[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 98 (Monday, May 21, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23487-23491]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-10775]


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OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET


Procedures for Participating in the Appeals Process for the 2020 
Census Local Update of Census Addresses Operation (LUCA)

AGENCY: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Executive Office 
of the President, Office of Management and Budget.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: As part of implementing the Census Address List Improvement 
Act of 1994, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requests public 
comment on the Appeals Process whereby tribal, state, and local 
governments participating in the 2020 Census Local Update of Census 
Addresses Operation (LUCA) may appeal determinations made by the Census 
Bureau with respect to their suggested changes to the 2020 Census 
Address List. For information purposes, this notice also describes the 
LUCA Feedback materials that the Census Bureau will provide to 
participating governments and how those governments can use the 
materials as the basis for an appeal.
    The 2020 Census LUCA Operation was available to tribal, state, and 
local governments located in areas for which the Census Bureau develops 
an address list in advance of the census. The Bureau issued final 
procedures for participation in the 2020 Census LUCA Operation in a 
Federal Register Notice Vol. 81. No. 215 on November 7, 2016.
    Request for Comments: OMB is seeking comments on the proposed 
procedures for the 2020 Census LUCA Appeals Process. Comments submitted 
in response to this notice may be made available to the public, 
including by posting them on OMB's website. For this reason, please do 
not include in your comments information of a confidential nature, such 
as sensitive personal information or proprietary information. If you 
send an email comment, your email address will be automatically 
captured and included as part of the comment that is placed in the 
public docket. Please note that responses to this public comment 
request containing any routine notice about the confidentiality of the 
communication will be treated as public comments that may be made 
available to the public notwithstanding the inclusion of the routine 
notice.
    Electronic Availability: This notice is available on the internet 
from the OMB website at https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/. Federal 
Register notices are also available electronically at https://www.federalregister.gov/.

DATES: To ensure consideration during the decision-making process, OMB 
must receive all comments in writing on or before 30 days from 
publication of this notice.

ADDRESSES: Comments concerning the proposed appeals procedure may be 
addressed to: Nancy Potok, Chief Statistician, Office of Management and 
Budget, fax number (202) 395-7245--Email comments may be sent to 
[email protected], with the subject 2020 
Appeals Process. Alternatively, comments may also be sent via http://www.regulations.gov. a Federal E-Government website that allows the 
public to find, review, and submit comments on documents that agencies 
have published in the Federal Register and that are open for comment. 
Simply type ``Local Update of Census Addresses'' (in quotes) in the 
Comment

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or Submission search box, click Go, and follow the instructions for 
submitting comments. Comments received with the subject ``2020 Appeals 
Process'' by the date specified above will be included as part of the 
official record.
    Correspondence about the 2020 Census LUCA Operation should be sent 
to Robin Pennington, Deputy Chief, Decennial Program Management Office, 
U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC 20233, telephone (301) 763-8132, 
email [email protected].
    Because of delays in the receipt of regular mail due to security 
screening, you are encouraged to use electronic communications to 
transmit your comments in order to ensure timely receipt.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about the proposed 
Appeals Process, contact Kerrie Leslie, Office of Management and 
Budget, 9215 New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 20503, 
telephone (202) 395-1093. For information about the Census Bureau's 
2020 Census LUCA Operation, contact Robin Pennington, Deputy Chief, 
Decennial Program Management Office, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC 
20233, telephone (301) 763-8132, email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

