ACS 30 day Federal Register Notice

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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 58 / Monday, March 25, 2024 / Notices

Identification Numbers or recently
added to the scope of the Census
Bureau’s current business surveys. The
data are used to update the sampling
frames for our current business surveys.
Additionally, the business classification
data will help ensure businesses are
directed to complete the correct report
in the economic census.
More information regarding the
Business and Professional Classification
Report can be found in the Information
Collection Request approved by the
Office of Management and Budget on
September 15, 2021 at the following
link: https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/
PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=202105-0607-002.
Business Enterprise Research and
Development Survey (BERD)
The BERD collects annual data on
spending for research and development
activities by businesses. The BERD
collects foreign as well as domestic
spending information, more detailed
information about the R&D workforce,
and information regarding intellectual
property from U.S. businesses. The
Census Bureau collects and compiles
this information in accordance with a
joint project agreement between the
National Science Foundation (NSF) and
the Census Bureau. The NSF posts the
BERD information results on their
website.
More information regarding the BERD
can be found in the Information
Collection Request approved by the
Office of Management and Budget on
December 15, 2021 at the following link:
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/
PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=202108-0607-005.

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Paperwork Reduction Act
Notwithstanding any other provision
of law, no person is required to respond
to, nor shall a person be subject to a
penalty for failure to comply with a
collection of information subject to the
requirements of the Paperwork
Reduction Act (PRA) unless that
collection of information displays a
currently valid Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) control number. In
accordance with the PRA, 44 U.S.C.
chapter 45, OMB approved the surveys
described in this notice under the
following OMB control numbers: AIES,
0607–1024; ABS, 0607–1004; Business
and Professional Classification Report,
0607–0189; and BERD, 0607–0912.
Based upon the foregoing, I have
directed that the current mandatory
business surveys be conducted for the
purpose of collecting these data.
Robert L. Santos, Director, Census
Bureau, approved the publication of this
notice in the Federal Register.

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Dated: March 19, 2024.
Shannon Wink,
Program Analyst, Policy Coordination Office,
U.S. Census Bureau.
[FR Doc. 2024–06226 Filed 3–22–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–07–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Census Bureau
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Submission to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
Review and Approval; Comment
Request; The American Community
Survey (ACS) and Puerto Rico
Community Survey (PRCS)
The Department of Commerce will
submit the following information
collection request to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
review and clearance in accordance
with the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995, on or after the date of publication
of this notice. We invite 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. Public
comments were previously requested
via the Federal Register on October 20,
2023, during a 60-day comment period.
This notice allows for an additional 30
days for public comments.
Agency: U.S. Census Bureau,
Department of Commerce.
Title: The American Community
Survey and the Puerto Rico Community
Survey.
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), ACS Housing Unit
internet questionnaire (no form
number), ACS nonresponse follow up
CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal
Interview) electronic instrument (no
form number), ACS Failed Edit Follow
up CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone
Interview) electronic instrument (no
form number), ACS Telephone
Questionnaire Assistance CATI
electronic instrument (no form number),
ACS Group Quarters internet listing
instrument (no form number), ACS
Group Quarters Facility Questionnaire
CAPI electronic instrument (no form
number), ACS Group Quarters internet
electronic instrument (no form number),
ACS Group Quarters Resident CAPI
electronic instrument (no form number),
and ACS Reinterview CATI/CAPI
electronic instrument (no form number).

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Type of Request: Regular submission.
Request for a Revision of a Currently
Approved Collection.
Number of Respondents: 3,576,000 for
household respondents; 20,100 for
facility contacts in group quarters;
170,900 people in group quarters;
22,900 households for reinterview; and
1,400 group quarters facility contacts for
reinterview. The total estimated number
of respondents is 3,791,000.
Average Hours per Response: 40
minutes for the average household
questionnaire; 15 minutes for a group
quarters facility contact questionnaire;
25 minutes for a group quarters person
questionnaire; 10 minutes for a
household reinterview; 10 minutes for a
group quarters facility contact
reinterview.
Burden Hours: 2,384,000 for
household respondents; 5,025 for
contacts in group quarters; 71,208 for
group quarters residents; 3,817
households for reinterview; and 233
group quarters contacts for reinterview.
The estimate is an annual average of
2,464,283 burden hours.
Needs and Uses: The U.S. Census
Bureau requests authorization from the
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) for revisions to the American
Community Survey (ACS). The ACS is
one of the Department of Commerce’s
most valuable data products, used
extensively by businesses,
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs),
local governments, and many federal
agencies. In conducting this survey, the
Census Bureau’s top priority is
respecting the time and privacy of the
people providing information while
preserving its value to the public.
In June 2018, the Census Bureau
solicited proposals for new or revised
ACS content from over 25 federal
agencies. For new questions, the
proposals explained why these data
were needed and why other data
sources that provide similar information
were not sufficient. Proposals for new
content were reviewed to ensure that
the requests met a statutory or
regulatory need for data at small
geographic levels or for small
populations.
The Census Bureau, in consultation
with the OMB and the Interagency
Council on Statistical Policy
Subcommittee on the ACS, determined
which proposals moved forward.
Approved proposals for new content or
changes to current content were tested
via the ACS content change process.
This process included cognitive testing
and field testing of several topics,
including household roster, educational
attainment, health insurance coverage,
disability, and labor force questions.

