[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 237 (Tuesday, December 12, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58378-58381]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-26726]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; The American 
Community Survey

AGENCY: U.S. Census Bureau, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 February 12, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Please 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]). You may also submit comments, 
identified by Docket number USBC-2017-0005, to the Federal e-Rulemaking 
Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. All comments received are part of 
the public record. No comments will be posted to http://www.regulations.gov for public viewing until after the comment period 
has closed. Comments will generally be posted without change. All 
Personally Identifiable Information (for example, name and address) 
voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do 
not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or 
protected information. You may submit attachments to electronic 
comments in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file 
formats only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument(s) and instructions 
should be directed to Robin A. Pennington, Rm. 2H465, U.S. Census 
Bureau, Decennial Census Management Division, Washington, DC 20233 or 
via email to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

[[Page 58379]]

I. Abstract

    Since the founding of the nation, the U.S. Census has mediated 
between the demands of a growing country for information about its 
economy and people, and the people's privacy and respondent burden. 
Beginning with the 1810 Census, Congress added questions to support a 
range of public concerns and uses, and over the course of a century 
questions were added about agriculture, industry, and commerce, as well 
as occupation, ancestry, marital status, disabilities, and other 
topics. In 1940, the U.S. Census Bureau introduced the long form and, 
since then, the more detailed questions were only asked of a sample of 
the public.
    The American Community Survey (ACS), launched in 2005, is the 
current embodiment of the long form of the census and is asked each 
year of a sample of the U.S. population in order to provide current 
data needed more often than once every ten years.
    The content of the proposed 2019 ACS questionnaire and data 
collection instruments for both Housing Unit and Group Quarters 
operations reflects changes to content and instructions that were 
proposed as a result of the 2016 ACS Content Test. The Census Bureau 
periodically conducts tests of new and improved survey content to 
ensure the ACS is meeting the data needs of its stakeholders. The 
primary objective of content tests is to test whether changes to 
question wording, response categories, and definitions of underlying 
constructs improve the quality of data collected.
    The ACS is one of the Department of Commerce's most valuable data 
products, used extensively by businesses, non-governmental 
organizations (NGOs), local governments, and many federal agencies. In 
conducting this survey, the Census Bureau's top priority is respecting 
the time and privacy of the people providing information while 
preserving the survey's value to the public. The 2019 survey content 
changes cover several topics:

Telephone Service

    The rise of cellphone and smartphone usage, and other complex and 
varied telephone services and equipment, has changed how people view 
and use telephones in a household. Research also suggests that some 
respondents, or in some cases interviewers, may not fully understand 
the current wording of the survey question on Telephone Service, the 
additional instructions that accompany the question, or what the 
question is intending to capture. To make the intent of the Telephone 
Service question easier to understand by respondents and interviewers, 
the question was made a stand-alone question and additional 
instructions are provided on the types of telephones and equipment 
respondents should include when answering the question. Currently, 
telephone service is asked as part of a broader question on housing 
characteristics.

Health Insurance

    A question on health insurance premiums and subsidies will be 
introduced to the ACS immediately following the current question on 
health insurance coverage. The question on premiums and subsidies asks 
if a person pays a health insurance premium, and if so, if he or she 
received a subsidy to help pay the premium. This question will provide 
more accurate information about coverage categories than available from 
the existing ACS question on current coverage alone. These data will 
enhance the ability of HHS and the states to administer Medicaid, CHIP, 
and the exchanges, and monitor private insurance coverage.

Journey to Work

    Changes to the Commute Mode question were motivated by changes in 
public transportation infrastructure across the United States, 
particularly the increased prevalence of light rail systems and the 
need to update and clarify the terminology used to refer to commute 
modes that appear as categories on the ACS. To improve the Commute Mode 
question, some of the public transportation modes were modified. The 
category ``Streetcar or trolley car'' was changed to ``Light rail, 
street car, or trolley,'' ``Subway or elevated'' was changed to 
``Subway or Elevated Rail,'' and ``Railroad'' was changed to ``Long-
distance train or commuter rail.'' These three rail-related categories 
were also slightly reordered so that ``Subway or elevated rail,'' the 
most prevalent rail mode, is listed first. The phrase ``trolley bus'' 
was dropped and the phrase ``work at home'' was changed to ``work from 
home.'' The subheading of instructions was simplified to read ``Mark 
ONE box for the method of transportation used for most of the 
distance.'' The Time of Departure question has historically raised 
concerns about privacy because of the reference to the time a person 
leaves home. To phrase the question in a less intrusive way, the 
question was changed to ask what time the person's trip to work began 
and to remove the word ``home.''

