[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 182 (Tuesday, September 20, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64431-64432]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-22629]


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 DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of the Census

[Docket Number 160831809-6809-01]


Temporary Suspension of the Special Census Program

AGENCY: Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce.

[[Page 64432]]


ACTION: Notice of Temporary Suspension of the Special Census Program.

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SUMMARY: This document serves as notice to state and local governments 
and to other federal agencies that, beginning on September 30, 2018, 
the Bureau of the Census (Census Bureau) will temporarily suspend the 
Special Census Program for five years--the two years preceding the 
decennial census, the decennial census year and the two years following 
it to accommodate the taking of the 2020 Decennial Census.
    The Census Bureau will announce, in a future Federal Register 
notice, the date that the program resumes. The Census Bureau plans to 
resume the program in the year 2022, after the 2020 Census data becomes 
available, for those entities that desire the service, provided that 
any and all costs associated with this work are borne by the local 
governmental entity.

DATES: As of September 30, 2018, the Special Census Program will be 
temporarily suspended. Governmental units wishing to conduct a special 
census prior to the temporary suspension must submit the necessary Cost 
Estimate Package by June 15, 2017. An approved Memorandum of Agreement 
(MOA), along with the required funding, must be received no later than 
September 30, 2017 to complete the jurisdiction's Special Census by 
September 30, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Hector Merced, Field Division, 
U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC 20233, by telephone at (301) 763-
1429 or email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A Special Census is a basic enumeration of 
population, housing units, group quarters and transitory locations, 
conducted by the Census Bureau at the request of a governmental unit. 
They are conducted on a cost-reimbursable basis. The Census Bureau's 
authority to conduct Special Censuses is specified in Title 13, United 
States Code (U.S.C.), Section 196. For Special Census purposes, a 
governmental unit is defined as the government of any state, county, 
city, or other political subdivision within a state, or the government 
of the District of Columbia or the government of any possession or area 
including political subdivisions, American Indian Reservations or 
Alaskan Native villages.
    A Special Census may be conducted on any subject covered by the 
censuses as provided for in Title 13, U.S.C. Special Censuses are 
conducted on a cost reimbursable basis. The cost of a Special Census 
varies depending on the governmental unit's housing and population 
counts and whether a government requests a full or partial Special 
Census. To begin the Special Census process, a governmental unit must 
request an official cost estimate. There is a $200 fee to request an 
estimate. The cost estimate outlines the anticipated costs to the 
sponsoring government for staffing, materials, data processing and 
tabulation. Included with the cost estimate is a MOA. Once a signed MOA 
and initial payment are transmitted to the Census Bureau, the Special 
Census process will begin. When data collection, processing, and 
tabulation have been completed, the governmental unit receives official 
census statistics on the population and housing unit counts for the 
entire jurisdiction or parts of the jurisdiction, as defined in the MOA 
at the beginning of the Special Census process. This typically occurs 
within seven (7) months after the MOA is signed and returned to the 
Census Bureau by the requesting government. The official census 
statistics are communicated to the jurisdiction through a signed letter 
from the Director of the Census Bureau. The official census statistics 
can be used by the jurisdiction for any purpose provided through law, 
as specified in Title 13, U.S.C., Section 196.
    Local officials frequently request a Special Census when there has 
been a significant population change in their community due to 
annexation, growth, or the addition of new group quarters facilities. 
Communities may also consider a Special Census if there was a 
significant number of vacant housing units during the previous 
Decennial Census that are now occupied.
    Governmental units wishing to conduct a special census prior to the 
temporary suspension must submit the necessary Cost Estimate Package by 
June 15, 2017. An approved MOA, along with the required funding, must 
be received no later than September 30, 2017 to complete the 
jurisdiction's Special Census by September 30, 2018. Additional 
information about the Special Census Program is located at the 
following Web site address: www.census.gov/programs-surveys/specialcensus.html.

    Dated: September 14, 2016.
John H. Thompson,
Director, Bureau of the Census.
[FR Doc. 2016-22629 Filed 9-19-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-07-P