80 FR 80317 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 247 (December 24, 2015)

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 247 (Thursday, December 24, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 80317-80319]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-32374]



[[Page 80317]]

=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    The Department of Commerce will submit to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of 
information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 
U.S.C. chapter 35).
    Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.
    Title: Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS).
    OMB Control Number: 0607-0151.
    Form Number(s): BAS 1, BAS 2, BAS 3, BAS 5, BAS 6. BASSC.
    Type of Request: Regular Submission.
    Number of Respondents: 86,555.
    Annual Response Notification: 39,400.
    No Change Response: 25,000.
    Telephone Follow-up: 14,000.
    Packages with Changes: 5,000.
    State Certification Review: 49.
    State Certification Local Review: 1,000.
    Boundary Quality Assessment Reconciliation Project (BQARP): 16.
    Redistricting Data Program (RDP) Reconciliation State Review: 50.
    RDP Reconciliation Local Review: 2,000.
    Research Projects: 40.
    Average Hours per Response: Varies.
    Annual Response Notification: 30 minutes.
    No Change Response: 4 hours.
    Telephone Follow-up: 30 minutes.
    Packages with Changes: 8 hours.
    State Certification Review: 10 hours.
    State Certification Local Review: 2 hours.
    BQARP: 25 hours.
    RDP Reconciliation State Review: 20 hours.
    RDP Reconciliation Local Review: 2 hours.
    Research Projects: 3 hours.
    Burden Hours: 174,710.
    Annual Response Notification: 19,700.
    No Change Response: 100,000.
    Telephone Follow-up: 7,000.
    Packages with Changes: 40,000.
    State Certification Review: 490.
    State Certification Local Review: 2,000.
    BQARP: 400.
    RDP Reconciliation State Review: 1,000.
    RDP Reconciliation Local Review: 4,000.
    Research Projects: 120.
    Needs and Uses: The Census Bureau conducts the BAS to collect and 
maintain information about the inventory of legal boundaries and legal 
actions affecting the boundaries of counties and equivalent entities, 
incorporated places, minor civil divisions (MCDs), and federally 
recognized legal American Indian and Alaska Native areas. This 
information provides an accurate identification of geographic areas for 
the Census Bureau to use in conducting the Decennial and Economic 
Censuses and ongoing surveys, preparing population estimates, and 
supporting other statistical programs of the Census Bureau and the 
legislative programs of the Federal government.
    Through the BAS, the Census Bureau asks each government to review 
materials for its jurisdiction to verify the correctness of the 
information portrayed. The Census Bureau requests that each government 
update their boundaries, supply information documenting each legal 
boundary change, and provide changes in the inventory of governments. 
The Census Bureau has a national implementation of the BAS, but each 
state's laws are reviewed for inclusion in the processing procedures. 
In addition, if it comes to the Census Bureau's attention that an area 
of non-tribal land is in dispute between two or more jurisdictions, the 
Census Bureau will not make annexations or boundary corrections until 
the parties come to a written agreement, or there is a documented final 
court decision regarding the matter and/or dispute. If there is a 
dispute over an area of tribal land, the Census Bureau will not make 
additions or boundary corrections until supporting documents are 
provided, or the U.S. Department of the Interior issues a comment. If 
necessary, the Census Bureau will request clarification regarding 
current boundaries, particularly if supporting documentation pre-dates 
1990, from the U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of the 
Solicitor.
    The BAS universe and mailing materials vary depending both upon the 
needs of the Census Bureau in fulfilling its censuses and household 
surveys and upon budget constraints.
    Counties or equivalent entities, federally recognized American 
Indian reservations (AIRs), Off-Reservation Trust Lands (ORTLs), and 
Tribal Subdivisions are included in every survey.
    In the years ending in 8, 9 and 0, the BAS includes all 
governmentally active counties and equivalent entities, incorporated 
places, legally defined MCDs, and legally defined federally recognized 
American Indian and Alaska Native areas (including the Alaska Native 
Regional Corporations). Each governmental entity surveyed will receive 
materials covering its jurisdiction and one or more forms. These three 
years coincide with the Census Bureau's preparation for the Decennial 
Census. There are fewer than 40,000 governments in the universe each 
year.
    In all other years, the BAS reporting universe includes all legally 
defined federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native areas, 
all governmental counties and equivalent entities, MCDs in the six New 
England States (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode 
Island, and Vermont), and those incorporated places that have a 
population of 2,500 or greater. The reporting universe is approximately 
14,000 governments due to budget constraints at the Census Bureau. The 
Census Bureau only follows up on a subset of governments designated as 
the reporting universe.
    In the years ending in 1 through 7, the Census Bureau may enter 
into agreements with individual states to modify the universe of MCDs 
and/or incorporated places to include additional entities that are 
known by that state to have had boundary changes, without regard to 
population size. Each year, the BAS will also include a single 
respondent request for municipio, barrio, barrio-pueblo, and subbarrio 
boundary and status information in Puerto Rico and Hawaiian Homeland 
boundary and status information in Hawaii.
    In the years ending in 6 through 9, state participants in the RDP 
may request coordination between the BAS and RDP submissions for the 
Block Boundary Suggestion Project (BBSP) and Voting District Project 
(VTDP). The alignment of the BAS with the BBSP and VTDP will facilitate 
increased cooperation between state and local governments and provide 
the opportunity to align their effort with updates from state and local 
government officials participating in the BAS.
    No other Federal agency collects these data, nor is there a 
standard collection of this information at the state level. BAS is a 
unique survey providing a standard result for use by federal, state, 
local, and tribal governments and by commercial, private, and public 
organizations.
    The Census Bureau has developed and continues to use several 
methods to collect information on status and updates for legal 
boundaries. These methods are:

