[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 82 (Tuesday, April 28, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23503-23505]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-08951]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Supplemental 
Questions Related to the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Businesses

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 and as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, invites the general public and other 
Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on a proposed 
extension of the collection of information on the effects of the COVID-
19 pandemic on the functioning of businesses through five Census Bureau 
surveys designated as Principal Federal Economic Indicators. The 
original collection was approved by the Office of Management and Budget 
on April 8, 2020 under the emergency approval provisions of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act.

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

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(or via the internet at [email protected]). You may also submit 
comments, identified by Docket Number USBC-2020-0009, 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 Stephanie Studds, Chief, Economic Indicators 
Division, EID--7K154, Washington, DC 20278 (or via the internet at 
[email protected]; via telephone at 301-763-2633).

I. Abstract

    On April 8, 2020, The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) granted 
approval under the emergency approval provisions of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (PRA) for the U.S. Census Bureau to immediately begin 
collecting information on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the 
functioning of businesses. The questions were added to the following 
surveys designated as Principal Federal Economic Indicators:
Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories & Orders (M3) Survey (OMB control 
number 0607-0008)
Building Permits Survey (OMB control number 0607-0094)
Monthly Wholesale Trade Survey (OMB control number 0607-0190)
Monthly Retail Surveys (OMB control number 0607-0717)
Quarterly Services Survey (OMB control number 0607-0907)
    The added questions are designed to allow the Census Bureau to 
measure the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic upon businesses. As 
Principal Federal Economic Indicators, each of these surveys produces 
timely and closely watched statistics about the health of the U.S 
economy. Given the importance of these indicator surveys and of the 
statistics they produce, it is imperative we measure to what extent 
businesses have been impacted in terms of their ability to maintain 
operations during this turbulent period.
    For the Building Permits Survey, the following questions have been 
added:
    In the last month, was this office unable to issue permits as a 
result of a closure, lack of staffing, or any other reason?
 Yes
 No
    If yes:
    In the last month, were permit backlogs caused as a result of a 
closure, lack of staffing, or any other reason?
 Yes
 No
    If yes:
    In the last month, were permit backlogs cleared by the end of the 
reporting month or delayed into a future month?
 Backlogs were cleared by the end of the reporting month
 Backlogs were delayed into a future month
    For the remaining four surveys, one fixed question was added as 
follows:
    During (month\quarter), did this business temporarily close any of 
its locations for at least one day?
    Additionally, the following questions will be added to the four 
surveys on a rotating basis:
    In general, how has this business been affected by COVID-19?
    In the last month, has this business discontinued operations due to 
factors related to COVID-19?
    In the last month, did this business pay wages or salaries to 
employees that did not work due to the impact of COVID-19 on this 
business?
    In the last month, did one or more of this business's paid 
employees work remotely (telework)?
    In your opinion, how much time do you anticipate will pass before 
this business returns to the level of operations before March 2020?
    Did delays in this business's product shipments impact (insert 
month) inventories reported in Item XX?
    Did this business experience any delays in its supply chain that 
impacted the value of (insert month) shipments reported in Item xx?
    In the last month, did any of this business's locations adopt 
pickup/carry-out/delivery as their only means of providing goods and 
services to their customers?
    Due to the need to begin collecting this information right away, we 
were unable to allow for the time periods normally required for 
clearance under the PRA. The approval granted by OMB is through October 
31, 2020. This approval allows the Census Bureau to ask these questions 
on the regular collections of the above-mentioned surveys for 6 months. 
The Census Bureau now seeks to extend clearance for the COVID-19 
supplemental questions for an additional three years. Currently, there 
is no way to anticipate an end to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic 
on the economy. Therefore, the Census Bureau needs to be prepared for 
the possibility of collecting these data for an extended period of 
time.

II. Method of Collection

    The COVID-19 questions will be collected in the same manner as the 
surveys on which they will appear. The primary method of collecting 
information in these surveys is electronically through our Centurion 
online reporting system. We deem this the most efficient and least 
burdensome way to collect the information.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: The emergency approval was assigned OMB control 
number 0607-1012. The Census Bureau may seek to extend this control 
number or to revise each of the surveys on which the COVID-19 questions 
appear. Those surveys are cleared under control numbers 0607-0008, 
0607-0094, 0607-0190, 0607-0717, and 0607-0907.
    Form Number(s): The COVID-19 questions appear on the collection 
forms utilized in each of the surveys in which they appear. There is no 
separate form number.
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: Businesses.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 63,675.
    Estimated Time per Response: 5 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 24,455.
    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 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)

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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. 2020-08951 Filed 4-27-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-07-P