Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 29 / Thursday, February 12, 2015 / Notices 7835 

The information collected by the COS 

is used to maintain and update the BR. 

The BR serves two fundamental 

purposes: 

• First and most important, it 

provides sampling populations and 

enumeration lists for the Census 

Bureau’s economic surveys and 

censuses, and it serves as an integral 

part of the statistical foundation 

underlying those programs. Essential for 

this purpose is the BR’s ability to 

identify all known United States 

business establishments and their 

parent companies. Further, the BR must 

accurately record basic business 

attributes needed to control sampling 

and enumeration. These attributes 

include industry and geographic 

classifications, measures of size and 

economic activity, ownership 

characteristics, and contact information 

(for example, name and address). 

• Second, it provides establishment 

data that serve as the basis for the 

annual County Business Patterns (CBP) 

statistical series. The CBP reports 

present data on number of 

establishments, first quarter payroll, 

annual payroll, and mid-March 

employment summarized by industry 

and employment size class for the 

United States, the District of Columbia, 

island areas, counties, and countyequivalents. No other annual or more 

frequent series of industry statistics 

provides comparable detail, particularly 

for small geographic areas 

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit; Not-for-profit institutions; Farms; 

State, local or tribal governments. 

Frequency: Annually. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory. 

Legal Authority: Title 13 United States 

Code, Sections 182, 195, 224, and 225. 

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 OIRA_Submission@

omb.eop.gov or fax to (202)395–5806. 

Dated: February 6, 2015. 

Glenna Mickelson, 

Management Analyst, Office of the Chief 

Information Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2015–02865 Filed 2–11–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–07–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Census Bureau 

Proposed Information Collection; 

Comment Request; Advance Monthly 

Retail Trade Survey 

AGENCY: U.S. Census Bureau, 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. 

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: To ensure consideration, written 

comments must be submitted on or 

before April 13, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments 

to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental 

Paperwork Clearance Officer, 

Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 

14th and Constitution Avenue NW., 

Washington, DC 20230 (or via the 

Internet at jjessup@doc.gov). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information or 

copies of the information collection 

instrument(s) and instructions should 

be directed to Karla Allen, U.S. Census 

Bureau, EID HQ–8K183A, 4600 Silver 

Hill Road, Washington, DC 20233–6500, 

(301) 763–7208 (or via the Internet at 

Karla.l.Allen@census.gov). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

The Advance Monthly Retail Trade 

Survey (MARTS) provides an early 

indication of monthly sales for firms 

located in the United States and 

classified in the Retail Trade or Food 

Services sectors as defined by the North 

American Industry Classification 

System (NAICS). 

The MARTS sample is comprised of 

approximately 4,900 firms selected from 

the larger Monthly Retail Trade Survey 

(MRTS) sample of about 12,000 firms 

(OMB Control Number: 0607–0717). 

Firms are selected into the MARTS 

sample using a stratified design where 

the strata are defined by industry and 

size. The MARTS sample is re-selected, 

generally at 21⁄2 to 3 year intervals, to 

ensure it is representative of the target 

population. 

The survey requests sales and 

e-commerce sales for the month just 

ending. If reporting data for a period 

other than the calendar month, the 

survey asks for the period’s length (4 or 

5 weeks) and the date on which the 

period ended. The survey also asks for 

the number of establishments covered 

by the data provided and whether or not 

the sales data provided are estimates or 

more accurate ‘‘book’’ figures. 

Survey results are published 

approximately 9 working days after the 

end of the reference month. There 

would be a delay in the availability of 

these results if the survey were not 

conducted, as results from the MRTS are 

not published until approximately 6 

weeks after the end of the reference 

month. The Bureau of Economic 

Analysis (BEA) uses the survey results 

as critical inputs to the calculation of 

the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). 

Policymakers such as the Federal 

Reserve Board (FRB) need to have the 

timeliest estimates in order to anticipate 

economic trends and act accordingly. 

The Council of Economic Advisors 

(CEA) and other government agencies 

and businesses use the survey results to 

formulate and make decisions about 

economic policy. 

II. Method of Collection 

We will collect this information by 

mail, FAX, telephone follow-up, and 

Internet. 

III. Data 

OMB Control Number: 0607–0104. 

Form Number: SM–44(12)A, SM– 

44(12)AE, SM–44(12)AS, and SM– 

72(12)A. 

Type of Review: Regular submission. 

Affected Public: Retail and Food 

Services firms in the United States. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

4,900. 

Estimated Time per Response: 5 

minutes. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 4,900. 

Estimated Total Annual Cost: $0. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary. 

Legal Authority: Title 13, United States 

Code, Section 182. 

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 shall 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 


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7836 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 29 / Thursday, February 12, 2015 / Notices 

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: February 6, 2015. 