Weeks Worked

    The changes to the question on the number of weeks worked were made 
to allow the Census Bureau to provide high-quality, continuous measures 
for the number of weeks worked, such as means, medians, and aggregates. 
In addition, the changes enable additional specificity for weeks 
worked, particularly with hours worked, income, and occupation. Part A 
of the question regarding the time period of interest was rephrased 
from working ``50 or more weeks'' to ``EVERY week'' and additional 
information is provided in the second sentence. The original 
instruction of ``Count paid time off as work'' was changed to ``Count 
paid vacation, paid sick leave, and military service as work.'' For 
part B of the question, the response option was changed to a write-in 
response, the reference period (``the PAST 12 MONTHS'') is repeated, 
and new guidance clarifies what to count as work.

Class of Worker

    Changes to the Class of Worker question improve overall question 
clarity, refine the definition of unpaid family workers, explicitly 
define a category for Active Duty military, improve question wording 
and categories, and improve the layout of the question. Response 
categories were grouped under three general headings. ``Active Duty'' 
was added as one of the response categories in the government section, 
and the ``Active Duty'' checkbox was dropped from the Employer Name 
question. Question and response category wording were revised for 
clarity. To signal that all six employment characteristics questions 
refer to the same job (including industry and occupation), the series 
was renumbered from separate questions to a single series with sub-
questions. Lastly, the instructional text and heading for the series 
immediately preceding the Class of Worker question was simplified.

Industry and Occupation

    Ongoing research of the Industry and Occupation question write-in 
responses has demonstrated that the questions were unclear and 
confusing to respondents, who were unable to answer at all or answer 
with sufficient clarity to provide useful data. To increase clarity and 
improve occupational specificity, these questions were revised to 
include new and consistent examples, in terms of content and length, 
and include modified question wording. The number of

[[Page 58380]]

characters for write-in responses about ``Job Duties'' was expanded 
from 60 to 100 characters.

Retirement Income

    Over the last 40 years, defined contribution retirement plans have 
become increasingly common while defined benefit plans (such as 
pensions) have become less so. Federal surveys have lagged in 
addressing these newer forms of retirement income and subsequently 
underreport retirement income. The Retirement, Survivor, and Disability 
Income question was changed to improve income reporting, increase item 
response rates, reduce reporting errors, and update questions on 
retirement income and the income generated from retirement accounts and 
all other assets in order to better measure retirement income data. The 
question was expanded to ask about ``retirement income, pensions, 
survivor or disability income.'' In addition, the instructions that 
accompany the question were expanded to note that income from ``a 
previous employer or union, or any regular withdrawals or distributions 
from IRA, Roth IRA, 401(k), 403(b) or other accounts specifically 
designed for retirement'' should be included.

Relationship

    For several years, the Census Bureau has been testing revised 
Relationship questions to improve the estimates of coupled households. 
The 1990 Census first introduced ``Unmarried Partner'' as a response 
category to the Relationship to Householder question. The 2000 and 2010 
Censuses built upon this work, changing the processing of responses to 
the Relationship question to more accurately represent same-sex 
couples. The Census Bureau discovered a statistical error in the 2010 
Census data that resulted from opposite-sex couples mismarking their 
sex. This error has the potential to inflate the estimates of same-sex, 
married-couple households from the 2010 Census. The Census Bureau 
released a set of modified state-level, same-sex household estimates 
from the 2010 Census because of this error, and also began new research 
efforts to improve the Relationship question.
    The Relationship question has been revised to improve measurement 
of same-sex couples. The existing ``Husband or wife'' and ``Unmarried 
partner'' response categories were each split into two versions: 
``Opposite-sex husband/wife/spouse,'' ``Opposite-sex unmarried 
partner,'' ``Same-sex husband/wife/spouse,'' and ``Same-sex unmarried 
partner.'' Additionally, the two unmarried partner categories were 
moved from near the end of the list of response options to near the 
beginning, immediately after the ``Husband/wife/spouse'' options. An 
automated relationship/sex consistency check will be included in 
electronic instruments to provide respondents an opportunity to change 
their sex or relationship responses when there is an inconsistency in 
the reported sex of an individual and whether their relationship was 
reported as ``Opposite-sex'' or ``Same-sex'' husband/wife/spouse or 
unmarried partner. This check reduces the inconsistency in responses 
for a given household and improves the quality of the relationship 
data. The category ``Roomer or boarder'' has been dropped from the 
Relationship question.

