3992 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 10 / Friday, January 15, 2021 / Notices 

Commission will not refund any 

incurred charges. Individuals who are 

deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing may 

also follow the proceedings by first 

calling the Federal Relay Service at 1– 

800–877–8339 and providing the 

Service with the conference call number 

and conference ID number. 

Members of the public are entitled to 

submit written comments; the 

comments must be received in the 

regional office within 30 days following 

the meeting. Written comments may be 

emailed to Melissa Wojnaroski at 

mwojnaroski@usccr.gov. 

Records generated from this meeting 

may be inspected and reproduced at the 

Regional Programs Unit Office, as they 

become available, both before and after 

the meeting. Records of the meeting will 

be available via www.facadatabase.gov 

under the Commission on Civil Rights, 

Arkansas Advisory Committee link. 

Persons interested in the work of this 

Committee are directed to the 

Commission’s website, http://

www.usccr.gov, or may contact the 

Regional Programs Unit at the above 

email or street address. 

Agenda: 

I. Welcome & Roll Call 

III. Committee Discussion: Civil Rights 

Topics in Arkansas 

IV. Next Steps 

V. Public Comment 

VI. Adjournment 

Dated: January 11, 2021. 

David Mussatt, 

Supervisory Chief, Regional Programs Unit. 

[FR Doc. 2021–00804 Filed 1–14–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6335–01–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; Small Business Pulse Survey 

The Department of Commerce will 

submit the following non-substantive 

change 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. 

Agency: U.S. Census Bureau. 

Title: Small Business Pulse Survey. 

OMB Control Number: 0607–1014. 

Form Number(s): None. 

Type of Request: Regular Submission, 

Non-substantive change of a Currently 

Approved Collection. 

Number of Respondents: 738,000 (We 

anticipate receiving 20,500 responses 

per week for up to 36 weeks of 

collection each year). 

Average Hours per Response: 6 

minutes. 

Burden Hours: 73,920 (73,800 + 120 

hours for cognitive testing). 

Needs and Uses: During the month of 

November 2020, the Office of 

Management and Budget authorized 

clearance of an Information Collection 

Request (ICR) to the U.S. Department of 

Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau to 

conduct a Phase 3 of the Small Business 

Pulse Survey. The clearance enabled the 

Census Bureau to continue collecting 

urgently needed data on the experiences 

of American small businesses as the 

coronavirus pandemic prompted 

business and school closures and 

widespread stay-at-home orders. This 

Census Bureau now seeks approval of a 

non-substantive change request to 

conduct Phase 3, Cycle 2 of the Small 

Business Pulse Survey which will occur 

over 9 weeks stating February 8, 2021. 

The continuation of the Small 

Business Pulse Survey is responsive to 

stakeholder requests for high frequency 

data that measure the effect of changing 

business conditions during the 

Coronavirus pandemic on small 

businesses. While the ongoing monthly 

and quarterly economic indicator 

programs provide estimates of dollar 

volume outputs for employer businesses 

of all size, the Small Business Pulse 

Survey captures the effects of the 

pandemic on operations and finances of 

small, single location employer 

businesses. As the pandemic continues, 

the Census Bureau is best poised to 

collect this information from a large and 

diverse sample of small businesses. 

It is hard to predict when a shock will 

result in economic activity changing at 

a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly 

frequency. Early in the pandemic, 

federal, state, and local policies were 

moving quickly so it made sense to have 

a weekly collection. The problem is that 

while we are in the moment, we cannot 

accurately forecast the likelihood of 

policy action. In addition, we are not 

able to forecast a change in the 

underlying cause of policy actions: the 

effect of the Coronavirus pandemic on 

the economy. We cannot predict 

changes in the severity of the pandemic 

(e.g., will it worsen in flu season?) nor 

future developments that will alleviate 

the pandemic (e.g., vaccines or 

treatments). In a period of such high 

uncertainty, the impossibility of 

forecasting these inflection points 

underscores the benefits of having a 

weekly survey. For these reasons, the 

Census Bureau will proceed with a 

weekly collection. 

For the purposes of referencing prior 

ICRs, we refer to the initial approval by 

OMB to conduct the Small Business 

Pulse Survey as ‘‘Phase 1’’ (April–June 

2020), the approval as ‘‘Phase 2’’ 

(August—October 2020), and the third 

approval as ‘‘Phase 3’’, which started in 

November 2020. 

Phase 1 of the Small Business Pulse 

Survey was launched on April 26, 2020 

as an effort to produce and disseminate 

high-frequency, geographic- and 

industry-detailed experimental data 

about the economic conditions of small 

businesses as they experience the 

coronavirus pandemic. It is a rapid 

response endeavor that leverages the 

resources of the federal statistical 

system to address emergent data needs. 

Given the rapidly changing dynamics of 

this situation for American small 

businesses, the Small Business Pulse 

Survey has been successful in meeting 

an acute need for information on 

changes in revenues, business closings, 

employment and hours worked, 

disruptions to supply chains, and 

expectations for future operations. In 

addition, the Small Business Pulse 

Survey provided important estimates of 

federal program uptake to key survey 

stakeholders. 

