Resumption of the Population Estimates Challenge Program and Proposed Changes to the Program, 71269-71271 [2022-25415]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 224 / Tuesday, November 22, 2022 / Proposed Rules
J–10
[Amended]
From Los Angeles, CA; INT Los Angeles
083° and Twentynine Palms, CA, 269°
radials; Twentynine Palms; INT Twentynine
Palms 075° and Flagstaff, AZ, 251° radials;
Flagstaff; Rattlesnake, NM; Blue Mesa, CO;
Falcon, CO; to North Platte, NE. From Des
Moines, IA; to Iowa City, IA.
*
*
*
*
J–84
[Amended]
*
*
J–100
*
Paragraph 6010(a)
Airways.
*
*
*
J–128
*
J–144
[Amended]
*
*
*
*
*
*
Domestic VOR Federal
*
*
V–172 [Amended]
From Columbus, NE; Omaha, IA; INT
Omaha 066° and Newton, IA, 262° radials;
Newton; Cedar Rapids, IA; Polo, IL; INT Polo
088° and DuPage, IL, 293° radials; to DuPage.
*
*
*
*
*
*
[Removed]
*
*
*
*
V–380 [Amended]
From Grand Island, NE; Hastings, NE; to
Mankato, KS.
From Des Moines, IA; to Dubuque, IA.
*
*
V–219
*
[Amended]
J–197
From Los Angeles, CA; Daggett, CA; Las
Vegas, NV; INT of Las Vegas 046° and Bryce
Canyon, UT, 240° radials; Bryce Canyon;
*
[Amended]
*
*
*
*
From Los Angeles, CA; INT Los Angeles
083° and Peach Springs, AZ, 244° radials;
Peach Springs; Tuba City, AZ; Blue Mesa,
CO; Falcon, CO; to Hayes Center, NE. From
Dubuque, IA; to Northbrook, IL.
*
From Oakland, CA; Linden, CA; Mina, NV;
Delta, UT; Meeker, CO; to Sidney, NE. From
Dubuque, IA; Northbrook, IL; to Danville, IL.
*
Meeker, CO; to Sidney, NE. From Dubuque,
IA; to Northbrook, IL.
*
[Amended]
*
*
*
*
*
From Dove Creek, CO; Hugo, CO; to
Goodland, KS.
Paragraph 6011 United States Area
Navigation Routes.
*
*
*
*
*
*
GILLETTE, WY (GCC) TO ISTIQ, NE [AMENDED]
Gillette, WY (GCC)
VOR/DME (Lat. 44°20′51.98″
KARAS, WY
FIX
(Lat. 44°16′22.88″
Rapid City, SD (RAP) VORTAC
(Lat. 43°58′33.74″
WNDED, SD
WP
(Lat. 43°19′14.00″
Valentine, NE (VTN) NDB
(Lat. 42°51′41.85″
Ainsworth, NE
VOR/DME (Lat. 42°34′08.81″
(ANW)
FESNT, NE
WP
(Lat. 42°03′57.00″
ISTIQ, NE
WP
(Lat. 41°24′52.04″
71269
*
*
*
*
T–288
long.
long.
long.
long.
long.
long.
105°32′36.55″
104°18′49.64″
103°00′44.38″
101°32′19.00″
100°32′58.73″
099°59′22.78″
[Docket Number: 221116–0243]
RIN 0607–AA60
DATES:
*
*
*
*
Issued in Washington, DC, on November
16, 2022.
Scott M. Rosenbloom,
Manager, Airspace Rules and Regulations.
[FR Doc. 2022–25418 Filed 11–21–22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–13–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Census Bureau
15 CFR Part 90
Written comments must be
submitted on or before December 22,
2022.
Resumption of the Population
Estimates Challenge Program and
Proposed Changes to the Program
Census Bureau, Department of
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking
and request for comments.
AGENCY:
The Bureau of the Census
(Census Bureau) is proposing to amend
the regulations for the Population
Estimates Challenge Program which
provides eligible general-purpose
governmental entities (units) with the
opportunity to file requests for the
review of their population estimates for
2021 and subsequent years in
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:15 Nov 21, 2022
Jkt 259001
Interested persons are
invited to submit written comments by
email to POP.challenge@census.gov.
