[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 233 (Wednesday, December 4, 2002)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 72095-72097]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-30741]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of the Census

15 CFR Part 50

[Docket No. 020919216-2287-02]

RIN 0607-AA37


Bureau of the Census Geographically Updated Population 
Certification Program

AGENCY: Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of final rulemaking.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Following the 1970 decennial census and every decennial census 
thereafter, the Bureau of the Census (Census Bureau) has provided the 
opportunity for county, local, and tribal governments to obtain 
certified population and housing unit counts for areas in which their 
boundaries have changed from those used to tabulate the results of the 
immediately preceding decennial census. These changes might occur 
either as the result of newly created governmental units 
(incorporations), additions to existing governmental units 
(annexations), the combination of two existing governmental units 
(merger), or other circumstances. These governmental units are 
established by law for the purpose of implementing specified general- 
or special-purpose governmental functions; the certification process is 
available to both.
    Most governmental units have legally established boundaries and 
names and have officials (usually elected) who have the power to carry 
out legally prescribed functions, provide services for residents, and 
raise revenues. These are commonly referred to as general-purpose 
governmental units and typically include counties, boroughs, cities, 
towns, villages, townships, and federally recognized American Indian 
reservations. Special-purpose governmental units typically are limited 
to one function, such as school districts.
    This update service was suspended on June 1, 1998, to accommodate 
the taking of the 2000 census. The Census Bureau developed this rule to 
reinstate the service through a centralized system for certifying 
population and housing counts and to establish a fee structure that 
accurately reflects the costs associated with this certification 
service. This service will be a permanent process, but one that will be 
temporarily suspended during future decennial censuses. Typically, the 
Census Bureau will suspend this service, and direct its resources to 
the decennial census, for a total of five years--the two years 
preceding the decennial census, the decennial census year, and the two 
years following it. The Census Bureau will issue notices in the Federal 
Register announcing when it suspends and, in turn, resumes, the 
service. The Census Bureau earlier issued a notice of proposed 
rulemaking and request for comments in the Federal Register on this 
subject (67 FR 62657; October 8, 2002).

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 3, 2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rodger V. Johnson, Population 
Division, U.S. Census Bureau, Room 2324, Federal Building 3, 
Washington, DC 20233, (301) 763-2419, by fax (301) 457-2481, or e-mail 
([email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Census Bureau first began to certify decennial census 
population counts for updated governmental unit boundaries in 1972 in 
response to the request of local governments to establish eligibility 
for participation in the General Revenue Sharing Program, authorized 
under Pub. L. 92-152. At that time, the Census Bureau established a 
fee-based program, enabling governmental units with annexations to 
obtain updated decennial census population counts that included the 
population living in annexed areas. The Census Bureau also received 
funding from the U.S. Department of the Treasury to make those 
determinations for larger annexations that met prescribed criteria and 
for newly formed general-purpose governmental units.

[[Page 72096]]

The General Revenue Sharing Program ended on September 30, 1986, but 
the certification program continued into 1988 with support from the 
Census Bureau. The program was suspended to accommodate the taking of 
the 1990 decennial census and resumed in 1992. The Census Bureau 
supported the program through fiscal year 1995 for cities with large 
annexations and through fiscal year 1996 for newly incorporated places. 
The program was continued on a fee-basis only until June 1, 1998, at 
which time it was suspended for the 2000 decennial census (see Federal 
Register, 63 FR 27706, May 20, 1998). At that time, it was stated that 
the program would resume in three years; however, resumption was 
delayed by continuing resource demands of the 2000 decennial census. In 
2002, resumption of the program was announced as a proposed rulemaking 
(see Federal Register, 67 FR 62657; October 8, 2002) with a comment 
period running through November 7, 2002. No comments were received 
during this period.
    Although there is no legal requirement that the Census Bureau 
provide this service, there is a demand by governmental units for 
Census 2000 population and housing counts certified to reflect boundary 
updates or the formation of new governmental units dated after January 
1, 2000 (the legally effective date for boundaries used in tabulating 
Census 2000). Title 13, Section 8, allows the Census Bureau to continue 
this program by providing certain statistical materials (certified 
population and housing counts) upon payment of costs for the service. 
The Census Bureau is the sole provider of this service obtained through 
the processing of individual Census 2000 enumeration records protected 
by the confidentiality restrictions of Title 13, United States Code 
(U.S.C.).
    A geographically updated population certification from the Census 
Bureau confirms that an official population count is an accurate 
retabulation of the Census 2000 population as configured for the new 
boundaries. A population certification may be needed for many reasons. 
For example, general-purpose governments may be required by state law 
to produce a Census Bureau population certification for funds 
disbursement from their respective states, or federally sponsored 
programs may require or honor a Census Bureau population certification 
for program eligibility. Special-purpose governmental units also may 
need official certification of census population and housing counts for 
other purposes.
    The Census Bureau is reinstating a fee-based program that will use 
current geographic and demographic programs to support customer 
requests. The final fee structure reflects variations in resources 
needed to meet customer requirements for certifications of standard 
governmental units, as listed later in this notice (see paragraph (c) 
under section 50.60, ``Request for Certification''). To create a 
consistent process to meet the anticipated demand for the service, the 
Census Bureau amended Title 15, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 
50 to:
    [sbull] Add a new Section 50.60 containing the Census Bureau's 
certification process.
    [sbull] Establish a consistent fee structure. The fees will depend 
on the degree of geographic processing tasks required to complete the 
certification request and on the urgency of the request. There are two 
types of fees, based upon whether the population certificate is 
generated through an annually scheduled geographic update process, or 
is expedited in order to meet customer needs. The annual and expedited 
certification fees further depend on whether or not additional 
geographic data must be acquired from the customer and reviewed, 
tracked, and processed. The lowest fee applies to customers whose 
geographic data have been collected as part of the annual geographic 
update process and whose schedules permit waiting until the annual 
processing has been completed. The highest fee applies to customers 
from whom additional geographic data must be acquired (over and above 
the normal annual process) and who also specify expedited processing.
    [sbull] Require requests for certifications to contain information 
on Form BC-1869(EF), ``Request for Geographically Updated Official 
Population Certification.'' (See the Census Bureau's Web site, 
www.census.gov/mso/www/certification.)

