83 FR 13226 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 60 (March 28, 2018)

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 60 (Wednesday, March 28, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13226-13228]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-06166]


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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: American Community Survey.
    OMB Control Number: 0607-0810.
    Form Number(s): ACS-1, ACS-1(SP), ACS-1(PR), ACS-1(PR)SP, ACS-
1(GQ), ACS-1(PR)(GQ), GQFQ, ACS CAPI (HU), ACS RI (HU), and AGQ QI, AGQ 
RI.
    Type of Request: Regular Submission.
    Number of Respondents: 3,760,000.
    Average Hours Per Response: 40 minutes for the average household 
questionnaire.
    Burden Hours: The estimate is an annual average of 2,455,868 burden 
hours.
    Needs and Uses: The U.S. Census Bureau requests authorization from 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for revisions to the American 
Community Survey (ACS).
    The American Community Survey (ACS) is one of the Department of 
Commerce's most valuable data products, used extensively by businesses, 
non-governmental organizations (NGOs), local governments, and many 
federal agencies. In conducting this survey, the Census Bureau's top 
priority is respecting the time and privacy of the people providing 
information while preserving its value to the public.
    The Census Bureau has a robust research program for the ACS focused 
on enhancing quality of the respondent experience, survey operations, 
and data. In 2017, the Census Bureau conducted the 2017 Pressure Seal 
Mailing Materials Test to evaluate the impact on self-response and cost 
of replacing letters and postcards in the American

[[Page 13227]]

Community Survey (ACS) mail materials with pressure seal mailers. A 
pressure seal mailer is a one-page document with a pre-applied adhesive 
that is folded and sealed with pressure. This type of mailer costs less 
than a letter with an envelope and more than a postcard. However, 
pressure seal mailers can conceal personal information while postcards 
cannot. Replacing a postcard with a pressure seal mailer provides an 
opportunity to increase the use of the internet user ID in the text of 
the ACS mailings. Based on the results of this test, a pressure seal 
mailer will be used in place of the Reminder Letter (second mailing) 
and the Additional Reminder Postcard (fifth mailing). This information 
is new since the publication of the 60-day Federal Register Notice, FR-
Doc. 2017-26726.
    The content of the proposed 2019 ACS questionnaire and data 
collection instruments for both Housing Unit and Group Quarters 
operations reflect changes to content and instructions that were 
proposed primarily as a result of the 2016 ACS Content Test, but also 
as a result of interagency consultation. The 2019 content changes cover 
several topics discussed below.

Telephone Service

    The rise of cell phone and smartphone usage, and other complex and 
varied telephone services and equipment, has changed how people view 
and use telephones in a household. Research also suggests that some 
respondents, or in some cases interviewers, may not fully understand 
the current wording of the survey question on Telephone Service, the 
additional instructions that accompany the question, or what the 
question is intending to capture. To make the intent of the telephone 
service question easier to understand by respondents and interviewers, 
the question was made a stand-alone question and additional 
instructions are provided on the types of telephones and equipment 
respondents should include when answering the question. Currently, 
telephone service is asked as part of a broader question on housing 
characteristics.

Health Insurance

    A question on Health Insurance Premiums and Subsidies will be 
introduced to the ACS immediately following the current question on 
health insurance coverage. The question on premiums and subsidies asks 
if a person pays a health insurance premium, and if so, if he or she 
received a subsidy to help pay the premium. This question will provide 
more accurate information about coverage categories than available from 
the existing ACS question on current coverage alone. These data will 
enhance the ability of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 
and the states to administer Medicaid, CHIP, and the exchanges, and 
monitor private insurance coverage.
    In addition, one response option for the health insurance question 
will be changed as a result of consultation with the U.S. Department of 
Veterans Affairs (VA). In July 2017, the VA contacted the Census Bureau 
and requested a change to the VA response option on the health 
insurance question. The proposed change is to ensure the accuracy of 
the estimates of VA health insurance coverage. The VA response option 
for the health insurance question will be truncated from ``VA 
(including those who have ever used or enrolled for VA health care)'' 
to ``VA (including those who have enrolled for VA health care).'' This 
information is new since the publication of the 60-day Federal Register 
Notice, FR Doc. 2017-26726.

Journey to Work

    Changes to the Commute Mode question were motivated by changes in 
public transportation infrastructure across the United States, 
particularly the increased prevalence of light rail systems and the 
need to update and clarify the terminology used to refer to commute 
modes that appear as categories on the ACS. To improve the Commute Mode 
question, some of the public transportation modes were modified. The 
category ``Streetcar or trolley car'' was changed to ``Light rail, 
street car, or trolley,'' ``Subway or elevated'' was changed to 
``Subway or Elevated Rail,'' and ``Railroad'' was changed to ``Long-
distance train or commuter rail.'' These three rail-related categories 
were also slightly reordered so that ``Subway or elevated rail,'' the 
most prevalent rail mode, is listed first. The phrase ``trolley bus'' 
was dropped and the phrase ``work at home'' was changed to ``work from 
home.'' The subheading of instructions was simplified to read ``Mark 
ONE box for the method of transportation used for most of the 
distance.'' The Time of Departure question has historically raised 
concerns about privacy because of the reference to the time a person 
leaves home. To phrase the question in a less intrusive way, the 
question was changed to ask what time the person's trip to work began 
and to remove the word ``home.''

