Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request, 2030 [2012-514]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 9 (Friday, January 13, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Page 2030]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-514]


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Notices
                                                Federal Register
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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 9 / Friday, January 13, 2012 / 
Notices

[[Page 2030]]


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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: Public Employment & Payroll Forms.
    OMB Control Number: 0607-0452.
    Form Number(s): E-1, E-2, E-3, E-4, E-5, E-6, E-7, E-9.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Burden Hours: 47,903.
    Number of Respondents: 58,572.
    Average Hours per Response: 49 minutes.
    Needs and Uses: This information collection request covers the 
questionnaires needed to conduct the public employment program for the 
2012 Census of Governments: Employment and the 2013 Annual Survey of 
Public Employment & Payroll.
    The type of employment and payroll data collected by the public 
employment & payroll program in the 2012 Census of Governments: 
Employment and the 2013 Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll 
are identical to the data collected in recent annual surveys. The 2012 
Census of Governments: Employment will collect data for all state and 
local governments in the 50 states and the District of Columbia by type 
of government and government function. The 2013 sample supports 
estimates of total local government employment and payrolls by state by 
government function.
    No changes were made to the form content as currently approved. 
However; formatting changes were made to the forms to facilitate data 
capture using current technology, Integrated Computer Assisted Data 
Entry (iCADE), and to clarify wording and form flow with respondents 
such as integrating the instruction in bullet form into the questions. 
These changes were cognitively tested.
    Statistics compiled from data gathered using these forms are used 
in several important Federal government programs. Economists at the 
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) use the statistics for developing the 
National Income and Product Accounts. BEA also uses the Census of 
Governments and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll to 
derive state-level estimates of the employment and wages and salaries 
of students and their spouses who are employed by public institutions 
of higher education in which the students are enrolled. There is no 
other national or state source for information on student workers at 
state institutions of higher education.
    The employment data are used for two other data collection efforts 
currently conducted by the Census Bureau. The Medical Expenditures 
Panel Survey (MEPS) collects data for the Department of Health and 
Human Services (HHS) on health plans offered to state and local 
government employees. The MEPS sample of public employees is drawn from 
the Census of Governments: Employment component universe and employment 
data from the survey are used in statistical methods for creating 
national estimates on health plans. The Criminal Justice Employment and 
Expenditure program (CJEE), sponsored by the Bureau of Justice 
Statistics (BJS), uses employment data to provide employee and payroll 
statistics on police protection and correctional activities.
    State and local government officials use these employment data to 
analyze and assess individual government labor force and wage levels. 
Both management and labor consult these data during wage and salary 
negotiations.
    Public interest groups of many types produce analyses of public 
sector activities using these data. User organizations representing 
state and local government include the Council of State Governments, 
National Conference of State Legislatures, Government Research 
Association, U.S. Conference of Mayors, National Association of 
Counties, National League of Cities, and the International City/County 
Management Association. A third category of users, having a more 
specific focus on government activities, includes organizations such as 
the Citizens Research Council of Michigan and the National Sheriffs 
Association.
    A variety of other organizations and individuals make use of these 
data. Notable research organizations include the Manhattan Institute 
for Policy Research, the Brookings Institution, and the Rockefeller 
Institute of Government. The instructors, researchers, and students in 
schools of public administration, political science, management, and 
industrial relations as well as other members of the public also use 
employment data.
    Affected Public: State, local or Tribal government.
    Frequency: Annually.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13, Section 161, of the United States Code 
requires the Secretary of Commerce to conduct a census of governments 
every fifth year. Title 13, Section 182 of the United States Code 
allows the Secretary to conduct annual surveys in other years.
    OMB Desk Officer: Brian Harris-Kojetin, (202) 395-7314.
    Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained 
by calling or writing Jennifer Jessup, Departmental Paperwork Clearance 
Officer, (202) 482-0336, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th and 
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at 
jjessup@doc.gov).
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to Brian Harris-Kojetin, OMB Desk Officer either by fax (202) 395-7245) 
or email (bharrisk@omb.eop.gov).

    Dated: January 9, 2012.
Glenna Mickelson,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2012-514 Filed 1-12-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P