[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 84 (Wednesday, May 1, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21629-21630]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-10718]


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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: American Community Survey.
    Form Number(s): ACS-1(2003), ACS-1(2003)PR(SP), ACS-1(GQ), ACS-
3(GQ), ACS-4(GQ), ACS-290.
    Agency Approval Number: 0607-0810.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Burden: 1,927,300 hours.
    Number of Respondents: 3,063,000.
    Avg Hours Per Response: 38 minutes.
    Needs and Uses: The U.S. Census Bureau requests authorization from 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to conduct the American 
Community Survey (ACS) starting in November 2002. The Census Bureau has

[[Page 21630]]

been developing a methodology to collect and update every year 
demographic, social, economic, and housing data that are essentially 
the same as the ``long-form'' data that the Census Bureau traditionally 
has collected once a decade as part of the decennial census. Federal 
and state government agencies use such data to evaluate and manage 
federal programs and to distribute funding for various programs which 
include food stamps, transportation dollars, and housing grants. State, 
county, and community governments, nonprofit organizations, businesses, 
and the general public use information like housing quality, income 
distribution, journey-to-work patterns, immigration data, and regional 
age distributions for decisionmaking and program evaluation.
    Since the Census Bureau collects the long-form data only once every 
ten years, the data become out of date over the course of the decade. 
To provide more timely data, the Census Bureau developed an alternative 
called Continuous Measurement (CM). CM is a reengineering effort that 
blends the strength of small area estimation with the high quality of 
current surveys. We realize that there is an increasing need for data 
describing lower geographic detail. Currently, the decennial census is 
the only source of data available for small-area levels. In addition, 
there is an increase in interest in obtaining data for small 
subpopulations such as groups within the Hispanic, Asian, and American 
Indian populations, the elderly, and children. CM will provide current 
data throughout the decade for small areas and small subpopulations.
    The ACS is the data collection vehicle for CM. After years of 
development and testing, the ACS is ready for full implementation in FY 
2003. The ACS will provide more timely information for critical 
economic planning by governments and the private sector. In the current 
information-based economy, federal, state, tribal, and local 
decisionmakers, as well as private business and nongovernmental 
organizations, need current, reliable, and comparable socioeconomic 
data to chart the future. Without the ACS, data users will have to use 
data collected during Census 2000 for the next ten years.
    The ACS demonstration period began in 1996 in four sites. In 1997, 
the survey was conducted in eight sites to evaluate costs, procedures, 
and new ways to use the information. In 1998, the ACS expanded to 
include two counties in South Carolina that overlapped with counties in 
the Census 2000 Dress Rehearsal. This approach allowed the Census 
Bureau to investigate the effects on both the ACS and the census due to 
having the two activities going on in the same place at the same time. 
In 1999, the number of sites was increased to 31 comparison sites. The 
purpose of the comparison sites was to give a good tract-by-tract 
comparison between the 1999-2002 ACS cumulated estimates and the Census 
2000 long-form estimates and to use these comparisons to identify both 
the causes of differences and diagnostic variables that tend to predict 
a certain kind of difference.
    In 2000-2002, the Census Bureau conducted the Census 2000 
Supplementary Survey, the 2001 Supplementary Survey, and the 2002 
Supplementary Survey using the ACS methodology. Each of these surveys 
had a sample of approximately 700,000 residential addresses per year. 
These surveys were conducted to study the operational feasibility of 
collecting long-form type data in a different methodology from the 
decennial census, demonstrate the reliability and stability of state 
and large area estimates over time, and demonstrate the usability of 
multiyear estimates.
    Beginning in November 2002, the Census Bureau will begin full 
implementation of the ACS by increasing the sample to a total of 
250,000 residential addresses per month in the 50 states and the 
District of Columbia. For 2003-2005, the ACS will have an annual sample 
of approximately 3 million households. In addition, we will select 
approximately 3,000 residential addresses per month in Puerto Rico and 
refer to the survey as the Puerto Rico Community Survey.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Frequency: The ACS is conducted monthly. Respondents are required 
to report only once.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C., Sections 141, 193, and 221.
    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 Paperwork 
Clearance Officer, (202) 482-3129, Department of Commerce, room 6608, 
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: April 26, 2002.
Madeleine Clayton,
Departmental Paperwork Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief 
Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 02-10718 Filed 4-30-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P