80_FR_23718 80 FR 23637 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments for Periodic Information Collection

80 FR 23637 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments for Periodic Information Collection

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 81 (April 28, 2015)

Page Range23637-23639
FR Document2015-09852

The FHWA has forwarded the information collection request described in this notice to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval of a new information collection. We published a Federal Register Notice with a 60-day public comment period on this information collection on February 19, 2015. We are required to publish this notice in the Federal Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

Federal Register, Volume 80 Issue 81 (Tuesday, April 28, 2015)
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 81 (Tuesday, April 28, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23637-23639]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-09852]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

[Docket No. FHWA-2015-0007]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments 
for Periodic Information Collection

SUMMARY: The FHWA has forwarded the information collection request 
described in this notice to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for approval of a new information collection. We published a Federal 
Register Notice with a 60-day public comment period on this information 
collection on February 19, 2015. We are required to publish this notice 
in the Federal Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Please submit comments by May 28, 2015.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments within 30 days to the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 
725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20503, Attention DOT Desk Officer. 
You are asked to comment on any aspect of this information collection, 
including: (1) Whether the proposed collection is necessary for the 
FHWA's performance; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways 
for the FHWA to enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of the 
collected information; and (4) ways that the burden could be minimized, 
including the use of electronic technology, without reducing the 
quality of the collected information. All comments should include the 
Docket number FHWA-2015-0007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Adella Santos, 202-366-5021, NHTS 
Program Manager, Federal Highway Administration, Office of Policy, 1200 
New Jersey Avenue SE., Room E83-426, Washington, DC 20590, Monday 
through Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: 2015 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS).
    Type of Request: New request for periodic information collection 
requirement.
    Background: Title 23, United States Code, section 502 authorizes 
the USDOT to carry out advanced research and transportation research to 
measure the performance of the surface transportation systems in the 
US, including the efficiency, energy use, air quality, congestion, and 
safety of the highway and intermodal transportation systems. The USDOT 
is charged with the overall responsibility to obtain current 
information on national patterns of travel, which establishes a data 
base to better understand travel behavior, evaluate the use of 
transportation facilities, and gauge the impact of the USDOT's policies 
and programs.
    The NHTS is the USDOT's authoritative nationally representative 
data source for daily passenger travel. This inventory of travel 
behavior reflects travel mode (e.g., private vehicles, public 
transportation, walk and bike) and trip purpose (e.g., travel to work, 
school, recreation, personal/family trips) by U.S. household residents. 
Survey results are used by federal and state agencies to monitor the 
performance and adequacy of current facilities and infrastructure, and 
to plan for future needs.
    The collection and analysis of national transportation data has 
been of critical importance for nearly half a century. Previous surveys 
were conducted in 1969, 1977, 1983, 1990, 1995, 2001, and 2009. The 
current survey will be the eighth in this series, and allow 
researchers, planners, and officials at the state and federal levels to 
monitor travel trends.
    Data from the NHTS are widely used to support research needs within 
the USDOT, and State and local agencies, in addition to responding to 
queries from Congress, the research community and the media on 
important issues. Current and recent topics of interest include:
     Travel to work patterns by transportation mode for 
infrastructure improvements and congestion reduction,
     Access to public transit, paratransit, and rail services 
by various demographic groups,
     Measures of travel by mode to establish exposure rates for 
risk analyses,
     Support for Federal, State, and local planning activities 
and policy evaluation,
     Active transportation by walk and bike to establish the 
relationship to public health issues,
     Vehicle usage for energy consumption analysis,
     Traffic behavior of specific demographic group such as 
Millennials and the aging population.
    Within the USDOT, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) holds 
responsibility for technical and funding coordination. The National 
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Federal Transit 
Administration (FTA), and the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) 
are also primary data users, and have historically participated in 
project planning and financial support.

Proposed Data Acquisition Methodology

    NHTS data are collected from a stratified random sample of 
households that represent a broad range of geographic and demographic 
characteristics. Letters and a brief household survey are sent to 
selected households requesting some basic demographic and contact 
information and inviting them to participate in the survey. The 
recruitment surveys are returned in business reply envelopes to the 
survey contractor.
    Participating households are subsequently sent a package containing 
travel logs for each member of the household age 5 and older. The 
household is assigned to record their travel on a specific day, and 
asked to note every trip taken during a 24 hour period. Based upon 
their preferences, the travel information is then reported either 
through the use of a survey Web site, or through a telephone interview.
    Reminders are sent periodically to households who do not respond 
within the expected timeframe. Monetary incentives are included in each 
recruitment package, and are provided in increasing amounts for all 
households that complete the survey.
    The survey will collect data during an entire 12 month period so 
that all 365 days of the year including weekends and holidays are 
accounted for. A total of 26,000 households will comprise the national 
sample for the 2015 survey. As described below, changes in the 
establishment of the sampling frame, the promotion of participation, 
and in data retrieval techniques are planned, as compared to previous 
surveys, to improve statistical precision, enhance response rates, and 
increase survey efficiency.
    Issues Related to Sampling. In previous years, the household sample 
was identified using random digit dialing techniques. Today, only 59 
percent \1\ have a landline telephone in the home (down from 75% during 
the 2009 NHTS) while over 80 percent of U.S. households have access to 
the

