[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 148 (Thursday, August 1, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62790-62792]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-16903]


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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: 30-Day notice.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), Department of Justice 
(DOJ), will be submitting the following

[[Page 62791]]

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 30 days until 
September 3, 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: The proposed information collection was 
previously published in the Federal Register on May 21, 2024, allowing 
a 60-day comment period. BJS received one comment under the 60-day 
notice that is addressed in the full package submitted to OMB. 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 agency, 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;
--Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be 
collected; and/or
--Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are 
to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submission of responses.

    Written comments and recommendations for this 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 either the title of the information collection or 
the OMB Control Number [1121-0296]. This information collection request 
may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view 
Department of Justice, information collections currently under review 
by OMB.
    DOJ seeks PRA authorization for this information collection for 
three (3) years. OMB authorization for an ICR cannot be for more than 
three (3) years without renewal. The DOJ notes that information 
collection requirements submitted to the OMB for existing ICRs receive 
a month-to-month extension while they undergo review.

Overview of This Information Collection

    1. Type of Information Collection: Reinstatement, with change, 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 a brief abstract: Affected Public: 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.
    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 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.
    5. Obligation to Respond: The obligation to respond is voluntary.
    6. Total Estimated Number of Respondents: A projected 3,000 
respondents (including 2,300 MEC offices and 700 justices of the peace 
in Texas) will complete form CMEC-1. In addition, an estimated 1,500 
respondents will be contacted for data quality follow-up at 15 minutes 
(.25 hours) per respondent.
    7. Estimated Time per Respondent: CMEC-1 will take an average of 90 
minutes (1.5 hours) for each of the 3,000 respondents to complete. In 
addition, an estimated 1,500 respondents will be contacted for data 
quality follow-up at 15 minutes (.25 hours) per respondent.
    8. Frequency: Each respondent will complete the CMEC-1 once.
    9. Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: The total burden hours for 
this collection is 4,875.
    10. Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $1,296,618.

[[Page 62792]]



                                                                   Total Burden Hours
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                                                 Number of                     Total annual                                                Total annual
                  Activity                      respondents      Frequency       responses                 Time per response              burden (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
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    Unduplicated Totals.....................           3,000  ..............           3,000  ..........................................           4,875
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    If additional information is required, contact: Darwin Arceo, 
Department Clearance Officer, Policy and Planning Staff, Justice 
Management Division, United States Department of Justice, Two 
Constitution Square, 145 N Street NE, 4W-218, Washington, DC 20530.

    Dated: July 26, 2024.
Darwin Arceo,
Department Clearance Officer for PRA, U.S. Department of Justice.
[FR Doc. 2024-16903 Filed 7-31-24; 8:45 am]
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