In Phase 1, the Census Bureau worked 

in collaboration with the Bureau of 

Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor 

Statistics, Federal Reserve Board, 

International Trade Administration, 

Minority Business Development 

Agency, and the Small Business 

Administration to develop 

questionnaire content. Subsequently, 

the Census Bureau was approached by 

Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 

National Telecommunications and 

Information Administration, and the 

Office of Tax Analysis with requests to 

include additional content to the Small 

Business Pulse Survey for Phase 2. 

Understanding that information needs 

are changing as the pandemic continues, 

the Census Bureau proposed a revised 

questionnaire to ensure that the data 

collected continue to be relevant and 

broadly useful. Also, in Phase 2, the 

Census Bureau refined its strategies for 

contacting businesses in a clear and 

effective manner while motivating their 

continued participation. 

Anticipating that businesses will 

continue to be affected by the pandemic, 

and as new developments are expected 

this year (including the continuation of 

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 10 / Friday, January 15, 2021 / Notices 3993 

government assistance programs that 

target small businesses; policy shifts 

including the loosening or tightening of 

restrictions on businesses or customers; 

changing weather or seasons on 

businesses that rely on serving 

customers outdoors; and new research, 

vaccines, and/or medications or 

treatments for the coronavirus), the 

Census Bureau moved forward with a 

Phase 3 cycle 1 and proposes moving 

forward with Phase 3 cycle 2 as 

described in this ICR. The questionnaire 

used in Phase 2 and Phase 3 cycle 1 will 

continue to be used in this Phase 3 cycle 

2. Acknowledging that circumstances 

may evolve, and information needs on 

specific topics may intensify, change, or 

diminish over time, the Census Bureau 

may propose revisions to the 

questionnaire via the Non-Substantive 

Change process. These plans also will 

be made available for public comment 

through notice in the Federal Register. 

In Phase 3 cycle 1 of the Small 

Business Pulse Survey, we continued 

collaborating with other federal agencies 

to produce near real-time experimental 

data to understand how changes due to 

the response to the COVID–19 pandemic 

are affecting American small businesses 

and the U.S. economy. 

The Phase 3 cycle 1 survey carried 

forward questionnaire content from 

Phase 2. Content had been provided by 

the Census Bureau, Small Business 

Administration, Federal Reserve Board, 

Minority Business Development 

Agency, Office of Tax Analysis, Bureau 

of Transportation Statistics, National 

Telecommunications and Information 

Administration, and International Trade 

Administration. Domains include 

business closings, changes in 

employment and hours, disruptions to 

supply chain, changes in capacity, 

finances, and expectations for future 

operations. 

The Phase 3 cycle 2 survey will 

modify the questionnaire content to 

capture information on concepts such as 

business closings, changes in revenue, 

changes in employment and hours, 

disruptions to supply chain, operating 

capacity factors, and expectations for 

future operations. These economic data 

will be used to understand how changes 

due to the response to the COVID–19 

pandemic have and continue to affect 

American businesses and the U.S. 

economy. 

The historical circumstances of the 

pandemic and uncertainty about how it 

may or may not continue to affect 

businesses over the period of Phase 3 

drives the need for flexibility in Phase 

3 of the SBPS. 

If required, the Census Bureau would 

seek approval from OMB through the 

Non-Substantive Change Request 

Process to revise, remove or add 

questionnaire content during this phase 

to remain relevant in guiding the 

nation’s response and recovery. 

All results from the Small Business 

Pulse Survey will continue to be 

disseminated as U.S. Census Bureau 

Experimental Data Products (https://

portal.census.gov/pulse/data/). This and 

additional information on the Small 

Business Pulse Survey are available to 

the public on census.gov. 

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations. 

Frequency: Small business will be 

selected once to participate in a 6- 

minute survey. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary. 

Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C., 

Sections 131 and 182. 

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 either the title of the collection 

or the OMB Control Number 0607–1014. 

Sheleen Dumas, 

Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of 

the Chief Information Officer, Commerce 

Department. 

[FR Doc. 2021–00851 Filed 1–14–21; 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; Quarterly Summary of State 

& Local Government Tax Revenues 

AGENCY: Census Bureau, Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of Information 

Collection, request for comment. 

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 revisions of 

the Quarterly Summary of State & Local 

Government Tax Revenues, 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 March 16, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments by 

email to Thomas.J.Smith@census.gov. 

Please reference Quarterly Summary of 

State & Local Government Tax Revenues 

in the subject line of your comments. 

You may also submit comments, 

identified by Docket Number USBC– 

2020–0035, 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 Kristina 

Pasquino-Frates, Chief, State Finance 

and Tax Statistics Branch, EconomyWide Statistics Division, U.S. Census 

Bureau, Headquarters, 5K071, 

Washington, DC 20233; email: 

Kristina.marie.pasquino.frates@

census.gov, by phone: 301–763–5034. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

The Census Bureau conducts the 

Quarterly Summary of State and Local 

Government Tax Revenue, using the F– 

71 (Quarterly Survey of Property Tax 

Collections), F–72 (Quarterly Survey of 

State Tax Collections), and F–73 

(Quarterly Survey of Non-Property 

Taxes) forms. The Quarterly Summary 

of State and Local Government Tax 

Revenue provides quarterly estimates of 

state and local government tax revenue 

at the national level, as well as detailed 

tax revenue data for individual states. 

The information contained in this 

survey is the most current information