[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 99 (Tuesday, May 21, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44712-44713]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-11114]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

[OMB Number 1121-0296]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed eCollection 
eComments Requested; Reinstatement, With Change, of a Previously 
Approved Collection for Which Approval Has Expired: Census of Medical 
Examiner and Coroner Offices (CMEC)

AGENCY: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Department of Justice.

ACTION: 60-Day notice.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Justice Statistics, Department of Justice (DOJ) 
will be submitting the following information collection request to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Comments are encouraged and will be accepted for 60 days until 
July 22, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have comments especially on the 
estimated public burden or associated response time, suggestions, or 
need a copy of the proposed information collection instrument with 
instructions or additional information, please contact Matt Durose 
(email: [email protected]; telephone: 202-598-0295), Bureau of 
Justice Statistics, 810 Seventh Street NW, Washington, DC 20531.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Written comments and suggestions from the 
public and affected agencies concerning the proposed collection of 
information are encouraged. Your comments should address one or more of 
the following four points:

--Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary 
for the proper performance of the functions of the Bureau of Justice 
Statistics, including whether the information will have practical 
utility;
--Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
--Evaluate whether and if so, how the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected can be enhanced; and
--Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are 
to respond, including using appropriate automated, electronic, 
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms 
of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of 
responses.

    Abstract: The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) 2023 Census of 
Medical Examiner and Coroner Offices (CMEC) will provide comprehensive 
statistics regarding the organizational structure, operations, policies 
and procedures, finances, and resources of the approximately 2,300 
medical examiner and coroner (MEC) offices in 2023 nationwide. In the 
United States, medicolegal death investigations are provided by MEC 
offices whose purpose is to determine the cause and manner of death. As 
such, these offices are valuable, unique sources of information to many 
stakeholders, including the federal government, local law enforcement, 
the court system, the public health community, and families. The 2023 
CMEC will generate an enumeration of the number and type of MEC offices 
operating in the United States in 2023, staff at these offices, budget 
and capital resources, workload, policies and procedures regarding 
casework, specialized death investigations, records and evidence 
retention, resources, and operations. The 2023 CMEC will be the third 
administration of the survey since 2004. To provide more comprehensive 
statistics on the nation's medicolegal death investigations outside of 
the traditional MEC offices, the 2023 CMEC

[[Page 44713]]

will also include the approximately 700 justices of the peace in Texas 
that make cause and manner of death determinations but were out of 
scope for the 2004 and 2018 CMECs. The 2023 CMEC survey was assessed by 
a panel of practitioners and subject matter experts and revised to 
ensure content is up-to-date and relevant to the medicolegal death 
investigation system today. The survey has also been revised to improve 
clarity and ease of answering questions. The 2023 CMEC will extend the 
national understanding of medicolegal death investigations and 
complement BJS's data collections involving publicly funded forensic 
crime laboratories and law enforcement core statistics.

Overview of This Information Collection

    1. Type of Information Collection: Reinstatement, with changes, of 
a previously approved collection for which approval has expired.
    2. Title of the Form/Collection: 2023 Census of Medical Examiner 
and Coroner Offices (CMEC)
    3. Agency form number, if any, and the applicable component of the 
Department of Justice sponsoring the collection: The form number is 
CMEC-1. The applicable component within the Department of Justice is 
the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), in the Office of Justice 
Programs.
    4. Affected public who will be asked or required to respond, as 
well as the obligation to respond: Affected public are state and local 
government agencies. The 2023 CMEC is revised from the 2018 CMEC. BJS 
plans to field the 2023 CMEC from September 2024 through July 2025. 
Respondents will be the staff at MEC offices and Texas justices of the 
peace. The obligation to respond is voluntary.
    5. An estimate of the total number of respondents and the amount of 
time estimated for an average respondent to respond: A projected 3,000 
respondents (including 2,300 MEC offices and 700 justices of the peace 
in Texas) will take an average of 90 minutes (1.5 hours) each to 
complete form CMEC-1, including time to research or find information 
not readily available. In addition, an estimated 1,500 respondents will 
be contacted for data quality follow-up at 15 minutes (.25 hours) per 
respondent.
    6. An estimate of the total public burden (in hours) associated 
with the collection: The total burden hours for this collection is 
4,875.
    7. An estimate of the total annual cost burden associated with the 
collection, if applicable: $1,301,727.

                                               Total Burden Hours
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                                                                                                   Total annual
           Activity               Number of     Frequency    Total annual     Time per response       burden
                                 respondents                   responses                              (hours)
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Survey.......................           3,000            1           3,000     90 min (1.5 hrs.)           4,500
Data Quality Follow-Up.......           1,500            1           1,500     15 min (.25 hrs.)             375
                              ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Unduplicated Totals......           3,000  ...........           3,000  ....................           4,875
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    If additional information is required, contact: Darwin Arceo, 
Department Clearance Officer, United States Department of Justice, 
Justice Management Division, Policy and Planning Staff, Two 
Constitution Square, 145 N Street NE, 4W-218, Washington, DC.

    Dated: May 16, 2024.
Darwin Arceo,
Department Clearance Officer for PRA, U.S. Department of Justice.
[FR Doc. 2024-11114 Filed 5-20-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-18-P