[[Page 23638]]

Internet.\2\ This survey will leverage this shift in technology, in 
particular the move away from home telephone usage, to structure a 
research design that uses web, mail, and telephone data collection 
modes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Blumberg, S.J., and Luke, J.V. (2014). Wireless 
substitution: Early release of estimates from the National Health 
Interview Survey, July-December 2013. National Center for Health 
Statistics. Available from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis.htm.
    \2\ Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 
Select Years, Internet Release date: January 2014.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The revised methodological approach starts with a national address-
based sample (ABS), a change from the telephone-based random digit 
dialing (RDD) sample design used in recent NHTS efforts, while also 
incorporating core data elements that have been part of the NHTS since 
1969.
    The survey sample will be drawn from the ABS frame maintained by 
Marketing Systems Group (MSG). It originates from the U.S. Postal 
Service (USPS) Computerized Delivery Sequence file (CDS), and is 
updated on a monthly basis. MSG also provides the ability to match some 
auxiliary variables (e.g., race/ethnicity, education, household income) 
to a set of sampled addresses. MSG geocodes their entire ABS frame, so 
block-, block group-, and tract-level characteristics from the 
Decennial Census and the American Community Survey (ACS) may be 
appended to addresses and used for sampling and/or data collection 
purposes.
    Sample Size. A sample size of 26,000 households will be included in 
the national sample. Assuming response rates of 30 percent for the 
recruitment stage, 65 percent for the retrieval stage, and a residency 
rate of 89 percent for sampled addresses, a total of 149,813 sampled 
addresses will be required to attain the targeted 26,000 responding 
households.
    Stratification. This survey produces state-level estimates as well 
as national estimates. Assuming equal costs and population variances 
across states, the most efficient design for national estimates is one 
in which the sample is allocated to the states in proportion to the 
size of the civilian, noninstitutionalized population in each state, 
and the most efficient design for state-level estimates is one in which 
equal sample sizes are allocated to all states. Various allocation 
options for the national sample are being considered in order to arrive 
at a final allocation for the NHTS national sample.
    With the ABS approach, identifying targeted areas (e.g., states) 
that correspond to those for which estimates can be developed from the 
NHTS data are straightforward. Addresses are definitively linked to 
states, so state-level estimation is routine. Geocoding and GIS 
processing can be used to link addresses to counties in a highly 
reliable fashion. There can be some ambiguity for addresses that are 
P.O. boxes or are listed as rural route addresses. These can be handled 
in a routine manner with a set of well-defined rules as such addresses 
will represent only a small proportion of a state's population. Thus, 
no important issues arise in the definition of areas with an ABS sample 
design that relies on mail for data collection, as is the case with the 
proposed approach.
    Assignments for recording travel data by sampled households will be 
equally distributed across all days to ensure a balanced day of week 
distribution. The sample (of recruitment letters to households) will be 
released periodically through a process that will control the balance 
of travel days by month.

Data Collection Methods

    An updated approach to enhancing survey response has been 
developed. This includes providing progressive monetary incentives, and 
using a mail-out/mail-back recruitment survey. This recruitment survey 
is designed to be relevant, aesthetically pleasing, and elicit 
participation by including topics of importance to the respondent. Upon 
returning the completed recruitment survey, each household member will 
be provided with personalized travel logs by mail, and offered the 
option of completing the retrieval survey by web using a unique 
personal identification number (PIN) or telephone interview.

