[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 144 (Thursday, July 26, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35458-35460]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-15972]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    The Department of Commerce will submit to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of 
information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act.
    Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.
    Title: Redistricting Data Program.
    OMB Control Number: 0607-0988.
    Form Number(s): Not available.
    Type of Request: Regular submission.
    Number of Respondents: 52.
    Average Hours per Response: 217 hours.\1\
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    \1\ The respondent burden was incorrectly estimated at 72 hours 
in the previously published 60-day Federal Register notice. This 
mistake is corrected in the 30-day FRN. The 72 hours was estimated 
over each year of clearance. However, since respondent will incur 
burden only in 2019 and 2020, the Census Bureau re-estimates the 
respondent burden over these two years. The respondent burden hour 
is now 217 hours, which is obtained by dividing the total estimated 
hour burden with the number of respondents (11,284/52).
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    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 11,284.
    Voting District Project (VTDP) Verification Round 1: 6,448 hours.
    VTDP Verification Round 2: 4,836 hours.

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                                                                                 Estimated total hour burden per fiscal year (FY)
                                                         -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    Phases/activities                                 Currently approved OMB                                  Renewal
                                                         -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               2016            2017            2018            2019            2020            2021
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Block Boundary Suggestion Project (BBSP) Annotation                6,448  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
 Phase 1................................................
BBSP Verification Phase 2...............................  ..............           3,224  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VTDP Delineation Phase 1................................  ..............  ..............          12,896  ..............  ..............  ..............
VTDP Verification round one.............................  ..............  ..............  ..............           6,448  ..............  ..............
VTDP Verification round two.............................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............           4,836  ..............
                                                         -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total Estimated Hour Burden.........................                      22,984
                                                                              11,284
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[[Page 35459]]

    Needs and Uses: The 2020 Census Redistricting Data Program (RDP) is 
one of many voluntary programs that collects boundaries to update the 
U.S. Census Bureau's geographic database of addresses, streets, and 
boundaries. The Census Bureau uses its geographic database to link 
demographic data from surveys and the decennial census to locations and 
areas, such as cities, congressional and legislative districts, and 
counties. To tabulate statistics by localities, the Census Bureau must 
have accurate addresses and boundaries.
    Specifically, the RDP provides states the opportunity to delineate 
voting districts and to suggest census block boundaries for use in the 
2020 Census redistricting data tabulations (Pub. L. 94-171 
Redistricting Data File). In addition, the RDP periodically collects 
state legislative and congressional district boundaries if they are 
changed by the states. After the 2020 Census, states will use 2020 data 
tabulated for census blocks, voting districts, and possibly other 
geographic areas such as cities, counties, etc., as considerations when 
they draw their new congressional and legislative district boundaries. 
States are the only authority that can choose where and how to draw 
their boundaries. The boundaries collected in the RDP and other 
geographic programs will create census blocks, which are the building 
blocks for all Census Bureau geographic boundaries. While the 
geographic programs differ in requirements, time frame, and 
participants, the RDP and the other geographic programs all follow the 
same basic process:
    1. The Census Bureau invites eligible participants to the program. 
For the RDP, the Census Bureau invites non-partisan state liaisons 
appointed by the legislative leadership of each state.
    2. If they elect to participate in the program, participants 
receive a digital copy of the boundaries the Census Bureau has on file. 
Participants review the boundaries and update them if needed. RDP 
participants can choose to review and provide their boundary updates 
using a free customized mapping software, or their own mapping 
software.
    3. Participants return their updates to the Census Bureau.
    4. The Census Bureau updates their geographic database with 
boundary updates from participants.
    5. The Census Bureau uses the newly updated boundaries and 
addresses to tabulate statistics.
    The Census Bureau is requesting a clearance to continue the RDP. As 
the current Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Control Number 0607-
0988 will expire in November 2018, the new clearance will allow the 
Census Bureau to provide RDP-specific materials and procedures to 
participants during the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019, 2020, and 2021. Liaisons 
from the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of 
Puerto Rico will be updating and verifying the boundaries of their 
voting districts during the implementation of the Phase 2 of the Voting 
District Project (VTDP). The Census Bureau has partitioned the RDP into 
five phases:

Phase 1: Block Boundary Suggestion Project (BBSP) (2015-2017)

    Between 2015 and 2017, the Census Bureau collaborated with non-
partisan liaisons designated by each state to collect and verify 
suggestions for 2020 Census tabulation blocks in the Block Boundary 
Suggestion Project (BBSP). States submitted suggested legal boundary 
updates as well as updates to other geographic areas. These actions 
allow states to construct some of the small area geography they need 
for legislative redistricting. Phase 1 was conducted in two parts, an 
initial identification of the updates needed, and a verification stage 
to ensure the suggested updates were accurately applied. States that 
chose to participate in Phase 1 received guidelines and training for 
providing their suggestions.

