Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 211 / Friday, October 31, 2014 / Notices 64743 

We are requesting comments on all 

aspects of this information collection to 

help us to: 

(1) Evaluate whether the collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

agencies, including whether the 

information will have practical utility; 

(2) Evaluate the accuracy of the 

agency’s estimate of burden including 

the validity of the methodology and 

assumptions used; 

(3) Enhance the quality, utility and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; 

(4) Minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on those who 

are to respond through use of 

appropriate automated, electronic, 

mechanical, or other technological 

collection techniques or other forms to 

technology. 

All comments in response to this 

notice, including names and addresses 

when provided, will be a matter of 

public record. Comments will be 

summarized and included in the request 

for Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) approval. 

Signed on October 27, 2014. 

Michael T. Scuse, 

Under Secretary, Farm and Foreign 

Agricultural Services. 

[FR Doc. 2014–25904 Filed 10–30–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–08–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Census Bureau 

Proposed Information Collection; 

Comment Request; Quarterly Survey 

of Public Pensions 

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 December 30, 2014. 

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 Paul W. Villena, Acting 

Chief, Employment and Benefit 

Statistics Branch, Governments 

Division, U.S. Census Bureau, 

Headquarters: 6K151, Washington, DC 

20233; telephone: 301–763–7286; 

facsimile: 301–763–6833; email: 

paul.w.villena@census.gov. 

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 provides national summary 

data on the revenues, expenditures, and 

composition of assets 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. The Bureau of 

Economic Analysis uses these data as 

part of the government sector 

projections in the Gross Domestic 

Product. 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. 

The questionnaire is available online for 

respondents to print when they choose 

to mail or fax. Most respondents choose 

to report their data online. In addition 

to reporting current quarter data, 

respondents may report data for the 

previous seven quarters or submit 

revisions to their previously submitted 

data. 

Usable replies are received each 

quarter from 80 to 95 percent of the 

systems canvassed. In those instances 

when we are not able to obtain a 

response, we conduct follow-up 

operations using email and phone calls. 

Imputations are developed for each of 

the remaining nonresponse systems in 

the panel from the latest available data. 

III. Data 

OMB Control Number: 0607–0143. 

Form Number(s): F–10. 

Type of Review: Regular submission. 

Affected Public: State and locallyadministered public pension plans. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

100. 

Estimated Time per Response: 45 

minutes. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 300. 

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: October 28, 2014. 

Glenna Mickelson, 

Management Analyst, Office of the Chief 

Information Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2014–25925 Filed 10–30–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–07–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Census Bureau 

Proposed Information Collection; 

Comment Request; The American 

Community Survey Content Review 

Results 

AGENCY: U.S. Census Bureau, 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
64744 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 211 / Friday, October 31, 2014 / Notices 

1A federal law explicitly calls for use of 

decennial census or American Community Survey 

data on that question. 

2A federal law (or implementing regulation) 

explicitly requires the use of data and the decennial 

or the American Community Survey is the 

historical source; or the data are needed for case 

law requirements imposed by the U.S. federal court 

system. 

3The data are needed for program planning, 

implementation, or evaluation and there is no 

explicit mandate or requirement. 

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)). The Department of 

Commerce is particularly interested in 

comments on seven American 

Community Survey (ACS) questions, 

highlighted in the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section of this Notice, 

which are slated for removal from the 

questionnaire based on the results of the 

2014 ACS Content Review. 

Concurrently, Federal agencies that are 

the principal sponsors of these seven 

questions are invited to respond either 

to the U.S. Census Bureau directly or 

through this notice and to provide 

revised or additional justification for 

retaining these questions on the ACS. 

DATES: To ensure consideration, written 

comments must be submitted on or 

before December 30, 2014. 

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 Cheryl Chambers, Rm. 

3K067, U.S. Census Bureau, American 

Community Survey Office, Washington, 

DC 20233 or via email to 

ACSO.communications@census.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

Since the founding of the nation, the 

U.S. Census has mediated between the 

demands of a growing country for 

information about its economy and 

people, and the people’s privacy and 

respondent burden. Beginning with the 

1810 Census, Congress added questions 

to support a range of public concerns 

and uses, and over the course of a 

century questions were added about 

agriculture, industry, and commerce, as 

well as occupation, ancestry, marital 

status, disabilities, and other topics. In 

1940, the U.S. Census Bureau 

introduced the long form and since then 

only the more detailed questions were 

asked of a sample of the public. 