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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 58 / Monday, March 25, 2024 / Notices
The testing also included evaluating the
addition of three new topics on electric
vehicles, sewage disposal, and solar
panels.
A Federal Register notice (FRN)
posted on February 9, 2021, solicited
public comments on the initial
proposals for testing changes and
additions to the ACS content. Another
FRN was posted on March 21, 2022,
which contained more details on the
proposed changes for each topic and the
operational details of the 2022 ACS
Content Test. The most recent FRN,
posted on October 20, 2023, invited the
public to comment on the proposed
changes to the 2025 ACS and PRCS after
analyzing the result of the 2022 Content
Test. The public provided comments
through December 19, 2023. The Census
Bureau received over 12,000 comments
on the most recent 60-day FRN for the
2025 ACS content changes. Over 98
percent of the comments received were
about the changes to the disability
questions. One point three percent were
on the other topics with a proposed
change or the topic was not specified in
the comment. An additional 0.7 percent
were on other topics or proposed new
questions not included in the 2022 ACS
Content Test, general comments about
the ACS, recommendations about data
collection methods, or were not
applicable to the 60-day FRN.
The majority of commenters
expressed concerns about the changes
proposed to the disability questions and
asked the Census Bureau not to proceed
with the changes. Most commenters also
expressed dissatisfaction with not
having been included in the process.
They indicated that the Census Bureau
should conduct more comprehensive
public engagement before proposing
modifications to the disability
questions. Some of these comments also
suggested that a taskforce be formed.
Many letters incorporated the motto and
sentiment of, ‘‘Nothing About Us
Without Us.’’ In deference to the large
number (12,188) of comments that
expressed concerns about the proposed
change to the disability questions, the
Census Bureau plans to retain the
current ACS disability questions for the
2025 ACS. Refer to the Census Bureau
Director’s Blog on the Next Steps on the
ACS Disability Questions.
The vast majority of comments on the
other topics acknowledged the value of
the data from the new and revised
questions. The Census Bureau will
proceed with the proposal of changes on
all other topics for the 2025 ACS.
The Census Bureau and National
Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)
stand behind the statistical validity of
the 2022 ACS Content Test results and

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the practical utility of the proposed
disability change. However, we
recognize that statistical validity and
practical utility for NCHS should be
only two components of the decision
about whether to change questions on
the ACS—we must also consider the
needs of other data users inside and
outside of government.
ACS Background
The Census Bureau developed the
ACS to collect and update demographic,
social, economic, and housing data
every year that are essentially the same
as the ‘‘long-form’’ data that the Census
Bureau formerly collected once a decade
as part of the decennial census. The
ACS is an ongoing monthly survey that
collects detailed housing and
socioeconomic data from about 3.54
million addresses in the United States
and about 36,000 addresses in Puerto
Rico each year. The ACS also collects
detailed socioeconomic data from about
170,000 residents living in group
quarters facilities in the United States
and about 900 in Puerto Rico. The ACS
is now the only source of comparable
data about social, economic, housing,
and demographic characteristics for
small areas and small subpopulations
across the nation and in Puerto Rico.
Every community in the nation
continues to receive a detailed,
statistical portrait of its social,
economic, housing, and demographic
characteristics each year through oneyear and five-year ACS products.
ACS Contact Strategies for Housing
Units
To collect ACS data, the Census
Bureau uses a well-researched mail
contact strategy to encourage selfresponse to the survey. For addresses
that were mailed survey materials but
did not respond by mail, internet, or by
calling our telephone questionnaire
assistance line, the Census Bureau
selects a subsample of all households
and assigns them to the the nonresponse
follow-up data collection operation.
Unmailable household addresses are
sampled and also included in the
nonresponse follow-up data collection
operation.
To encourage self-response in the
ACS, the Census Bureau sends up to
five mailings to housing units 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

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20631

them if they have already done so, and
informs them that a paper questionnaire
will be sent at a later date if the Census
Bureau does not receive their response.
In a third mailing, the paper
questionnaire package is sent only to
those sample addresses that have not
completed the online questionnaire
within two and a half weeks. 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 a letter sent to
respondents who have not completed
the survey within five weeks. This letter
provides a due date and reminds the
respondents to complete their survey to
be removed from future contact. The
Census Bureau will ask those who fill
out the survey online to provide an
email address, which will be used to
send an email reminder to households
that did not complete the online form.
The reminder asks them to log back in
to finish responding to the survey. If the
Census Bureau does not receive a
response or if the household refuses to
participate, the address may be selected
for nonresponse follow-up data
collection where the interview can be
collected by telephone or personal visit
using computer-assisted interviewing.
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. A small sample
of respondents from the nonresponse
follow-up data collection interview are
recontacted for quality assurance
purposes.
PRCS Contact Strategies for Housing
Units
For sample housing units in the
Puerto Rico Community Survey, a
different mail strategy is employed. 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
questionnaire. The third and fifth
mailings serve as a reminder to respond
to the survey. The mail strategy has no
references to an internet response
option. If the Census Bureau does not
receive a response or if the household
refuses to participate, the address may
be selected for non-response follow-up
data collection where the interview can
be collected by telephone or personal
visit using computer-assisted
interviewing technology.
Puerto Rico addresses deemed
unmailable because the address is

