[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 176 (Wednesday, September 12, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52047-52048]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-17919]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Government 
Employment Forms

AGENCY: U.S. Census Bureau.

ACTION: Notice.

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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: To ensure consideration written comments must be submitted on or 
before November 13, 2007.

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 Ellen Thompson, Chief, Employment Branch, 
Governments Division, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC 20233-6800 
(301-763-1531) (or via the Internet at [email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

I. Abstract

    The Census Bureau plans to request clearance for the forms 
necessary to conduct the public employment program which consists of an 
annual collection of information and a quinquennial collection in a 
census environment in years ending in ``2'' or ``7.'' During the 
upcoming two years, Census plans to conduct the 2008 and 2009 Annual 
Survey of Government Employment.
    Under Title 13, Section 161, of the United States Code, the 
Secretary of Commerce is authorized to conduct the public employment 
program, which collects and disseminates data by function for full-time 
and part-time employees, payroll, and number of part-time hours worked. 
The number and content of the data items collected are the same in the 
annual and census cycles.
    The burden hours requested are based on the expected 2008 annual 
survey mail out of 18,160 forms.
    The state and local government statistics produced, covered 
national, state, and local aggregates on various functions with 
comparative detail for individual governments for the pay period that 
includes March 12. The public employment program provides the only 
comprehensive count of employees and payrolls in state and local 
governments. Government employees constitute approximately one-sixth of 
the entire U.S. workforce and their salaries are a major source of 
personal income.
    The Census Bureau provides this employment data to the Bureau of 
Economic Analysis for constructing the functional payrolls in the 
public sector Gross Domestic Product, payroll being the single largest 
component of current operations. Other government users include the 
Bureau of Labor Statistics, as a benchmark for its monthly employment 
programs, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, to 
establish payroll guidelines for local public housing authorities.
    The public employment program has increasingly been used as the 
base for reimbursable programs of other Federal agencies such as: (1) 
The government portion of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey 
commissioned by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to 
provide timely, comprehensive information about health care use and 
costs in the United States, and (2) The Bureau of Justice Statistics 
(BJS) survey Criminal Justice Expenditure and Employment Survey

[[Page 52048]]

which provides criminal justice expenditure and employment data on 
spending and personnel levels.
    Statistics are produced as data files in both electronic and 
printed formats. The program has made possible the dissemination of 
comprehensive and comparable governmental statistics since 1940.
    The many users of the public employment program data include 
Federal agencies, state and local governments and related 
organizations, public interest groups, and many business, market, and 
private research organizations.

II. Method of Collection

    Approximately 18,160 state agencies, county governments, 
consolidated city-county governments, independent cities, towns, 
townships, special district governments, and public school systems 
designated for the annual survey will be sent an appropriate form or 
the data will be collected through a data sharing arrangement between 
the Census Bureau and the state government.
    We developed cooperative agreements with state and large local 
government officials to collect the data from their dependent agencies 
and report to Census as one central respondent. These arrangements 
reduce the need for a mail canvass of approximately 3,413 state 
agencies and 740 school systems. Currently we have central collection 
agreements with 43 states, five local school district governments, and 
nine local governments. We continue to work at expanding the conversion 
of paper submissions into electronic formats, for both individual units 
and central collection units. Since the 2003 annual collection cycle, 
all form types can be completed on the Internet. For the 2007 Census, 
18,708 governments responded using the Web site.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0607-0452.
    Form Number: E-1, E-2, E-3, E-4, E-5, E-6, E-7, E-9.
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: State governments, county governments, 
consolidated city-county governments, independent cities, towns, 
townships, special district governments, and public school systems.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 18,160.
    Estimated Time Per Response: 49 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 14,733.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $324,347.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 United States Code, Section 161.

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: September 6, 2007.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
 [FR Doc. E7-17919 Filed 9-11-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P