80764 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 240 / Monday, December 14, 2020 / Notices 

request for Office of Management and 

Budget approval. 

Michiko J. Martin, 

Director, Recreation, Heritage & Volunteer 

Services, National Forest System. 

[FR Doc. 2020–27361 Filed 12–11–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3411–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Bureau of the Census 

[Docket Number [201123–0315]] 

2022 Census of Governments 

AGENCY: Bureau of the Census, 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of determination and 

request for comment. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of the Census 

(U.S. Census Bureau) publishes this 

notice to request public comment on the 

content of the 2022 Census of 

Governments. This collection will be 

primarily electronic using a secure 

encrypted internet data collection 

system called Centurion. The Census of 

Governments is conducted at 5-year 

intervals (years ending in 2 and 7) and 

is the most comprehensive compilation 

of statistics about U.S. state and local 

governments. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted on or before February 12, 

2021 to ensure consideration of your 

comments on the 2022 Census of 

Governments content. 

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments 

regarding the 2022 Census of 

Governments to Raemeka Mayo, 

Assistant Division Chief, Public Sector 

Programs, Economy-Wide Statistics, 

Room 5K179, Washington, DC 20233; or 

Email [COG22.FRN@census.gov]. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Raemeka Mayo, Assistant Division 

Chief, Public Sector Programs, 

Economy-Wide Statistics, Room 5K179, 

Washington, DC 20233, by phone (301) 

763–4688, or by email <Raemeka. 

M.Mayo@census.gov>. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Background 

The granting of specific authority to 

conduct the program is found in Title 

13, United States Code (U.S.C.), Section 

161, which authorizes and requires the 

Census of Governments. Section 161 of 

the statute directs the Secretary of 

Commerce to ‘‘. . .take, compile, and 

publish for the year 1957 and for every 

fifth year thereafter a census of 

governments. Each such census shall 

include, but shall not be limited to, data 

on taxes and tax valuations, 

governmental receipts, expenditures, 

indebtedness, and employees of states, 

counties, cities, and other governmental 

units.’’ 

This notice announces that the 

Census Bureau is preparing to conduct 

the 2022 Census of Governments. The 

Census of Governments is the U.S. 

government’s official 5-year measure of 

state and local governments, and has 

been taken periodically since 1957. The 

Census of Governments is the most 

comprehensive source of information 

about state and local governments from 

the national to the local level. These 

Census of Governments data products 

provide unique basic measures for U.S. 

state and local governments. Data 

include details on debt and assets, as 

well as revenues and expenditures and 

employment by government function. 

Published data cover approximately 

90,000 state and local governments that 

includes approximately 3,000 counties 

and 35,000 cities and towns, 13,000 

independent school districts, and 

39,000 special districts. The Census of 

Governments is the most 

comprehensive, comparable, and 

precise source of uniform statistics on 

economic activity of state and local 

Governments. It provides detailed, high 

quality, and authoritative statistics that 

meet the needs of government, 

businesses, policymakers, academic 

researchers, and the American public. 

The program’s data products provide 

essential information to Congress and 

federal agencies for planning and 

evaluating intergovernmental programs. 

Moreover, they provide the official 

measures of output for state and local 

governments and serve much of the 

foundation for the National Income and 

Product Accounts, Gross Domestic 

Product estimates, and other composite 

measures of the Nation’s economic 

performance. These data provide 

benchmarks for other federal statistical 

series, including current surveys, such 

as the Justice Assistance Data Survey 

and Quarterly Summary of State and 

Local Government Tax Revenue, 

conducted by the Census Bureau. 

Census of Governments data are also 

used by business organizations and 

economic development agencies to 

provide insight into the complex nature 

and fiscal health of state and local 

government finances. 

B. Data Collection 

The 2022 Census of Governments will 

be conducted by electronic collection 

(99 percent internet Collection). The 

electronic instrument, Centurion, 

provides improved quality with 

automatic data checks, and is contextsensitive to assist the data provider in 

identifying potential reporting problems 

before submission, thus reducing the 

need for follow-up. Centurion is 

internet-based, eliminating the need for 

downloading software and increasing 

the integrity and confidentiality of the 

data. The Census Bureau will furnish 

usernames and passwords for the 

electronic instrument to the 

organizations included in the survey. 

The Census Bureau also collects 

electronic data files through 

arrangements with state governments or 

customized electronic reporting 

instruments with state and local 

governments, and central collection 

arrangements with local governments. 

C. Census of Governments Content 

The 2017 Census of Governments 

forms are available on https://

census.gov/govs. This web page 

includes links to each respective 

survey’s page, where the survey forms 

can be found under the tab, 

‘‘Information for Respondents.’’ Please 

take a moment to review the forms 

relevant to your interests and provide us 

with your comments for consideration 

as we prepare content for the 2022 

questionnaires. We are particularly 

interested in comments on the 

usefulness of existing inquiries for 

continued inclusion and in suggestions 

for new measures that would be 

appropriate to include in the Census of 

Governments. 

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 

current valid Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) control number. The 

Census Bureau, through the proper 

established procedures, will be 

obtaining an OMB control number 

under the PRA as we get closer to 

launching this component in 2022. 

Steven D. Dillingham, Director, 

Bureau of the Census, approved the 

publication of this Notice in the Federal 

Register. 

Dated: December 8, 2020. 

Sheleen Dumas, 

Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of 

the Chief Information Officer, Commerce 

Department. 

[FR Doc. 2020–27402 Filed 12–11–20; 8:45 am] 

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