[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 72 (Monday, April 17, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18102-18103]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-07624]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

 Census Bureau


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; 2017-2019 
Company Organization 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.

DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be submitted on 
or before June 16, 2017.

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 Carrie Hill, Economic Statistical Methods 
Division, U.S. Census Bureau, Room 5H069, Washington, DC 20233-6100 (or 
by email at [email protected])

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract

    The Census Bureau conducts the annual Company Organization Survey 
(COS) to update and maintain a central, multipurpose Business Register 
(BR)

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database. In particular, the COS supplies critical information on the 
composition, organizational structure, and operating characteristics of 
multi-location companies.
    The BR serves two fundamental purposes:

--First and most important, it provides sampling populations and 
enumeration lists for the Census Bureau's economic surveys and 
censuses, and it serves as an integral part of the statistical 
foundation underlying those programs. Essential for this purpose is the 
BR's ability to identify all known United States business 
establishments and their parent companies. Further, the BR must 
accurately record basic business attributes needed to control sampling 
and enumeration. These attributes include industrial and geographic 
classifications, and name and address information.
--Second, it provides establishment data that serve as the basis for 
the annual County Business Patterns (CBP) statistical series. The CBP 
publications present data on number of establishments, first quarter 
payroll, annual payroll, and mid-March employment summarized by 
industry and employment size class for the United States, the District 
of Columbia, island areas, counties, and country-equivalents. No other 
annual or more frequent series of industry statistics provides 
comparable detail, particularly for small geographic areas.

II. Method of Collection

    The 2017-2019 COS collection strategy will focus on electronic 
reporting as the standard collection option. The Census Bureau will 
conduct the 2017 COS in conjunction with the 2017 Economic Census and 
will coordinate these collections to minimize response burden. The 
consolidated COS/census mail canvass will direct inquiries to the 
entire universe of multi-location enterprises that comprises roughly 
164,000 parent companies and more than 1.6 million establishments. 
Additional COS inquiries will apply to the 15,000 multi-unit 
establishments classified in industries that are out-of-scope of the 
economic census.
    The 2018-2019 COS will request company-level information from a 
selection of multi-establishment enterprises, which comprise roughly 
42,000 parent companies and more than 1.4 million establishments. 
Additionally, the panel will include approximately 5,000 large single-
location companies that may have added locations during the year.
    Electronic reporting will be available to all 2017-2019 COS 
respondents. Companies will receive and return responses by secure 
Internet transmission. The instrument will include inquiries on 
ownership or control by domestic or foreign parent, ownership of 
foreign affiliates, leased employment and cooperative organization. 
Further, the instrument will list an inventory of establishments 
belonging to the company and its subsidiaries, and request updates to 
these inventories, including additions, deletions and changes to 
information on EIN, name and address, industrial classification, end-
of-year operating status, mid-March employment, first quarter payroll 
and annual payroll. Beginning with the 2017 collection, a new question 
regarding cooperative organization status will be included in the 
instrument but respondents will no longer receive inquiries pertaining 
to the Enterprise Statistics Program as the program has been suspended.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0607-0444.
    Form Number(s): NC-99001 (for multi-establishment enterprises 
during 2017-2019) and NC-99007 (for single-location companies during 
2018-2019).
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: Businesses and not-for-profit institutions.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 164,000 for 2017 and 47,000 per 
year for 2018-2019.
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.44 hours for 2017 and 3.4 hours for 
2018-2019.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 72,160 hours for 2017 and
    159,800 hours for 2018-2019.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C. Sections 131 and 182.

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.

Sheleen Dumas,
PRA Departmental Lead, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2017-07624 Filed 4-14-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-07-P