Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Quarterly Survey of Public Pensions, 33217-33218 [2021-13428]

Agencies

• Census Bureau
• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 119 (Thursday, June 24, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33217-33218]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-13428]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Quarterly Survey of Public Pensions

AGENCY: Census Bureau, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of information collection, request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, invites the general public and other 
Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information 
collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information 
collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The 
purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment on the 
proposed extension of the Quarterly Survey of Public Pensions prior to 
the submission of the information collection request (ICR) to OMB for 
approval.

DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed 
information collection must be received on or before August 23, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments by 
email to [email protected]. Please reference Quarterly Survey 
of Public Pensions in the subject line of your comments. You may also 
submit comments, identified by Docket Number USBC-2021-0014, to the 
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. All comments 
received are part of the public record. No comments will be posted to 
https://www.regulations.gov for public viewing until after the comment 
period has closed. Comments will generally be posted without change. 
All Personally Identifiable Information (for example, name and address) 
voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do 
not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or 
protected information. You may submit attachments to electronic 
comments in Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
specific questions related to collection activities should be directed 
to Phillip Vidal, Chief, Pensions Statistics Branch, Economy-Wide 
Statistics Division, U.S. Census Bureau, Headquarters, Washington, DC 
20233; email: [email protected]; 301.763.1749.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Census Bureau plans to request clearance for the form necessary 
to conduct the Quarterly Survey of Public Pensions. The quarterly 
survey was initiated by the Census Bureau in 1968 at the request of 
both the Council of Economic Advisers and the Federal Reserve Board.
    The Quarterly Survey of Public Pensions currently provides national 
summary data on the asset holdings of the largest pension systems of 
state and local governments.
    These data are used by the Federal Reserve Board to track the 
public sector portion of the Flow of Funds Accounts. Economists and 
public policy analysts use these data to assess general economic 
conditions and state and local government financial activities.
    Data are collected from a panel of defined benefit plans of the 100 
largest state and local government pension systems as determined by 
their total cash and security holdings reported in the 2012 Census of 
Governments. The defined benefit plans of these 100 largest pension 
systems comprise 87.2 percent of financial activity among such 
entities, based on the 2012 Census of Governments.

II. Method of Collection

    Survey data are collected through the Census Bureau's web 
collection system that enables public entities to respond to the 
questionnaire via the internet.

[[Page 33218]]

The questionnaire is available online for respondents to print when 
they choose to mail or fax. Most respondents choose to report their 
data online. In addition to reporting current quarter data, respondents 
may provide initial data for the previous seven quarters or submit 
revisions to their data submitted in the previous seven quarters.
    Data are received each quarter from 70 to 80 percent of the systems 
canvassed. In those instances when we are not able to obtain a 
response, we conduct follow-up operations using email and phone calls. 
Imputations are developed for each of the remaining nonresponse systems 
in the panel from the latest available data.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0607-0143.
    Form Number(s): F-10.
    Type of Review: Regular submission, Request for an Extension, 
without Change, of a Currently Approved Collection.
    Affected Public: State and locally-administered public pension 
plans.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 100.
    Estimated Time per Response: 45 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 300.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0. (This is not the cost of 
respondents' time, but the indirect costs respondents may incur for 
such things as purchases of specialized software or hardware needed to 
report, or expenditures for accounting or records maintenance services 
required specifically by the collection.)
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C. Section 161 and 182.

IV. Request for Comments

    We are soliciting public comments to permit the Department/Bureau 
to: (a) Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is 
necessary for the proper functions of the Department, including whether 
the information will have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the accuracy 
of our estimate of the time and cost burden for this proposed 
collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions 
used; (c) Evaluate ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; and (d) Minimize the reporting burden 
on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. We will include, or summarize, each comment in our 
request to OMB to approve this ICR. Before including your address, 
phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information 
in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--
including your personal identifying information--may be made publicly 
available at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold 
your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2021-13428 Filed 6-23-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P