 State Certification
 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)

[[Page 80318]]

 Consolidation Agreements
 Annual Response
 Paper BAS
 Digital BAS
 BQARP
 Research Projects

State Certification

    Through the BAS State Certification program, the Census Bureau 
invites the Governor-appointed State Certifying Official (SCO) from 
each state to review the boundary and governmental unit information 
collected during the previous BAS cycle. The purpose of the State 
Certification program is to verify the accuracy and validate the BAS 
information with state governments for incorporated places received 
from the previous BAS cycle. The Census Bureau requests the SCOs review 
data files, including the attribute data, legal boundary changes, as 
well as the legal names and functional statuses of incorporated places 
and MCDs, and any new incorporations or disincorporations reported 
through the BAS. A SCO may request that the Census Bureau edit the 
attribute data, add missing records, or remove invalid records if their 
state government maintains an official record of all effective changes 
to legal boundaries and governmental units as mandated by state law. 
State Certification packages contain a letter to the Governor, a State 
Certifying Official Letter, a Discrepancy Letter, and a State 
Certification Respondent Guide.

MOU

    In states with legislation requiring local governments to report 
all legal boundary updates to a state agency, state officials may enter 
into a MOU with the Census Bureau. States have the option to report to 
the Census Bureau the list of governments with known legal boundary 
changes and the Census Bureau will include in the BAS only those 
governments with known boundary changes or the state may report the 
legal boundary changes directly to the Census Bureau on behalf of the 
governments. The Census Bureau will not survey the local governments if 
the state reports for them. The Census Bureau will send a reminder 
email notification to the governments requesting them to report to the 
state contact, per MOU. The MOU, as agreed upon by the state and the 
Census Bureau, will outline the terms of the survey and reporting for 
governments.

Consolidation Agreements

    Consolidation agreements allow state and county government 
officials, in states where there are no legislative requirements for 
local governments to report their legal updates to the state or county, 
the opportunity to reduce the response burden for their local 
governments. Under a consolidation agreement, a state or county 
responds to the BAS for the local governments that agree to allow the 
state or county to respond on their behalf. The Census Bureau sends the 
BAS materials to the state or county, as appropriate, and sends a 
reminder notification to the local government to report their updates 
to their BAS consolidator.

Annual Response

    Annual Response involves an announcement email letter and a one-
page form for the state and county governments that do not have a 
consolidation agreement. Through Annual Response, county, tribal, and 
local governments indicate whether they have boundary changes to report 
and provide a current contact person. The Census Bureau requests 
governments to reply online or through email. The Annual Response 
method reduces cost and respondent burden through savings on materials 
and effort. All governments receive this notification regardless of 
population size. The Census Bureau will conduct telephone follow-up 
only to governments in the reporting universe due to budget 
constraints.
    If a government requests materials through Annual Response, they 
may choose to download digital materials or have the materials shipped 
as a traditional paper package or digital media types.

