Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 119 / Thursday, June 24, 2021 / Notices 33215 

designed to inform on a range of topics 

related to households’ experiences 

during the Covid-19 pandemic. Topics 

to date have included employment, 

facility to telework, travel patterns, 

income loss, spending patterns, food 

and housing security, access to benefits, 

mental health and access to care, intent 

to receive the COVID–19 vaccine, and 

educational disruption (K–12 and postsecondary). The requested revision, if 

approved by OMB, will remove selected 

items from the questions for which 

utility has declined and add questions 

based on information needs expressed 

via public comment and in consult with 

other Federal agencies. The overall 

burden to the public will remain 

unchanged. 

The Household Pulse Survey was 

initially launched in April, 2020 as an 

experimental project (see https://

www.census.gov/data/experimentaldata-products.html) under emergency 

clearance from the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) initially 

granted April 19, 2020; regular 

clearance was subsequently sought and 

approved by OMB on October 30, 2020 

(OMB No. 0607–1013; Exp. 10/30/2023). 

Affected Public: Households. 

Frequency: Households will be 

selected once to participate in a 20- 

minute survey. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary. 

Legal Authority: Title 13, United 

States Code, Sections 8(b), 182 and 196. 

This information collection request 

may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov. 

Follow the instructions to view the 

Department of Commerce collections 

currently under review by OMB. 

Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be 

submitted within 30 days of the 

publication of this notice on the 

following website www.reginfo.gov/ 

public/do/PRAMain. Find this 

particular information collection by 

selecting ‘‘Currently under 30-day 

Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or 

by using the search function and 

entering either the title of the collection 

or the OMB Control Number 0607–1013. 

Sheleen Dumas, 

Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of 

the Chief Information Officer, Commerce 

Department. 

[FR Doc. 2021–13454 Filed 6–23–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–07–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; American Community Survey 

(ACS) Methods Panel Tests 

The Department of Commerce will 

submit the following information 

collection request to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

review and clearance in accordance 

with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995, on or after the date of publication 

of this notice. We invite 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. Public 

comments were previously requested 

via the Federal Register on February 9, 

2021 during a 60-day comment period. 

This notice allows for an additional 30 

days for public comments. 

Agency: U.S. Census Bureau, 

Commerce. 

Title: American Community Survey 

Methods Panel Testing. 

OMB Control Number: 0607–0936. 

Form Number(s): ACS–1, ACS–1(GQ), 

ACS–1(PR)SP, ACS CAPI(HU), and ACS 

RI(HU). 

Type of Request: Regular submission, 

Request for a Revision of a Currently 

Approved Collection. 

Number of Respondents: 

Test Estimated number of respondents 

Self-Response Mail Messaging and Contact Strategies Testing ............. Test A–60,000. 

Test B–60,000. 

Test C–60,000. 

Test D–60,000. 

Test E–60,000. 

Test F–60,000. 

Respondent Feedback Pilot ..................................................................... 100,000. 

Use of Administrative Data Test .............................................................. 100,000. 

Group Quarters Testing ............................................................................ 2,000 administrators. 

30,000 residents. 

Content Testing ........................................................................................ Test A–70,000. 

Test B–70,000. 

Content Testing Followup Interview ......................................................... Test A–40,000. 

Test B–40,000. 

Internet Instrument Testing ...................................................................... Test A–60,000. 

Test B–60,000. 

Test C–60,000. 

Test D–60,000. 

Test E–60,000. 

Test F–60,000. 

Respondent Help Testing ......................................................................... 40,000. 

Nonresponse Followup Data Collection Testing ...................................... 100,000. 

Average Hours per Response: 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
33216 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 119 / Thursday, June 24, 2021 / Notices 

Test Estimated time per response 

(in minutes) 

Self-Response Mail Messaging and Contact Strategies Testing ............. 40. 

Respondent Feedback Pilot ..................................................................... 42 (40 minutes for the production ACS interview and 2 minutes for the 

optional followup questions). 

Use of Administrative Data Test .............................................................. 40. 

Group Quarters Testing ............................................................................ 15 for the administrator interview 25 for the resident interview. 

Content Testing ........................................................................................ 40. 

Content Testing Followup Interview ......................................................... 40. 

Internet Instrument Testing ...................................................................... 40. 

Respondent Help Testing ......................................................................... 10. 

Nonresponse Followup Data Collection Testing ...................................... 40. 