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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 58 / Monday, March 25, 2024 / Notices

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incomplete or directs mail only to a post
office box are collected by computerassisted personal interviewing. A small
sample of respondents from the
nonresponse follow-up data collection
interview are recontacted for quality
assurance purposes.

entering either the title of the collection
or the OMB Control Number 0607–0810.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of
the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs,
Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2024–06256 Filed 3–22–24; 8:45 am]

ACS/PRCS Contact Strategy for Group
Quarters

BILLING CODE 3510–07–P

The Census Bureau collects data for
group quarters through personal
interview, online, or by paper. The
Census Bureau can obtain the facility
information by allowing the group
quarters contact to upload the roster of
residents online or by conducting a
personal visit interview with a group
quarters contact. Once the interviewer
obtains the roster of residents, they can
randomly select residents for personlevel interviews. During the personlevel phase, a computer-assisted
personal interviewing instrument is
used to collect detailed information for
each sampled resident. Interviewers also
have the option to distribute a bilingual
(English/Spanish) questionnaire to
residents for self-response if unable to
complete a computer-assisted personal
interviewing interview. Residents in
some group quarters will have the
option to self-respond to the survey
online. A small sample of respondents
are recontacted for quality assurance
purposes.
Statistics produced from the ACS
program may include a combination of
data collected on the survey from
respondents as well as administrative
data from other sources.
Affected Public: Individuals or
households.
Frequency: Monthly.
Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory.
Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C. 141,
193, 221, and 223.
This information collection request
may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov.
Follow the instructions to view the
Department of Commerce collections
currently under review by OMB.
Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be
submitted within 30 days of the
publication of this notice on the
following website https://
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain
for the particular information collection
by selecting ‘‘Currently under 30-day
Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or
by using the search function and

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

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Agency Information Collection
Activities; Submission for OMB
Review; Comment Request; Reporting
Process for Complaint of Employment
Discrimination Used By Permanent
Employees and Applicants for
Employment at DOC and Complaint of
Employment Discrimination for the
Decennial Census
The Department of Commerce will
submit the following information
collection request to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
review and clearance in accordance
with the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995, on or after the date of publication
of this notice. We invite 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. Public
comments were previously requested
via the Federal Register on December
12, 2023 during a 60-day comment
period. This notice allows for an
additional 30 days for public comments.
Agency: Office of The Secretary,
Office of Civil Rights, Commerce.
Title: Reporting Process for Complaint
of Employment Discrimination Used by
Permanent Employees and Applicants
for Employment at DOC and Complaint
of Employment Discrimination for the
Decennial Census.
OMB Control Number: 0690–0015.
Form Number(s): CD–498, CD–498A.
Type of Request: Regular (extension of
a currently approved information
collection).
Number of Respondents: 165
(correction from the 60-day notice).
Average Hours per Response: 1⁄2 hour
(30 minutes).
Burden Hours: 871⁄2 hours.
Needs and Uses: The Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC) regulations at 29 CFR 1614.106
require that a Federal employee or
applicant for Federal employment
alleging discrimination based on race,
color, sex (including sexual orientation,
transgender status, and pregnancy),
national origin, religion, age, disability,
pregnancy accommodation, or reprisal

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for protected activity must submit a
signed statement that is sufficiently
precise to identify the actions or
practices that form the bases of the
complaint. The individual completing
the form is asked to identify the bureau
at which the alleged discrimination took
place, and whether the individual
worked at that bureau at the time of the
alleged discrimination. The individual
completing the form is also asked to
describe the alleged discriminatory
action(s) as clearly as possible and
include the date(s) and to articulate the
basis or bases of the complaint (race,
color, sex, etc.). Further, the individual
completing the form is asked to identify
the remedy(ies) sought for the alleged
discrimination. Although complainants
are not required to use the proposed
form to file their complaints, the Office
of Civil Rights strongly encourages its
use to ensure efficient case processing
and trend analyses of complaint
activity.
Affected Public: Individuals and
households.
Frequency: On occasion.
Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary.
Legal Authority: 29 CFR 1614.106.
This information collection request
may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov.
Follow the instructions to view the
Department of Commerce collections
currently under review by OMB.
Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
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 the title of the collection.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of
the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs,
Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2024–06200 Filed 3–22–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–BP–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Foreign-Trade Zones Board
[S–52–2024]

Foreign-Trade Zone 224; Application
for Subzone; Jubilant HollisterStier,
LLC; Spokane, Washington
An application has been submitted to
the Foreign-Trade Zones (FTZ) Board by
the Spokane Airport Board, grantee of
FTZ 224, requesting subzone status for

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