Administrative Procedure and Regulatory Flexibility Act

    A notice of final rulemaking is not required by Title 5, U.S.C., 
section 553, or any other law, for this rule of agency organization, 
procedure and practice that involves a matter relating to public 
property, loans, grants, benefits, or contracts. Accordingly, it is 
exempt from the notice and comment provisions of the Administrative 
Procedure Act under 5 U.S.C.(b)(A) and 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(2). Therefore, 
the analytical requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act are not 
applicable (5 U.S.C. 601, et seq.). As a result, a Regulatory 
Flexibility Analysis is not required and none has been prepared. 
However, this rule was published in the Federal Register as a proposed 
rule on October 8, 2002 (67 FR 62657), with an opportunity for public 
comment, because of the importance of the issues raised by this 
rulemaking.

Executive Orders

    This rule has been determined to be not significant for purposes of 
Executive Order 12866. This rule does not contain policies with 
federalism implications as that term is defined in Executive Order 
12612.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is required 
to respond to, nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for failure 
to comply with, a collection of information subject to the requirements 
of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), Title 44, U.S.C., Chapter 35, 
unless that collection of information displays a current Office of 
Management and Budget control number. This notice does not represent a 
collection of information and is not subject to the PRA's requirements. 
The form referenced in the rule, Form BC-1869(EF), will collect only 
information necessary to process a certification request. As such, it 
is not subject to the PRA's requirements (5 CFR 1320.3(h)(1)).

List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 50

    Census data, Geographic updates, Population census, Seals and 
insignia, Statistics.

PART 50--SPECIAL SERVICES AND STUDIES BY THE BUREAU OF THE CENSUS

    1. The authority citation for 15 CFR part 50 is revised to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 1525-1527; and 13 U.S.C. 3 and 8.


    2. Add Sec.  50.60 to read as follows:


Sec.  50.60  Request for Certification

    (a) Certification Process. Upon request, the Census Bureau 
certifies population and housing counts of standard governmental units 
to reflect boundary updates, including new incorporations, annexations, 
mergers, and so forth. The Census Bureau will produce a certificate, 
that is, a signed statement by a Census Bureau official attesting to 
the authenticity of the certified Census 2000 population and housing 
counts to reflect updates to the legal boundaries of governmental units 
after those in effect for Census 2000. This service will be a permanent

[[Page 72097]]

process, but one that will be temporarily suspended during future 
decennial censuses. Typically, the Census Bureau will suspend this 
service, and direct its resources to the decennial census, for a total 
of five years--the two years preceding the decennial census, the 
decennial census year, and the two years following it. The Census 
Bureau will issue notices in the Federal Register announcing when it 
suspends and, in turn, resumes, the service.
    (1) The Census Bureau charges customers a preset fee for this 
service according to the amount of work involved in compiling the 
population and housing counts, as determined by the resources expended 
to meet customer requirements and the set cost of the product (one 
certificate). Certification fees may increase somewhat if the customer 
requests additional original certificates. Each additional certificate 
costs $35.00. Certification prices are shown in the following table:

