[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 80 (Wednesday, April 26, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24638-24639]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-6228]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau


2007 Company Organization Survey

ACTION: Proposed collection; comment request.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing efforts 
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 June 26, 2006.

[[Page 24639]]


ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Diana Hynek, Departmental 
Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6625, 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 Paul Hanczaryk, U.S. Census Bureau, Room 2747, 
Federal Building 3, Washington, DC 20233-6100; telephone (301) 763-
4058.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Census Bureau conducts the annual Company Organization Survey 
(COS) to update and maintain a central, multipurpose Business Register 
(BR). In particular, the COS supplies critical information on the 
composition, organizational structure, and operating characteristics of 
multi-location companies.
    The BR serves two fundamental purposes:
     First and most important, it provides sampling populations 
and enumeration lists for the Census Bureau's economic surveys and 
censuses, and it serves as an integral part of the statistical 
foundation underlying those programs. Essential for this purpose is the 
BR's ability to identify all known United States business 
establishments and their parent companies. Further, the BR must 
accurately record basic business attributes needed to control sampling 
and enumeration. These attributes include industrial and geographic 
classifications, and name and address information.
     Second, it provides establishment data that serve as the 
basis for the annual County Business Patterns (CBP) statistical series. 
The CBP reports present data on number of establishments, first quarter 
payroll, annual payroll, and mid-March employment summarized by 
industry and employment size class for the United States, the District 
of Columbia, Puerto Rico, counties, and county-equivalents. No other 
annual or more frequent series of industry statistics provides 
comparable detail, particularly for small geographic areas.

II. Method of Collection

    The Census Bureau will conduct the 2007 COS in conjunction with the 
2007 Economic Census and will coordinate these collections so as to 
minimize response burden. The consolidated COS/census mail canvass will 
direct inquiries to the entire universe of multi-location enterprises, 
which comprises some 182,000 parent companies and more than 1.6 million 
establishments. The primary collection medium for the COS and Economic 
Census is a paper questionnaire; however, many enterprises will submit 
automated/electronic COS and Economic Census reports. For 2007, 
electronic reporting will be available to all COS and Economic Census 
respondents. Companies will receive and return responses by secure 
Internet transmission. Companies that cannot use the Internet will 
receive a CD-ROM containing their electronic data. All respondents will 
be allowed to mail the data via diskette or CD-ROM or submit their 
response data via the Internet. COS data content is identical for all 
of the reporting modes.
    The 2007 COS will include company-level questions to approximately 
75,000 multi-location enterprises--those with 50 or more employees or 
with industrial activities out-of-scope of the 2007 Economic Census. 
The company-level portion will include inquiries on ownership or 
control by domestic or foreign parents, ownership of foreign 
affiliates, leased employment, and off-shoring activities. Additional 
COS inquiries will apply to the 21,000 multi-unit establishments 
classified in industries that are out-of-scope of the economic census. 
The additional inquiries will list an inventory of those out-of-scope 
establishments and request updates to these inventories, including 
additions, deletions, and changes to information on EIN, name and 
address, and industrial classification, end-of-year operating status, 
mid-March employment, first quarter payroll, and annual payroll. The 
economic census will collect data for all other establishments of 
multi-establishment enterprises, including those items listed above.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0607-0444.
    Form Number: NC-99001.
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: Businesses and not-for-profit institutions.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 75,000 enterprises.
    Estimated Time Per Response: .34 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 25,500.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: Included is the total annual cost of 
the BR, which is estimated to be $12.9 million for fiscal year 2007.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 of United States Code, Sections 131, 182, 
224, and 225.

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: April 20, 2006.
Madeleine Clayton,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
 [FR Doc. E6-6228 Filed 4-25-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P