The Census Address List Improvement Act of 1994

    The Census Address List Improvement Act of 1994 (Pub. L. 103- 430) 
mandates the establishment of a program to be used by the Census Bureau 
for developing the decennial census address list and address lists for 
other censuses and surveys conducted by the Bureau. The Act's 
provisions direct the Secretary of Commerce to: (1) Publish standards 
defining the content and structure of address information that tribal, 
state, and local governments may submit to be used for developing a 
national address list; (2) develop and publish a timetable for the 
Census Bureau to receive, review, and respond to submissions; and (3) 
provide a response to the submissions regarding the Census Bureau's 
determination for each address. The Act provides further that OMB's 
Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 
acting through the Chief Statistician and in consultation with the 
Census Bureau, shall develop a process for tribal, state, and local 
governments to appeal determinations of the Census Bureau. The Act also 
directs the U.S. Postal Service to provide the Secretary of Commerce 
with address information, as appropriate, for use by the Census Bureau.
    The Act authorizes the Census Bureau to provide designated 
officials of tribal, state, and local governments with access to census 
addresses information. Prior to the 2000 Census, the Census Bureau was 
limited to providing block summary totals of addresses to tribal and 
local governments. The 2000 Census marked the first decennial census 
where tribal and local governments were able to review the census 
address list. The 2010 Census was the first decennial census to invite 
state governments to participate in the LUCA program.

The Census Bureau's 2020 Census LUCA Operation

    As mentioned above, the 2020 Census LUCA Operation is governed by 
procedures finalized and issued in November, 2016. This section 
provides more detail on the process that tribal, state, and local 
governments use to participate in the 2020 Census LUCA Operation.
    For the 2020 Operation, participating governmental jurisdictions 
review and provide updates to the census address list. Participants opt 
to receive materials in paper or computer-readable formats, or use 
Census Bureau supplied software to update their jurisdiction's map 
features and address list. Jurisdictions with more than 6,000 addresses 
are required to participate using a computer-readable address list or 
the Census Bureau supplied software. All LUCA participants are required 
to ``geocode'' each address they add (i.e., identify for an individual 
address its correct geographic location including the latitude/
longitude coordinate location or the correct state, county, census 
tract, and census block codes). The census tract and census block 
numbers are displayed on the Census Bureau supplied maps, digital 
shapefiles and software tools. Additionally, all LUCA participants can 
make updates and corrections to the features on the Census Bureau 
supplied maps or digital shapefiles.
    All participants are required to sign a Confidentiality Agreement 
in accordance with Title 13, United States Code (U.S.C.) to maintain 
the confidentiality of the census address information they received 
from the Census Bureau for review. Participants receive the LUCA 
Address List, Address Count List (providing a count of addresses within 
each census block), and census maps or digital shapefiles of their 
jurisdiction. Participants are required to have the means to secure the 
census address list containing Title 13 information.

The 2020 Census LUCA Address Validation Process

    All addresses submitted by LUCA participants are validated by the 
Census Bureau. During LUCA validation, Census Bureau staff add, delete, 
and correct entries on the Census Address List and make needed 
corrections to census maps based on LUCA submissions. The Census Bureau 
provides feedback to LUCA participants, conveying the Bureau's 
determinations on their submission of additions and updates to census 
address information.

The 2020 Census LUCA Feedback Materials

    The Census Bureau will provide LUCA Feedback materials to 
qualifying governmental jurisdictions as the Census Bureau creates 
those materials over the span of roughly 6 weeks starting in June 2019 
and ending in August 2019. LUCA participants will receive their 
feedback materials in the same media format that they requested for the 
initial LUCA review materials.
    The Census Bureau will provide the LUCA Feedback materials after 
completing the following steps:
    (1) For jurisdictions that submitted address updates to the LUCA 
Address List, the Census Bureau will review and apply each correctly 
formatted participant address update to its address list, adding any 
new addresses not already on its list.
    (2) The Census Bureau will verify the participant suggested address 
updates (additions, corrections, deletions, etc.) to ensure that all 
address updates and additions exist and that they are in the correct 
census block.
    Described below are the LUCA Feedback materials that LUCA Operation 
participants will receive.
    The Census Bureau will provide LUCA Feedback materials to tribal, 
state, or local governments that took any of the following actions:
    (1) Submitted updates (i.e., additions, corrections, deletions) to 
city-style addresses on the LUCA Address List.
    (2) Certified to the Census Bureau at the end of their LUCA review 
that the LUCA Address List was correct and needed no update.
    The LUCA Feedback materials that the Census Bureau will provide to 
each participating government will document which local address 
additions and updates the Census Bureau accepted or did not accept. The 
LUCA Feedback materials include:
    (1) A Full Address List that contains all of the residential 
addresses currently recorded in the Census Address List within the 
participant's jurisdiction.

