBO, businesses 
are asked several questions about their business as well as several 
questions about the gender, race, and ethnicity of the owner(s). This 
survey provides the only comprehensive, regularly collected source of 
information on business owners' race, ethnicity, and gender. The survey 
is conducted as part of the economic census program which is required 
by law to be taken every 5 years under Title 13 of the United States 
Code, sections 131, 193, and 224.
    Businesses which reported any business activity on any one of the 
following Internal Revenue Service tax forms: 1040 (Schedule C), 
``Profit or Loss from Business'' (Sole Proprietorship); 1065, ``U.S. 
Partnership Return of Income''; or any one of the 1120 corporate tax 
forms will be eligible for the pretest.
    The pretest is needed to test several significant changes to the 
questionnaire since previously conducted and the impact these changes 
will have on the estimates. These changes include the following:
    The questions about race and ethnicity have been modified to meet 
OMB guidelines to allow respondents the opportunity to select more than 
one

[[Page 41201]]

race. Also, per the OMB guidelines, the Hispanic origin question is 
placed before the race question. Although these questions are patterned 
after the race/ethnicity questions used on the 2000 Decennial Census, 
significant background research has suggested alternative question 
formats or instructions that have not previously been tested. We will 
test two alternatives in the 2002 SBO Pretest.
    The survey adopts person-level reporting for a variety of 
characteristics for up to three individual owners, because background 
research suggested difficulty with aggregate reporting of race and 
ethnicity combinations for multiple owners. Summaries from the 1997 
SMOBE/SWOBE showed that 75 percent of businesses surveyed had three or 
fewer owners. Therefore we decided to capture information for, at most, 
three owners.
    Some questions have been modified to alleviate reporting problems 
encountered on the 1997 SMOBE/SWOBE.
    Several new questions have been borrowed from the former 
Characteristics of Business Owners survey, which has not been funded 
for the upcoming economic census. These items will fill the void for 
many data users, including the Small Business Administration and other 
interested associations. Some of these new questions have been 
incorporated into the individual owner questions, while others are 
asked about the entire business.
    A few new questions have been added to increase our understanding 
of businesses' use of alternative employment arrangements, as well as 
their use of various e-business processes.

II. Method of Collection

    The Census Bureau will use a mailout/mailback survey form to 
collect the data. The questionnaires will be mailed from our National 
Processing Center in Jeffersonville, Indiana. A mail follow-up will be 
conducted at approximately a one-month interval. Upon closeout of the 
survey, the response data will be edited and reviewed.

III. Data

    OMB Number: Not available.
    Form Number: Two alternate versions of the SBO-1, ``Survey of 
Business Owners and Self-Employed Persons'' will be tested.
    Type of Review: Regular review.
    Affected Public: Large and small businesses, other for-profit and 
nonprofit organizations, and publicly held corporations.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 10,000.
    Estimated Time Per Response: The average for all respondents is 15 
minutes or less.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 2,500 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: The total cost to the respondnet is 
estimated to be $49,150 based on the hourly salary of $19.16 for entry 
level accountants and auditors multiplied by the annual burden hours 
(2,500). (Occupational Employment Statistics--Bureau of Labor 
Statistics 1999 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates for 
Professional, Paraprofessional, and Technical Occupations).
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.

    Legal Authority: Title 13, United States Code, sections 131, 
182, and 193.

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: August 2, 2001.
Madeleine Clayton,
Departmental Paperwork Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief 
Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 01-19677 Filed 8-6-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P