Information Proposed for Collection

    Recruitment. The survey will begin with mailing the sampled 
households a short recruitment survey designed to collect key household 
information (e.g. enumeration of household members), additional contact 
information (e.g. email address and telephone number). This recruitment 
survey includes some engaging travel-related opinion or experience 
questions considered to be highly relevant to the survey and 
interesting to respondents. The initial survey will be accompanied by a 
letter from the USDOT, and a Business Reply Envelope.
    In the first mail contact, each sampled address will receive a $2 
cash incentive. The second mail contact will include the travel log 
package sent to each recruited household and a $5 cash incentive and a 
promise of an additional $20 for successfully submitting their travel 
logs. The incentives paid will be tracked at each of the three levels 
offered.
    To support the mail recruitment approach, the survey contractor 
will provide a toll-free number on survey materials and will assist the 
recruited participant to provide the required information by telephone 
if requested to do so by the participant. A survey Web site will be 
established for potential respondents who want to check on the 
authenticity of the survey or find out more information. This Web site 
will also serve as the portal to the survey.
    All returned recruitment surveys will be processed using commercial 
off-the-shelf software (COTS) technology. All data collected in the 
recruitment survey will be used to populate the household record in the 
survey database. As part of the non-response protocol, non-responding 
households may also be provided the opportunity to recruit by web. If 
respondents call the help desk or use the web to complete, their 
responses are collected in the same survey database.
    The mail back recruitment approach described here has been tested 
and found to be successful in several surveys funded by the Federal 
Government (e.g., the National Crime Victimization Survey); these 
surveys have proven this method can be implemented with large sample 
sizes covering vast geographic regions. This approach has been 
developed in response to declining recruitment rates in recent studies.
    Retrieval. The NHTS data will be collected from respondents either 
from self-reporting via the web, or from professionally trained 
interviewers using a computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) 
system. Either approach will be based upon a single database that 
allows for sophisticated branching and skip patterns to enhance data 
retrieval by asking only those questions that are necessary and 
appropriate for the individual participant. Look-up tables are included 
to assist with information such as vehicle makes and models. The Google 
map UI is used to assist in identifying specific place names and 
locations. The location data for the participant's home, workplace, or 
school are stored and automatically inserted in the dataset for trips 
after the first report. Household rostering is a list of all vehicles 
and persons in the household that allows a trip to be reported from one 
household member and can include another household member who travel 
together to be inserted into the record for the second person. This 
automatic insert of information reduces the burden of the second 
respondent to be queried about a trip already reported by the initial 
respondent.

[[Page 23639]]

    Data range, consistency and edit checks are automatically 
programmed to reduce reporting error, survey length, and maintain the 
flow of information processing. Data cross checks also help reduce the 
burden by ensuring that the reporting is consistent within each trip.
    Data retrieval is based upon materials provided to participants as 
shown below.

Travel Log Materials

    Travel Log Packet. The travel log packet will include a letter, an 
exemplar log, and personalized travel logs for each age eligible person 
in the household, and will be sent using first class postage in a 6'' x 
9'' envelope. The envelopes will be branded to match the letterhead 
used for the invitation letter. The second respondent incentive will be 
included with the travel logs. This $5 cash incentive is expected to 
serve as a ``good faith'' incentive to encourage completion of the 
retrieval survey.
    Travel Log Letter. A household letter will be included in the 
travel log packet. The letter will further familiarize the participants 
with the travel recording stage, identify the households' travel date 
and provide details about when and how to complete the retrieval 
survey. The letter will also remind participants about the final $20 
household incentive. Like the invitation letter, the travel log letter 
will be branded.
    Travel Logs. A personalized travel log will be provided for each 
household member (ages 5 and older). The logs are intended to be a 
memory jogger to guide accurate data collection and aid in the 
reporting of each place visited on the travel day.
    Exemplar Log. Participants will be provided with an exemplar log 
with the instructions for recording the details about the places 
visited on the travel day.
    All web and computer assisted telephone interview (CATI) 
instruments will be reviewed for section 508 compliance using the rules 
specified in sections 1194.22--`Web-based intranet and internet 
information and applications' and 1194.23--`Telecommunications 
products.' All materials will be available in both English and Spanish 
language forms. Spanish translations will be developed using industry 
standards and will apply reverse-translation protocols.

Estimated Burden Hours for Information Collection

    Frequency: This collection will be conducted every 5-7 years.
    Respondents. A stratified random sample of 26,000 households across 
the 50 states and the District of Columbia will be included in the 
survey. Household will include an average of 2.5 members for a total of 
65,000 individual respondents to the main survey.
    Estimated Average Burden per Response. It will take approximately 5 
minutes per household member to complete the recruitment data form, and 
20 minutes to complete the retrieval survey. This results in a total of 
25 minutes per household member.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours. It is estimated that a total 
of 65,000 persons will be included in the survey. This would result in 
approximately 27,083 hours of support for this data collection effort.