Burden Hours: 

Test Estimated number of respondents 

Estimated time 

per response 

(in minutes) 

Total burden hours 

Self-Response Mail Messaging and Contact Strategies Testing.Test A–60,000 ........................ 40 Test A–40,000. 

Test B–60,000 ........................ ........................ Test B–40,000. 

Test C–60,000 ........................ ........................ Test C–40,000. 

Test D–60,000 ........................ ........................ Test D–40,000. 

Test E–60,000 ........................ ........................ Test E–40,000. 

Test F–60,000 ......................... ........................ Test F–40,000. 

Respondent Feedback Pilot ...................................................... 100,000 ................................... 42 70,000. 

Use of Administrative Data Test ............................................... 100,000 ................................... 40 66,667. 

Group Quarters Testing ............................................................ 2,000 facility administrators .... 15 13,000. 

30,000 residents ..................... 25 

Content Testing ........................................................................ Test A–70,000 ........................ 40 Test A–46,667. 

Test B–70,000 ........................ ........................ Test B–46,667. 

Content Testing Followup Interview ......................................... Test A–40,000 ........................ 40 Test A–26,667. 

Test B–40,000 ........................ ........................ Test B –26,667. 

Internet Instrument Testing ....................................................... Test A–60,000 ........................ 40 Test A–40,000. 

Test B–60,000 ........................ ........................ Test B–40,000. 

Test C–60,000 ........................ ........................ Test C–40,000. 

Test D–60,000 ........................ ........................ Test D–40,000. 

Test E–60,000 ........................ ........................ Test E–40,000. 

Test F–60,000 ......................... ........................ Test F–40,000. 

Respondent Help Testing ......................................................... 40,000 ..................................... 10 6,667. 

Nonresponse Followup Data Collection Testing ...................... 100,000 ................................... 40 66,667. 

Total (over 3 years) * ......................................................... 1,312,000 ................................ ........................ 849,667. 

Average per year ............................................................... 437,333 ................................... ........................ 283,222. 

* Note: This is the maximum burden requested for these tests. Every effort is taken to use existing production sample for testing when the 

tests do not involve content changes. 

Needs and Uses: The U.S. Census 

Bureau requests authorization from 

OMB for the American Community 

Survey (ACS) Methods Panel Tests. 

The ACS is an ongoing monthly 

survey that collects detailed housing 

and socioeconomic data from about 3.5 

million addresses in the United States 

and about 36,000 addresses in Puerto 

Rico each year. The ACS also collects 

detailed socioeconomic data from about 

195,000 residents living in group 

quarters (GQ) facilities in the United 

States and Puerto Rico. Resulting 

tabulations from this data collection are 

provided on a yearly basis. The ACS 

allows the Census Bureau to provide 

timely and relevant housing and 

socioeconomic statistics, even for low 

levels of geography. 

An ongoing data collection effort with 

an annual sample of this magnitude 

requires that the ACS continue research, 

testing, and evaluations aimed at 

improving data quality, reducing data 

collection costs, and improving the ACS 

questionnaire content and related data 

collection materials. The ACS Methods 

Panel is a research program designed to 

address and respond to survey issues 

and needs. As part of the Decennial 

Census Program, the ACS also provides 

an opportunity to research and test 

elements of survey data collection that 

relate to the decennial census. As such, 

the ACS Methods Panel can serve as a 

testbed for the decennial census. From 

2021 to 2024, the ACS Methods Panel 

may test ACS and decennial census 

methods for reducing survey cost, 

addressing respondent burden, and 

improving survey response, data 

quality, and survey efficiencies. Testing 

may also include revising content or 

testing new questions. The ACS 

Methods Panel may also address other 

emerging needs of the programs. 

Currently, plans are in place to propose 

several tests: 

Self-Response Mail Messaging and 

Contact StrategiesTesting are focused on 

studying methods to increase selfresponse. The proposed tests would 

evaluate changes to the mailings, such 

as using plain language to improve 

communication, changing the look and 

feel of the materials, updating messages 

to motivate response, and adding or 

removing materials included in the 

mailings. Changes to the contact 

method, the number of contacts, and the 

timing of the contacts may also be 

tested. The Strategic Framework Field 

Test will be conducted in the fall of 

2021 to test new mail materials that 

were developed building on research 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 119 / Thursday, June 24, 2021 / Notices 33217 

into best practices in messages. The test 

will identify which set of new mail 

materials is most successful at 

increasing self-response. 

