[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 27 (Tuesday, February 10, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7411-7413]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-02734]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Annual Survey 
of Business Owners

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.

DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be submitted on 
or before April 13, 2015.

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 Patrice Norman, U.S. Census Bureau, EWD, 6K071, 
Washington, DC 20233-6600, (301) 763-7198, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Census Bureau plans to conduct the Annual Survey of Business 
Owners (ASBO) for employer businesses. In the ASBO, respondents will be 
asked questions about their businesses as well as several questions 
about the gender, ethnicity, race, and veteran status of the principal 
owner(s). This survey will be the first annual collection of 
information on the characteristics of U.S. businesses by ownership 
categories, i.e., by gender, ethnicity, race, and veteran status. The 
survey will be conducted as a joint project with the Ewing Marion 
Kauffman Foundation, a Missouri nonprofit corporation and a private 
foundation exempt from taxes under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal 
Revenue Code. The ASBO will supplement the five-year Survey of Business 
Owners program and provide more timely updates on the status, nature, 
and scope of women-, minority-, and veteran-owned businesses. The ASBO 
statistics will be used by government program officials, industry 
organization leaders, economic and social analysts, and business 
entrepreneurs. Examples of data uses include:
     To assess business assistance needs and allocate available 
program resources.
     To establish and evaluate contract procurement practices 
affecting small and disadvantaged businesses.
     To create a framework for planning, directing, and 
assessing programs that promote the activities of disadvantaged groups.
     To assess minority-owned businesses by industry and area 
and to educate industry associations, corporations, and government 
entities.
     To analyze economic and demographic shifts and differences 
in ownership and performance among geographic areas.
     To analyze business operations in comparison to similar 
firms, compute market share, and assess business growth and future 
prospects.
    The ASBO will be based on the quinquennial 2012 Survey of Business 
Owners long form (SBO-1) with 19 additional questions, including a set 
of questions on the sources of capital used for expansion, which will 
be asked each year, and a rotating panel of questions that will be 
determined prior to data collection each year. Each year the new panel 
of questions will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) as a revision to the current data collection's OMB approval. The 
following changes will be made to the 2012 SBO:
     An additional question on where the business's customers 
are located in relation to the business.
     An additional question on the reasons for owning the 
business.
     An additional question on whether the business had 
profits, losses, or broke even.
     An additional question on where the owner would like the 
company to be in five years.
     An additional question on issues that have negatively 
impacted the profitability of the business.
     The question on what sources of capital were used for 
expansion or capital improvements to the business during the reference 
year has been expanded into seven questions. The new questions ask:
    [cir] The total amount of money put into the business in 2014.
    [cir] The total amount of money that the owner personally put into 
the business.
    [cir] The total amount of money received from family, friends, and 
employees that was put into the business.
    [cir] The total amount of money received from any formal debit

[[Page 7412]]