You also may submit comments,
identified by RIN number 0607–AA60,
to the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal:
https://www.regulations.gov. All
comments received are a part of the
public record. Comments will be posted
to https://www.regulations.gov for
public viewing on a rolling basis.
Comments generally will be posted
without change. All Personal Identifying
Information (for example, name,
address) voluntarily submitted by the
commenter may be publicly accessible.
ADDRESSES:
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
W)
W)
W)
W)
W)
W)
N, long. 099°17′18.00″ W)
N, long. 098°24′18.89″ W)
forthcoming estimates series, beginning
with the Vintage 2022 series that is
scheduled to be published in 2023.
Under this program, a governmental
unit may file a challenge to its official
population estimate by submitting
additional data to the Census Bureau for
evaluation, or by identifying a technical
error in processing input data or
producing the estimates. Specifically,
the Census Bureau is proposing to
amend its regulations to: update
references to the input data used to
produce the official population
estimates and revise the evidence
required to support a challenge.
*
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS
N,
N,
N,
N,
N,
N,
Do not submit Confidential Business
Information or otherwise sensitive or
protected information. The Census
Bureau will accept anonymous
comments (enter N/A in the required
fields, if you wish to remain
anonymous). You may submit
attachments to electronic comments in
Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF
file formats only.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Requests for additional information
should be directed to Amel Toukabri,
Chief, Local Government Estimates and
Migration Processing Branch,
Population Division, 301–763–2461 or
POP.challenge@census.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Census Bureau typically releases
annual population estimates, in
accordance with Title 13 of the United
States Code (U.S.C.). These estimates are
typically based to some extent upon the
most recent Decennial Census of
Population and Housing and compiled
from the most current administrative
and survey data available for that
purpose. Although not required by any
statute, the Census Bureau also typically
offers an opportunity for local units of
general-purpose government
(hereinafter collectively ‘‘governmental
unit’’) to challenge these official
estimates through its Population
E:\FR\FM\22NOP1.SGM
22NOP1
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS
71270
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 224 / Tuesday, November 22, 2022 / Proposed Rules
Estimates Challenge Program. Under
this program, a governmental unit may
challenge its population estimate by
submitting additional data to the Census
Bureau for evaluation, or by identifying
a technical error in processing input
data or producing the estimates. If the
additional data are accepted during the
review period by the Census Bureau,
resulting in an updated population
estimate, the Census Bureau will
provide a written notification to the
governmental unit and publish the
revised estimate at www.census.gov. If
the additional data are not accepted for
a revised estimate, the Census Bureau
will notify the governmental unit. In the
challenge process, the Census Bureau
will only accept a challenge when the
evidence provided indicates the use of
incorrect data, processes, or calculations
in the estimates.
In this proposed rule, the Census
Bureau is proposing to amend its
regulations to: (1) update references to
the input data used to produce the
official population estimates, and (2)
revise the evidence required to support
a challenge.
The Census Bureau is also soliciting
comments from the public about any
ways in which the program might be
improved. In particular, the Census
Bureau welcomes comments about (1)
the methodology used in preparing the
annual Population Estimates, (2) the
sources of data that the agency
considers (or does not consider) in
preparing the annual Population
Estimates, and (3) what sorts of factual
or methodological arguments the agency
considers (or does not consider) in
evaluating a potential challenge.
Currently, the Census Bureau begins
the process of preparing population
estimates by updating population
information from the most recent
decennial census and other sources with
information found in the annual
administrative records of Federal and
State Agencies. The Federal Agencies
provide tax records, Medicare records,
and some vital records and group
quarters information. The State
Agencies from the Federal-State
Cooperative for Population Estimates
(FSCPE), designated by their respective
governors to work in cooperation with
the Census Bureau’s Population
Estimates Program to produce
population estimates, also supply vital
statistics and information about group
quarters like college dorms or prisons.1
The Census Bureau combines census
base data, administrative records, and
selected survey data to produce current
1 https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/
popest/about/fscpe.html.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:15 Nov 21, 2022
Jkt 259001
population estimates that usually begin
with the last decennial census.
