[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 176 (Tuesday, September 13, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55990-55993]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-19705]


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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; American Community Survey and Puerto Rico Community Survey

AGENCY: Census Bureau, Commerce.

[[Page 55991]]


ACTION: Notice of information collection, request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, invites 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. The 
purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment on the 
proposed revision of the American Community Survey and Puerto Rico 
Community Survey, prior to the submission of the information collection 
request (ICR) to OMB for approval.

DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed 
information collection must be received on or before November 14, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments by 
email to [email protected]. Please reference the American Community 
Survey and the Puerto Rico Community Survey in the subject line of your 
comments. You may also submit comments, identified by Docket Number 
USBC-2022-0014, 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 
specific questions related to collection activities should be directed 
to Dameka Reese, U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey Office, 
301-763-3804, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    Since its founding, the U.S. Census Bureau has balanced the demands 
of a growing country requiring information about its people and economy 
with concerns for respondents' confidentiality and the time and effort 
it takes respondents to answer questions. Beginning with the 1810 
Census, Congress updated the set of questions asked in the 1790 and 
1800 Censuses by adding questions to support a range of public concerns 
and uses. Over the course of a century, Federal agencies requested to 
add questions about agriculture, industry, and commerce, as well as 
individuals' occupation, ancestry, marital status, disabilities, place 
of birth, and other topics. In 1940, the Census Bureau introduced the 
long-form census questionnaire in order to ask more detailed questions 
to a sample of the public.
    In the early 1990s, the demand for current, nationally consistent 
data from a wide variety of users led Federal government policymakers 
to consider the feasibility of collecting social, economic, and housing 
data continuously throughout the decade. The benefits of providing 
current data, along with the anticipated decennial census benefits in 
cost savings, planning, improved census coverage, and more efficient 
operations, led the Census Bureau to plan the implementation of the 
Continuous Measurement Survey, later called the American Community 
Survey (ACS). After years of testing, the ACS was implemented in 2005 
replacing the need for long-form data collection in future decennial 
censuses. The ACS is conducted throughout the United States and in 
Puerto Rico, where it is called the Puerto Rico Community Survey 
(PRCS). The ACS samples approximately 3.5 million housing unit 
addresses in the United States and about 36,000 housing unit addresses 
in Puerto Rico each year. A housing unit is a house, an apartment, a 
mobile home, a group of rooms, or a single room occupied or intended 
for occupancy as separate living quarters. The ACS also collects 
detailed socioeconomic data from a sample of about 170,000 residents 
living in group quarters facilities in the United States and about 900 
in Puerto Rico. Group quarters are places where people live or stay, in 
a group living arrangement that is owned or managed by an entity or 
organization providing housing and/or services for the residents. 
People living in group quarters usually are not related to each other. 
Group quarters include such places as college/university student 
housing, residential treatment centers, skilled nursing facilities, 
group homes, military barracks, correctional facilities, workers' group 
living quarters and Job Corps centers, and emergency and transitional 
shelters.
    In 2024, the ACS plans to add an internet self-response option to 
the group quarters data collection operation. The Census Bureau 
believes there is value in offering a self-response option to people 
living in certain types of group quarters--college/university student 
housing, group homes, military barracks, workers' group living quarters 
and Job Corps centers, and emergency and transitional shelters.
    Beginning with the 2024 data collection year, the ACS will use 
administrative data. The Census Bureau is obligated by law (title 13, 
U.S. Code) to use existing information that has already been collected 
by other government agencies, whenever possible and consistent with the 
kind, timeliness, quality and scope of the statistics required, instead 
of asking for such information directly from the public. The Census 
Bureau is allowed to use these data for statistical purposes only and 
may not use these records for enforcement purposes or to decide on 
eligibility for a benefit. Additionally, Census Bureau research has 
shown that using administrative data can reduce respondent burden and 
improve the quality of the ACS data. The Census Bureau is focusing 
initial efforts to supplement or replace ACS survey data for several 
housing characteristics with administrative data from other sources, 
such as property tax records. At a minimum, administrative data will be 
used for the question asking about property acreage beginning in 2024. 
Implementation for other housing items, such as agricultural sales and 
year built, may start later.
    In addition to using administrative records and in coordination 
with the Office of Management and Budget Interagency Committee for the 
ACS, the Census Bureau solicited proposals for question changes or 
additions from more than 20 Federal agencies. Approved topics underwent 
cognitive testing to verify that proposed question wording would be 
understood by respondents. Based on cognitive testing results, the 
Census Bureau proposes to update wording in 2024 for questions on three 
topics: condominium fees, home heating fuel, and journey to work. The 
Census Bureau proposes to implement these three topics without 
additional testing; other topics are still undergoing testing.
    The condominium fees question would be extended to include 
homeowners' association (HOA) fees. Data sources continue to show 
housing units that are part of HOAs outnumber housing units in 
condominiums. In order to provide more comprehensive and accurate costs 
of owning a home, the ACS needs to capture HOA fees for these homes. 
Adding these fees to the existing condominium fees question