Public Comments Invited

    You are asked to comment on any aspect of this information 
collection, including: (1) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the USDOT's performance, including whether 
the information will have practical utility; (2) the data acquisition 
methods; (3) the accuracy of the USDOT's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed information collection; (4) the types of data being acquired; 
(5) ways to enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of the 
collected information; and (6) ways that the burden could be minimized 
without reducing the quality of the collected information. The agency 
will summarize and/or include your comments in the request for OMB's 
clearance of this information collection.

    Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. 
chapter 35, as amended; and 49 CFR 1.48.


    Issued on: April 23, 2015.
Michael Howell,
Information Collection Officer, Federal Highway Administration.
[FR Doc. 2015-09852 Filed 4-27-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE P



                                                                                   Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 81 / Tuesday, April 28, 2015 / Notices                                                   23637

                                                      Issued On: April 23, 2015.                            transportation systems in the US,                     Federal Transit Administration (FTA),
                                                    Michael Howell,                                         including the efficiency, energy use, air             and the Bureau of Transportation
                                                    Information Collection Officer.                         quality, congestion, and safety of the                Statistics (BTS) are also primary data
                                                    [FR Doc. 2015–09854 Filed 4–27–15; 8:45 am]             highway and intermodal transportation                 users, and have historically participated
                                                    BILLING CODE P
                                                                                                            systems. The USDOT is charged with                    in project planning and financial
                                                                                                            the overall responsibility to obtain                  support.
                                                                                                            current information on national patterns
                                                                                                            of travel, which establishes a data base              Proposed Data Acquisition
                                                    DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
                                                                                                            to better understand travel behavior,                 Methodology
                                                    Federal Highway Administration                          evaluate the use of transportation                       NHTS data are collected from a
                                                    [Docket No. FHWA–2015–0007]                             facilities, and gauge the impact of the               stratified random sample of households
                                                                                                            USDOT’s policies and programs.                        that represent a broad range of
                                                    Agency Information Collection                              The NHTS is the USDOT’s
                                                                                                                                                                  geographic and demographic
                                                    Activities: Request for Comments for                    authoritative nationally representative
                                                                                                                                                                  characteristics. Letters and a brief
                                                    Periodic Information Collection                         data source for daily passenger travel.
                                                                                                                                                                  household survey are sent to selected
                                                                                                            This inventory of travel behavior
                                                    SUMMARY:    The FHWA has forwarded the                                                                        households requesting some basic
                                                                                                            reflects travel mode (e.g., private
                                                    information collection request described                                                                      demographic and contact information
                                                                                                            vehicles, public transportation, walk
                                                    in this notice to the Office of                                                                               and inviting them to participate in the
                                                                                                            and bike) and trip purpose (e.g., travel
                                                    Management and Budget (OMB) for                                                                               survey. The recruitment surveys are
                                                                                                            to work, school, recreation, personal/
                                                    approval of a new information                                                                                 returned in business reply envelopes to
                                                                                                            family trips) by U.S. household
                                                    collection. We published a Federal                                                                            the survey contractor.
                                                                                                            residents. Survey results are used by
                                                    Register Notice with a 60-day public                    federal and state agencies to monitor the                Participating households are
                                                    comment period on this information                      performance and adequacy of current                   subsequently sent a package containing
                                                    collection on February 19, 2015. We are                 facilities and infrastructure, and to plan            travel logs for each member of the
                                                    required to publish this notice in the                  for future needs.                                     household age 5 and older. The
                                                    Federal Register by the Paperwork                          The collection and analysis of                     household is assigned to record their
                                                    Reduction Act of 1995.                                  national transportation data has been of              travel on a specific day, and asked to
                                                    DATES: Please submit comments by May                    critical importance for nearly half a                 note every trip taken during a 24 hour
                                                    28, 2015.                                               century. Previous surveys were                        period. Based upon their preferences,
                                                    ADDRESSES: You may send comments                        conducted in 1969, 1977, 1983, 1990,                  the travel information is then reported
                                                    within 30 days to the Office of                         1995, 2001, and 2009. The current                     either through the use of a survey Web
                                                    Information and Regulatory Affairs,                     survey will be the eighth in this series,             site, or through a telephone interview.