Additionally, the Census Bureau’s
general-purpose governmental units’
population estimates are provided to the
FSCPE agencies in preliminary form for
review and comment to resolve data
processing issues identified during that
period. For the purposes of this
program, the District of Columbia is
treated as a statistical equivalent of a
county and, therefore, eligible to
participate.
A major priority for the Census
Bureau is balancing the need to use the
2020 Census counts at the lowest level
of estimates geography as the starting
point in estimates production with the
statutory obligation to protect the
respondents’ confidentiality at every
stage of the data lifecycle. Since the
1990 Census, the Bureau has added
‘‘noise’’—or variations from the actual
count—to the collected data to ensure
privacy and confidentiality. For 2020
Census data, the Census Bureau applied
noise using a newer disclosure
avoidance framework based on
‘‘differential privacy’’.2 The Census
Bureau uses a housing unit method to
distribute a county population to places
within its legal boundaries. The
components in this method include
housing units estimates, average
household population per housing unit,
and an estimate of the population in
group quarters. The estimation formula
was simplified to increase the accuracy
of the estimates following the
application of differential privacy as per
the Census Bureau’s new disclosure
avoidance framework: to minimize the
impact of differential privacy on the
population estimates, the Census
Bureau reduced the number of
components requiring privacy
protection used to generate population
estimates. Consequently, the occupancy
rate and Persons Per Household (PPH)
previously used in this method were
replaced with the average household
population per housing unit. The
household population and the group
quarters population used in the
calculation of the estimate are the only
two components subject to differential
privacy protection compared to three
components—occupancy rate, PPH, and
group quarters population—that would
have otherwise required privacy
protection. Therefore, the PPH and
occupancy rate components are no
longer inputs used to produce those
population estimates. The distributive
housing unit equation used to calculate
2 For more information about the differential
privacy technique, visit Understanding Differential
Privacy (census.gov).
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
the population estimates for
governmental units is simplified to
accommodate the application of the
disclosure avoidance technique prior to
releasing the estimates. As a result, the
Census Bureau is proposing to amend
15 CFR part 90 to revise: (1) references
to the input data used to produce the
official population estimates, (2) where
to file a challenge and (3) the evidence
required to support a challenge. These
changes are captured in the proposed
updates to §§ 90.2, 90.7, and 90.8.
The Census Bureau proposes no
technical changes to its regulations
except in the following sections:
Sections 90.2 and 90.7—to ensure that
the regulatory text more accurately
describes how the Population Estimates
Challenge Program has always
functioned and is expected to function
in the future. This proposed
clarification does not reflect any
operational changes.
Section 90.8—to update the
challengeable components of change.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA),
as amended by the Small Business
Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of
1996 (SBREFA), 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.,
generally requires an agency to prepare
a regulatory flexibility analysis of any
rule subject to the notice and comment
rulemaking requirements under the
Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C.
553) or any other statute, unless the
agency certifies that the rule will not
have a significant economic impact on
a substantial number of small entities.
Under section 605(b) of the RFA,
however, if the head of an agency
certifies that a rule will not have a
significant impact on a substantial
number of small entities, the statute
does not require the agency to prepare
a regulatory flexibility analysis.
Pursuant to section 605(b), the Chief
Counsel for Regulation, Department of
Commerce, submitted a memorandum
to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy,
Small Business Administration,
certifying that this proposed rule will
not have a significant impact on a
substantial number of small entities.
Number of Small Entities
This proposed rule, if implemented,
would impact only governmental units,
some of which may be considered a
small entity under the RFA. The RFA
defines ‘‘small entity’’ as a small
business, small organization, or small
governmental jurisdiction. Specifically,
the RFA defines ‘‘small governmental
jurisdiction’’ as the government of a
city, county, town, school district, or
special district with a population of less
E:\FR\FM\22NOP1.SGM
22NOP1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 224 / Tuesday, November 22, 2022 / Proposed Rules
than 50,000. Using this criterion, the
Census Bureau estimates that around
37,000 small governmental jurisdictions
would be impacted by this rulemaking.
