[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 249 (Monday, December 30, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71893-71894]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-28015]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; State and Local 
Government Finance Collections, and Public Employment and Payroll 
Collections

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 revisions to the State and Local Government Finance 
Collections and Public Employment and Payroll Collections, as required 
by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be submitted on 
or before February 28, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Thomas Smith, PRA Liaison, 
U.S. Census Bureau, 4600 Silver Hill Road, Room 7K250A, Washington, DC 
20233 (or via the internet at [email protected]). You may also submit 
comments, identified by Docket Number USBC-2019-0018, 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, or Adobe PDF file formats.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument(s) and instructions 
should be directed to Kimberly Moore, Chief, Economy-Wide Statistics 
Division, U.S. Census Bureau, Room 8K154, 4600 Silver Hill Road, 
Washington, DC 20233; or by email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract

    The Census Bureau plans to request clearance for the collection 
tools necessary to conduct the public finance and the public employment 
and payroll programs, which consists of the annual collections of 
information and a quinquennial collection in the census years ending in 
``2'' and ``7''. This clearance and all future clearances will combine 
all Census of Governments programs and their related Annual programs, 
which were previously submitted separately. During the upcoming three 
years, we intend to conduct the 2020 and 2021 Annual Surveys of State 
and Local Government Finances and the 2021 Survey of Public Employment 
and Payroll and the 2022 Census of Governments--Finance and 2022 Census 
of Governments--Employment.
    The Census of Governments--Finance and Annual Surveys of State and 
Local Government Finances collect data on state government finances and 
estimates of local government revenue, expenditure, debt, assets, and 
pension systems nationally and within state areas. The surveys include 
the Annual

[[Page 71894]]

Survey of State Government Finances, the Annual Survey of Local 
Government Finances, the Annual Survey of State Tax Collections and the 
Annual Survey of Public Pensions. The Census of Governments--Employment 
and Annual Survey of Public Employment and Payroll collects state and 
local government data on full-time and part-time employment, part-time 
hours worked, full-time equivalent employment, and payroll statistics 
by governmental function. Data are collected for all agencies, 
departments, and institutions of the fifty state governments and for a 
sample of all local governments (counties, municipalities, townships, 
and special districts). Data for school districts are collected under a 
separate survey. In the census year, equivalent data are collected from 
all local governments. These separate data collections are necessary to 
create the comprehensive financial and employment picture for state and 
local governments. The combined data are released as part of the State 
and Local Government Finance and Public Employment & Payroll 
statistical series. The collections also produce individual data 
products that focus on state governments, local governments, public 
pensions and public employment in greater detail than the combined 
financial and employment series as a by-product of their collections 
for the combined data series. The Census Bureau provides these data to 
the Bureau of Economic Analysis to develop the public sector components 
of the National Income and Product Accounts and for constructing the 
functional payrolls in the public sector of the Gross Domestic Product, 
payroll being the single largest component of current operations, and 
to the Federal Reserve Board for use in the Flow of Funds Accounts. 
Other Federal agencies that make use of the data include the Council of 
Economic Advisers, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the 
Government Accountability Office, and the Department of Justice. State 
and local governments and related organizations, public policy groups, 
public interest groups, private research organizations, and private 
sector businesses also use these data.
    The program has collected comprehensive and comparable government 
financial and employment statistics since 1940.
    Starting with the 2020 data collection for the Annual Survey of 
Public Pensions, the Census Bureau proposes modifying the existing 
questions concerning actuarial funding of public pension plans for 
state-administered plans, adding these questions to the survey for 
locally-administered plans and differentiating between administrative 
costs and investment costs. These updates reflect changes in accounting 
standards and the needs of data users inside and outside the federal 
statistical system.

II. Method of Collection

    These surveys use multiple modes for data collection including 
internet collection with a mailed invitation, telephone, and central 
collection. Other methods used to collect data and maximize response 
include collecting state and local government data through submitted 
financial audits, state financial reports, and comprehensive financial 
reports and via electronic or mailed files and/or records.
    The Census Bureau developed central collection agreements with 
state and large local government officials to collect the data from 
their dependent agencies and report to the Census Bureau as a central 
respondent. These arrangements eliminate the need for a mail invitation 
for approximately 5,500 governmental units, approximately 3,716 state 
agencies and 158 school systems in a sample year and 36,000 during the 
year of the Census of Governments. The arrangements reduce burden by 
greatly reducing the number of respondents who have to complete an on-
line form as the data are acquired from a centralized source instead of 
multiple sources. Currently, the Census Bureau has central collection 
arrangements to collect local government data with 27 states, four 
local school district governments and state government data from all 50 
states. The Census Bureau continues to expand the conversion of paper 
submissions into electronic formats by collaborating with state and 
local governments regarding electronic reporting of central collection 
data, and encouraging electronic responses from individual governments.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0607-0585.
    Form Number(s): F-5, F-11, F-12, F-13, F-28, F-29, F-32, E-1, E-2, 
E-3, E-4, E-5, E-6, E-7, E-8, E-9, E-10.
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: State and local governments.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: For F-forms: 13,440, For E-forms: 
16,872/sample year; For F-forms 59,259 For E-forms: 99,402/census year; 
Total: 30,312/sample year, 158,661/census year.
    Estimated Time Per Response: For F-forms: 3.03, For E-forms: .84 
hours/sample year; For F-forms 3.00, For E-forms: .82 hours/census 
year; Total: 3.87 hours/sample year, 3.82 hours/census year.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: For F-forms: 40,755, For E-
forms: 14,164 hours/sample year; For F-forms: 177,826 hours, For E-
forms: 81,299 hours/census year; Total: 54,919/sample year, 258,585/
census year.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0. (This is not the cost of 
respondents' time, but the indirect costs respondents may incur for 
such things as purchases of specialized software or hardware needed to 
report, or expenditures for accounting or records maintenance services 
required specifically by the collection.)
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C. Sections 161 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,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2019-28015 Filed 12-27-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P