                                                    Office of Management and Budget, 725                    and allow researchers, planners, and                     Reminders are sent periodically to
                                                    17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20503,                  officials at the state and federal levels to          households who do not respond within
                                                    Attention DOT Desk Officer. You are                     monitor travel trends.                                the expected timeframe. Monetary
                                                    asked to comment on any aspect of this                     Data from the NHTS are widely used
                                                                                                                                                                  incentives are included in each
                                                    information collection, including: (1)                  to support research needs within the
                                                                                                                                                                  recruitment package, and are provided
                                                    Whether the proposed collection is                      USDOT, and State and local agencies, in
                                                                                                                                                                  in increasing amounts for all
                                                    necessary for the FHWA’s performance;                   addition to responding to queries from
                                                                                                                                                                  households that complete the survey.
                                                    (2) the accuracy of the estimated                       Congress, the research community and
                                                                                                            the media on important issues. Current                   The survey will collect data during an
                                                    burden; (3) ways for the FHWA to
                                                                                                            and recent topics of interest include:                entire 12 month period so that all 365
                                                    enhance the quality, usefulness, and
                                                    clarity of the collected information; and                  • Travel to work patterns by                       days of the year including weekends
                                                                                                            transportation mode for infrastructure                and holidays are accounted for. A total
                                                    (4) ways that the burden could be
                                                                                                            improvements and congestion                           of 26,000 households will comprise the
                                                    minimized, including the use of
                                                                                                            reduction,                                            national sample for the 2015 survey. As
                                                    electronic technology, without reducing
                                                    the quality of the collected information.                  • Access to public transit, paratransit,           described below, changes in the
                                                                                                            and rail services by various                          establishment of the sampling frame, the
                                                    All comments should include the
                                                                                                            demographic groups,                                   promotion of participation, and in data
                                                    Docket number FHWA–2015–0007.
                                                                                                               • Measures of travel by mode to                    retrieval techniques are planned, as
                                                    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
                                                                                                            establish exposure rates for risk                     compared to previous surveys, to
                                                    Adella Santos, 202–366–5021, NHTS                       analyses,                                             improve statistical precision, enhance
                                                    Program Manager, Federal Highway                           • Support for Federal, State, and local            response rates, and increase survey
                                                    Administration, Office of Policy, 1200                  planning activities and policy                        efficiency.
                                                    New Jersey Avenue SE., Room E83–426,                    evaluation,                                              Issues Related to Sampling. In
                                                    Washington, DC 20590, Monday                               • Active transportation by walk and
                                                    through Friday, except Federal holidays.                                                                      previous years, the household sample
                                                                                                            bike to establish the relationship to
                                                    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
                                                                                                                                                                  was identified using random digit
                                                                                                            public health issues,
                                                      Title: 2015 National Household Travel                    • Vehicle usage for energy                         dialing techniques. Today, only 59
                                                    Survey (NHTS).                                                                                                percent 1 have a landline telephone in
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                                                                                                            consumption analysis,
                                                      Type of Request: New request for                         • Traffic behavior of specific                     the home (down from 75% during the
                                                    periodic information collection                         demographic group such as Millennials                 2009 NHTS) while over 80 percent of
                                                    requirement.                                            and the aging population.                             U.S. households have access to the
                                                      Background: Title 23, United States                      Within the USDOT, the Federal
                                                                                                                                                                    1 Blumberg, S.J., and Luke, J.V. (2014). Wireless
                                                    Code, section 502 authorizes the                        Highway Administration (FHWA) holds
                                                                                                                                                                  substitution: Early release of estimates from the
                                                    USDOT to carry out advanced research                    responsibility for technical and funding              National Health Interview Survey, July–December
                                                    and transportation research to measure                  coordination. The National Highway                    2013. National Center for Health Statistics.
                                                    the performance of the surface                          Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),                Available from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis.htm.