Economic Impact
The Census Bureau does not
anticipate any economic impact as a
result of this proposed rule. This
rulemaking intends to resume the
implementation of the Population
Estimates Challenge Program in 2023 to
provide eligible entities the opportunity
to file a challenge to population
estimates for 2021 and subsequent years
in forthcoming estimates series,
beginning with the Vintage 2022 series
that is scheduled to be published in
2023. There are no direct costs imposed
on governmental entities (units) that
wish to initiate a challenge under the
Population Estimates Challenge
Program.
Executive Orders
This rulemaking has been determined
to be not significant for purposes of
Executive Order 12866. This proposed
rule does not contain policies with
federalism implications as that term is
defined in Executive Order 13132.
Paperwork Reduction Act
This notice of proposed rulemaking
does not contain a collection of
information subject to the requirements
of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA),
44 U.S.C., Chapter 35. Notwithstanding
any other provision of the law, no
person is required to respond to, nor
shall any person be subject to a penalty
for failure to comply with, a collection
of information subject to the
requirements of the PRA, unless that
collection of information displays a
currently valid Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) Control Number.
Robert L. Santos, Director, Census
Bureau, approved the publication of this
notification in the Federal Register.
List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 90
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS
Administrative practice and
procedure, Census data, Population
census, Statistics.
For the reasons set forth in the
preamble, Census Bureau proposes to
amend 15 CFR part 90 as follows:
PART 90—PROCEDURE FOR
CHALLENGING POPULATION
ESTIMATES
1. The authority citation for part 90
continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 13 U.S.C. 4 and 181.
■
2. Revise § 90.2 to read as follows:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:15 Nov 21, 2022
Jkt 259001
§ 90.2
Policy of the Census Bureau.
It is the policy of the Census Bureau
to provide the most accurate population
estimates possible given the constraints
of resources and available statistical
techniques. It is also the policy of the
Census Bureau, to the extent feasible, to
provide governmental units the
opportunity to seek a review of and
provide additional data for these
estimates and to present evidence
relating to the accuracy of the estimates.
■ 3. Revise § 90.7 to read as follows:
§ 90.7
Where to file a challenge.
A request for a population estimate
challenge must be prepared in writing
by the governmental unit and filed with
the Chief, Population Division, Census
Bureau by sending the request via email
to POP.challenge@census.gov. The
governmental unit must designate a
contact person who can be reached by
telephone or email during normal
business hours should questions arise
with regard to the submitted materials.
■ 4. Amend § 90.8 by revising
paragraphs (a), (c), and (d) to read as
follows:
§ 90.8
Frm 00008
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
used to produce those population
estimates and are not eligible to be
challenged. The Census Bureau will
consider a challenge based on data
related to changes in an area’s housing
stock, such as data on demolitions,
condemned units, uninhabitable units,
building permits, or mobile home
placements or other housing inventorybased data deemed comparable by the
Census Bureau. The Census Bureau will
also consider a challenge based on
additional information about the group
quarters population in a locality.
(d) The Census Bureau will also
provide a guide on its website as a
reference for governmental units to use
in developing their data as evidence to
support a challenge to the population
estimate. In addition, a governmental
unit may address any additional
questions by contacting the Census
Bureau at 301–763–2461 or by sending
emails to POP.challenge@census.gov.
Dated: November 17, 2022.
Shannon Wink,
Program Analyst, Policy Coordination Office,
U.S. Census Bureau.
[FR Doc. 2022–25415 Filed 11–21–22; 8:45 am]
Evidence required.
(a) The governmental unit shall
provide whatever evidence it has
relevant to the request at the time of
filing. The Census Bureau may request
further evidence when necessary. The
evidence submitted must be consistent
with the criteria, standards, and regular
processes the Census Bureau employs to
generate the population estimate. The
Census Bureau challenge process cannot
accept estimates developed from
methods different from those used by
the Census Bureau. The Census Bureau
will only accept a challenge when the
evidence provided indicates the use of
incorrect data, processes, or calculations
in the estimates.