The ACS, launched in 2005, is the 

current embodiment of the long form of 

the census, and is asked each year of a 

sample of the U.S. population in order 

to provide current data needed more 

often than once every ten years. In 

December of 2010, five years after its 

launch, the ACS program accomplished 

its primary objective with the release of 

its first set of estimates for every area of 

the United States. The Census Bureau 

concluded it was an appropriate time to 

conduct a comprehensive assessment of 

the ACS program. This program 

assessment focused on strengthening 

programmatic, technical, and 

methodological aspects of the survey to 

assure that the Census Bureau is an 

efficient and effective shared service 

provider. The assessment also provided 

an opportunity to examine and confirm 

the value of each question on the ACS, 

which resulted in the 2014 ACS Content 

Review. 

The 2014 ACS Content Review is the 

most comprehensive effort ever 

undertaken by the Census Bureau to 

review content on the survey, seeking to 

understand which federal programs use 

the information collected by each 

question, the justification for each 

question, and assess how the Census 

Bureau might reduce respondent 

burden. This review included 

examination of all 72 questions 

contained on the 2014 ACS 

questionnaire, including 24 housingrelated questions and 48 person-related 

questions. Prior to this review, there 

were approximately 175 known federal 

uses. As a result of the federal agencies’ 

commitment to the review, over 125 

additional uses were identified, bringing 

the total number to over 300. 

Each participating agency provided 

the Census Bureau with the uses and 

justifications for questions, and each 

corresponding Office of General Counsel 

validated the legal basis for each 

question. The Department of Commerce 

Office of General Counsel further 

confirmed these legal statements and 

categorized each use as either 

mandatory,1 regulatory,2 or 

programmatic.3 Of the 72 questions, 

only three of the questions did not have 

either a mandatory or required use, with 

39 questions having at least one 

mandatory use, 64 questions having at 

least one regulatory use, and 70 

questions having at least one 

programmatic use. The outcome of the 

Content Review is to identify questions 

for removal or modification, while 

continuing to provide information to 

meet federal agencies’ needs. 

II. Method of Collection 

In August 2012, the OMB and the 

Census Bureau chartered the 

Interagency Council of Statistical Policy 

(ICSP) Subcommittee for the ACS to 

‘‘provide advice to the Director of the 

Census Bureau and the Chief 

Statistician at OMB on how the ACS can 

best fulfill its role in the portfolio of 

Federal household surveys and provide 

the most useful information with the 

least amount of burden.’’ The 

Subcommittee charter also states that 

the Subcommittee would be expected to 

‘‘conduct regular, periodic reviews of 

the ACS content . . . designed to ensure 

that there is clear and specific authority 

and justification for each question to be 

on the ACS, the ACS is the appropriate 

vehicle for collecting the information, 

respondent burden is being minimized, 

and the quality of the data from ACS is 

appropriate for its intended use.’’ 

The ICSP Subcommittee established 

the two analysis factors—benefit as 

defined by the level of usefulness and 

cost as defined by the level of 

respondent burden or difficulty in 

obtaining the data. The Subcommittee 

also established the 19 decision criteria 

–13 benefit criteria and six cost criteria. 

Given these criteria, the collection of 

nine data sets was required. The five 

data sets that were collected to 

demonstrate ACS benefits (usefulness) 

included: 

Federal Agency ACS Data Uses— 

Agencies were asked to document: (1) 

Justification for question use; (2) 

mandatory, regulatory, and 

programmatic uses; (3) lowest level of 

geography required; (4) frequency of 

use; (5) funding formulas and the 

amount of funding distributed based on 

the questions; and, (6) characteristics of 

the population supported by the 

question. The Office of General Counsel 

for each agency submitting uses to the 

Census Bureau confirmed the legal 

citations associated with each of the 

stated uses. The Department of 

Commerce Office of General Counsel 

subsequently validated each use to 

adjudicate whether the use is 

Mandatory, Regulatory, or 

Programmatic. 

Federal Agency Alternative Data 

Sources—Agencies were also asked to 

identify alternative data sources to the 

ACS. 

Computation of Questions’ Estimates 

Coefficients of Variation—Census 

Bureau subject matter experts examined 


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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 211 / Friday, October 31, 2014 / Notices 64745 

the coefficient of variation (CV) 

associated with an estimate for each 

question at the county level, providing 

insight into the quality of the measure 

by geography. 

Computation of Questions’ Estimates 

Interquartile Ranges—Census Bureau 

subject matter experts computed 

interquartile ranges associated with an 

estimate for each question at the county 

level, providing insight into the amount 

of variability in the estimates by 

geography. 

ACS Used as another Survey’s 

Sampling Frame—Other surveys that 

used the ACS as a sampling frame were 

identified, including the ACS questions 

that were used to identify the survey 

sample of respondents. 

