[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 55 (Thursday, March 23, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14870-14871]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-05775]


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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: Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs.
    OMB Control Number: 0607-0986.
    Form Number(s): None, electronic collection.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Number of Respondents: 290,000.
    Average Hours per Response: 35 minutes.
    Burden Hours: 169,167.
    Needs and Uses: In an effort to improve the timely measurement of 
business dynamics in the United States, the Census Bureau is conducting 
the Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs (ASE). The ASE provides annual data 
on the characteristics of businesses and business owners. The ASE is a 
supplement to the 5-year Survey of Business Owners (SBO). ASE estimates 
include the number of firms, sales/receipts, annual payroll, and 
employment by gender, ethnicity, race, and veteran status. The ASE is 
conducted jointly by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the Minority 
Business Development Agency (MBDA), and the Census Bureau for three 
reference years (2014-2016).
    This collection allows the Census Bureau to collaborate on the 
implementation of a key National Academies recommendation for improving 
the measurement of business dynamics in the U.S. economy, which 
recommended:
    ``The Census Bureau Survey of Business Owners (SBO) should be 
conducted on an annual basis. The survey should include both a 
longitudinal component and a flexible, modular design that allows 
survey content to change over time. In addition, the Census Bureau 
should explore the possibility of creating a public-use (anonymized) 
SBO or a restricted access version of the data file.''

--Lynch, Lisa M., John Haltiwanger, and Christopher Mackie, eds. 
Understanding Business Dynamics: An Integrated Data System for 
America's Future. National Academies Press, 2007.

    The ASE includes all nonfarm employer businesses filing Internal 
Revenue Service (IRS) tax forms as individual proprietorships, 
partnerships, or any type of corporation, and with receipts of $1,000 
or more. The ASE samples approximately 290,000 employer businesses. The 
sample is stratified by metropolitan statistical area (MSA), frame, and 
age of business. The Census Bureau selects large companies with 
certainty. These companies are selected based on volume of sales, 
payroll, or number of paid employees. All certainty cases are sure to 
be selected and represent only themselves.
    The ASE has been conducted for survey years 2014 and 2015 and will 
continue for 2016 per the agreement between the Census Bureau and the 
survey sponsors. There are no final plans to conduct the ASE beyond 
survey year 2016. However, the Census Bureau is exploring options to 
maintain this collection for future survey years.
    Content for the ASE includes questions from the 2012 SBO (form SBO-
1) with additional questions on sources of capital and financial 
barriers that are asked each survey year. The ASE also includes a 
series of new questions each survey year based on a relevant business 
topic determined prior to data collection. Each year the new module of 
questions is submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
approval. The Census Bureau is requesting approval to field the 2016 
ASE. The module selected for the 2016 ASE focuses on business advice 
and

[[Page 14871]]

planning. The 2016 ASE also includes additional questions on business 
financing relationships, owner demographics, and regulations. The new 
content developed for 2016 is intermingled with the existing content. 
The module selected for the 2014 ASE focused on business innovation and 
research and development (R&D) activity. The goal of the 2014 module 
was to identify new forms of innovation, identify characteristics of 
businesses that are innovators, and measure R&D activity conducted by 
entrepreneurs. The module selected for the 2015 ASE focused on business 
management practices. The goal of the 2015 module was to measure how 
management practices impact productivity and growth.
    The ASE collection is electronic only. Those selected for the 
survey receive an initial letter informing the respondents of their 
requirement to complete the survey as well as instructions on accessing 
the survey. The 2016 ASE initial mail is scheduled for June 2017. 
Responses will be due approximately 40 days from initial mail. Select 
respondents will receive a due date reminder approximately one week 
before responses are due.
    Additionally, there will be two follow-up letter mailings to 
nonrespondents after the due date. Select nonrespondents will receive a 
certified mailing for the second follow-up if needed. Closeout of mail 
operations is scheduled for November 2017. Upon the close of the 
collection period, the response data will be processed, edited, 
reviewed, tabulated, and released publicly.
    The survey will collect data on the gender, ethnicity, race, and 
veteran status for up to four persons owning the majority of rights, 
equity, or interest in the business. These data are needed to evaluate 
the extent and growth of business ownership by women, minorities, and 
veterans in order to provide a framework for assessing and directing 
federal, state, and local government programs designed to promote the 
activities of disadvantaged groups.
    This data is widely used by private firms and individuals to 
evaluate their own businesses and markets. Additionally, the data will 
be used by entrepreneurs to write business plans and loan application 
letters, by the media for news stories, by researchers and academia for 
determining firm characteristics, and by the legal profession in 
evaluating the concentration of minority businesses in particular 
industries and/or geographic areas. The ASE statistics are used by 
government program officials, industry organization leaders, economic 
and social analysts, researchers, and business entrepreneurs. 
Additional examples of data use include:
     The Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Minority 
Business Development Agency (MBDA) to assess business assistance needs 
and allocate available program resources.
     Local government commissions on small and disadvantaged 
businesses to establish and evaluate contract procurement practices.
     Federal, state and local government agencies as a 
framework for planning, directing and assessing programs that promote 
the activities of disadvantaged groups.
     The National Women's Business Council to assess the state 
of women's business ownership for policymakers, researchers, and the 
public at large.
     Consultants and researchers to analyze long-term economic 
and demographic shifts, and differences in ownership and performance 
among geographic areas.
     Individual business owners to analyze their operations in 
comparison to similar firms, compute their market share, and assess 
their growth and future prospects.
    Affected Public: Business and other for-profit; Not-for-profit 
institutions; State, local or Tribal governments.
    Frequency: Annually.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 of the United States Code, Sections 8(b), 
131, and 182 authorizes this collection. On behalf of the Secretary of 
Commerce, pursuant to Section 1(a)(3) of Executive Order 11625, the 
MBDA may enter into this agreement with the Census Bureau to establish 
a center for the development, collection, summation, and dissemination 
of information that will be helpful to persons and organizations 
throughout the nation in undertaking or promoting the establishment and 
successful operation of minority business enterprises.
    This information collection request may be viewed at 
www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view Department of Commerce 
collections currently under review by OMB.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to [email protected] or fax to (202) 395-5806.

Sheleen Dumas,
PRA Departmental Lead, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2017-05775 Filed 3-22-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-07-P