*
*
*
*
*
(c) For minor civil divisions and
incorporated places, the Census Bureau
uses a housing unit method to distribute
a county population to places within its
legal boundaries. The components in
this method include housing units
estimates, average household
population per housing unit, and an
estimate of the population in group
quarters. The estimation formula was
simplified to increase the accuracy of
the estimates following the application
of differential privacy as per the Census
Bureau’s new disclosure avoidance
framework. As a result, the persons per
household (PPH) and occupancy rate
components were replaced with the
average household population per
housing unit. Consequently, the PPH
and occupancy rate are no longer inputs
PO 00000
71271
BILLING CODE 3510–07–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Internal Revenue Service
26 CFR Part 1
[REG–112096–22]
RIN 1545–BQ46
Guidance Related to the Foreign Tax
Credit
Internal Revenue Service (IRS),
Treasury.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
AGENCY:
This document contains
proposed regulations relating to the
foreign tax credit, including guidance
with respect to the reattribution asset
rule for purposes of allocating and
apportioning foreign taxes, the cost
recovery requirement, and the
attribution rule for withholding tax on
royalty payments.
DATES: Written or electronic comments
and requests for a public hearing must
be received by January 23, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Commenters are strongly
encouraged to submit public comments
electronically. Submit electronic
submissions via the Federal
eRulemaking Portal at
www.regulations.gov (indicate IRS and
REG–112096–22) by following the
online instructions for submitting
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\22NOP1.SGM
22NOP1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 224 (Tuesday, November 22, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 71269-71271]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-25415]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Census Bureau
15 CFR Part 90
[Docket Number: 221116-0243]
RIN 0607-AA60
Resumption of the Population Estimates Challenge Program and
Proposed Changes to the Program
AGENCY: Census Bureau, Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking and request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Bureau of the Census (Census Bureau) is proposing to amend
the regulations for the Population Estimates Challenge Program which
provides eligible general-purpose governmental entities (units) with
the opportunity to file requests for the review of their population
estimates for 2021 and subsequent years in forthcoming estimates
series, beginning with the Vintage 2022 series that is scheduled to be
published in 2023. Under this program, a governmental unit may file a
challenge to its official population estimate by submitting additional
data to the Census Bureau for evaluation, or by identifying a technical
error in processing input data or producing the estimates.
Specifically, the Census Bureau is proposing to amend its regulations
to: update references to the input data used to produce the official
population estimates and revise the evidence required to support a
challenge.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before December 22,
2022.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments by
email to census.gov">[email protected]census.gov. You also may submit comments,
identified by RIN number 0607-AA60, to the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal:
https://www.regulations.gov. All comments received are a part of the
public record. Comments will be posted to https://www.regulations.gov
for public viewing on a rolling basis. Comments generally will be
posted without change. All Personal Identifying Information (for
example, name, address) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be
publicly accessible. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or
otherwise sensitive or protected information. The Census Bureau will
accept anonymous comments (enter N/A in the required fields, if you
wish to remain anonymous). You may submit attachments to electronic
comments in Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats only.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information
should be directed to Amel Toukabri, Chief, Local Government Estimates
and Migration Processing Branch, Population Division, 301-763-2461 or
census.gov">[email protected]census.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Census Bureau typically releases annual population estimates,
in accordance with Title 13 of the United States Code (U.S.C.). These
estimates are typically based to some extent upon the most recent
Decennial Census of Population and Housing and compiled from the most
current administrative and survey data available for that purpose.
Although not required by any statute, the Census Bureau also typically
offers an opportunity for local units of general-purpose government
(hereinafter collectively ``governmental unit'') to challenge these
official estimates through its Population
[[Page 71270]]
Estimates Challenge Program. Under this program, a governmental unit
may challenge its population estimate by submitting additional data to
the Census Bureau for evaluation, or by identifying a technical error
in processing input data or producing the estimates. If the additional
data are accepted during the review period by the Census Bureau,
resulting in an updated population estimate, the Census Bureau will
provide a written notification to the governmental unit and publish the
revised estimate at www.census.gov. If the additional data are not
accepted for a revised estimate, the Census Bureau will notify the
governmental unit. In the challenge process, the Census Bureau will
only accept a challenge when the evidence provided indicates the use of
incorrect data, processes, or calculations in the estimates.