The Respondent Feedback Pilot is 

designed to collect respondent feedback 

at the time of the interview, with the 

pilot focusing on internet respondents. 

Respondents will not be required to 

answer the feedback question. 

The Use of Administrative Data to 

reduce burden of existing questions by 

allowing for modification of the 

questions will be tested. A field test is 

proposed for questions that may need to 

remain on the questionnaire but be 

modified in conjunction with the use of 

administrative records. 

Group Quarters Testing will focus on 

evaluating an internet version of the 

ACS available to non-institutional group 

quarters residents, especially in college 

dorms, military barracks, and group 

homes. 

Content Testing is conducted by the 

Census Bureau periodically to improve 

data quality. The current proposal 

includes changes to the following 

questions: Household roster, 

educational attainment, health 

insurance, disability, means of 

transportation to work, income, weeks 

worked, Supplemental Nutrition 

Assistance Program (SNAP), 

condominium fees, and home heating 

fuel. Additionally, three new questions 

on solar panels, electric vehicles, and 

sewage disposal were proposed. The 

objective of content testing is to 

determine the impact of changing 

question wording and response 

categories, as well as redefining 

underlying constructs, on the quality of 

the data collected. 

Internet Instrument Testing is 

proposed to test and evaluate revised 

features of the internet instrument. 

Respondent Help Testing will focus 

on methods to answer respondent 

questions about the survey and improve 

operational efficiency, specifically 

testing updates to the Interactive Voice 

Recognition (IVR) system as well as 

exploring the use of other methods such 

as online chat. 

Nonresponse Followup Data 

Collection Testing is proposed to 

evaluate the use of adaptive survey 

design techniques for the ACS 

Computer-Assisted Personal 

Interviewing (CAPI) Nonresponse 

Followup operation. 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

households. 

Frequency: Multiple one-time tests 

over a 3-year period. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory. 

Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C. 

Sections 141, 193, and 221. 

This information collection request 

may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov. 

Follow the instructions to view the 

Department of Commerce collections 

currently under review by OMB. 

Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be 

submitted within 30 days of the 

publication of this notice on the 

following website www.reginfo.gov/ 

public/do/PRAMain. Find this 

particular information collection by 

selecting ‘‘Currently under 30-day 

Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or 

by using the search function and 

entering either the title of the collection 

or the OMB Control Number 0607–0936. 

Sheleen Dumas, 

Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of 

the Chief Information Officer, Commerce 

Department. 

[FR Doc. 2021–13429 Filed 6–23–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–07–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; Quarterly Survey of Public 

Pensions 

AGENCY: 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 extension of 

the Quarterly Survey of Public Pensions 

prior to the submission of the 

information collection request (ICR) to 

OMB for approval. 

DATES: To ensure consideration, 

comments regarding this proposed 

information collection must be received 

on or before August 23, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments by 

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

Please reference Quarterly Survey of 

Public Pensions in the subject line of 

your comments. You may also submit 

comments, identified by Docket Number 

USBC–2021–0014, 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 Phillip 

Vidal, Chief, Pensions Statistics Branch, 

Economy-Wide Statistics Division, U.S. 

Census Bureau, Headquarters, 

Washington, DC 20233; email: 

phillip.m.vidal@census.gov; 

301.763.1749. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

The Census Bureau plans to request 

clearance for the form necessary to 

conduct the Quarterly Survey of Public 

Pensions. The quarterly survey was 

initiated by the Census Bureau in 1968 

at the request of both the Council of 

Economic Advisers and the Federal 

Reserve Board. 

The Quarterly Survey of Public 

Pensions currently provides national 

summary data on the asset holdings of 

the largest pension systems of state and 

local governments. 

These data are used by the Federal 

Reserve Board to track the public sector 

portion of the Flow of Funds Accounts. 

Economists and public policy analysts 

use these data to assess general 

economic conditions and state and local 

government financial activities. 

Data are collected from a panel of 

defined benefit plans of the 100 largest 

state and local government pension 

systems as determined by their total 

cash and security holdings reported in 

the 2012 Census of Governments. The 

defined benefit plans of these 100 

largest pension systems comprise 87.2 

percent of financial activity among such 

entities, based on the 2012 Census of 

Governments. 

II. Method of Collection 

Survey data are collected through the 

Census Bureau’s web collection system 

that enables public entities to respond 

to the questionnaire via the internet. 


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