Glenna Mickelson, 

Management Analyst, Office of the Chief 

Information Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2015–02868 Filed 2–11–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–07–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Census Bureau 

Proposed Information Collection; 

Comment Request; Quarterly Services 

Survey 

AGENCY: U.S. Census Bureau, 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. 

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. 

DATES: To ensure consideration, written 

comments must be submitted on or 

before April 13, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments 

to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental 

Paperwork Clearance Officer, 

Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 

14th and Constitution Avenue NW., 

Washington, DC 20230 (or via the 

Internet at jjessup@doc.gov). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information or 

copies of the information collection 

instrument(s) and instructions should 

be directed to Aidan Smith, U.S. Census 

Bureau, 8K175, Washington, DC 20233– 

6500, 301–763–2972, or 

Aidan.D.Smith@census.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

The Quarterly Services Survey (QSS) 

covers employer firms with 

establishments located in the United 

States and classified in select service 

industries as defined by the North 

American Industry Classification 

System (NAICS). The QSS coverage 

currently includes all or parts of the 

following NAICS sectors: Utilities 

(excluding government owned); 

transportation and warehousing (except 

rail transportation and postal); 

information; finance and insurance 

(except funds, trusts, and other financial 

vehicles); real estate and rental and 

leasing; professional, scientific, and 

technical services (except offices of 

notaries); administrative and support 

and waste management and remediation 

services; educational services (except 

elementary and secondary schools, 

junior colleges, and colleges, 

universities, and professional schools); 

health care and social assistance; arts, 

entertainment, and recreation; 

accommodation; and other services 

(except public administration). The 

primary estimates produced from the 

QSS are quarterly estimates of total 

operating revenue and the percentage of 

revenue by source. The survey also 

produces estimates of total operating 

expenses from tax-exempt firms in 

industries that have a large not-for-profit 

component. For hospitals, the survey 

produces estimates of the number of 

inpatient days and discharges, and for 

select industries in the arts, 

entertainment, and recreation sector, the 

survey produces estimates of 

admissions revenue. 

Firms are selected for the QSS using 

a stratified design with strata defined by 

industry, tax status, and estimated size 

based on annual revenue. The sample 

consists of approximately 19,000 firms 

and is a subsample of firms from the 

larger Service Annual Survey (OMB 

#0607–0422). Each quarter the QSS 

sample is updated to reflect the addition 

of new businesses and the removal of 

firms that have gone out-of-business. 

The Bureau of Economic Analysis 

uses the survey results as input to its 

quarterly Gross Domestic Product (GDP) 

and GDP by industry estimates. The 

estimates provide the Federal Reserve 

Board and Council of Economic 

advisors with timely information to 

assess current economic performance. 

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid 

Services use the QSS estimates to 

develop hospital-spending estimates for 

the National Accounts. Other 

government and private stakeholders 

also benefit from a better understanding 

of important cyclical components of the 

U.S. service economy. 

II. Method of Collection 

We will collect this information by 

Internet, mail, facsimile, and telephone 

follow-up. Approximately half of the 

QSS respondents are mailed a full paper 

form that provides the option for 

submission by Internet, mail, or 

facsimile. The remaining half of 

respondents are mailed only their 

username and password providing for 

submission by Internet. Respondents 

that report via the Internet in any given 

quarter are only mailed a username and 

password in subsequent quarters. 

III. Data 

OMB Control Number: 0607–0907. 

Form Number(s): QSS–0A, QSS–0E, 

QSS–1A, QSS–1E, QSS–1PA, QSS–1PE, 

QSS–2A, QSS–2E, QSS–3A, QSS–3E, 

QSS–3SA, QSS–3SE, QSS–4A, QSS–4E, 

QSS–4FA, QSS–4FE, QSS–4SA, QSS– 

4SE, QSS–5A, QSS–5E, QSS–6A, QSS– 

6E, QSS–7A, QSS–7E, QSS–8A, QSS– 

8E, QSS–9A, QSS–9E. 

Type of Review: Regular submission. 

Affected Public: Businesses or other 

for-profit organizations, not-for-profit 

institutions, and government hospitals. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

19,500. 

Estimated Time per Response: 15 

minutes: QSS–0A, QSS–0E, QSS–1A, 

QSS–1E, QSS–1PA, QSS–1PE, QSS–2A, 

QSS–2E, QSS–3A, QSS–3E, QSS–3SA, 

QSS–3SE, QSS–5A, QSS–5E, QSS–6A, 

QSS–6E, QSS–7A, QSS–7E, QSS–8A, 

QSS–8E, QSS–9A, QSS–9E. 

10 minutes: QSS–4A, QSS–4E, QSS– 

4FA, QSS–4FE, QSS–4SA, QSS–4SE. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 17,400. 

Estimated Total Annual Cost to 

Public: $0 

Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary. 

Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C. 

Section 182. 

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 shall 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 

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: February 6, 2015. 

Glenna Mickelson, 

Management Analyst, Office of the Chief 

Information Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2015–02873 Filed 2–11–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–07–P 


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