[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 193 (Wednesday, October 7, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 51526-51527]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-24164]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of the Census

15 CFR Part 90

[Docket Number 0908171239-91239-01]
RIN 0607-AA49


Temporary Suspension of the Population Estimates and Income 
Estimates Challenge Programs

AGENCY: Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This document provides notice to state and local governments 
and to federal agencies that, beginning on January 1, 2010, the Bureau 
of the Census (Census Bureau) proposes to temporarily suspend the 
Population Estimates Challenge Program and to indefinitely suspend the 
Per Capita Income Estimates Challenge Program (also known as Procedure 
for Challenging Certain Population and Income Estimates) during the 
decennial census year and the year following it to accommodate the 
taking of the 2010 Census. During this time, the Census Bureau would 
not provide the operations necessary to review the July 1, 2009, 
population or per capita income estimates for state, and other general-
purpose governments, such as cities, towns, and villages. The 
Population Estimates Challenge Program is expected to resume in 2012 as 
the program begins operations based upon the results of the 2010 
Census. The Per Capita Income Estimates Challenge Program would be 
suspended until a rulemaking can be initiated to remove those 
regulations from the Code of Federal Regulations.

DATES: Comments must be received by November 6, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted through any of the following 
methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.Regulations.gov
     Mail: Mr. Rodger Johnson, Population Division, Bureau of 
the Census, Washington, DC 20233.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Rodger Johnson, Population 
Division, Bureau of the Census, Washington, DC 20233, telephone (301) 
763-2461, e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Census Bureau first adopted procedures 
for initiating informal challenges to certain population or per capita 
income estimates prepared by the Census Bureau in 1979 by amending 
Title 15 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) to provide for a new 
Part 90 (44 FR 20646). These regulations were needed to standardize and 
codify procedures and to extend to the state or local government the 
right to a hearing prior to a final determination of the challenged 
estimate by the Director of the Census Bureau. Legal authority for the 
challenge procedures remains 13 U.S.C. 4, which provides in pertinent 
part, that the Secretary may issue rules and regulations as he deems 
necessary to carry out his functions and duties under Title 13.
    The Census Bureau prepares estimates of total population and per 
capita income for states and units of local government for the period 
between decennial censuses. States, counties, and other units of 
general-purpose government may initiate informal challenges to 
population and per capita income estimates under the procedures set 
forth in 15 CFR Part 90. Under the regulations, a challenge is defined 
as ``the process of objecting to or calling into question the Census 
Bureau's population or per capita income estimates of a state or unit 
of local government.'' Government entities are given 180 days after the 
release of the population or per capita income estimates to initiate an 
informal challenge. If the challenge cannot be resolved informally, the 
government submitting the challenge can choose to file a formal 
challenge (15 CFR 90.9), which is resolved in a hearing that is held at 
the Census Bureau and presided over by a hearing officer that is 
appointed by the Census Bureau Director.
    As is done for other intercensal programs, the Census Bureau hereby 
notifies the public that it proposes to suspend the Population 
Estimates Challenge Program after the resolution of all challenges to 
the 2008 population estimates, which should occur by January 1, 2010. 
The Census Bureau will release the 2009 population estimates in 2010, 
however, the Census Bureau would not accept challenges to the 2009 
estimates.
    The Population Estimates Challenge Program would resume in 2012 
after the Census Bureau concludes its responsibilities in the conduct 
of the decennial census. During the period when the program is 
suspended, the Census Bureau will be conducting demographic analysis of 
the 2010 Census, evaluating the results of the 2010 Census in 
comparison with the population estimates, conducting research to 
enhance the estimates and challenge programs and integrating the 
updates from the 2010 Census into the estimates program after the 2010 
Census.
    After the conduct of the decennial census, the Census Bureau would 
resume accepting challenges to the population estimates by publishing 
in the Federal Register a notice that announces the date when it will 
begin to accept challenges. The Census Bureau would accept challenges 
beginning with the 2011 population estimates. The 2011 population 
estimates are based upon the 2010 Census and are scheduled for release 
in 2012.
    Suspending the Population Estimates Challenge Program is a 
necessary action in order to ensure that sufficient resources are 
allocated to the conduct of the decennial census, allowing the Census 
Bureau's Population Division staff to effectively evaluate the 2010 
census results.
    In addition, the Census Bureau notifies the public that it will 
also suspend the Per Capita Income Estimates Challenge Program, which 
are codified in the same part as the Population Estimates Challenge 
Program. This program has not been active since the general revenue 
sharing program ended in 1986, along with its requirement for per 
capita income estimates, and thus it has been determined to suspend the 
program indefinitely. The Census Bureau will undertake a rulemaking 
action in the near future to remove these regulations from the Code of 
Federal Regulations.

Classification

    Executive Order 12866: It has been determined that this notice is 
not significant for purposes of E.O. 12866.
    Executive Order 13132: It has been determined that this notice does 
not contain policies with federalism implications as that term is 
defined in EO 13132.
    Regulatory Flexibility Act: The Chief Counsel for Regulations 
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy that this rule, if 
implemented, would not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. The entities that would be 
impacted by this rule are all States, counties, and other units of 
general-purpose government. Section 601(5) of the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act defines small

[[Page 51527]]

governmental jurisdictions as governments of cities, counties, towns, 
townships, villages, school districts, or special districts with a 
population of less than 50,000. Under this definition, the Census 
Bureau estimates that there are 37,204 general purpose governmental 
units impacted by this rule that would be considered small entities 
based upon the 2008 population estimates. Although a substantial number 
of small entities would be impacted by this rule, the proposed rule is 
not expected to result in significant economic impact. The suspension 
of the Population Estimates Challenge Program does not directly impose 
economic costs to the impacted entities, as the program is a mechanism 
to allow affected entities to seek corrections to their population 
estimates. The indirect impacts of this rulemaking are unknown as it is 
infeasible to identify the programs that rely on the population 
estimates and to determine which of those programs would avail 
themselves of the challenge program results. However, it is noted that 
the 2010 Census population counts will be available shortly thereafter 
for comprehensive use in various programs in lieu of the population 
estimates.

List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 90

    Administrative practice and procedure; Census data; State and local 
governments.

    For reasons discussed in the preamble, the Census Bureau proposed 
to amend 15 CFR Part 90 as follows:

PART 90--PROCEDURE FOR CHALLENGING CERTAIN POPULATION AND INCOME 
ESTIMATES [AMENDED]

    1. The authority citation for Part 90 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  13 U.S.C. 4.

    2. Effective January 1, 2010, PART 90--PROCEDURE FOR CHALLENGING 
CERTAIN POPULATION AND INCOME ESTIMATES is stayed.

    Dated: September 30, 2009.
Robert M. Groves,
Director, Bureau of the Census.
[FR Doc. E9-24164 Filed 10-6-09; 8:45 am]
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