[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 163 (Wednesday, August 22, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50677-50680]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-20579]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

U.S. Census Bureau


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Boundary and 
Annexation 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 October 22, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Jennifer Jessup, 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 Laura Waggoner, U.S. Census Bureau, 4600 Silver 
Hill Road,

[[Page 50678]]

Washington, DC 20233 (or via the Internet at 
[email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Census Bureau conducts the Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS) 
to collect and maintain information about the inventory of the legal 
boundaries for and the legal actions affecting the boundaries of 
counties and equivalent entities, incorporated places, minor civil 
divisions, and federally recognized legal American Indian and Alaska 
Native areas. This information provides an accurate identification of 
geographic areas for the Census Bureau to use in conducting the 
decennial and economic censuses and ongoing surveys, preparing 
population estimates, and supporting other statistical programs of the 
Census Bureau, and the legislative programs of the Federal government.
    Through the BAS, the Census Bureau asks each government to review 
materials for its jurisdiction to verify the correctness of the 
information portrayed. Each government is asked to update the 
boundaries, supply information documenting each legal boundary change, 
and provide changes in the inventory of governments.
    The BAS universe and mailing materials vary depending both upon the 
needs of the Census Bureau in fulfilling its censuses and household 
surveys, and upon budget constraints.
    Counties or equivalent entities federally recognized American 
Indian reservations, off-reservation trust lands, and tribal 
subdivisions are included in every survey.
    In the years ending in 8, 9 and 0, the BAS includes all 
governmentally active counties and equivalent entities, incorporated 
places, and legally defined minor civil divisions, and legally defined 
federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native areas (including 
the Alaska Native Regional Corporations). Each governmental entity 
surveyed will receive materials covering its jurisdiction and one or 
more forms. These three years coincide with the Census Bureau's 
preparation for the decennial census. There are less than 40,000 
governments in the universe each year.
    In all other years, the BAS reporting universe includes all legally 
defined federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native areas, 
all governmental counties and equivalent entities, minor civil 
divisions in the six New England States and those incorporated places 
that have a population of 2,500 or greater. The reporting universe is 
approximately 14,000 governments due to budget constraints. The Census 
Bureau only follows up on a subset of governments designated as the 
reporting universe.
    In the years ending in 1 through 7, the Census Bureau may enter 
into agreements with individual States to modify the universe of minor 
civil divisions and/or incorporated places to include additional 
entities that are known by that State to have had boundary changes, 
without regard to population size. Each year, the BAS will also include 
each year a single respondent request for municipio, barrio, barrio-
pueblo, and subbarrio boundary and status information in Puerto Rico 
and Hawaiian Homeland boundary and status information in Hawaii.
    No other Federal agency collects these data nor is there a standard 
collection of this information at the State level. The Census Bureau's 
BAS is a unique survey providing a standard result for use by federal, 
state, local, and tribal governments and by commercial, private, and 
public organizations.

II. Method of Collection

    The Census Bureau has developed and continues to use several 
methods to collect information on status and updates for legal 
boundaries. These methods are:
     State Certification
     Consolidation Agreements
     Annual Response
     Paper BAS
     Digital BAS
    Through the BAS State Certification program, the Census Bureau 
invites the Governor-appointed State Certifying Official (SCO) from 
each state, except Hawaii, to review the boundary and governmental unit 
information collected during the previous BAS cycle. The purpose of the 
State Certification program is to verify the accuracy and validity of 
the BAS information with the state governments for incorporated places 
received through the previous BAS cycle. The Census Bureau requests the 
SCOs to review data files, including the attribute data legal boundary 
changes, as well as the legal names and functional statuses of 
incorporated places and minor civil divisions, and any new 
incorporations or disincorporation reported through the BAS. An SCO may 
request the Census Bureau to edit the attribute data, add missing 
records, or remove invalid records if their state government maintains 
an official record of all effective changes to legal boundaries and 
governmental units as mandated by state law. State Certification 
packages contain: a letter to the Governor, a State Certifying Official 
Letter, a Discrepancy Letter, and a State Certification Respondent 
Guide.
    Consolidation Agreements allow government officials from state 
governments the opportunity to participate in consolidation agreements 
to reduce the burden of response for their local governments. If a 
state government has legislation requiring local governments to report 
all legal boundary updates to a state agency (including a map of the 
annexed area), the state has the option to provide all the updates for 
their counties (and all associated governments within each county). The 
state provides the Census Bureau with a list of counties where the 
state agrees to provide a consolidated update of boundary changes for 
these counties and all entities within them. The Census Bureau notifies 
the governments within the counties that the state will be submitting 
the boundary updates for them and a reminder to submit their updates to 
the state.
    State governments that have legislation requiring governments to 
report all legal boundary updates to a state agency will also have the 
opportunity to participate in a consolidation agreement. The state 
updates the list of minor civil divisions and/or incorporated places 
that will be surveyed to include only those entities known by the state 
as having boundary changes. The Census Bureau sends BAS materials to 
those local governments.
    If a county government has legislation requiring local governments 
to report all legal boundary updates to the county, or if the local 
governments agree that the county will provide the updates, then the 
Census Bureau will provide materials only to the county and send a 
notification to the local governments reminding them to send their 
updates to the county.
    Annual Response involves an announcement letter and a one-page form 
for the state and county governments that do not have a consolidation 
agreement. Under Annual Response, counties, tribes and local 
governments indicate whether or not they have boundary changes to 
report and provide a current contact person. The governments are 
requested to fax or email responses. The Annual Response method reduces 
cost and respondent burden through savings on materials and effort. All 
governments receive this notification regardless of population size. 
The Census Bureau will conduct telephone follow-up only to