                      Description and Estimated Fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Standard  governmental units                Estimated fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annual Certification...................  $693 to $1,799.
Expedited Certification................  1,530 to 9,075.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (2) [Reserved]
    (b) Description of Certification Types. The Census Bureau will 
process requests for population certificates for standard governmental 
units, in accordance with the Census Bureau's annual certification 
schedule or under an expedited certification arrangement. The 
boundaries for standard governmental units are regularly and 
customarily updated between decennial censuses by the Census Bureau's 
geographic support system. These governmental units include a variety 
of legally defined general- and special-purpose governmental units, 
including counties and statistically equivalent entities, minor civil 
divisions, incorporated places, consolidated cities, federally 
recognized American Indian reservations, and school districts. A 
complete list of entities is defined in paragraph (c) of this section.
    (1) Annual Certification. Annual population and housing 
certification is available around October 1 of each calendar year to 
new or existing governmental units that report legal boundary updates 
in the Census Bureau's annual Boundary and Annexation Survey. In 
accordance with reporting requirements of this survey, the legally 
effective dates of the boundary updates may not be later than January 1 
of the calendar year. These certifications are available through 
September of the following year.
    (i) The annual certification service also is available to standard 
governmental units that are not in the Boundary and Annexation Survey 
of that year. Governmental units electing participation in this service 
must draft the legal boundary updates upon Census Bureau-supplied maps. 
The legally effective dates of the boundaries may not be later than 
January 1 of the calendar year. The Census Bureau must receive the 
census maps annotated with the legally certified boundaries and 
associated address ranges by April 1 of the same calendar year. The 
Census Bureau will determine that the legal boundary updates are 
acceptable by verifying that the information is complete, legible, and 
usable, and that the legal boundaries on the maps have been attested by 
the governmental unit as submitted in accordance with state law or 
tribal authority.
    (ii) [Reserved]
    (2) Expedited Certification. (i) Expedited certification will be 
available where the customer requests any of the following:
    (A) Certification of boundary updates legally effective after 
January 1 of the current calendar year; or
    (B) Certification of boundary updates reported to the Census Bureau 
after April 1 of the current calendar year; or
    (C) Certification of boundary updates by the Census Bureau before 
October 1 of the current calendar year.
    (ii) Governmental units electing participation in this service must 
draft the legal boundary updates upon Census Bureau-supplied maps. To 
allow sufficient processing time, the Census Bureau must receive 
acceptable census maps annotated with the legally certified boundaries 
and associated address ranges no later than three months before the 
date requested by the customer to receive the population certificate. 
The Census Bureau will determine that the legal boundary updates are 
acceptable by verifying that the information is complete, legible, and 
usable and that the legal boundaries on the maps have been attested as 
submitted in accordance with state law or tribal authority.
    (c) List of Standard Governmental Units. The following is a list of 
the standard governmental units eligible for the Geographically Updated 
Population Certification Program:
    (1) Federally recognized American Indian reservations and off-
reservation trust land entities [tribal government]; this includes a 
reservation designated as a colony, community, Indian community, Indian 
village, pueblo, rancheria, reservation, reserve, and village.
    (2) Counties and statistically equivalent entities, including the 
following: counties in 48 states; boroughs, municipalities, and census 
areas in Alaska [state official]; parishes in Louisiana; and municipios 
in Puerto Rico.
    (3) Minor civil divisions as recognized in Census 2000 in the 
following 28 states: Arkansas, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, 
Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, 
Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, 
North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South 
Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
    (4) Incorporated places, including the following: boroughs in 
Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania; cities in 49 states and the 
District of Columbia; cities, boroughs, and municipalities in Alaska; 
towns in 30 states (excluding towns in New England, New York, and 
Wisconsin, which are minor civil divisions); and villages in 20 states.
    (5) Consolidated cities.
    (6) School districts.
    (d) Non-Standard Certifications. Certifications for population and 
housing counts of non-standard geographic areas or of individual census 
blocks are not currently available under this program but will be 
announced under a separate notice at a later date.
    (e) Submitting Certification Requests. Submit requests for 
certifications on Form BC-1869(EF), Request for Geographically Updated 
Official Population Certification, to the Census Bureau by fax, (301) 
457-4714, or by e-mail, [email protected]. Form BC-1869(EF) will 
be available on the Census Bureau's Web site at: http.//www.census.gov/mso/www/certification/. A letter or e-mail communication requesting the 
service without Form BC-1869(EF) will be accepted only if it contains 
the information necessary to complete a Form BC-1869(EF).

    Dated: November 27, 2002.
Charles Louis Kincannon,
Director, Bureau of the Census.
[FR Doc. 02-30741 Filed 12-3-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P