[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 96 (Thursday, May 20, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27377-27378]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-10666]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; 2020 Public Use Microdata Areas Program

    The Department of Commerce will submit the following information 
collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. We invite the 
general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and 
continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of 
our information collection requirements and minimize the public's 
reporting burden. Public comments were previously requested via the 
Federal Register on July 6, 2020 during a 60-day comment period. This 
notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.
    Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.
    Title: 2020 Public Use Microdata Areas Program.
    OMB Control Number: 0607-XXXX.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Regular submission, New Information Collection 
Request.
    Number of Respondents: 52.
    Average Hours per Response: 40.
    Burden Hours: 2,080.
    Needs and Uses: Public Use Microdata Areas, or PUMAs, are non-
overlapping, statistical geographic areas that partition each state or 
equivalent entity into geographic areas containing no fewer than 
100,000 people each. They cover the entirety of the United States, 
Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.\1\ PUMAs are a higher 
level of geography than census tract, or even county in some instances, 
and provide all data users with another level of geography for data 
analysis.
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    \1\ States or equivalent entities with less than 200,000 persons 
are not eligible to participate because their populations do not 
meet the minimum threshold to delineate more than one PUMA.
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    The Census Bureau is the only federal agency to create PUMAs. Every 
ten

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years the Census Bureau offers State Data Centers the opportunity to 
delineate PUMAs for the tabulation and dissemination of decennial 
census and American Community Survey (ACS) Public Use Microdata Sample 
(PUMS) data as well as for the dissemination of period estimates from 
both the ACS and Puerto Rico Community Survey. PUMS data are valuable 
to state and local planning agencies/offices, as well as students, for 
use in long-range planning and research projects. PUMS data contain 
individual records of the characteristics for a sample of persons and 
households. They show a full range of population and housing unit 
responses collected on individual ACS questionnaires, for a subsample 
of ACS housing units and group quarters persons. Without PUMAs and PUMS 
data, the data community would not be able to create custom tables and 
statistics not available through pre-tabulated (or summary) data 
products.
    The Census Bureau invites State Data Centers from each state, the 
District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico to delineate PUMAs, using the 
decennial census population counts and updated census tract geography 
as critical inputs to delineation. The Census Bureau asks State Data 
Centers to involve interested data users, such as those in tribal, 
state, and local (e.g., county, incorporated place, and town/township) 
governments, as well as regional planning agencies or organizations to 
ensure that the PUMAs meet the needs of a variety of data users. 
Collaboration between State Data Centers and other interested data 
users is especially important for areas with population exceeding 
100,000. Though collaboration is encouraged, the State Data Centers are 
the official participants for this program and must coordinate the 
delineation suggestions from other interested data users. The Census 
Bureau accepts PUMA delineation proposals for the 2020 Public Use 
Microdata Areas (PUMA) program (e.g., the 2020 PUMA) only from each 
state's respective State Data Center.
    The Geographic Update Partnership Software (GUPS) is a geographic 
information system developed by the Census Bureau and provided 
complimentary to State Data Centers and interested data users. It 
contains tools and options specifically designed to assist with the 
delineation of PUMAs, allows for the sharing of work performed by 
multiple participants to facilitate a collaborative effort, and 
prepares the delineated PUMAs properly for submission to the Census 
Bureau. The Census Bureau only accepts submissions of PUMAs delineated 
and exported using GUPS.
    There are three options for delineating PUMAs within GUPS. State 
Data Centers can choose to create them from scratch (e.g., Create a new 
blank PUMA layer), import them from a census tract equivalency file 
(e.g., Import a PUMA tabular equivalency file), or import them from a 
locally-generated PUMA shapefile (e.g., Import a PUMA shapefile). For 
added flexibility, participants can use more than one option to 
delineate PUMAs as they conduct their work. Each State Data Center 
works closely with the interested data users assisting with PUMA 
delineation to determine the best delineation method(s) for their state 
or specific situation. Once the State Data Centers complete the 
delineation process, they submit their PUMA delineations using the 
Secure Web Incoming Module (SWIM). SWIM is the only Census Bureau 
authorized submission method for the 2020 PUMA. The participant guide, 
which will be available for download from the 2020 PUMA website when 
the program begins in September 2021, includes instructions for using 
both GUPS and SWIM. Locate the 2020 PUMA website at: www.census.gov/programs-surveys/geography/guidance/geo-areas/pumas/2020pumas.html.
    To prepare State Data Centers for their involvement in the 2020 
PUMA, the Census Bureau provided an overview of the program during the 
State Data Center's annual meeting in October 2020. During that 
overview, the Census Bureau informed State Data Centers of their 
opportunity to review and provide comments on the proposed criteria and 
guidelines for PUMAs. The Census Bureau will respond to comments 
received on the proposed criteria prior to posting the final criteria 
and guidelines on the PUMA website for use during the program.
    Following the October 2020 meeting, the Census Bureau emailed each 
of the State Data Centers to establish a primary and secondary point of 
contact for the 2020 PUMA, inquire about existing SWIM account(s), and 
gauge interest in GUPS user acceptance testing. These points of contact 
will receive the official program announcement email in September 2021, 
that will include instructions to download the 2020 PUMA materials from 
the PUMA website and begin delineation. After the program announcement 
email is distributed, the Census Bureau will communicate with the 
points of contact to confirm receipt of the email, answer any questions 
they may have, and ensure an awareness of the material availability on 
the PUMA website. The Census Bureau will also reinforce the program's 
90-day review timeframe and overall schedule.
    Once the program is underway, the Census Bureau will conduct a 
minimum of two online trainings to support PUMA delineation and will 
provide technical support to participants throughout the duration of 
the program.
    The Census Bureau will accept PUMA submissions from State Data 
Centers through January 2022. If questions arise regarding a submission 
during processing, the Census Bureau will confer with the points of 
contact to resolve them. The resulting, finalized PUMAs will be 
publicly available online to all data users at the conclusion of the 
Census Bureau's processing in the summer of 2022.
    Affected Public: State Data Centers representing each state, the 
District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
    Frequency: Once per decade, following the decennial census.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13, U.S.C. Section 6.
    This information collection request may be viewed at 
www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view the Department of 
Commerce collections currently under review by OMB.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of 
this notice on the following website www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. 
Find this particular information collection by selecting ``Currently 
under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search 
function and entering the title of the collection.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2021-10666 Filed 5-19-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P