[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 61 (Monday, March 30, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17531-17532]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-06566]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

U.S. Census Bureau


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; 2020-2022 
Report of Organization

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 a 
proposed extension of the Report of Organization, as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be submitted on 
or before May 29, 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-2020-0008, 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 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 Report of Organization to 
update and maintain a central, multipurpose Business Register (BR) 
database. In particular, the Report of Organization 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 2020-2022 Report of Organization collection strategy will focus 
on electronic reporting as the standard collection option. The 2020-
2021 Report of Organization 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.
    The Census Bureau will conduct the 2022 Report of Organization in 
conjunction with the 2022 Economic Census and will coordinate these 
collections to minimize response burden. The consolidated Report of 
Organization/census mail canvass will direct inquiries to the entire 
universe of multi-location enterprises that comprises roughly 165,000 
parent companies and more than 1.9 million establishments. Additional 
Report of Organization inquiries will apply to the 15,000 multi-unit 
establishments classified in industries that are out-of-scope of the 
economic census.
    Electronic reporting will be available to all 2020-2022 Report of 
Organization 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.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0607-0444.
    Form Number(s): NC-99001 (for multi-establishment enterprises 
during 2020-2022) and NC-99007 (for single-location companies during 
2020-2021).
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: Businesses and not-for-profit institutions.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 47,000 per year for 2020-2021 and 
165,000 for 2022.
    Estimated Time per Response: 3.4 hours for 2020-2021 and 0.44 hours 
for 2022.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 159,800 hours for 2020-2021 
and 72,600 hours for 2022.
    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: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C. Sections 131 and 182.

[[Page 17532]]

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.

    Dated: March 25, 2020.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2020-06566 Filed 3-27-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-07-P