6946 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 31 / Friday, February 14, 1997 / Notices

the objectives of the Javits-WagnerO’Day Act (41 U.S.C. 46–48c) in

connection with the services proposed

for addition to the Procurement List.

Comments on this certification are

invited. Commenters should identify the

statement(s) underlying the certification

on which they are providing additional

information.

The following services have been

proposed for addition to Procurement

List for production by the nonprofit

agencies listed:

Janitorial/Custodial, VA Outpatient Clinic,

Las Vegas, Nevada

NPA: Opportunity Village ARC, Las Vegas,

Nevada

Janitorial/Guard Service, VA Outpatient

Clinic, Brighton, New York

NPA: Rochester Rehabilitation Center,

Rochester, New York

Laundry Service, Cadet Linen Exchange

Service, U.S. Air Force Academy,

Colorado Springs, Colorado

NPA: Goodwill Industrial Services

Corporation, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Laundry Service, U.S. Air Force Academy

Hospital, Colorado Springs, Colorado

NPA: Goodwill Industrial Services

Corporation, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Laundry Service, Cadet Dining Hall, U.S. Air

Force Academy, Colorado Springs,

Colorado

NPA: Goodwill Industrial Services

Corporation, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Laundry Service, Basewide, United States Air

Force Academy, Colorado Springs,

Colorado

NPA: Goodwill Industrial Services

Corporation, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Operation of SERVMART Store, Naval Air

Station, Corpus Christi, Texas

NPA: South Texas Lighthouse for the Blind,

Corpus Christi, Texas

Beverly L. Milkman,

Executive Director.

[FR Doc. 97–3804 Filed 2–13–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6353–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of the Census

1997 National Survey; Proposed

Collection

ACTION: Proposed 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 April 15, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments

to Linda Engelmeier, Departmental

Forms Clearance Officer, Department of

Commerce, Room 5327, 14th and

Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington,

DC 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or

copies of the information collection

instrument(s) should be directed to Cleo

R. Jenkins, collection instrument(s)

should be directed to Cleo R. Jenkins,

Bureau of the Census, Room 3125–4,

Washington, DC 20233–9150, (301) 457–

4994.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

The 1997 National Survey is part of

the Census Bureau’s continuing effort to

design Census 2000 mailing packages

that are respondent friendly, machine

imageable, and cost efficient. Short form

mailing packages are sent to the vast

majority of the population. These

packages request basic information,

such as name, sex, date of birth,

Hispanic origin, the race of all the

household members, and the owner/

renter status of the address. Long form

mailing packages are sent to only a

portion of the population. These

packages request additional information

over the short form packages, such as

information on education, work,

disabilities, and housing characteristics.

As a result of time constraints, major

features of the 1998 Dress Rehearsal

mailing packages have been identified

and decided upon. The dress rehearsal

short form will be a one-page rollfold

with icons and messages in reverse print

(white text on black background). The

long form will be a 32-page booklet with

a household roster, and with icons and

messages in reverse print. The

accompanying envelope will have a

reverse-print logo in the upper left-hand

corner and the mandatory message with

a seal outlined in gold to the left of the

address window. Although these

mailing packages have been identified

as best given the latest research, it is

also true that this research is lacking

and that important, unanswered

questions remain about these designs.

Therefore, the 1997 National Survey has

been designed to determine the effects

of the following:

1. Icons and benefit messages on both

the short and long forms. Simple icons

with short motivating messages in

reverse print have been developed for

use in the upper corners of the

questionnaires. The icons and messages

are intended to make respondents feel

good about the census at the very least

and encourage response at the best.

Although these icons and messages

tested relatively well in small-scale, inhouse cognitive tests and in targeted

focus groups in select cities, we need to

ensure that this is true at the national

level, especially since literature

regarding the use of icons with messages

in surveys is non-existent. This survey

is designed to determine if icons and

messages affect response rates or item

non-response rates.

2. Alternative form structures on the

short form. The forms tested since 1990

have been composed of 17′′ × 11′′ sheets

of paper stapled together to form 8.5′′ ×

11′′ page booklets. The newly designed

short form is composed of one folded

22′′ × 11′′ sheet of paper, which is called

a rollfold. Although cognitive research

suggests that respondents will be more

likely to correctly operate a booklet than

a rollfold, booklets are also more

expensive to process than rollfolds.

Therefore, a test of these trade-offs is

needed. This survey is designed to

determine if alternative form structures

affect response rates or the consistency

between the household question and

data-defined persons.

3. A ‘‘household count’’ question

versus a household roster on the long

form. The results of the National

Content Survey showed that a

household roster on the short form does

not improve household coverage over a

form that contains a ‘‘household count’’

question. However, no testing of a

rostered vs. a no-roster form was

conducted with the long form. Although

the decision has been made to use a

rostered long form for the 1998 Dress

Rehearsal, questions about whether it

will improve coverage or not remain.

This survey is designed to compare the

item non-response rates between the

roster vs. the ‘‘household count’’

question, the consistency in data

between the two, and the differences in

average household size for the two

forms.

4. A comparison with past tests on the

short form. In light of the dramatic

changes that are being incorporated into

the 1998 Dress Rehearsal short form

mailing package (i.e., new one-sheet

format, one-column panels, type of fold,

color, and envelope design), it is

important that we maintain a

benchmark to determine whether the

collective effect of these changes

continues to move us forward on both

response rate and item nonresponse.