Weeks Worked

    The changes to the question on the number of weeks worked were made 
to allow the Census Bureau to provide high-quality, continuous measures 
for the number of weeks worked, such as means, medians, and aggregates. 
In addition, the changes enable additional specificity for weeks 
worked, particularly with hours worked, income, and occupation. Part A 
of the question regarding the time period of interest was rephrased 
from working ``50 or more weeks'' to ``EVERY week'' and additional 
information is provided in the second sentence. The original 
instruction of ``Count paid time off as work'' was changed to ``Count 
paid vacation, paid sick leave, and military service as work.'' For 
part B of the question, the response option was changed to a write-in 
response, the reference period (``the PAST 12 MONTHS'') is repeated, 
and new guidance clarifies what to count as work.

Class of Worker

    Changes to the Class of Worker question improve overall question 
clarity, refine the definition of unpaid family workers, explicitly 
define a category for Active Duty military, improve question wording 
and categories, and improve the layout of the question. Response 
categories were grouped under three general headings. ``Active Duty'' 
was added as one of the response categories in the government section, 
and the ``Active Duty'' checkbox was dropped from the Employer Name 
question. Question and response category wording were revised for 
clarity. To signal that all six employment characteristics questions 
refer to the same job (including industry and occupation), the series 
was renumbered from separate questions to a single series with sub-
questions. Lastly, the instructional text and heading for the series 
immediately preceding Class of Worker was simplified.

Industry and Occupation

    Ongoing research of the Industry and Occupation question write-in 
responses has demonstrated that the questions were unclear and 
confusing to respondents, who were unable to answer at all or answer 
with sufficient clarity to provide useful data. To increase clarity and 
improve occupational specificity, these questions were revised to 
include new and consistent examples, in terms of content and length, 
and include modified question wording. The number of characters for 
write-in responses about ``Job Duties'' was expanded from 60 to 100 
characters.

[[Page 13228]]

Retirement Income

    Over the last 40 years, defined contribution retirement plans have 
become increasingly common while defined benefit plans (such as 
pensions) have become less so. Federal surveys have lagged in 
addressing these newer forms of retirement income and subsequently 
underreport retirement income. The Retirement, Survivor, and Disability 
Income question was changed to improve income reporting, increase item 
response rates, reduce reporting errors, and update questions on 
retirement income and the income generated from retirement accounts and 
all other assets in order to better measure retirement income data. The 
question was expanded to ask about ``retirement income, pensions, 
survivor or disability income.'' In addition, the instructions that 
accompany the question were expanded to note that income from ``a 
previous employer or union, or any regular withdrawals or distributions 
from IRA, Roth IRA, 401(k), 403(b) or other accounts specifically 
designed for retirement'' should be included.

Relationship

    For several years, the Census Bureau has been testing revised 
relationship questions to improve the estimates of coupled households. 
The 1990 Census first introduced ``Unmarried partner'' as a response 
category to the Relationship to Householder question. The 2000 and 2010 
Censuses built upon this work, changing the processing of responses to 
the Relationship question to more accurately represent same-sex 
couples. The Census Bureau discovered a statistical error in the 2010 
Census data that resulted from opposite-sex couples mismarking their 
sex. This error had the potential to inflate the estimates of same-sex, 
married couple households. The Census Bureau released a set of modified 
state-level, same-sex household estimates from the 2010 Census because 
of this error, and also began new research efforts to improve the 
Relationship question.
    The Relationship question has been revised to improve measurement 
of same-sex couples. The existing ``Husband or wife'' and ``Unmarried 
partner'' response categories were each split into two versions: 
``Opposite-sex husband/wife/spouse,'' ``Opposite-sex unmarried 
partner,'' ``Same-sex husband/wife/spouse,'' and ``Same-sex unmarried 
partner.'' Additionally, the two unmarried partner categories were 
moved from near the end of the list of response options to near the 
beginning, immediately after the husband/wife/spouse options. An 
automated relationship/sex consistency check will be included in 
electronic instruments to provide respondents an opportunity to change 
their sex or relationship responses when there is an inconsistency in 
the reported sex of an individual and whether their relationship was 
reported as ``Opposite-sex'' or ``Same-sex'' husband/wife/spouse or 
unmarried partner. This check reduces the inconsistency in responses 
and improves the quality of the relationship data. The category 
``Roomer or boarder'' has been dropped from the Relationship question.

Race and Hispanic Origin

    The 2016 ACS Content Test served as an operational test of the race 
and ethnicity questions that were previously tested on the 2015 
National Content Test (NCT). Recommendations about the race and 
ethnicity questions adopted for the 2020 Census and production ACS were 
based on the results of the census tests and decisions made in 
consultation with OMB; the 2016 ACS Content Test provided an 
opportunity to test data collection modes and examine other data not 
available in the 2015 NCT. The 2016 ACS Content Test evaluated 
interviewer-administered collection modes, assessed the race and 
ethnicity questions against demographic and socioeconomic data, and 
separately compared the race and ethnicity results to data from the 
ancestry question. In 2020 or later, the ACS will adopt the final 
version of the race and Hispanic origin questions that are implemented 
for the 2020 Census.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Frequency: Response to the ACS is on a one-time basis.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Title 13, United States Code, Sections 141, 193, 
and 221.
    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.

Sheleen Dumas,
Departmental Lead PRA Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2018-06166 Filed 3-27-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-07-P