28950 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 99 / Wednesday, May 23, 2007 / Notices 

Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be sent 

within 30 days of publication of this 

notice to David Rostker, OMB Desk 

Officer, FAX number (202) 395–7285, or 

David_Rostker@omb.eop.gov. 

Dated: May 17, 2007. 

Gwellnar Banks, 

Management Analyst, Office of the Chief 

Information Officer. 

[FR Doc. E7–9863 Filed 5–22–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Census Bureau 

2007 Survey of Business Owners 

(SBO) 

ACTION: Proposed information 

collection; comment request. 

SUMMARY: The Department of 

Commerce, as part of its continuing 

effort to reduce paperwork and 

respondent burden, invites the general 

public and other Federal agencies to 

take this opportunity to comment on 

proposed and/or continuing information 

collections, as required by the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 

Public Law 104–13 (44 U.S.C. 

3506(c)(2)(A)). 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted on or before July 23, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments 

to Diana Hynek, Departmental 

Paperwork Clearance Officer, 

Department of Commerce, Room 6625, 

14th and Constitution Avenue, NW., 

Washington, DC 20230 (or via the 

Internet at DHynek@doc.gov). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information or 

copies of the information collection 

instrument(s) and instructions should 

be directed to Valerie Strang, U.S. 

Census Bureau, CSD, Room 6K072E, 

Washington, DC 20233–6400, (301) 763–

3317. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

I. Abstract 

The Census Bureau plans to conduct 

the 2007 Survey of Business Owners 

(SBO). In the SBO, businesses are asked 

several questions about their business as 

well as several questions about the 

gender, Hispanic or Latino origin, and 

race of the principal owner(s). This 

survey provides the only 

comprehensive, regularly collected 

source of information on the 

characteristics of U.S. businesses by 

ownership category, i.e., by gender, 

Hispanic or Latino origin, and race. The 

survey is conducted as part of the 

economic census program which is 

required by law to be taken every 5 

years under Title 13 of the United States 

Code, Sections 131, 193, and 224. 

Businesses which reported any 

business activity on any one of the 

following Internal Revenue Service tax 

forms will be eligible for selection: 1040 

(Schedule C), ‘‘Profit or Loss From 

Business (Sole Proprietorship); 1065, 

U.S. Return of Partnership Income; 941, 

‘‘Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax 

Return’’; or any one of the 1120 

corporate tax forms. 

The following changes have been 

made to the 2007 SBO: 

• The survey form was expanded to 

collect a variety of characteristics for up 

to four individual owners. There was 

space for up to three owners in 2002, 

but this was found not to be sufficient 

in determining equal male-/femaleownership. 

• The race question has been 

modified to meet OMB guidelines to 

allow respondents to select the ‘‘Some 

Other Race’’ category. 

• Examples are provided for the 

‘‘Other Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish 

origin,’’ ‘‘Other Asian’’, and ‘‘Other 

Pacific Islander’’ write-in categories. 

• Twenty-two new questions have 

been added to our questionnaire. 

There are four new questions that are 

asked of each owner: 

1. How did the owner acquire 

ownership of the business? 

2. When did the owner acquire 

ownership of the business? 

3. Prior to establishing, purchasing, or 

acquiring the business, had the owner 

ever owned a business or been selfemployed? 

4. Was the owner born in the United 

States? 

There are eighteen new business 

questions: 

1. Was the business jointly owned by 

a husband and wife? 

2. How many owners were there in 

the business? 

3. Did a franchiser own more than 

50% of the business? 

4. What was the total amount of 

capital used to start or acquire the 

business? 

5. Did the business forego expansion 

or capital improvement due to a lack of 

access to capital? 

6. What percent of the business’s total 

sales of goods and/or services consisted 

of exports outside the United States? 

7. What geographic area(s) best 

describes the market where the 

business’s goods and/or services were 

sold? 

8. In which language(s) did the 

business conduct transactions? 

9. Did the business establish 

operations outside the United States? 

10. Did the business outsource or 

transfer any business function or service 

to a company outside the United States? 

11. Which of the following techniques 

were used to attract, develop and/or 

retain workers? 

12. Did the business have a Web site? 

13. Did the business make purchases 

online? 

14. Did the business have e-commerce 

sales? 

15. What percent of the business’s 

goods and/or services were e-commerce 

sales? 

16. What characteristic(s) describe the 

self-employment or business activity? 

17. Is the business currently 

operating? 

18. If no, did the business cease 

operating for any of the following 

reasons? 

These items will address important 

concerns of many data users, including 

the U.S. House of Representatives 

Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, the 

Small Business Administration, and the 

Center for Women’s Business Research. 

We received clearance from the Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB) to 

test our newly proposed 2007 SBO 

questionnaire. Cognitive interviews 

with fourteen businesses were 

conducted between December 5–15, 

2006. These interviews continued on 

January 29, 2007 through February 1, 

2007. Upon completion of the first 

round of interviews, the interview team 

met and decided on the recommended 

changes to the form. The form was 

revised and a second round of 

interviews began on April 9, 2007, 

through April 27, 2007. The team met 

again after the second round and the 

form was revised again. On May 29, 

2007 a third and final round of testing 

began. This testing continues as this 

presubmission notice is processed. 

There are plans to make final changes to 

the form by June 15. 

II. Method of Collection 

The Census Bureau will use a 

mailout/mailback survey form to collect 

the data. The questionnaires will be 

mailed from our National Processing 

Center in Jeffersonville, Indiana. Three 

mail follow-ups to non-respondents will 

be conducted at approximately onemonth intervals. Upon closeout of the 

survey, the response data will be edited 

and reviewed. 

III. Data 

OMB Number: None. 