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This address list will reflect the results of the jurisdiction's 
participation in LUCA.
    (2) A Detailed Feedback Address List that shows each address record 
addition and update submitted by the participant and a processing code 
that identifies a specific action taken by the Census Bureau on that 
address record.
    (3) A Full Address Count List that shows the current residential 
address counts, including those for housing units and group quarters, 
for each census block within the participant's jurisdiction.
    (4) A Feedback Address Update Summary Report that displays the 
tallies of actions taken by the Census Bureau for all of the address 
updates submitted by the participant.
    (5) Feedback maps include feature updates provided by the 
participant.

The OMB Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Administrator's 
Proposed 2020 Census LUCA Appeals Process

    To ensure that tribal, state, and local governments participating 
in the 2020 Census LUCA Operation have a means to appeal the Census 
Bureau's determinations, the Census Address List Improvement Act of 
1994 requires that the Administrator of OMB's Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), acting through the Chief Statistician and in 
consultation with the Census Bureau, develop an Appeals Process to 
resolve any disagreements that may remain after participating 
governments receive the Census Bureau's LUCA Feedback materials. This 
section describes the proposed procedures for that Appeals Process.

A. Overview of the Proposed Appeals Process

    Governmental jurisdictions that participated in LUCA and completed 
a review of LUCA materials may file an Appeal if they meet specified 
eligibility criteria. When filing an appeal, eligible participants must 
include supporting documentation that substantiates the existence and 
location of each appealed address. Eligible participants may file an 
Appeal with the LUCA Appeals Staff, a temporary Federal entity set up 
to administer the Appeals Process. After notification by the Appeals 
Staff that an eligible participant has appealed, the Census Bureau will 
have 15 calendar days to respond to the Appeal. Appeal decisions will 
be based solely on a review of written documentation provided to the 
Appeals Staff by the eligible government and the Census Bureau. The 
decision of the Appeals Staff will be final. The Appeals Staff is 
scheduled to conclude its review of appeal submissions by January 31, 
2020. Specific eligibility criteria and detailed requirements for 
Appeal submissions are provided below.

B. Appeal Procedures for LUCA Participants

1. Eligibility Criteria for Filing an Appeal
    Participants who (1) returned additions to or corrections of the 
2020 Census Address List, or (2) certified to the Census Bureau after 
their LUCA review that the 2020 Census Address List was correct and 
required no update are eligible to file an Appeal.
    Eligible governments may appeal (1) address additions and 
corrections they provided after their initial review of the 2020 Census 
Address List that the Census Bureau did not accept, (2) addresses that 
were deleted from the 2020 Census Address List by the Census Bureau 
during subsequent operations that were not commented on by participants 
during their initial LUCA review.
    When filing an Appeal, eligible LUCA Operation participants must 
provide (1) contact information for the governmental jurisdiction 
filing the Appeal, (2) address information for each address being 
appealed, and (3) supporting documentation that substantiates the 
existence and/or location of each address being appealed as specified 
below.
2. Contact Information
    Eligible participants must provide the following contact 
information for the governmental jurisdiction filing the Appeal:
    a. Name of the governmental jurisdiction, and
    b. Name, mailing address, telephone number, and electronic mail 
address (if any) of that jurisdiction's contact person for the Appeal.
3. Address Information
    Address information may be submitted in computer-readable form or 
on paper. Technical requirements for the format of address information 
will be included with the feedback materials the participant receives 
from the Census Bureau.
    a. To appeal the Census Bureau's rejection of an address that was 
submitted to be added to, or corrected on, the Census Address List (as 
evidenced by the Census Bureau's final determination code for that 
address on the Detailed Feedback Address List),

