[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 17 (Thursday, January 26, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4004-4006]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-1595]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

[Docket No. 111115679-1674-01]
RIN 0605-XA38


Privacy Act of 1974; Altered System of Records

AGENCY: U.S. Census Bureau, Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of Amendment, Privacy Act System of Records; COMMERCE/
CENSUS-4, Minority-Owned Business Enterprises Survey Records.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, Title 
5 United States Code (U.S.C.) 552a(e)(4) and (11); and Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-130, Appendix I, ``Federal 
Agency Responsibilities for Maintaining Records About Individuals'', 
the Department of Commerce is issuing notice of intent to amend the 
system of records entitled COMMERCE/CENSUS-4, ``Minority-Owned Business 
Enterprises Survey Records.'' This amendment would change the name of 
the system of records to ``Economic Survey Collection;'' would amend 
certain provisions concerning the purpose of the system of the records, 
categories of records covered by the system, routine uses of records 
maintained in the system, retrievability, and safeguards of records in 
the systems; and would make other minor administrative updates. 
Accordingly, the COMMERCE/CENSUS-4, Minority-Owned Business Enterprises 
Survey Records notice published in the Federal Register on November 1, 
2002 (67 FR 66609) is amended as below. We invite public comment on the 
proposed change in this publication.

DATES: Comment Date: To be considered, written comments on the proposed 
amended system must be submitted on or before February 27, 2012.
    Effective Date: Unless comments dictate otherwise, the amended 
system of records will become effective as proposed on the date of 
publication of a subsequent notice in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Please address comments to: Chief Privacy Officer, Room 
8H115, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC 20233-3700.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This update makes five program-related 
changes. The first of five proposed changes updates the name and 
purpose of the system of records to expand the scope to include all 
economic programs, as well as surveys, such as the Survey of Business 
Owners and Survey of Construction. This update is a result of a System 
of Records Notice (SORN) re-alignment to cover all economic censuses 
and surveys authorized by, and kept confidential in accordance with 
Title 13; this SORN also includes government and building permit 
economic surveys that utilize public data sources, and, therefore, are 
not kept confidential in accordance with Title 13. The second proposed 
change updates the categories of individuals in the system to include 
the universe of small business owners in the U.S., as well as 
individuals engaged in business activity. The third proposed change 
updates the categories of records in the system to include selected 
administrative records from other federal, state, and local government 
agencies, or commercial sources,

[[Page 4005]]

combined with collected data from economic censuses and surveys. The 
fourth proposed change updates the routine uses of data to indicate 
that some governments and building permits data are public use data and 
may be disclosed. The fifth change updates the safeguards to 
comprehensively cover the safeguards provided at the Census Bureau. 
Additionally, this amendment provides minor administrative updates. The 
entire resulting system of records notice, as amended, appears below.
COMMERCE/CENSUS-4

System Name:
    COMMERCE/CENSUS-4, Economic Survey Collection

Security Classification:
    None.

System Location:
    The U.S. Census Bureau, 4600 Silver Hill Road, Washington, DC 
20233; U.S. Census Bureau, Bowie Computer Center, 17101 Melford 
Boulevard, Bowie, Maryland 20715; and U.S. Census Bureau, National 
Processing Center, 1201 East 10th Street, Jeffersonville, Indiana 
47132.

Categories of Individuals Covered by the System:
    This system covers individuals operating a business, data on 
individuals from federal, state and local governments, and businesses 
in the United States. Data collected directly from respondents may be 
supplemented with data from administrative record files received from 
other federal, state, or local agencies, or commercial sources. Most of 
these files are collected and processed under the Statistical 
Administrative Records System. Administrative record files are from 
agencies including, the Departments of Agriculture, Education, Health 
and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, 
Labor, Treasury, Veterans Affairs, and from the Office of Personnel 
Management, the Social Security Administration, the Selective Service 
System, and the U.S. Postal Service. Comparable data may also be sought 
from State agencies and commercial sources. Please see the COMMERCE/
CENSUS-8, Statistical Administrative Records System SORN for more 
information.