Race and Hispanic Origin

    The 2016 ACS Content Test served as an operational test of the race 
and ethnicity questions that were previously tested on the 2015 
National Content Test (NCT). While recommendations about the race and 
ethnicity questions adopted for the 2020 Census and production ACS will 
be based on the results of the census tests and decisions made in 
consultation with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the 2016 
ACS Content Test provided an opportunity to test data collection modes 
and examine other data not available in the 2015 NCT. The 2016 ACS 
Content Test evaluated interviewer-administered collection modes, 
assessed the race and ethnicity questions against demographic and 
socioeconomic data, and separately compared the race and ethnicity 
results to data from the ancestry question. In 2020 or later, the ACS 
will adopt the final version of the race and Hispanic origin questions 
that are implemented for the 2020 Census.

II. Method of Collection

    In August 2012, the OMB in conjunction with the Census Bureau 
established a Subcommittee of the Interagency Council on Statistical 
Policy (ICSP) to address ACS matters. The ICSP Subcommittee on the ACS 
exists to advise the Chief Statistician at OMB and the Director of the 
Census Bureau on how the ACS can best fulfill its role in the portfolio 
of Federal household surveys and provide the most useful information 
with the least amount of burden. It may also advise Census Bureau 
technical staff on issues they request the subcommittee to examine or 
that otherwise arise in discussions. The ICSP Subcommittee on the ACS 
reviewed the proposed 2019 ACS content changes and recommended their 
approval to the OMB and the Census Bureau. For the 2016 ACS Content 
Test, initial versions of the new and revised questions were proposed 
by federal agencies participating in the OMB Interagency Committee for 
the ACS. The initial proposals contained a justification for each 
change and described any previous testing of the question wording, the 
expected impact of revisions to the time series and the single-year as 
well as five-year estimates, and the estimated net impact on respondent 
burden for the proposed revision. For proposed new questions, the 
justification also described the need for the new data, whether federal 
law or regulation required the data for small areas or small population 
groups, if other data sources were currently available to provide the 
information (and why any alternate sources were insufficient), how 
policy needs or emerging data needs would be addressed through the new 
question, an explanation of why the data were needed with the 
geographic precision and frequency provided by the ACS, and whether 
other testing or production surveys had evaluated the use of the 
proposed questions.
    The Census Bureau and the OMB, as well as the ICSP Subcommittee, 
reviewed these proposals for the ACS. The OMB determined which 
proposals moved forward into cognitive testing. After OMB approval of 
the proposals, topical subcommittees were formed from the OMB 
Interagency Committee on the ACS, which included all interested federal 
agencies that use the data from the proposed questions. These 
subcommittees further refined the specific proposed wording in 
preparation for cognitive testing.
    The Census Bureau contracted with Westat, an internationally 
recognized organization with expertise in statistical research and 
survey methods, to conduct three rounds of cognitive testing. The 
results of the first two rounds of cognitive testing informed decisions 
on specific revisions to the proposed content for the stateside 2016 
ACS Content Test. The proposed changes, identified through cognitive 
testing for each question topic, were reviewed by the Census Bureau, 
the corresponding topical subcommittee, and the ICSP Subcommittee for 
the ACS. The OMB then provided final overall approval of the proposed 
wording for field testing.
    The public is invited to comment on all questions on the ACS; 
however, the Census Bureau is particularly interested in comments on 
the wording changes to the nine ACS questions listed above, which are 
proposed to be changed based

[[Page 58381]]

on the results of the 2016 ACS Content Test. Concurrently, Federal 
agencies that are the principal sponsors of these nine questions are 
invited to respond either directly to the Census Bureau or through this 
notice.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0607-0810.
    Form Number(s): ACS-1(2019).
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: Federal and legislative agencies, individuals, 
households, and businesses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 40 minutes for the average household 
questionnaire.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: The Census Bureau plans to 
contact the following number of respondents each year: 3,540,000 
households; 200,000 persons in group quarters; 20,000 contacts in group 
quarters; 43,000 households for reinterview; and 1,500 group quarters 
contacts for reinterview. The estimate is an annual average of 
2,337,900 burden hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.

    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C. Sections 141 and 193.

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,
Departmental PRA Lead, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2017-26726 Filed 12-11-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-07-P