OR

    To appeal the Census Bureau's deletion of an address during a 
previous operation that was not previously commented on by the 
participant during its initial LUCA review (as indicated for that 
address on the Detailed Feedback Address List), provide the following 
items of information for each appealed address:
    (1) Complete address (including the house number, unit designator 
if applicable, street name and ZIP Code) or if there is no address a 
location description of the housing unit or other living quarters.
    (2) Control ID number, as provided by the Census Bureau for each 
address record as part of the feedback address list.
    (3) Participant submitted action code.
    (4) Census Bureau's Processing Code.
    Geographic location of the address:
    (5) Census Tract number and Census Block number, or
    (6) Latitude/Longitude coordinate location.
4. Supporting Documentation
    Eligible participants must provide supporting documentation for 
each appealed address as specified below. The appeals decisions will be 
based on a review of documentation provided by the eligible government 
and the Census Bureau. Eligible governments must submit the following 
supporting documentation with their Appeals:
    1. A written explanation that gives the eligible government's 
specific recommendations for how each address and location being 
appealed should appear on the 2020 Census Address List.
    2. A written statement that outlines the eligible government's 
position for why the Appeals Staff should adopt its recommendations. 
The statement must specifically respond to the explanation that 
accompanied the Census Bureau's LUCA Feedback materials.
    3. For each address (or group of addresses), supporting documentary 
evidence--including a reference to the exact location on the supporting 
documentation where the Appeals Staff can find specific evidence--
supporting the eligible government's position with respect to the 
existence or correctness of that address. Useful types of supporting 
evidence include:
    (a) Documentation of on-site inspection and/or interview of 
residents and/or neighbors;
    (b) Issuance of recent occupancy permit for unit. Building permits 
are not acceptable as they do not ensure that the units have been 
built;
    (c) Provision of utilities (electricity, gas, sewer, water, 
telephone, etc.) to the residence. The utility record should

[[Page 23490]]

show that this is not a service to a commercial unit, or an additional 
service to an existing residence (such as a second telephone line);
    (d) Provision of other governmental services (housing assistance, 
welfare, etc.) to residents of the unit;
    (e) Photography, including aerial photography;
    (f) Land use maps;
    (g) Local 911 emergency lists, if they distinguish residential from 
commercial units;
    (h) Tax assessment records, if they distinguish residential from 
commercial units.
    4. Evidence that demonstrates the quality of address or map 
reference sources provided as supporting evidence such as:
    (a) Date of the address source;
    (b) How often the address source is updated;
    (c) Methods used to update the source;
    (d) Quality assurance procedure(s) used in maintaining the address 
source;
    (e) How the address source is used by the eligible government and/
or by the originator of the source.
    All Appeal documentation must be filed with the Appeals Staff 
within 45 calendar days after the eligible government's receipt of its 
LUCA Feedback materials. The eligible jurisdiction may not submit any 
materials to the Appeals Staff after the 45-day period has elapsed.

C. Deadline for an Eligible Government To File Appeals

    Appeals must be filed by the eligible government within 45 calendar 
days after that government's receipt of the LUCA Feedback materials. 
``Receipt'' as used herein is defined as the delivery date reported to 
the Census Bureau by the delivery service that transmits the feedback 
materials to the eligible government. In order to safeguard the 
confidential address materials covered by Title 13, the transmitting of 
an Appeal to the LUCA Appeals Staff must adhere to the Census Bureau's 
specific guidelines for handling materials supplied with the feedback 
materials. The eligible government should transmit its appeal materials 
to the Appeals Staff following the instructions outlined in the 
guidelines for handling materials, and must keep a record of the date 
it transmits these materials. The ``filing date'' for the Appeals shall 
be the date the Appeal is transmitted. All Appeals filed after the 
deadline will be denied as untimely.

D. Where To File an Appeal

    Appeals must be sent to the LUCA Appeals Staff following the 
instructions supplied in the feedback materials. Upon receipt of an 
Appeal, the LUCA Appeals Staff will send a confirmation to the eligible 
jurisdiction that its Appeal has been received. The Appeals Staff also 
will notify the Census Bureau that the Appeal has been filed.