Therefore, we propose to include the

highest performing short form mailing

package we have tested to date (Form

1G from the National Content Survey).
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 31 / Friday, February 14, 1997 / Notices 6947

5. Alternative envelope designs on the

short form. We have made some changes

in the design of the envelope

subsequent to a mailout test (the

Appeals and Long Form Experiment)

conducted in 1993, in which we learned

that a box on the outgoing envelope

stating that response is required by law

results in an increase of about 10

percentage points in mail response.

Although respondents in cognitive

interviews and focus groups like the

new envelope, it needs to be tested

against a known response enhancer, to

make sure that the new design does not

negatively affect response rates.

The 1997 National Survey is designed

to compare the performance of five short

form mailing packages: (1) the dress

rehearsal mailing package (a one-page

rollfold with icons and logo envelope)

will serve as the control; (2) the dress

rehearsal mailing package without icons;

(3) the dress rehearsal mailing package

as a booklet; (4) a slightly modified

version of Form DS–1G from the

National Content Survey along with the

original government envelope; and (5)

the dress rehearsal form and original

government envelope. The 1997

National Survey will also compare the

performance of three long forms: (1) The

dress rehearsal form (a 32-page booklet

with a household roster and icons) will

serve as the control; (2) the dress

rehearsal form without roster; and (3)

the dress rehearsal form without icons.

II. Method of Collection

The 1997 National Survey will be a

one time mailout/mailback test,

consisting of the following independent

mailing pieces: a pre-notice letter, a test

questionnaire with postage-paid return

envelope, a reminder card, and a

replacement questionnaire. There will

be no telephone or enumeration followup.

III. Data

OMB Number: Not available.

Form Numbers: Short form: DV–1A,

DV–1B, DV–1C, DV–1D, DV–1E Long

form: DV–2A, DV–2B, DV–2C.

Type of Review: Regular submission.

Affected Public: Individuals or

households.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

There will be a total of 8 panels, each

containing 5,000 respondents. Five

panels will receive the short form. Three

panels will receive the long form.

Estimated Time Per Response: 10

minutes/short form, 38 minutes/long

form.

Estimated Total Annual Burden

Hours: 13,667 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Cost:

$650,000.

Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory.

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

Sections 141 and 193.

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 through the use

of automated collection techniques of

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: February 10, 1997.

Linda Engelmeier,

Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Office

of Management and Organization.

[FR Doc. 97–3679 Filed 2–13–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3501–07–P

Foreign-Trade Zones Board

[Docket 5–97]

Proposed Foreign-Trade Zone—

Durant, Oklahoma; Application and

Public Hearing

An application has been submitted to

the Foreign-Trade Zones Board (the

Board) by Rural Enterprises of

Oklahoma, Inc., (an Oklahoma not-forprofit corporation), to establish a

general-purpose foreign-trade zone in

the City of Durant, Oklahoma, at a site

that is within 90 miles of the Dallas/Fort

Worth Customs port of entry. The

application was submitted pursuant to

the provisions of the Foreign-Trade

Zones Act, as amended (19 U.S.C. 81a81u), and the regulations of the Board

(15 CFR Part 400). It was formally filed

on January 30, 1997. The applicant is

authorized to make the proposal under

Senate Joint Resolution No. 3 of the

First Session of the 45th Oklahoma

Legislature.

The proposed zone is located in

southeastern Oklahoma, approximately

10 miles north of the Oklahoma-Texas

border. The closest Customs port of

entry is Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas. The

proposed site is situated on 30 acres

within the 280-acre Texoma Industrial

Park near U.S. Highway 69/75 in

Durant. The property is owned by the

City of Durant. The closest existing zone

project in Oklahoma is at Oklahoma

City some 150 miles to the north.

The application contains evidence of

the need for zone services in the Durant

area. Several firms have indicated an

interest in using zone procedures within

the proposed project for-2-warehousing/

distribution activity. Specific

manufacturing approvals are not being

sought at this time. Requests would be

made to the Board on a case-by-case

basis.

In accordance with the Board’s

regulations, a member of the FTZ Staff

has been designated examiner to

investigate the application and report to

the Board.

As part of the investigation, the

Commerce examiner will hold a public

hearing on March 6, 1997 at 9:00 a.m.,

at the Robert L. Williams Public Library,

323 West Beech, Durant, Oklahoma

74701.

Public comment on the application is

invited from interested parties.

Submissions (original and 3 copies)

shall be addressed to the Board’s

Executive Secretary at the address

below. The closing period for their

receipt is March 21, 1997. Rebuttal

comments in response to material

submitted during the foregoing period

may be submitted during the subsequent

15-day period to April 7, 1997.

A copy of the application and

accompanying exhibits will be available

during this time for public inspection at

the following locations:

Office of Rural Enterprises of Oklahoma,

Inc., 422 Cessna, Durant, Oklahoma

74701

Office of the Executive Secretary,

Foreign-Trade Zones Board, Room

3716, U.S. Department of Commerce,

14th and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW,

Washington, DC 20230

Dated: February 7, 1997.

John J. Da Ponte, Jr.,

Executive Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97–3790 Filed 2–13–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P