[[Page 50679]]

governments in the reporting universe due to budget constraints.
    If a government requests materials through Annual Response, they 
may choose to download digital materials or have the materials shipped 
as a traditional paper package or digital media types.
    For the traditional paper package, the respondent completes the BAS 
form and draws the boundary updates on the maps using pencils provided 
in the package. The package contains large format maps, printed forms 
and supplies to complete the survey.
    The typical BAS package contains:
    1. Introductory letter from the Director of the Census Bureau;
    2. Appropriate BAS Form(s) that contains entity-specific 
identification information;
    a. BAS-1: Incorporated places;
    b. BAS-2: Counties, parishes, boroughs, and cities;
    c. BAS-3: Minor civil divisions;
    d. BAS-4: Newly incorporated places or newly activated incorporated 
places; and
    e. BAS-5: American Indian and Alaska Native Areas.
    3. BAS Respondent Guide;
    4. Set of maps;
    5. Return postage-paid envelope to submit boundary changes;
    6. Postcard to notify the Census Bureau of no changes to the 
boundary; and
    7. Supplies for updating paper maps.
    Digital BAS includes options to receive software and spatial data 
to make boundary updates or to make boundary updates electronically by 
submitting a digital file.
    A local contact from each government verifies the legal boundary, 
and then provides boundary changes and updated contact information. The 
official sign the materials, verify the forms, and return the 
information to the Census Bureau.
    The typical Digital BAS package contains:
    1. Introductory letter from the Director of the Census Bureau;
    2. Appropriate BAS Form(s) that contains entity-specific 
identification information;
    a. BAS-1: Incorporated places;
    b. BAS-2: Counties, parishes, boroughs, and cities;
    c. BAS-3: Minor civil divisions;
    d. BAS-4: Newly incorporated places or newly activated incorporated 
places; and
    e. BAS-5: American Indian and Alaska Native Areas.
    3. CD or DVD and program CD; and
    4. Postcard to notify the Census Bureau of no changes to the 
boundary.
    The key dates for governments are as follows:
    1. Annual Response is emailed, faxed, or mailed to the local 
contact in November or early December of each year.
    2. BAS package of materials is shipped during the months of 
December, January, February, March, and April of each year.
    3. Requests to change the method of participation (i.e., paper to 
digital submission and vice versa) are due on April 15th of each year.
    4. Responses for inclusion in the American Community Survey 
(publishes annual estimates for geographic areas down to the block 
group undergoing boundary changes) and Population Estimates Program 
(produces annual estimates and projections of population, households, 
and housing units) are due on March 1st of each year.
    5. Responses for inclusion in the following year's BAS materials 
are due on May 31st of each year.

To improve boundary quality in the Census Bureau's Master Address File/
Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing System 
(MAF/TIGER), the Census Bureau is introducing the Cadastral Data Pilot 
program as part of the BAS program. The Census Bureau will conduct this 
pilot project related to the use of cadastral data in boundary updates. 
The Census Bureau will work with state and county-level participants to 
develop methods to use the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) and parcel 
datasets to assess, improve, and maintain the quality of legal 
boundaries in the Census Bureau's MAF/TIGER Database.
    Participation in the pilot project is voluntary and the Census 
Bureau will telephone potential volunteers to solicit participation in 
the pilot. Fourteen governments will be chosen to participate and the 
estimated work burden for participation is 12 hours per participant.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0607-0151.
    Form Number: BAS 1, BAS 2, BAS 3, BAS 4, BAS 5, BAS 6, BAS-ARF, 
BASSC-1, BASSC-2.
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: All actively functioning counties or statistically 
equivalent entities, incorporated places (including consolidated 
cities), minor civil divisions (MCDs), all federally recognized 
American Indian reservations (AIRs) and off-reservation trust land 
entities in the United States, and municipios, barrios and subbarrios 
in Puerto Rico.
    Estimated Number of Respondents:
    Annual Response Notification: 39,400.
    No Change Response: 25,000.
    Telephone Follow-up: 14,000.
    Packages with Changes: 5,000.
    State Certification Review: 50.
    State Certification Local Review: 1,000.
    Cadastral Data Pilot: 14.
    Estimated Time per Response:
    Annual Response Notification: 30 min.
    No Change Response: 4 hours.
    Telephone Follow-up: 30 min.
    Packages with Changes: 8 hours.
    State Certification Review: 10 hours.
    State Certification Local Review: 2 hours.
    Cadastral Data Pilot: 12 hours.
    Total Hours per Year:
    Annual Response Notification: 19,700.
    No Change Response: 100,000.
    Telephone Follow-up: 7,000.
    Packages with Changes: 40,000.
    State Certification Review: 500.
    State Certification Local Review: 2,000.
    Cadastral Data Pilot: 168.
    Total Hours: 169,368.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $3,661,736.00.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: 13 U.S.C. 6.

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.

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    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for Office of Management and Budget 
approval of this information collection. Comments will also become a 
matter of public record.

    Dated: August 16, 2012.
Glenna Mickelson,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2012-20579 Filed 8-21-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P