Four data sets reflecting measures of 

cost (burden) were collected. These 

included: 

Survey of Interviewers—ACS 

interviewers were surveyed to identify 

three of the cost indicators: Which 

questions respondents find cognitively 

burdensome, or sensitive, and which 

ones are the most difficult. 

Time to Respond Response— 

Response times to questionnaires via 

automated modes (Internet, call center, 

and in-person interviews) were 

measured to determine how long it took 

respondents to answer each question. 

Allocation Rates—Allocation rates by 

questions were computed to determine 

which questions were left blank 

requiring statistical methods to fill in 

the response. That is, which questions 

required more imputation due to 

missing information. 

Complaints—Complaints about the 

ACS received by email, letter, or 

telephone were examined and 

associated with questions so that counts 

could be obtained. 

Based on the analysis of the 9 data 

sets reflecting the 19 decision criteria, 

each question received a total number of 

points between 0 and 100 based on its 

benefits, and 0 and 100 points based on 

its costs. These points were then used 

as the basis for creating four categories: 

High Benefit and Low Cost; High Benefit 

and High Cost; Low Benefit and Low 

Cost; or Low Benefit and High Cost. For 

this analysis, any question that was 

designated as either Low Benefit and 

Low Cost or Low Benefit and High Cost 

and was NOT designated as Mandatory 

(i.e., statutory) by the Department of 

Commerce Office of General Counsel or 

NOT Required (i.e., regulatory) with a 

sub-state use, was identified as a 

potential candidate for removal. Initially 

21 questions (17 percent) fell into the 

Low Benefit/Low Cost category and 

three questions (3 percent) fell into the 

Low Benefit/High Cost category, for a 

combined total of 24 questions in either 

of the Low Benefit categories. However, 

after removing those that were 

Mandatory or Required with a sub-state 

use, only seven (6 percent) of the 24 

questions remained. These seven 

questions were all in the Low Benefit 

and Low Cost category. 

These seven questions include, with 

the 2014 ACS questionnaire wording in 

italics: Housing Question No. 6— 

Business/Medical Office on Property—Is 

there a business (such as a store or 

barber shop) or a medical office on this 

property? 

Person Question No. 12— 

Undergraduate Field of Degree—This 

question focuses on this person’s 

Bachelor’s Degree. Please print below 

the specific major(s) of any Bachelor’s 

Degrees this person has received. 

Person Question No. 21a—Get 

Married—In the past 12 months did this 

person get—Married? 

Person Question No. 21b—Get 

Widowed—In the past 12 months did 

this person get—Widowed? 

Person Question No. 21c—Get 

Divorced—In the past 12 months did 

this person get—Divorced? 

Person Question No. 22—Times 

Married—How many times has this 

person been married? 

Person Question No. 23—Year Last 

Married—In what year did this person 

last get married? 

The public is invited to comment on 

all questions on the American 

Community Survey; however, the 

Census Bureau is particularly interested 

in comments on these seven ACS 

questions listed above, which are slated 

for removal from the questionnaire 

based on the results of the 2014 Content 

Review. Concurrently, Federal agencies 

that are the principal sponsors of these 

seven questions are invited to respond 

either directly to the Census Bureau or 

through this notice and provide revised 

or additional justification for these 

questions, especially concerning 

strategies to reduce respondent burden. 

We would anticipate comments 

concerning such strategies as examining 

alternative data sources, changes to 

wording or presentation, using a more 

limited sample, reducing question 

frequency, federal agency collaboration 

on the review of statutes or regulations, 

among others. 

To view all 2014 ACS questions by 

category with their associated 

justifications, please visit: http://

www.census.gov/acs/www/about_the_

survey/acs_content_review/. 

III. Data 

OMB Control Number: 0607–0810. 

Form Number(s): ACS–1(2014). 

Type of Review: Regular submission. 

Affected Public: Federal and 

legislative agencies, individuals, 

households, and businesses. We plan to 

contact the following number of 

respondents each year: 3,540,000 

households; 200,000 persons in group 

quarters; 20,000 contacts in group 

quarters; 43,000 households for 

reinterview; and 1,500 group quarters 

contacts for reinterview. 

Estimated Time per Response: 40 

minutes for the average household 

questionnaire. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: The estimate is an annual 

average of 2,337,900 burden hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Cost to 

Public: Except for their time, there is no 

cost to respondents. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory. 

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

141 and 193 or other authority authorizing or 

requiring the collection. 

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: October 28, 2014. 

Glenna Mickelson, 

Management Analyst, Office of the Chief 

Information Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2014–25912 Filed 10–30–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–07–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Bureau of the Census 

[Docket Number 141016857–4857–01] 

Annual Retail Trade Survey 

AGENCY: Bureau of the Census, 

Department of Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of determination. 


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