                                               VerDate Sep<11>2014   18:18 Apr 27, 2015   Jkt 235001   PO 00000   Frm 00142   Fmt 4703   Sfmt 4703   E:\FR\FM\28APN1.SGM   28APN1


                                                    23638                          Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 81 / Tuesday, April 28, 2015 / Notices

                                                    Internet.2 This survey will leverage this               and GIS processing can be used to link                   To support the mail recruitment
                                                    shift in technology, in particular the                  addresses to counties in a highly                     approach, the survey contractor will
                                                    move away from home telephone usage,                    reliable fashion. There can be some                   provide a toll-free number on survey
                                                    to structure a research design that uses                ambiguity for addresses that are P.O.                 materials and will assist the recruited
                                                    web, mail, and telephone data collection                boxes or are listed as rural route                    participant to provide the required
                                                    modes.                                                  addresses. These can be handled in a                  information by telephone if requested to
                                                       The revised methodological approach                  routine manner with a set of well-                    do so by the participant. A survey Web
                                                    starts with a national address-based                    defined rules as such addresses will                  site will be established for potential
                                                    sample (ABS), a change from the                         represent only a small proportion of a                respondents who want to check on the
                                                    telephone-based random digit dialing                    state’s population. Thus, no important                authenticity of the survey or find out
                                                    (RDD) sample design used in recent                      issues arise in the definition of areas               more information. This Web site will
                                                    NHTS efforts, while also incorporating                  with an ABS sample design that relies                 also serve as the portal to the survey.
                                                    core data elements that have been part                  on mail for data collection, as is the case              All returned recruitment surveys will
                                                    of the NHTS since 1969.                                 with the proposed approach.                           be processed using commercial off-the-
                                                       The survey sample will be drawn                         Assignments for recording travel data              shelf software (COTS) technology. All
                                                    from the ABS frame maintained by                        by sampled households will be equally                 data collected in the recruitment survey
                                                    Marketing Systems Group (MSG). It                       distributed across all days to ensure a               will be used to populate the household
                                                    originates from the U.S. Postal Service                 balanced day of week distribution. The                record in the survey database. As part of
                                                    (USPS) Computerized Delivery                            sample (of recruitment letters to                     the non-response protocol, non-
                                                    Sequence file (CDS), and is updated on                  households) will be released                          responding households may also be
                                                    a monthly basis. MSG also provides the                  periodically through a process that will              provided the opportunity to recruit by
                                                    ability to match some auxiliary variables               control the balance of travel days by                 web. If respondents call the help desk
                                                    (e.g., race/ethnicity, education,                       month.                                                or use the web to complete, their
                                                    household income) to a set of sampled                                                                         responses are collected in the same
                                                    addresses. MSG geocodes their entire                    Data Collection Methods                               survey database.
                                                    ABS frame, so block-, block group-, and                                                                          The mail back recruitment approach
                                                                                                               An updated approach to enhancing
                                                    tract-level characteristics from the                                                                          described here has been tested and
                                                                                                            survey response has been developed.
                                                    Decennial Census and the American                                                                             found to be successful in several
                                                                                                            This includes providing progressive
                                                    Community Survey (ACS) may be                                                                                 surveys funded by the Federal
                                                                                                            monetary incentives, and using a mail-
                                                    appended to addresses and used for                                                                            Government (e.g., the National Crime
                                                                                                            out/mail-back recruitment survey. This
                                                    sampling and/or data collection                                                                               Victimization Survey); these surveys
                                                                                                            recruitment survey is designed to be                  have proven this method can be
                                                    purposes.                                               relevant, aesthetically pleasing, and
                                                       Sample Size. A sample size of 26,000                                                                       implemented with large sample sizes
                                                                                                            elicit participation by including topics              covering vast geographic regions. This
                                                    households will be included in the                      of importance to the respondent. Upon
                                                    national sample. Assuming response                                                                            approach has been developed in
                                                                                                            returning the completed recruitment                   response to declining recruitment rates
                                                    rates of 30 percent for the recruitment                 survey, each household member will be
                                                    stage, 65 percent for the retrieval stage,                                                                    in recent studies.
                                                                                                            provided with personalized travel logs                   Retrieval. The NHTS data will be
                                                    and a residency rate of 89 percent for                  by mail, and offered the option of
                                                    sampled addresses, a total of 149,813                                                                         collected from respondents either from
                                                                                                            completing the retrieval survey by web                self-reporting via the web, or from
                                                    sampled addresses will be required to                   using a unique personal identification
                                                    attain the targeted 26,000 responding                                                                         professionally trained interviewers
                                                                                                            number (PIN) or telephone interview.                  using a computer-assisted telephone
                                                    households.
                                                       Stratification. This survey produces                 Information Proposed for Collection                   interviewing (CATI) system. Either
                                                    state-level estimates as well as national                                                                     approach will be based upon a single
                                                                                                               Recruitment. The survey will begin                 database that allows for sophisticated
                                                    estimates. Assuming equal costs and                     with mailing the sampled households a
                                                    population variances across states, the                                                                       branching and skip patterns to enhance
                                                                                                            short recruitment survey designed to                  data retrieval by asking only those
                                                    most efficient design for national                      collect key household information (e.g.
                                                    estimates is one in which the sample is                                                                       questions that are necessary and
                                                                                                            enumeration of household members),                    appropriate for the individual
                                                    allocated to the states in proportion to                additional contact information (e.g.
                                                    the size of the civilian,                                                                                     participant. Look-up tables are included
                                                                                                            email address and telephone number).                  to assist with information such as
                                                    noninstitutionalized population in each                 This recruitment survey includes some
                                                    state, and the most efficient design for                                                                      vehicle makes and models. The Google
                                                                                                            engaging travel-related opinion or                    map UI is used to assist in identifying
                                                    state-level estimates is one in which                   experience questions considered to be                 specific place names and locations. The
                                                    equal sample sizes are allocated to all                 highly relevant to the survey and                     location data for the participant’s home,
                                                    states. Various allocation options for the              interesting to respondents. The initial               workplace, or school are stored and
                                                    national sample are being considered in                 survey will be accompanied by a letter                automatically inserted in the dataset for
                                                    order to arrive at a final allocation for               from the USDOT, and a Business Reply                  trips after the first report. Household
                                                    the NHTS national sample.                               Envelope.
                                                       With the ABS approach, identifying                                                                         rostering is a list of all vehicles and
                                                                                                               In the first mail contact, each sampled            persons in the household that allows a
                                                    targeted areas (e.g., states) that
                                                                                                            address will receive a $2 cash incentive.             trip to be reported from one household
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                                                    correspond to those for which estimates
                                                                                                            The second mail contact will include                  member and can include another
                                                    can be developed from the NHTS data
                                                                                                            the travel log package sent to each                   household member who travel together
                                                    are straightforward. Addresses are
                                                                                                            recruited household and a $5 cash                     to be inserted into the record for the
                                                    definitively linked to states, so state-
                                                                                                            incentive and a promise of an additional              second person. This automatic insert of
                                                    level estimation is routine. Geocoding
                                                                                                            $20 for successfully submitting their                 information reduces the burden of the
                                                      2 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population      travel logs. The incentives paid will be              second respondent to be queried about
                                                    Survey, Select Years, Internet Release date: January    tracked at each of the three levels                   a trip already reported by the initial
                                                    2014.                                                   offered.                                              respondent.