financing from a bank or other financial institution, a business credit 
card carrying a balance, or a business line of credit.
    [cir] The total amount of financial capital received from angel 
investors, venture capitalists, or other businesses in return for a 
share(s) of ownership in the business.
    [cir] What types of funding the owner tried to get and whether or 
not the owner received the funds.
    [cir] Whether the business needed financing but did not apply and 
why the business did not apply.
     The 2014 ASBO's rotating panel of questions will focus on 
Innovation and Research and Development and is modeled after questions 
asked on the Microbusiness Innovation Science and Technology Survey 
(MIST). The National Science Foundation (NSF) is currently conducting a 
pilot for the MIST during 2015. The sample size is limited to 4,000 
businesses and only covers the manufacturing and professional and 
technical services industries. Expanding the ASBO to include these 
questions will significantly increase the industry coverage by 
including all NAICS industries except 111, 112, 481111, 482, 491, 525, 
813, 814, and 92. This section will consist of eight questions that 
will only be asked on the 2014 survey. A new set of questions will be 
asked on the 2015 survey. The 2014 new questions consist of the 
following:
    [cir] During 2014, were any of the following improvements made to 
the goods and/or services sold by this business:
    [ssquf] Sold a new good or service that no company has ever offered 
before.
    [ssquf] Sold a new good or service that your company has never 
offered before.
    [ssquf] Improved good's performance by making changes in materials, 
equipment, components, or software.
    [ssquf] Developed a new use for a good or service.
    [ssquf] Added a new feature to a good or service.
    [ssquf] Made it easier for customers to use a good or service.
    [ssquf] Don't know.
    [ssquf] Did not make any innovations to the goods and/or services 
sold by this business.
    [cir] During 2014, were any of the following improvements made to 
the production processes used by this business?
    [ssquf] Applied a new way of purchasing, accounting, computing, 
maintenance, inventory control, or other support activities.
    [ssquf] Reduced costs by changing the way a good or service was 
distributed.
    [ssquf] Upgraded a technique, equipment, or software to 
significantly improve a good or service.
    [ssquf] Made a significant improvement in a technique or process by 
increasing automation, decreasing energy consumption, or using better 
software.
    [ssquf] Decreased production costs by improving the materials, 
software, or other components.
    [ssquf] Changed a delivery method to be faster or more reliable.
    [ssquf] Don't know.
    [ssquf] Did not make any improvements to the production processes 
used by this business.
    [cir] Did this business conduct any of the following research and 
development activities in 2014:
    [ssquf] Conducted work that might lead to a patent.
    [ssquf] Developed and tested prototypes that were derived from 
scientific research or technical findings.
    [ssquf] Produced findings that could be published in academic 
journals or presented at scientific conferences.
    [ssquf] Applied scientific or technical knowledge in a way that has 
never been done before.
    [ssquf] Created new scientific or technical solutions that can be 
generalized to other situations.
    [ssquf] Conducted work to discover previously unknown scientific 
facts, structures, or relationships.
    [ssquf] Conducted work to extend the understanding of scientific 
facts, relationships or principles in ways that could be useful to 
others.
    [cir] What was the total cost paid for research and development 
activities?
    [cir] How much of the total cost was used for research and 
development activities performed by this business?
    [cir] How much of the cost for research and development performed 
by this business was spent on the following:
    [ssquf] Employee payroll.
    [ssquf] Equipment purchases.
    [ssquf] Software and licensing purchases.
    [ssquf] Other expenses.
    [cir] How much of the cost for research and development performed 
by this business was paid for by the following:
    [ssquf] This business.
    [ssquf] Another U.S. business.
    [ssquf] U.S. college or university.
    [ssquf] U.S. nonprofit organization.
    [ssquf] U.S. federal government.
    [ssquf] U.S. state or local government.
    [ssquf] Other.
    [cir] How many of each type of worker worked on the research and 
development activities:
    [ssquf] Owners.
    [ssquf] Paid employees.
    [ssquf] Other paid workers.
    [ssquf] Unpaid workers.
    Businesses which reported any business activity on any one of the 
following Internal Revenue Service tax forms will be eligible for 
selection: 1040 (Schedule C), ``Profit or Loss from Business (Sole 
Proprietorship); 1065, ``U.S. Return of Partnership Income''; 941, 
``Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return''; 944, ``Employer's Annual 
Federal Tax Return''; or any one of the 1120 corporate tax forms. 
Current plans will only request responses from businesses filing the 
941, 944, or 1120 tax forms. Estimates for businesses filing the 1040 
or 1065 tax returns will be created using statistical modeling of 
administrative data and will only provide data by race, gender, 
ethnicity, and veteran status by geography, industry, and size of firm.
    We will seek separate clearance from OMB to test our proposed ASBO 
questionnaire. We intend to conduct cognitive interviews with between 
15 and 20 businesses in two rounds. Cognitive interviews will begin in 
January 2015 and will continue through March 2015. Upon completion of 
each round of interviews, the interview team will meet and decide on 
the recommended changes to the questionnaire. The questionnaire will be 
revised after each round and the interview protocol updated to reflect 
the new version of the questionnaire. We will also conduct usability 
testing of the electronic instrument. We intend to conduct interviews 
with between 10 and 12 businesses in two rounds. These interviews will 
be conducted in July 2015.
    The 2014 data collection of the ASBO will begin in September 2015 
and will continue through January 2016. The 2015 data collection will 
begin in June 2016 and will continue through September 2016 and the 
2016 data collection will begin in June 2017 and will continue through 
September 2017.

II. Method of Collection

    The Census Bureau will use a letter-only mailout with an 
electronic-only data collection. The mailout will be conducted from our 
National Processing Center in Jeffersonville, Indiana. Two mail follow-
ups to nonrespondents will be conducted at approximately one-month 
intervals.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0607-XXXX (this is a new collection).
    Form Number(s): ASBO-1, Annual Survey of Business Owners.
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: Large and small businesses.

[[Page 7413]]

    Estimated Number of Respondents: 200,000.
    Estimated Time per Response: 35 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 116,667.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C. Sections 8(b), 131, 193, and 224.

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: February 5, 2015
Glenna Mickelson,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015-02734 Filed 2-9-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P