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avoids adding a new question to the ACS and therefore minimizes 
respondent burden.
    The change to the home heating fuel question would update the 
natural gas and bottled gas categories. This will aid respondents in 
identifying the correct category more easily by using more commonly 
used terminology.
    The journey to work question would be updated to include ride-
sharing services as a mode of transportation to work to account for new 
and growing travel trends. This will reduce ambiguity in the current 
question about where respondents should report ride-sharing commutes 
and will allow the government to monitor changes in transportation 
patterns for planning purposes.

II. Method of Collection

    To encourage self-response in the ACS, the Census Bureau sends up 
to five mailings to housing unit addresses selected to be in the 
sample. The first mailing, sent to all mailable addresses in the 
sample, includes an invitation to participate in the ACS online and 
states that a paper questionnaire will be sent in a few weeks to those 
unable to respond online. The second mailing is a letter that reminds 
respondents to complete the survey online, thanks them if they have 
already done so, and informs them that a paper questionnaire will be 
sent at a later date if we do not receive their response. In a third 
mailing, the paper questionnaire is sent only to those sample addresses 
that have not completed the online questionnaire within two weeks of 
receipt of the first mailing. The fourth mailing is a postcard that 
reminds respondents to respond and informs them that an interviewer may 
contact them if they do not complete the survey. A fifth mailing is 
sent to respondents who have not completed the survey within five 
weeks. This letter provides a due date and reminds the respondents to 
return their questionnaires to be removed from future contact. If a 
respondent starts to answer the survey online and provides an email 
address but does not complete the survey, an email will be sent to the 
respondent to remind them to return to the survey to complete their 
online questionnaire. If the Census Bureau does not receive a response 
or if the household refuses to participate, the address may be selected 
for an interview in-person or by telephone by a Census Bureau field 
representative, which we call the nonresponse follow-up data collection 
operation. Respondents also have the option to call the Telephone 
Questionnaire Assistance line and complete the survey over the 
telephone. A small sample of respondents from the nonresponse follow-up 
data collection operation are recontacted for quality assurance 
purposes.
    Some addresses are deemed unmailable because the address is 
incomplete or directs mail only to a post office box. The Census Bureau 
currently collects data for these housing units using both online and 
computer-assisted personal interviewing by a Census Bureau field 
representative. During the person-level phase, a field representative 
uses a computer-assisted personal interview automated instrument to 
collect detailed information for each sampled resident. A small sample 
of respondents from the nonresponse follow-up data collection operation 
are recontacted for quality assurance purposes.
    For sample housing units in the Puerto Rico Community Survey 
(PRCS), a different mail strategy is employed. The Census Bureau 
continues to use the previously used mail strategy with no references 
to an internet response option. The Census Bureau sends up to five 
mailings to a Puerto Rico address selected to be in the sample. The 
first mailing includes a prenotice letter. The second and fourth 
mailings include the paper survey. The third and fifth mailings are 
postcards that serve as a reminder to respond to the survey. If the 
Puerto Rico address is deemed unmailable because the address is 
incomplete or directs mail only to a post office box, the address may 
be selected for an interview in-person or by telephone. A small sample 
of respondents from the nonresponse follow-up data collection operation 
are recontacted for quality assurance purposes.
    The Census Bureau employs a separate strategy to collect data from 
group quarters. The Census Bureau collects data for sampled people in 
group quarters through personal interview and telephone interview. The 
Census Bureau will obtain the facility information by conducting a 
telephone or personal visit interview with a group quarter contact. 
During this interview, the Census Bureau obtains a roster of residents 
and randomly selects them for person-level interviews. The facility 
also has the option of uploading their facility roster to the Census 
Bureau online listing application. During the person-level phase, a 
field representative uses a computer-assisted personal interview 
automated instrument to collect detailed information for each sampled 
resident. The field representative also has the option to distribute a 
bilingual (English/Spanish) questionnaire to residents for self-
response if they are unable to complete a computer-assisted personal 
interview. Beginning in 2024, respondents in some group quarters will 
have the option to self-respond to the survey online. A small sample of 
facilities are recontacted for quality assurance purposes.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0607-0810.
    Form Number(s): ACS-1, ACS-1(SP), ACS-1(PR), ACS-1(PR)SP, ACS-
1(GQ), ACS-1(PR)(GQ), GQFQ, ACS CAPI (HU), ACS RI (HU), AGQ QI, and AGQ 
RI.
    Type of Review: Regular submission, request for a revision of a 
currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 3,576,000 for household 
respondents; 20,100 for contacts in GQ; 170,900 people in GQ; 22,875 
households for reinterview; and 1,422 GQ contacts for reinterview. The 
total estimated number of respondents is 3,791,297.
    Estimated Time per Response: 40 minutes for the average household 
questionnaire; 15 minutes for a GQ facility questionnaire; 25 minutes 
for a GQ person questionnaire; 10 minutes for a household reinterview; 
10 minutes for a GQ-level reinterview.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 2,384,000 for household 
respondents; 5,025 for contacts in GQ; 71,208 for GQ residents 3,813 
households for reinterview; and 237 GQ contacts for reinterview. The 
estimate is an annual average of 2,464,283 burden hours.