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                                                                                   Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 81 / Tuesday, April 28, 2015 / Notices                                             23639

                                                      Data range, consistency and edit                      50 states and the District of Columbia                blocked pursuant to E.O. 13581 of July
                                                    checks are automatically programmed to                  will be included in the survey.                       24, 2011, ‘‘Blocking Property of
                                                    reduce reporting error, survey length,                  Household will include an average of                  Transnational Criminal Organizations.’’
                                                    and maintain the flow of information                    2.5 members for a total of 65,000                     DATES: The designations by the Director
                                                    processing. Data cross checks also help                 individual respondents to the main                    of OFAC, pursuant to E.O. 13581, of the
                                                    reduce the burden by ensuring that the                  survey.                                               one individual and one entity identified
                                                    reporting is consistent within each trip.                 Estimated Average Burden per                        in this notice were effective on April 21,
                                                      Data retrieval is based upon materials                Response. It will take approximately 5                2015.
                                                    provided to participants as shown                       minutes per household member to
                                                                                                                                                                  FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
                                                    below.                                                  complete the recruitment data form, and
                                                                                                                                                                  Assistant Director, Sanctions
                                                                                                            20 minutes to complete the retrieval
                                                    Travel Log Materials                                                                                          Compliance and Evaluation, Office of
                                                                                                            survey. This results in a total of 25
                                                       Travel Log Packet. The travel log                                                                          Foreign Assets Control, Department of
                                                                                                            minutes per household member.
                                                    packet will include a letter, an exemplar                 Estimated Total Annual Burden                       the Treasury, Washington, DC 20220,
                                                    log, and personalized travel logs for                   Hours. It is estimated that a total of                tel.: 202–622–2490.
                                                    each age eligible person in the                         65,000 persons will be included in the                SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
                                                    household, and will be sent using first                 survey. This would result in                          Electronic and Facsimile Availability
                                                    class postage in a 6″ x 9″ envelope. The                approximately 27,083 hours of support
                                                    envelopes will be branded to match the                  for this data collection effort.                        This document and additional
                                                    letterhead used for the invitation letter.                                                                    information concerning OFAC are
                                                                                                            Public Comments Invited                               available from OFAC’s Web site
                                                    The second respondent incentive will
                                                    be included with the travel logs. This $5                 You are asked to comment on any                     (www.treas.gov/ofac). Certain general
                                                    cash incentive is expected to serve as a                aspect of this information collection,                information pertaining to OFAC’s
                                                    ‘‘good faith’’ incentive to encourage                   including: (1) Whether the proposed                   sanctions programs is available via
                                                    completion of the retrieval survey.                     collection of information is necessary                facsimile through a 24-hour fax-on-
                                                       Travel Log Letter. A household letter                for the USDOT’s performance, including                demand service, tel.: 202–622–0077.
                                                    will be included in the travel log packet.              whether the information will have                     Background
                                                    The letter will further familiarize the                 practical utility; (2) the data acquisition
                                                    participants with the travel recording                  methods; (3) the accuracy of the                         On July 24, 2011, the President issued
                                                    stage, identify the households’ travel                  USDOT’s estimate of the burden of the                 E.O. 13581, ‘‘Blocking Property of
                                                    date and provide details about when                     proposed information collection; (4) the              Transnational Criminal Organizations’’
                                                    and how to complete the retrieval                       types of data being acquired; (5) ways to             (the ‘‘Order’’), pursuant to, inter alia,
                                                    survey. The letter will also remind                     enhance the quality, usefulness, and                  the International Emergency Economic
                                                    participants about the final $20                        clarity of the collected information; and             Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701–06). The
                                                    household incentive. Like the invitation                (6) ways that the burden could be                     Order was effective at 12:01 a.m. eastern
                                                    letter, the travel log letter will be                   minimized without reducing the quality                daylight time on July 25, 2011. In the
                                                    branded.                                                of the collected information. The agency              Order, the President declared a national
