[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 73 (Tuesday, April 15, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20243-20244]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-8007]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    The Department of Commerce will submit 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: Government Finance Forms.
    Form Number(s): F-5, F-11, F-11(S), F-12, F-12(S), F-13, F-25, F-
28, F-29, F-32, F-42.
    OMB Control Number: 0607-0585.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Burden Hours: 36,040.
    Number of Respondents: 2,257.
    Average Hours per Response: 3 hours.
    Needs and Uses: This program is the only known comprehensive source 
of state and local government finance data collected on a nationwide 
scale using uniform definitions, concepts, and procedures.
    The many different types and sizes of state and local governments 
require that the Census Bureau use a variety of questionnaires to 
collect government finance data. In both the Census and annual surveys, 
equivalent data are collected.
    In 2007, the Census Bureau submitted a non-substantive change 
request to OMB seeking permission to add questions for the collection 
of defined contribution and post-employment health care plan data for 
state administered systems included in the 2007 Census of Publicly 
Administered Employee Retirement Systems. In addition, five questions 
related to the liabilities of these systems were added. The non-
substantive change request was approved for the 2007 collection cycle 
only. The plan for 2008 and future data collections is to collect the 
defined contribution plan, post-employment health care plan, and the 
five liability questions, in addition to the defined benefit plan 
questions from all state administered retirement systems and the 12 
locally administered systems whose total holdings and investments are 
five billion dollars or more. The universe of respondents receiving 
this questionnaire remains the same as in previous collection cycles.
    The Census Bureau incorporates the data collected on these forms 
into its governmental finance program. This program has facilitated the 
dissemination of comprehensive and comparable governmental finance 
statistics on government revenue, expenditure, debt, and assets since 
1902.
    These statistics are widely used by Federal, state, and local 
legislators, policy makers, administrators, analysts, economists, and 
researchers to follow the changing characteristics of the government 
sector of the economy. Journalists, teachers, and students rely on 
these data as well.
    The Census Bureau provides its governmental finance data annually 
to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) for use in measuring and 
developing estimates of the government sector of the economy in the 
National Income and Product Accounts. The Census Bureau also provides 
these data to the Federal Reserve Board for constructing the Flow of 
Funds Accounts.
    If this information were not available, it would create a large gap 
in economic statistics for the government sector, making it impossible 
for the BEA to calculate the government sector of the National Income 
and Product Accounts. It would also eliminate a key source of

[[Page 20244]]

data needed by the Federal Reserve Board.
    Affected Public: State, local or tribal government.
    Frequency: Annually.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13, Sections 161 and 182.
    OMB Desk Officer: Brian Harris-Kojetin, (202) 395-7314.
    Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained 
by calling or writing Diana Hynek, Departmental Paperwork Clearance 
Officer, (202) 482-0266, Department of Commerce, Room 6625, 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 Brian Harris-Kojetin, OMB Desk Officer either by fax (202-395-7245) 
or e-mail ([email protected]).

    Dated: April 10, 2008.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
 [FR Doc. E8-8007 Filed 4-14-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P