[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 104 (Wednesday, May 29, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46360-46361]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-11678]


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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; Generic Clearance for Emergency Economic Information 
Collections

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 extension of the Generic Clearance for Emergency Economic 
Information Collections, 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 29, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments by 
email to [email protected]. Please reference Generic Clearance 
for Emergency Economic Information Collections in the subject line of 
your comments. You may also submit comments, identified by Docket 
Number USBC-2024-0013, 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 Lisa Donaldson, Chief, Economy-Wide Statistics Division, 301-763-
7296, and [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The U.S. Census Bureau plans to request a 3-year extension of the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for the Generic 
Clearance for Emergency Economic Information Collections (EEIC). The 
EEIC provides the quick turn-around necessary for conducting emergency 
economic information collections in response to unanticipated 
international, national, or regional declared emergencies or events of 
national interest arising as a direct result of declared emergencies 
having a significant economic impact on U.S. businesses and/or state or 
local governments. The purpose of the collections is to gauge and 
monitor the economic impact of such events on U.S. businesses or 
organizations and state or local governments.
    Emergencies, once declared by the authorized state or federal 
official or entity, that could trigger the need for an EEIC may have 
global, national, or regional impact on U.S. businesses and 
governments, and include the following examples:

--Pandemic or other health emergency
--Natural or manmade disaster
--Acts of war or terrorism
--Civil unrest or insurrection

    Other events of national interest arising as a direct result of 
declared emergencies may also have a significant impact on U.S. 
businesses or governments. General categories of national interest 
events arising as a direct result of declared emergencies which could 
trigger the need for an EEIC are:

--Economic crises
--Financial crises
--International geo-political instabilities
--Resource shortages
--Cyberterrorism
--New legislation passed as a direct result of a declared emergency

    EEIC questions may be included as supplemental questions on 
existing Census Bureau surveys or conducted as new special-purpose 
surveys. The data will be collected by paper or electronic instruments, 
depending on the survey or program.
    EEIC questions will be chosen from a pretested Question Bank. For 
some subjects, the Question Bank includes specific questionnaire 
content. In other cases, the Question Bank includes topics which will 
then be addressed with questions designed to meet data needs that arise 
during a future

[[Page 46361]]

unknown event. Some questions have been cognitively tested and should 
be considered final; some may require testing for final wording. 
Questions that may require testing and refinement are annotated in the 
Question Bank. As the Question Bank matures with new or revised 
content, the Census Bureau will resubmit the bank for review.
    Prior to adding EEIC questions to any survey, the Census Bureau 
will consult with OMB and submit a request for approval, allowing 
between 3 and 10 business days for OMB action. Over the existing period 
of clearance, the EEIC Generic Clearance was used to clear supplemental 
questions which were added to existing surveys, responsive to both 
recession conditions resulting from the COVID-19 Pandemic and various 
severe weather events which occurred in 2022.
    As data collections will be tailored to the emergency, users of the 
data may vary, but may include: federal, state, or local officials 
charged with decision- making during the emergency; business leaders 
and policymakers wishing to develop plans to ameliorate the effects of 
the emergency; academics and members of the press wishing to study and 
disseminate information about the emergency; and the public. The data 
collected will help us understand how and why data we collect in our 
ongoing surveys may be affected by the emergency, as well as allow us 
to disseminate data as part of existing releases, new releases, or 
experimental releases.

II. Method of Collection

    The vast majority of business and government surveys to which EEIC 
questions may be added utilize the Census Bureau's online reporting 
system called Centurion as their primary collection system. New 
information collections conducted under this generic clearance will 
also likely collect responses electronically using Centurion.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0607-1019.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Review: Regular submission, Request for an Extension, 
without Change, of a Currently Approved Collection.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations; Not-
for-profit institutions; State, Local, or Tribal government.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 300,000.
    Estimated Time per Response: 10 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 50,000.
    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, 161 and 182.

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. 2024-11678 Filed 5-28-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P