Paper BAS

    For the traditional paper package, the respondent completes the BAS 
form and draws the boundary updates on the maps using pencils provided 
in the package. The package contains large format maps, printed forms 
and supplies to complete the survey.
    The typical BAS package contains:
    1. Introductory letter from the Director of the Census Bureau;
    2. Appropriate BAS Form(s) that contains entity-specific 
identification information;
    a. BAS-1: Incorporated places and consolidated cities;
    b. BAS-2: Counties, parishes, and boroughs;
    c. BAS-3: MCDs;
    d. BAS-5: American Indian and Alaska Native Areas; and
    e. BAS-6: Consolidated BAS
    3. BAS Respondent Guide;
    4. Set of maps;
    5. Return postage-paid envelope to submit boundary changes;
    6. Postcard to notify the Census Bureau of no changes to the 
boundary; and
    7. Supplies for updating paper maps.

Digital BAS

    Digital BAS includes options to receive software and spatial data 
to make boundary updates or to make boundary updates electronically by 
submitting a digital file. A local contact from each government 
verifies the legal boundary, and then provides boundary changes and 
updated contact information. An official signs the materials, verifies 
the forms, and returns the information to the Census Bureau.
    The typical Digital BAS package contains:
    1. Introductory letter from the Director of the Census Bureau;
    2. Appropriate BAS Form(s) that contains entity-specific 
identification information;
    a. BAS-1: Incorporated places and consolidated cities;
    b. BAS-2: Counties, parishes, and boroughs;
    c. BAS-3: MCDs;
    d. BAS-5: American Indian and Alaska Native Areas; and
    e. BAS-6: Consolidated BAS
    3. CD or DVD and software CD for Geographic Update Partnership 
Software (GUPS); and
    4. Postcard to notify the Census Bureau of no changes to the 
boundary.
    The key dates for governments are as follows:
    1. Annual Response emailed or mailed to the local contact in 
December of each year.
    2. BAS package/materials shipped during the months of December, 
January, February, March, and April of each year.
    3. Requests to change the method of participation (i.e., paper to 
digital submission and vice versa) are due by April 15th of each year.
    4. Responses for inclusion in the American Community Survey (ACS) 
and Population Estimates Program (PEP) are due by March 1st of each 
year, with an effective date of January 1st of the year in question or 
earlier.
    5. Responses for inclusion in the following year's BAS materials 
are due by May 31st of each year and will include any annexation 
received from the previous or current year.
    6. In year 2020, all legal documentation for inclusion in the 2020 
Census must be effective as of January 1, 2020 or earlier. All legal 
boundary changes will be placed on hold and updated during the 2021 BAS 
if effective January 2, 2020 or later.

[[Page 80319]]

BQARP

    To improve boundary quality in the Census Bureau's Master Address 
File/Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (MAF/
TIGER) System, the Census Bureau is introducing BQARP to support the 
BAS program. BQARP is a project to assess, analyze, and improve the 
spatial quality of legal and administrative boundaries within MAF/
TIGER. Ensuring quality boundaries is a critical component of the 
geographic preparations for the 2020 Census and the Census Bureau's 
ongoing Geographic Partnership Programs (GPPs) and surveys. In 
addition, the improvement of boundary quality is an essential element 
of the Census Bureau's commitment as the responsible agency for legal 
boundaries under the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-
16. The goal of BQARP is to establish a new, accurate baseline for 
boundaries within an entire state or county, which the BAS would then 
continue with the collection of annexations and deannexations on a 
transaction basis as they occur over time. The estimated work burden 
for participation is 25 hours per participant.

Research Projects

    BAS continues to work to improve the survey based on feedback 
received from local governments. The Census Bureau plans to conduct two 
research projects during 2016. The first research project is for BAS 
form redesign for potential use for the 2017 BAS Forms. The second 
research project is to test an option for local governments to provide 
a list of addresses associated with an annexation to continue to 
improve data quality in MAF/TIGER. Participation is voluntary for these 
research projects. The estimated work burden for participation is 3 
hours per participant.
    Frequency: Annually.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13, U.S.C., Section 6.
    This information collection request may be viewed at 
www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view Department of Commerce 
collections currently under review by OMB.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to [email protected] or fax to (202) 395-5806.

    Dated: December 18, 2015.
Glenna Mickelson,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015-32374 Filed 12-23-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-07-P