Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 183 / Friday, September 22, 2023 / Notices 65363 

III. Approval of August 10, 2023, 

Briefing Minutes 

IV. Discussion: Briefing Planning 

V. Public Comment 

VI. Adjournment 

Dated: September 18, 2023. 

David Mussatt, 

Supervisory Chief, Regional Programs Unit. 

[FR Doc. 2023–20546 Filed 9–21–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 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; Annual Business Survey 

AGENCY: U.S. 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 revision to 

the Annual Business Survey prior to the 

submission of these information 

collection request (ICR) to OMB for 

approval. 

DATES: To ensure consideration, 

comments regarding this proposed 

information collection must be received 

on or before November 21, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments by 

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

Please reference Annual Business 

Survey in the subject line of your 

comments. You may also submit 

comments, identified by Docket Number 

USBC–2023–0008, to the Federal eRulemaking 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 Patrice 

Hall, Branch Chief, Business Owners 

Branch, 301–763–7198, patrice.n.hall@

census.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

In an effort to improve the 

measurement of business dynamics in 

the United States, the Census Bureau is 

conducting the Annual Business Survey 

(ABS). The ABS combines Census 

Bureau firm-level collections to reduce 

respondent burden, increase data 

quality, reduce operational costs, and 

operate more efficiently. The ABS 

provides information on select 

economic and demographic 

characteristics for businesses and 

business owners by sex, ethnicity, race, 

and veteran status. Further, the survey 

measures research and development for 

microbusinesses and nonprofit 

organizations, business topics such as 

innovation and technology, as well as 

other business characteristics. The ABS 

is sponsored by the National Center for 

Science and Engineering Statistics 

(NCSES) within the National Science 

Foundation (NSF) and conducted by the 

Census Bureau. Title 13, United States 

Code, sections 8(b), 131, and 182; title 

42, United States Code, section 1861–76 

(National Science Foundation Act of 

1950, as amended); and section 505 

within the America COMPETES 

Reauthorization Act of 2010 authorize 

this collection. Sections 224 and 225 of 

title 13, United States Code, require 

response from sampled firms. 

The ABS includes all nonfarm 

employer businesses filing Internal 

Revenue Service (IRS) tax forms as 

individual proprietorships, 

partnerships, or any other type of 

corporation, with receipts of $1,000 or 

more. Also included are nonprofit 

organizations to measure their research 

activities. Annually the ABS samples 

300,000 employer business and 8,000 

nonprofit organizations. Every five 

years, the ABS sample increases to 

858,000 to serve as a benchmark and 

produce detailed comprehensive 

estimates for women-, minority-, and 

veteran-owned businesses at the 2–6- 

digit NAICS, U.S., State, metropolitan 

statistical area (MSA), county, and 

economic place levels, while also 

providing research activities for 

microbusinesses and nonprofit 

organizations. The 2023 ABS sampled 

approximately 858,000 businesses and 

organizations (850,000 employer 

businesses + 8,000 nonprofit 

organizations). The sample size is 

reduced to approximately 308,000 for 

the four following years (2024–2027 

ABS) to minimize the burden on survey 

respondents. The smaller sample size 

will yield summary-level estimates for 

women-, minority-, and veteran-owned 

businesses at the 2–4 digit NAICS, U.S., 

state, and MSA levels. The Census 

Bureau uses administrative data to 

estimate the probability that a firm is 

minority- or women-owned. Each firm 

is then placed in one of eight frames for 

sampling. The sampling frames are: 

American Indian or Alaskan Native, 

Asian, Black or African American, 

Hispanic, Non-Hispanic White Men, 

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific 

Islander, Publicly Owned, and Women. 

The sample is stratified by state, 

industry, and frame. The Census Bureau 

selects some companies with certainty 

based on volume of sales, payroll, 

number of paid employees or NAICS. 

All certainty cases are sure to be 

selected and represent only themselves. 

The ABS samples approximately 8,000 

nonprofit organizations who are 

required to complete IRS form 990, in 

order to compile national estimates of 

R&D performance within this sector. Of 

note, nonprofit organizations will only 

see questions relating to research 

activities and will not be asked any 

questions relating to owner 

demographics. 

The ABS is designed to allow for 

incorporating new content each survey 

year based on topics of relevance. Each 

year new questions are submitted to the 

OMB for approval. 

The ABS collects the following 

information from employer businesses: 

• Owner characteristics, including 

sex, ethnicity, race, and veteran status 

from the principal owner(s) of the 

business. 

• Company information including, 

worldwide sales, domestic sales, 

number of employees, and business 

ownership from all employer businesses 

in the sample. 

• Business characteristics from all 

employer businesses in the sample. 