E. Documentation and Supporting Evidence That May be Submitted by the 
Census Bureau

During the Appeals Process
    The Census Bureau is not required to respond to the Appeal or to 
provide any materials in support of its determination. Upon receipt of 
notification that an Appeal has been filed, the Census Bureau will have 
15 calendar days in which it may (if the Census Bureau so chooses):
    1. Submit to the LUCA Appeals Staff written documentation briefly 
summarizing its position as well as any supporting evidence concerning 
the appealed addresses,

OR

    2. Submit to the Appeals Staff a written statement agreeing to the 
recommendation(s) in the Appeal.
    If the Census Bureau submits any written documentation to the 
Appeals Staff to support its position, the Census Bureau at the same 
time must send a copy of its submission to the eligible government. The 
Census Bureau may not submit any materials to the Appeals Staff after 
the 15-day period has elapsed.

F. The Appeals Review and Final Decision Process

    The Appeals Process will be administered by the 2020 Census LUCA 
Appeals Staff, which will be setup for approximately 18 months by the 
Census Bureau as a temporary Federal entity. The Appeals Staff will 
include Appeals Officers who are trained in the procedures for 
processing an Appeal and in the examination and analysis of address 
list information, locations of addresses and housing units, and 
supporting materials.
    For each Appeal, an Appeals Officer will review the Census Bureau's 
feedback materials and the written documentation and supporting 
evidence submitted by the eligible government and the Census Bureau. No 
testimony or oral argument will be received by the Appeals Officer. 
Appeals Officers will apply the following principles in conducting 
their review:
    1. The Appeals Officer shall consider the quality of the map or 
address reference source as the basis for determining the validity of 
an address (or group of addresses) and its (their) location(s).
    a. Indicators demonstrating quality of the map or address reference 
source may include, but are not limited to, timeliness, update methods 
and frequency, provenance, and congruence with other sources. For 
example, useful supporting evidence may include, but would not be 
limited to, local data sources like recent documentation of an on-site 
inspection, aerial photography, and provision of utilities to the 
residence.
    2. For any address for which the Appeals Officer determines that 
the quality of the supporting evidence submitted by both parties is of 
equal weight, the Appeals Officer shall decide in favor of the eligible 
government.
    At the conclusion of the review of an appealed address (or group of 
addresses), the Appeals Officer will prepare a draft written 
determination. The draft written determination will be reviewed by a 
higher-level official on the Appeals Staff. The Director of the Appeals 
Staff (or his or her designee) will then issue a final written 
determination to both the eligible government and the Census Bureau. 
The final written determination will include a brief explanation of the 
Appeals Staff's decision, and will specify how the appealed address 
(es) or its (their) location(s) should appear on the 2020 Census 
Address List. Each final written determination shall become part of the 
administrative record of the Appeals Process.
    The Appeals Staff's decision is final. The Census Bureau will 
include all addresses added to, or corrected in, the 2020 Census 
Address List as a result of the Appeals Process, and attempt to locate 
and enumerate them. Inclusion of an address on the list does not mean 
that a living quarters or its inhabitants are actually at the address, 
or that the address will be included in the final 2020 data summaries. 
The census-taking process will determine the inclusion status of the 
address--whether or not it is actually a housing unit--and the final 
population and housing unit status for each address.

G. Completion of the Appeals Process

    Appeals reviews will be completed and written determination issued 
to the concerned parties as soon as possible. The Appeals Process is 
scheduled to be completed by the end of January 2020.

Executive Orders 12866 and 13771

    This proposed procedural notice is not a significant regulatory 
action under Executive Order 12866. In addition, this

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proposed notice is not an E.O. 13771 regulatory action.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is required 
to respond to, nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for failure 
to comply with, a collection of information subject to the requirements 
of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) unless that collection of 
information displays a current, valid Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) control number. In accordance with the PRA, 44 U.S.C., Chapter 
35, the Census Bureau requested, and OMB granted its clearance for, the 
information collection requirements for this operation on November 7, 
2016 (OMB Control Number 0607-0994). The Census Bureau's request for a 
generic clearance covering this operation until 2020 was sent to the 
OMB on November 14, 2016.

Nancy Potok,
Chief Statistician, Office of Management and Budget.
[FR Doc. 2018-10775 Filed 5-18-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3110-01-P