Form Number: SBO–1, 2007 Survey of 

Business Owners and Self-Employed 

Persons. 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 99 / Wednesday, May 23, 2007 / Notices 28951 

Type of Review: Regular submission. 

Affected Public: Business and other 

for-profit organizations, and non-profit 

organizations, and publicly held 

corporations. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

2.3 million. 

Estimated Time Per Response: 12 

minutes. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 460,000. 

Estimated Total Annual Cost: 

$11,546,000. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory. 

Legal Authority: Title 13, United 

States Code, Sections 131, 193, and 224. 

IV. Request for Comments 

Comments are invited on: (a) 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; (b) the accuracy of the 

agency’s estimate of the burden 

(including hours and cost) of the 

proposed collection of information; (c) 

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the 

burden of the collection of information 

on respondents, including the use of 

automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

Comments submitted in response to 

this notice will be summarized and/or 

included in the request for OMB 

approval of this information collection; 

they also will become a matter of public 

record. 

Dated: May 17, 2007. 

Gwellnar Banks, 

Management Analyst, Office of the Chief 

Information Officer. 

[FR Doc. E7–9868 Filed 5–22–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–07–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Census Bureau 

2008 Coverage Followup Telephone 

Operation 

ACTION: Proposed information 

collection; comment request. 

SUMMARY: The Department of 

Commerce, as part of its continuing 

effort to reduce paperwork and 

respondent burden, invites the general 

public and other Federal agencies to 

take this opportunity to comment on 

proposed and/or continuing information 

collections, as required by the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 

Public Law 104–13 (44 U.S.C. 

3506(c)(2)(A)). 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted on or before July 23, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments 

to Diana Hynek, Departmental 

Paperwork Clearance Officer, 

Department of Commerce, Room 6625, 

14th and Constitution Avenue, NW., 

Washington, DC 20230 (or via the 

Internet at DHynek@doc.gov). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information or 

copies of the information collection 

instrument(s) and instructions should 

be directed to Frank Vitrano, U.S. 

Census Bureau, Room 3H174, 

Washington, DC 20233–9200, 301–763–

3961 (or via e-mail at 

frank.a.vitrano@census.gov). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

I. Abstract 

The 2008 Census Dress Rehearsal is 

the final step in the decennial cycle of 

research and testing leading up to the 

implementation of the 2010 Census. The 

2008 Census Dress Rehearsal will 

provide an opportunity to see how well 

the Census Bureau integrates the various 

operations and procedures planned for 

the 2010 Census under as close to 

census-like conditions as possible. 

In order to meet our constitutional 

and legislative mandates, we must 

implement a re-engineered 2010 Census 

that is cost-effective, improves coverage, 

and reduces operational risk. Achieving 

these strategic goals requires an iterative 

series of tests to provide an opportunity 

to evaluate new or improved question 

wording, methodology, technology, and 

questionnaire design. 

The Census Bureau previously 

completed three related studies 

designed to evaluate the efficacy of 

modified procedures for improving 

coverage (how well the Census Bureau 

counts people and housing units in the 

census) of the population and housing: 

(1) The 2004 Census Test Coverage 

Research Followup (OMB Approval 

Number 0607–0910; (2) the 2005 

National Census Test Coverage 

Followup (OMB Approval Number 

0607–0916 and (3) the 2006 Census Test 

Coverage Followup (OMB Approval 

Number 0607–0923.) 

In support of the Census Bureau’s 

goals, the 2008 Coverage Followup 

(CFU) telephone operation will serve to 

clarify initial enumeration responses in 

an effort to improve within household 

coverage by identifying erroneous 

enumerations and omissions. 

Historically, the decennial census has 

been affected by undercounts that affect 

certain demographic groups (e.g. babies 

and minorities), and people in certain 

living situations, such as renters who 

move often and people whose residence 

is complicated or ambiguous. 

Coverage interviews in the decennial 

censuses traditionally involve a second 

interview with the respondent to 

determine if changes should be made to 

their household roster as reported on 

their initial census return. The 

questions in the CFU interview attempt 

to determine if people were missed, 

and/or counted incorrectly. The 

corrections to the roster are made, if 

necessary, based on the 2008 Dress 

Rehearsal Residence Rules. 

The 2008 CFU telephone operation 

will be conducted May 1, 2008 through 

July 25, 2008. 

II. Method of Collection 

The CFU telephone operation will be 

administered using computer-assisted 

telephone interviews (CATI). 

Approximately 66,000 households will 

be included in the 2008 CFU telephone 

universe. This universe is selected 

based on the following criteria: 

• Initial census housing unit returns 

that responded ‘‘yes’’ to either coverage 

question; 

• Initial census returns that have a 

count discrepancy between the reported 

household population count and the 

actual number of persons recorded on 

the census form; 

• Initial census returns containing 

more than six persons; 

• Initial returns that are matched 

against an administrative records 

database to identify potential 

undercount; and 

• Initial census returns that are 

computer matched to determine 

possible duplicate person links. 

The 2008 CFU telephone operation 

will be conducted in the two 2008 

Census Dress Rehearsal sites: San 

Joaquin County, California and South 

Central North Carolina, including 

Fayetteville and nine surrounding 

counties (Chatham, Cumberland, 

Harnett, Hoke, Lee, Montgomery, 

Moore, Richmond and Scotland). 

The CFU interview includes probes 

about: 

• Types of missing people, 

• Where college students live, 

• Where children in custody 

arrangements spend most of their time, 

• Where those who vacation spend 

most of their time, 

• If anyone else in the household 

stays anywhere else any part of the time, 

and 

• If anyone stayed in a facility where 

groups of people stay. 

When anyone is identified as 

potentially counted or omitted in error, 

we then ask questions to establish the 

appropriate census residence of that 


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