[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 73 (Tuesday, April 16, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22511-22512]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-08876]


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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: American Community Survey.
    OMB Control Number: 0607-0810.
    Form Number(s): ACS-1, ACS-1(SP), ACS-1PR, ACS-1PR(SP), ACS 
CATI(HU), ACS CAPI(HU), ACS Internet (HU), ACS-1(GQ), ACS-1(GQ)(PR).
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Burden Hours: 2,455,868.
    Number of Respondents: 3,760,000.
    Average Hours per Response: 40 minutes for the average household 
questionnaire.
    Needs and Uses: The U.S. Census Bureau requests authorization from 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for revisions to the American 
Community Survey (ACS). The Census Bureau has developed a methodology 
to collect and update demographic, social, economic, and housing data 
every year that are essentially the same as the ``long-form'' data that 
the Census Bureau traditionally has collected once a decade as part of 
the decennial census. Federal and state government agencies use such 
data to evaluate and manage federal programs and to distribute funding 
for various programs that include food stamp benefits, transportation 
dollars, and housing grants. State, county, and community governments, 
nonprofit organizations, businesses, and the general public use 
information like housing quality, income distribution, journey-to-work 
patterns, immigration data, and regional age distributions for 
decision-making and program evaluation.
    In years past, the Census Bureau collected the long-form data only 
once every ten years and it became out of date over the course of the 
decade. To provide more timely data, the Census Bureau developed the 
ACS. The ACS blends the strength of small area estimation with the high 
quality of current surveys. There is an increasing need for current 
data describing lower geographic detail. The ACS is now the

[[Page 22512]]

only source of data available for small-area levels across the Nation 
and in Puerto Rico. In addition, there is an increased interest in 
obtaining data for small subpopulations such as groups within the 
Hispanic, Asian, and American Indian populations, the elderly, and 
children. The ACS provides current data throughout the decade for small 
areas and subpopulations.
    Using the Master Address File (MAF) from the decennial census, 
which is updated each year, we select a sample of addresses and mail 
survey materials each month to a new group of potential households. 
Most households are asked first to complete the survey via the 
Internet, with a paper questionnaire provided to those households that 
do not respond via Internet. We then attempt to conduct interviews over 
the telephone with households that have not responded either by mail or 
Internet. Upon completion of the telephone follow-up, we select a sub-
sample of the remaining households that have not responded either by 
mail, Internet, or telephone and designate the household for a personal 
interview. Typically, for personal interviews, we sample at a rate of 
one in three. We also conduct interviews with a sample of residents at 
a selected group quarters (GQ) facilities. Collecting these data from a 
new sample of housing units (HUs) and GQ facilities every month 
provides more timely data and lessens respondent burden in the 
Decennial Census.
    The goals of the ACS are to:
     Provide federal, state, and local governments an 
information base for the administration and evaluation of government 
programs; and
     Provide data users with timely demographic, housing, 
social, and economic data updated every year that can be compared 
across states, communities, and population groups.
    The content of the proposed 2014 ACS questionnaire and data 
collection instruments for both housing unit and group quarters 
operations reflect changes to content and instructions that were 
proposed in 2012. A two-part question on Health Insurance Premiums and 
Subsidies will be added. The race question will be modified to remove 
the term ``Negro'' from the ``Black, African Am., or Negro'' response 
category. Additional response categories will be added for housing 
units classified as ``other vacant'' to provide information that is 
more precise. Finally, the Number of Times Married question will be 
removed.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Frequency: Response to the ACS is on a one-time basis.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Title 13, United States Code, Sections 141, 193, 
and 221.
    OMB Desk Officer: Brian Harris-Kojetin, (202) 395-7314.
    Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained 
by calling or writing Jennifer Jessup, Departmental Paperwork Clearance 
Officer, (202) 482-0336, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 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 email ([email protected]).

    Dated: April 11, 2013
Glenna Mickelson,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013-08876 Filed 4-15-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P