Phase 2: Voting District Project (VTDP) (2018-2020)

    The VTDP Phase 2 of the RDP provides states the opportunity to 
submit their voting districts (ex. wards, precincts, etc.) for 
inclusion in the 2020 Census Redistricting Data tabulations (Pub. L. 
94-171). Non-partisan liaisons designated by the states submit their 
voting districts boundaries and suggest legal boundary updates to the 
Census Bureau. Phase 2 is conducted in three stages (Table 2).

                    Table 2--VTDP Stages and Schedule
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            Stage                               Schedule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Initial Identification of   December 2017-May 2018.
 Updates.
2. Verification of Updates I.  December 2018-May 2019.
3. Verification of Updates II  December 2019-March 2020.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The first two stages are an initial identification of the voting 
districts and a verification stage to ensure the suggested updates were 
accurately applied. The third part is an additional round of 
verification, for those states participating in the first two stages, 
to further review and adjust the voting districts if associated 
geographies changed.
    States that choose to participate in VTDP receive geographic 
products that allow them the opportunity to update the voting districts 
for inclusion in the 2020 Census tabulation geography.

Phase 3: Delivery of the 2020 Census Redistricting Data (2021)

    By April 1, 2021, the Director of the Census Bureau will, in 
accordance with Title 13, U.S.C., furnish the Governor and state 
legislative leaders, both the majority and minority, and any public 
bodies responsible for legislative redistricting, with 2020 Census 
population counts for standard census tabulation areas (e.g., states, 
congressional districts, state legislative districts, American Indian 
areas, counties, cities, towns, census tracts, census block groups, and 
census blocks) regardless of a state's participation in Phase 1 or 2. 
The Director of the Census Bureau will provide 2020 Census population 
counts for those states participating in Phase 2, for both the standard 
tabulation areas and for voting districts. For each state, this 
delivery will occur no later than April 1, 2021.

Phase 4: Collection of Post-Census Redistricting Data Plans (2021-2022)

    Between November 2021 and May 2022, the Census Bureau will solicit 
from each state the boundaries of the newly drawn 118th Congressional 
Districts and State Legislative Districts. This effort will occur every 
two years in advance of the 2030 Census in order to update these 
boundaries with new or changed plans. A verification phase will occur 
with each update.

[[Page 35460]]

Phase 5: Review of the 2020 Census RDP and Recommendations for the 2030 
Census RDP (2020 Post-Data Collection)

    As the final phase of the 2020 Census RDP, the Census Bureau will 
work with the states to conduct a thorough review of the RDP. The 
intent of this review, and the final report that results, is to provide 
guidance to the Secretary of Commerce and the Census Bureau Director in 
planning the 2030 Census RDP.
    The Census Bureau issued invitation letters by mail (U.S. Postal 
Service) and follow-up emails to the officers or public bodies having 
initial responsibility for legislative reapportionment and 
redistricting. The 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico have identified non-partisan liaisons that 
are already working directly with the Census Bureau on the 2020 Census 
RDP.
    In addition, to begin work on Phase 1 and Phase 2, the Census 
Bureau provides to states data from the Master Address File/
Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing system, 
the Geographic Update Program Software (GUPS) (an optional software 
tool), and the procedures necessary for each state to participate. 
States are not required to use GUPS, but they have to submit their 
submission to the Census Bureau electronically in Census Bureau-
specified formats. During the submission period, the Census Bureau 
provides training in the use of GUPS and assists the states in 
understanding the procedures necessary for processing files for their 
submission.
    Affected Public: All 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
    Frequency: Annual.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13, U.S.C., sections 16, 141, and 193.
    This information collection request may be viewed at 
www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view Department of Commerce 
collections currently under review by OMB.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2b6462796a74785e49464258584244456b444649054e445b054c445d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7e31372c3f212d0b1c13170d0d1711103e11131c501b110e50191108">[email protected]</span></a> or fax to (202) 395-5806.

Sheleen Dumas,
Departmental Lead PRA Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2018-15972 Filed 7-25-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P


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