[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 223 (Friday, November 18, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71511-71512]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-29815]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

U.S. Census Bureau


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; 2012 Company 
Organization Survey

AGENCY: U.S. Census Bureau, Commerce.

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 January 17, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Diana Hynek, Departmental 
Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 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 Joy P. Pierson, Economic Planning and 
Coordination Division, U.S. Census Bureau, Room 8K319, Washington, DC 
20233-6100 (or by email at [email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Census Bureau conducts the annual Company Organization Survey 
(COS) to update and maintain a central, multipurpose Business Register 
(BR) database. 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 the 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, island areas, 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 2012 COS in conjunction with the 
2012 Economic Census and will coordinate these collections to minimize 
response burden. The consolidated COS/census mail canvass will direct 
inquiries to the entire universe of multi-location enterprises, which 
comprises roughly 164,000 parent companies and more than 1.6 million 
establishments. The decrease in response burden for the 2012 COS of 
36,733 hours is the result of obtaining most multi-location 
establishment data as part of the 2012 Economic Census. Additionally, 
the panel will include approximately 100,000 large single-location 
companies to capture data for the Enterprise Statistics Program (ESP). 
In 2010 the Census Bureau pretested ESP questions under its Generic 
Clearance for pretesting research. In 2011 the COS collected data from 
all multi-location companies and will use these data to baseline the 
2012 Economic Census data. 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 
2012, 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 content is identical for all of the 
reporting modes.
    The 2012 COS will include company-level questions to approximately 
164,000 multi-location enterprises with industrial activities out-of-
scope of the 2012 Economic Census. The company-level portion will 
include inquiries on ownership or control by domestic or foreign 
parents, ownership of foreign affiliates, research and development, 
leased employment, and manufacturing activities related to the 
Enterprise Statistics Program. Additional COS inquiries will apply to 
the 15,000 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

[[Page 71512]]

updates to these inventories, including: Additions, deletions, and 
changes to information on EIN, name and address, 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. Also for 2012, we will 
collect data for single-location companies on Form NC-99801 to further 
capture data for the Enterprise Statistics Program.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0607-0444.
    Form Number: NC-99001 (for multi-establishment enterprises) and NC-
99801 (for single-location companies).
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: Business and not-for-profit institutions.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 264,000 (164,000 enterprises and 
100,000 single units).
    Estimated Time per Response: .44 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 90,784.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $2,692,653.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C. 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: November 15, 2011.
Glenna Mickelson,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2011-29815 Filed 11-17-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P