• Research and development from 

businesses with between 1–9 

employees. 

Additional owner topics may include 

military service, owner acquisition, job 

functions, number of hours worked, 

primary income, prior business 

ownership, age of owner, education and 

field of degree, citizenship status and 

place of birth, disability, gender 


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65364 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 183 / Friday, September 22, 2023 / Notices 

identity, sexual orientation, and owner’s 

reason for owning the business. Other 

business topics may include number of 

owners and percent ownership, family 

owned and operated, business 

aspirations, funding sources, 

profitability, types of customers, types 

of workers, employee benefits, franchise 

operations, work from home practices, 

and business activity. Potential module 

topics for the ABS may cover 

innovation, technology and internet 

usage, technology transfer, climate 

impact and sustainability practices, 

management and business practices, 

exporting practices, domestic and 

foreign transactions, design, worker 

training, and financing. 

The ABS collects the following 

information from nonprofit 

organizations: 

• Research activities performed or 

funded by nonprofit organizations 

• Research funding sources 

• Type of research 

• Research personnel counts 

II. Method of Collection 

The ABS is primarily collected 

electronically using a web-based 

questionnaire. Those selected for the 

survey receive an initial letter informing 

the respondents of their requirement to 

complete the survey as well as 

instructions on accessing the survey. 

Responses will be due approximately 30 

days from initial mailing. Respondents 

will also receive a due date reminder 

approximately one week before 

responses are due. The Census Bureau 

plans to conduct two follow-up mailings 

and an optional third follow-up if 

deemed necessary based on check-in 

rates. Nonrespondents may receive a 

certified mailing for the second and 

third follow-up mailings. The Census 

Bureau may also plan to conduct an 

email follow-up to select 

nonrespondents reminding them to 

submit their report in the electronic 

instrument. Follow-up operations may 

also include a paper questionnaire or 

telephone follow-up to assist with 

collecting data from select 

nonrespondents. Response data will be 

processed as they are received. Upon 

the close of the collection period, data 

processing will continue, and records 

will be edited, reviewed, tabulated, and 

released publicly. 

III. Data 

OMB Control Number: 0607–1004. 

Form Number(s): ABS–1. 

Type of Review: Regular submission, 

Request for a Revision of a Currently 

Approved Collection. 

Affected Public: Businesses or other 

for-profit organizations (large and small 

employer businesses), nonprofit 

organizations. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

308,000. 

Estimated Time per Response: 58 

minutes for employer businesses; 3.5 

hours for nonprofit organizations that 

must complete the entire module, 20 

minutes for all other nonprofit 

organizations. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 296,000. 

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: Mandatory. 

Legal Authority: Title 13, United 

States Code, sections 8(b), 131, and 182; 

title 42, United States Code, section 

1861–76 (National Science Foundation 

Act of 1950, as amended); and section 

505 within the America COMPETES 

Reauthorization Act of 2010 authorize 

this collection. Sections 224 and 225 of 

title 13, United States Code, require 

response from sampled firms. 

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. 2023–20568 Filed 9–21–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–07–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Bureau of Economic Analysis 

[Docket Number: 230918–0222] 

Bureau of Economic Analysis Advisory 

Committee Meeting 

AGENCY: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 

U.S. Department of Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act, the Bureau of 

Economic Analysis (BEA) announces a 

meeting of the Bureau of Economic 

Analysis Advisory Committee (BEAAC 

or the Committee). The meeting will 

address proposed improvements, 

extensions, and research related to 

BEA’s economic accounts. In addition, 

the meeting will include an update on 

recent statistical developments. 

DATES: October 13, 2023. The meeting 

begins at 10:00 a.m. and adjourns at 2:30 

p.m. (ET). 

ADDRESSES: This meeting will be a 

hybrid event. Committee members and 

presenters will have the option to join 

the meeting in person or via video 

conference technology. All outside 

attendees will be invited to attend via 

video conference technology only. The 

meeting is open to the public via video 

conference technology. Contact Gianna 

Marrone at (301) 278–9282 or 

gianna.marrone@bea.gov by October 6, 

2023, to RSVP. The call-in number, 

access code, and presentation link will 

be posted 24 hours prior to the meeting 

on https://www.bea.gov/about/beaadvisory-committee. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Gianna Marrone, Program Analyst, U.S. 

Department of Commerce, Bureau of 

Economic Analysis, Suitland, MD 

20746; phone (301) 278–9282; email 

gianna.marrone@bea.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Committee was established September 

2, 1999, in accordance with the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. app. 

section 2). The Committee advises the 

Director of BEA on matters related to the 

development and improvement of BEA’s 

national, regional, industry, and 

international economic accounts, with a 

focus on new and rapidly growing areas 


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