[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 175 (Tuesday, September 9, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Page 52264]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-20781]



[[Page 52264]]

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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: 2010 Census.
    Form Number(s): Various.
    OMB Control Number: 0607-0919.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Burden Hours: 23,990,300.
    Number of Respondents: 146,746,000.
    Average Hours Per Response: 9 minutes and 40 seconds.
    Needs and Uses: The U.S. Census Bureau (Census Bureau) requests 
authorization from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to collect 
data from the public as part of the 2010 Census. Article 1, Section 2 
of the United States Constitution mandates that the U.S. House of 
Representatives be reapportioned every 10 years by conducting a 
national census of all residents. In addition to the reapportionment of 
the U.S. Congress, by law, Census data are required in order to redraw 
legislative district boundaries. Census data also are used to determine 
funding allocations for the distribution of hundreds of billions of 
dollars of federal and state funds each year.
    Census 2000 was an operational and data quality success. However, 
that success was achieved at great operational risk and great expense. 
In response to the lessons learned from Census 2000, and in striving to 
better meet our Nation's ever-expanding needs for social, demographic, 
and geographic information, the U.S. Department of Commerce and the 
Census Bureau developed a multi-year effort to completely modernize and 
re-engineer the 2010 Census of Population and Housing. This effort 
required an iterative series of tests in 2003 thru 2008 that provided 
an opportunity to evaluate new or improved question wording and 
questionnaire design, methodologies, and use of technology.
    The 2003 Census Test was conducted, and designed to evaluate 
alternative self-response options and alternative presentation of the 
race and Hispanic origin question. The 2004 Census Test studied new 
methods to improve coverage, including procedures for reducing 
duplication, and tested respondent reaction to revised race and 
Hispanic origin questions, examples, and instructions. The 2005 
National Census Test was designed to evaluate variations of 
questionnaire content and methodology; the 2006 Census Test relied on 
the results of the 2004 Census Test to expand on the number of new and 
refined methods; the 2007 test refined the design of the bilingual 
form; and the scope of the 2008 Census Dress Rehearsal was reduced to 
carrying out address canvassing of neighborhoods to improve these 
processes, along with mailout/mailback processes. Many of the results 
of these undertakings are applied to the final plans for the 2010 
Census operations where feasible.
    From the 2010 Census, the Census Bureau will produce the basic 
population totals by state for Congressional apportionment, as mandated 
by the Constitution, and more specifically elaborated in Title 13 U.S. 
Code. Title 13 of the United States Code also provides for the 
confidentiality of responses to various surveys and censuses.
    In compliance with Public Law 94-171, for each state, the Census 
Bureau will tabulate total population counts by race, Hispanic origin, 
and, for those 18 years of age and over, by a variety of census 
geographic areas including legislative district, voting district, and 
census tabulation blocks. In compliance with Public Law 94-171, the 
Census Bureau also will tabulate housing unit counts by occupancy 
status (and vacant).
    This clearance request covers the 50 states, the District of 
Columbia, Puerto Rico, and federally affiliated Americans overseas. To 
enumerate these areas and overseas Americans, there are several planned 
operations that will be performed by various staffs in the field, at 
headquarters, regional census centers, and at local census offices. 
These operations are intended to improve the accuracy of census 
coverage and reduce operational risk compared to Census 2000. The 
clearance request for enumeration of the U.S. Virgin Islands, the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Pacific Island Area 
of America Samoa will be covered under a separate information 
collection request to OMB.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Frequency: One-time.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C., Sections 141 & 193.
    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: September 3, 2008.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. E8-20781 Filed 9-8-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P