[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 88 (Monday, May 6, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37172-37174]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-09794]


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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; Redistricting Data Program

AGENCY: Census Bureau, Department of Commerce.

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 Redistricting Data Program (RDP), 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 July 5, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments by 
email to [email protected]. Please reference ``Redistricting Data 
Program'' in the subject line of your comments. You may also submit 
comments, identified by Docket Number USBC-2024-0011, to the Federal e-
Rulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. All comments received 
are part of the public record. No comments will be posted to https://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

[[Page 37173]]

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 Michael S. Snow, Program Manager, Decennial Census Management 
Division, by phone at 301-763-9912 or by email to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Redistricting Data Program (RDP) is one of many voluntary 
geographic partnership programs that collects boundaries and attributes 
to update the U.S. Census Bureau's geographic database of addresses, 
streets, and boundaries. The Census Bureau uses its geographic 
database, i.e., the Master Address File/Topologically Integrated 
Geographic and Encoding and Referencing (MAF/TIGER) System, to link 
demographic data from surveys and the decennial census to locations and 
areas, such as cities, congressional and legislative districts, and 
counties. To tabulate statistics by localities, the Census Bureau must 
have accurate addresses, streets, boundaries, and attributes.
    The RDP is executed under the provisions of title 13, section 
141(c) of the United States Code (U.S.C.). Under the provisions of 
Public Law 94-171, as amended (title 13, United States Code (U.S.C.), 
section 141(c)), ``[t]he officers or public bodies having initial 
responsibility for the legislative apportionment or districting of each 
State may, not later than 3 years before the decennial census date, 
submit to the Secretary a plan identifying the geographic areas for 
which specific tabulations of population are desired.''
    The Census Bureau is requesting a clearance to continue activities 
included in the RDP. As the current OMB Control Number 0607-0988 
clearance will expire in November 2024, the new clearance will allow 
the Census Bureau to provide RDP-specific materials and procedures to 
participants during the fiscal years (FY) 2025, 2026, and 2027. These 
activities include:

 Solicitation of Non-Partisan Liaisons (2025)
     Collection of Post-2020 Census Congressional and State 
Legislative District Plans (2025-2026)
     Block Boundary Suggestion Project (2026-2027)

II. Method of Collection

Solicitation of Non-Partisan Liaisons (2025)

    Legislative leadership of all fifty states, the District of 
Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico will be asked to provide 
a non-partisan liaison who will serve for the entirety of the 2030 
Census RDP and who will create and submit geographic updates and 
perform verification as a part of the RDP.

Solicitation of Non-Partisan Liaisons Schedule

    Legislative leadership will be contacted by mail beginning in 
January 2025 asking for a non-partisan liaison from each state to be 
designated to work on the RDP. Contacts will continue through mail, 
email, and phone until at least one liaison has been assigned from 
every state, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto 
Rico.

Collection of Post-2020 Census Congressional and State Legislative 
District Plans (2025-2026)

    The Census Bureau collaborates with the designated non-partisan 
liaisons to collect any newly enacted congressional or state 
legislative districts plans since the collection of the 119th 
Congressional and 2024 State Legislative Districts plans in 2024. The 
Census Bureau provides guidelines for submitting their plans. Those 
that have changes provide a block equivalency file, split block 
shapefiles (if any), district population, and legislation to the Census 
Bureau. The Census Bureau processes the new plans into the MAF/TIGER 
System and provides a new block equivalency file and split block 
shapefiles (if any) to verify that the districts were inserted 
correctly.

Collection of Post-2020 Census Congressional and State Legislative 
District Plans Schedule

     The Census Bureau collects plans from November 2025 
through April 2026.
     The verification phase occurs from February 2026 through 
April 2026.

Block Boundary Suggestion Project (2026-2027)

    The Census Bureau collaborates with the designated non-partisan 
liaisons to collect and verify suggestions for the 2030 Census 
tabulation blocks as part of the Block Boundary Suggestion Project 
(BBSP). Liaisons are also able to submit suggested legal boundary 
updates as well as updates to other geographic areas and features. 
These actions allow for the construction of the small area geography 
needed for legislative redistricting. Digital copies of the features 
and boundaries the Census Bureau has in the MAF/TIGER System are 
provided to the liaisons. The liaisons can choose to use a free 
customized geographic information system (GIS) application provided by 
the Census Bureau, i.e., the Geographic Update Partnership Software 
(GUPS), or their own GIS mapping software to submit updates and block 
boundary suggestions.
    The BBSP is conducted in two parts, an initial delineation of 
updates, i.e., delineation phase, and a verification phase to ensure 
the suggested updates are accurately applied. The verification phase 
also has the option for liaisons to make additional block suggestions. 
Those that choose to participate in BBSP receive guidelines and 
training for providing their suggestions.

BBSP Schedule

     The delineation phase begins in January 2026 and ends in 
May 2026.
     The verification phase begins in January 2027 and ends in 
May 2027.

Feedback

    The Census Bureau is adding a feedback component to its geographic 
partnership programs to allow for the solicitation of feedback to 
improve the administration of the respective program and potentially 
reduce the future burden. Liaisons may be asked to provide their 
feedback on materials, method(s) of data collection, manner of 
communications, and the usability of the program applications and 
tools.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0607-0988.
    Form Number(s): Certification Forms (4) and Verification Forms (2).
     2026 State Legislative Boundary Certification Form for 
states with a Single Congressional District (Alaska, Delaware, North 
Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming).
     District of Columbia 2026 Wards Certification Form.
     120th Congressional District Boundary and 2026 State 
Legislative District Boundary Certification Form.
     Commonwealth of Puerto Rico 2026 Legislative District 
Boundaries Certification Form.
     2026 State Legislative District Boundaries Verification 
Form.
     120th Congressional District Boundaries Verification Form.
    Type of Review: Regular submission, request for a revision of a 
currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: All fifty states, the District of Columbia, and 
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

[[Page 37174]]

    Estimated Number of Respondents:
     Solicitation of Non-Partisan Liaisons: 52.
     Collection of Post-2020 Census Congressional and State 
Legislative District Plans: 52.
     BBSP Delineation Phase: 52.
     BBSP Verification Phase: 52.
     Feedback: 52.
    Estimated Time per Response:
     Solicitation of Non-Partisan Liaisons: 6 hours.
     Collection of Post-2020 Census Congressional and State 
Legislative District Plans: 8 hours.
     BBSP Delineation Phase: 124 hours.
     BBSP Verification Phase: 62 hours.
     Feedback: 1 hour.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 10,452.
     Solicitation of Non-Partisan Liaisons: 312 hours.
     Collection of Post-2020 Census Congressional and State 
Legislative District Plans: 416 hours.
     BBSP Delineation Phase: 6,448 hours.
     BBSP Verification Phase: 3,224 hours.
     Feedback: 52 hours.
    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: Public Law 94-171, as amended (title 13, United 
States Code (U.S.C.), section 141(c)).

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 Under Secretary for 
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2024-09794 Filed 5-3-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P