                                                       Travel Logs. A personalized travel log               will summarize and/or include your                    emergency to deal with the threat that
                                                    will be provided for each household                     comments in the request for OMB’s                     significant transnational criminal
                                                    member (ages 5 and older). The logs are                 clearance of this information collection.             organizations pose to the national
                                                    intended to be a memory jogger to guide                                                                       security, foreign policy, and economy of
                                                                                                              Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act
                                                    accurate data collection and aid in the                 of 1995; 44 U.S.C. chapter 35, as amended;
                                                                                                                                                                  the United States.
                                                    reporting of each place visited on the                  and 49 CFR 1.48.                                         Section 1 of the Order blocks, with
                                                    travel day.                                                                                                   certain exceptions, all property and
                                                                                                              Issued on: April 23, 2015.                          interests in property that are in the
                                                       Exemplar Log. Participants will be
                                                    provided with an exemplar log with the                  Michael Howell,                                       United States, that come within the
                                                    instructions for recording the details                  Information Collection Officer, Federal               United States, or that are or come within
                                                    about the places visited on the travel                  Highway Administration.                               the possession or control of any United
                                                    day.                                                    [FR Doc. 2015–09852 Filed 4–27–15; 8:45 am]           States person, of persons listed in the
                                                       All web and computer assisted                        BILLING CODE P                                        Annex to the Order and of persons
                                                    telephone interview (CATI) instruments                                                                        determined by the Secretary of the
                                                    will be reviewed for section 508                                                                              Treasury, in consultation with the
                                                    compliance using the rules specified in                 DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY                            Attorney General and the Secretary of
                                                    sections 1194.22—‘Web-based intranet                                                                          State, to satisfy certain criteria set forth
                                                    and internet information and                            Office of Foreign Assets Control                      in the Order.
                                                    applications’ and 1194.23—                                                                                       On April 21, 2015, the Director of
                                                                                                            Designation of One Individual and One                 OFAC, in consultation with the
                                                    ‘Telecommunications products.’ All
                                                                                                            Entity Pursuant to Executive Order                    Attorney General and the Secretary of
                                                    materials will be available in both
                                                                                                            13581, ‘‘Blocking Property of                         State, designated, pursuant to one or
                                                    English and Spanish language forms.
                                                                                                            Transnational Criminal Organizations’’                more of the criteria set forth in
                                                    Spanish translations will be developed
                                                                                                                                                                  subparagraphs (a)(ii)(A) through
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                                                    using industry standards and will apply                 AGENCY:  Office of Foreign Assets
                                                    reverse-translation protocols.                          Control, Treasury.                                    (a)(ii)(C) of section 1 of the Order, one
                                                                                                            ACTION: Notice.                                       individual and one entity whose
                                                    Estimated Burden Hours for                                                                                    property and interests in property are
                                                    Information Collection                                  SUMMARY:   The Treasury Department’s                  blocked pursuant to the Order.
                                                      Frequency: This collection will be                    Office of Foreign Assets Control                         The listings for this individual and
                                                    conducted every 5–7 years.                              (‘‘OFAC’’) is publishing the names of                 this entity on OFAC’s List of Specially
                                                      Respondents. A stratified random                      one individual and one entity whose                   Designated Nationals and Blocked
                                                    sample of 26,000 households across the                  property and interests in property are                Persons appear as follows:


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Document Created: 2015-12-16 08:35:07
Document Modified: 2015-12-16 08:35:07
CategoryRegulatory Information
CollectionFederal Register
sudoc ClassAE 2.7:
GS 4.107:
AE 2.106:
PublisherOffice of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration
SectionNotices
DatesPlease submit comments by May 28, 2015.
ContactAdella Santos, 202-366-5021, NHTS Program Manager, Federal Highway Administration, Office of Policy, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Room E83-426, Washington, DC 20590, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
FR Citation80 FR 23637 

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