Categories of Records in the System:
    Records in this system of records consist of working statistical 
files (i.e., those files being analyzed to produce survey results), 
survey data files (i.e., those files containing answers directly from 
the respondent), and/or data files (i.e., those files used for 
contacting respondents). Records in this system of records may contain 
information such as: Demographic Information--gender, race, ethnicity, 
place of birth, and veteran status; Economic Information--business 
name, address, telephone number, geographic area, industry 
classification code, legal form of business, business receipts, number 
of employees, annual payroll and Federal Tax Information; Processing 
Information--employer identification number (EIN). Some records in this 
system of records may be obtained from datasets maintained by the 
COMMERCE/CENSUS-8, Statistical Administrative Records System where 
direct identifiers (SSN) have been replaced with a unique non-
identifying code prior to delivery to this system of records. These 
categories of records are maintained on unique data sets that are 
extracted or combined on an as needed basis using the unique non-
identifying codes but with the original identifiers removed. These 
records may contain: Demographic information--date of birth, sex, race, 
ethnicity, household and family characteristics, education, marital 
status, Tribal affiliation, and veteran's status; Geographical 
information--address and geographic codes; Mortality information--cause 
of death and hospitalization information; Health information--type of 
provider, services provided, cost of services, and quality indicators; 
Economic information--housing characteristics, income, occupation, 
employment and unemployment information, health insurance coverage, 
Federal program participation, assets, and wealth. Another category of 
records contains two types of records that are maintained on unique 
data sets that are extracted or combined on an as-needed basis using 
the unique non-identifying codes but with some name information 
retained. One type of records contains: Business information--business 
name, revenues, number of employees, and industry codes in support of 
economic statistical products. The other type contains: Respondent 
contact information--name, address, telephone number, age, and sex in 
support of survey and census data collection efforts. See the COMMERCE/
CENSUS-8, Statistical Administrative Records System SORN for more 
information.

Authorities for Maintenance of the System:
    13 U.S.C., Chapter 5, 8(b), 131, 132, and 182.

Purpose(s):
    The economic survey collections covered by this system of records 
produce a wide-range of products for data users, including compilations 
of administrative records and survey-collected data, and numerous 
research and technical studies. For example, the U.S. Census Bureau's 
non-employer statistics program provides national and sub-national 
summary information on more than 20 million businesses without paid 
employees. The economic programs also combine data for non-employer and 
employer businesses in order to provide a complete picture of the 
Nation's economic activity. One example survey is, the Survey of 
Business Owners and Self-Employed Persons (SBO), which provides 
comprehensive information on demographic and economic characteristics 
of businesses and business owners. Another example survey is the Survey 
of Construction (SOC), which tracks a sample of builders from county 
building permit offices, to gauge the amount of residential 
construction by geographic area. Additionally, the economic programs 
provide data on the structure, function, finances, taxation, 
employment, and retirement systems within the United State's federal, 
state and local governments. A related purpose is to conduct research 
on the methodology associated with various aspects of surveys, such as 
data quality checks and review during post data collection processing. 
An other purposes of the system of records for economic collections 
include the integration of non-employer and employer records to form a 
comprehensive business universe file for subsequent analysis.

Routine Uses of Records Maintained in the System, Including Categories 
of Users and the Purposes of Such Uses:
    (1) Building permit data is compiled from public use data, and, 
therefore, is not subject to confidentiality restrictions; and may be 
released to other agencies or individuals.
    (2) Economic data related to government operations that are 
publicly available may be released and used by other federal agencies, 
state and local legislators, researchers, businesses, and individuals.

Disclosure to Consumer Reporting Agencies:
    None.

[[Page 4006]]

Policies and Practices for Storing, Retrieving, Accessing, Retaining, 
and Disposing of Records in the System:
Storage:
    Records will be stored in a secure computerized system and on 
electronic or magnetic media; output data will be either electronic or 
paper copies. Paper copies and magnetic media will be stored in a 
secure area within a locked drawer or cabinet. Data sets may be 
accessed only by authorized personnel. Control lists will be used to 
limit access to those employees with a need to know; rights will be 
granted based on job functions. For data that do not require 
confidentiality protections, security controls are not applied.