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                        Table 1--Annual ACS and PRCS Respondent and Burden Hour Estimates
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                                                                                     Estimated
                                                                      Annual        minutes per
                                        Forms or instrument used     estimated     respondent by      Annual
       Data collection operation           in data collection       number  of         data          estimated
                                                                    respondents     collection     burden hours
                                                                                     activity
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I. ACS Household Questionnaire, Online  ACS-1, ACS 1(SP), ACS-         3,576,000              40       2,384,000
 Survey, Telephone, and Personal Visit.  1PR, ACS-1PR(SP),
                                         Online Survey,
                                         Telephone, CAPI.
II. ACS GQ Facility Questionnaire       CAPI GQFQ...............          20,100              15           5,025
 CAPI--Telephone and Personal Visit.
III. ACS GQ CAPI Personal Interview or  CAPI, ACS-1(GQ), ACS-            170,900              25          71,208
 Telephone, and Paper Self-response.     1(GQ)(PR).
IV. ACS Household Reinterview--CATI/    ACS HU-RI...............          22,875              10           3,813
 CAPI.
V. ACS GQ-level Reinterview--CATI/CAPI  ACS GQ-RI...............           1,422              10             237
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Totals............................  ........................       3,791,297             N/A       2,464,283
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    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. 141 and 193.

IV. Request for Comments

    We are soliciting public comments to permit the Department/Bureau 
to: (a) Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is 
necessary for the proper functions of the Department, including whether 
the information will have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the accuracy 
of our estimate of the time and cost burden for this proposed 
collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions 
used; (c) Evaluate ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; and (d) Minimize the reporting burden 
on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. We will include, or summarize, each comment in our 
request to OMB to approve this ICR. Before including your address, 
phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information 
in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--
including your personal identifying information--may be made publicly 
available at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold 
your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2022-19705 Filed 9-12-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P