Retrievability:
    A limited number of sworn U.S. Census Bureau staff will be 
permitted to retrieve records containing direct identifiers (SSN). 
Staff producing final statistical products will have access only to 
data sets from which direct identifiers have been deleted and replaced 
by unique non-identifying codes internal to the Census Bureau. In those 
cases, information may be retrieved by the unique non-identifying code, 
name of the business owner, demographic characteristics, or economic 
characteristics.

Safeguards:
    The U.S. Census Bureau is committed to respecting respondent 
privacy and protecting confidentiality. Through the Data Stewardship 
Program, we have implemented management, operational, and technical 
controls and practices to ensure high-level data protection to 
respondents of our census and surveys. (1) An unauthorized browsing 
policy protects respondent information from casual or inappropriate use 
by any person with access to Title 13 protected data. (2) All employees 
permitted to access the system are subject to the restriction, 
penalties, and prohibitions of 13 U.S.C. 9 and 214, as modified by 
Title 18 U.S.C. 3551, et seq.; the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 
552a(b)(4)); and when applicable, Title 26 U.S.C. 7213, 7213A, and 
7431. (3) All U.S. Census Bureau employees and persons with special 
sworn status will be regularly advised of regulations issued pursuant 
to Title 13 U.S.C. governing the confidentiality of the data, and will 
be required to complete an annual Title 13 awareness program; and those 
who have access to Federal Tax Information data will be regularly 
advised of regulations issued pursuant to Title 26 U.S.C. governing the 
confidentiality of the data, and will be required to complete an annual 
Title 26 awareness program. (4) All computer systems that maintain 
sensitive information are in compliance with the Federal Information 
Security Management Act, which includes auditing and controls over 
access to restricted data. (5) The use of unsecured telecommunications 
to transmit individually identifiable information is prohibited. (6) 
Paper copies that contain sensitive information are stored in secure 
facilities in a locked drawer or file cabinet behind a locked door. (7) 
Any publications, based on data that confidentiality is protected, in 
this system will be cleared for release under the direction of the U.S. 
Census Bureau's Disclosure Review Board, which will confirm that all 
the required disclosure avoidance procedures have been implemented and 
no information that identifies any individual is released.

Retention and Disposal:
    Records are to be retained in accordance with the General Records 
Schedules and U.S. Census Bureau's records control schedules that are 
approved by the National Archives and Records Administration. Records 
are retained in accordance with agreements developed with entities who 
provide the data. Federal tax information administrative record data 
will be retained and disposed of in accordance with Publication 1075, 
Tax information Security Guidelines for Federal, State, and Local 
Agencies and Entities. The U.S. Census Bureau issues an Annual 
Safeguard Activity Report that includes information on the retention 
and disposal of federal administrative record source data. Due to IRS 
regulation, Title 26 data cannot be transferred to the National Archive 
and Records Administration (NARA). Permanent data will be archived at 
the Census Bureau.

System Manager and Address:
    Associate Director for Economic Programs, Room 8H132-North 
Building, U.S. Census Bureau, 4600 Silver Hill Road, Washington, DC 
20233-8100.

Notification Procedure:
    None.

Record Access Procedures:
    None.

Contesting Records Procedures:
    None.

Record Source Categories:
    Individuals, state and local governments, and businesses covered by 
economic censuses and surveys and selected administrative record 
systems.

Exemptions Claimed for System:
    Pursuant to Title 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(4), this system of records is 
exempted from the notification, access, and contest requirements of the 
agency procedures (under Title 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3), (d), (e)(1), 
(e)(4)(G), (H), and (I), and (f)). This exemption is applicable as the 
data are maintained by the U.S. Census Bureau and required by Title 13 
to be used solely as statistical records and are not used in whole or 
in part in making any determination about an identifiable individual. 
This exemption is made in accordance with the Department's rules which 
appear in 15 CFR part 4 subpart B and in accordance with agency rules 
published in the rules section of this Federal Register.

     Dated: January 18, 2012.
Jonathan R. Cantor,
Chief Privacy Officer, Department of Commerce.
[FR Doc. 2012-1595 Filed 1-25-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P