In this proposed rule, the Census Bureau is proposing to amend its
regulations to: (1) update references to the input data used to produce
the official population estimates, and (2) revise the evidence required
to support a challenge.
The Census Bureau is also soliciting comments from the public about
any ways in which the program might be improved. In particular, the
Census Bureau welcomes comments about (1) the methodology used in
preparing the annual Population Estimates, (2) the sources of data that
the agency considers (or does not consider) in preparing the annual
Population Estimates, and (3) what sorts of factual or methodological
arguments the agency considers (or does not consider) in evaluating a
potential challenge.
Currently, the Census Bureau begins the process of preparing
population estimates by updating population information from the most
recent decennial census and other sources with information found in the
annual administrative records of Federal and State Agencies. The
Federal Agencies provide tax records, Medicare records, and some vital
records and group quarters information. The State Agencies from the
Federal-State Cooperative for Population Estimates (FSCPE), designated
by their respective governors to work in cooperation with the Census
Bureau's Population Estimates Program to produce population estimates,
also supply vital statistics and information about group quarters like
college dorms or prisons.\1\ The Census Bureau combines census base
data, administrative records, and selected survey data to produce
current population estimates that usually begin with the last decennial
census. Additionally, the Census Bureau's general-purpose governmental
units' population estimates are provided to the FSCPE agencies in
preliminary form for review and comment to resolve data processing
issues identified during that period. For the purposes of this program,
the District of Columbia is treated as a statistical equivalent of a
county and, therefore, eligible to participate.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/about/fscpe.html.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A major priority for the Census Bureau is balancing the need to use
the 2020 Census counts at the lowest level of estimates geography as
the starting point in estimates production with the statutory
obligation to protect the respondents' confidentiality at every stage
of the data lifecycle. Since the 1990 Census, the Bureau has added
``noise''--or variations from the actual count--to the collected data
to ensure privacy and confidentiality. For 2020 Census data, the Census
Bureau applied noise using a newer disclosure avoidance framework based
on ``differential privacy''.\2\ The Census Bureau uses a housing unit
method to distribute a county population to places within its legal
boundaries. The components in this method include housing units
estimates, average household population per housing unit, and an
estimate of the population in group quarters. The estimation formula
was simplified to increase the accuracy of the estimates following the
application of differential privacy as per the Census Bureau's new
disclosure avoidance framework: to minimize the impact of differential
privacy on the population estimates, the Census Bureau reduced the
number of components requiring privacy protection used to generate
population estimates. Consequently, the occupancy rate and Persons Per
Household (PPH) previously used in this method were replaced with the
average household population per housing unit. The household population
and the group quarters population used in the calculation of the
estimate are the only two components subject to differential privacy
protection compared to three components--occupancy rate, PPH, and group
quarters population--that would have otherwise required privacy
protection. Therefore, the PPH and occupancy rate components are no
longer inputs used to produce those population estimates. The
distributive housing unit equation used to calculate the population
estimates for governmental units is simplified to accommodate the
application of the disclosure avoidance technique prior to releasing
the estimates. As a result, the Census Bureau is proposing to amend 15
CFR part 90 to revise: (1) references to the input data used to produce
the official population estimates, (2) where to file a challenge and
(3) the evidence required to support a challenge. These changes are
captured in the proposed updates to Sec. Sec. 90.2, 90.7, and 90.8.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ For more information about the differential privacy
technique, visit Understanding Differential Privacy (census.gov).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Census Bureau proposes no technical changes to its regulations
except in the following sections:
Sections 90.2 and 90.7--to ensure that the regulatory text more
accurately describes how the Population Estimates Challenge Program has
always functioned and is expected to function in the future. This
proposed clarification does not reflect any operational changes.
Section 90.8--to update the challengeable components of change.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), as amended by the Small
Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA), 5 U.S.C.
601 et seq., generally requires an agency to prepare a regulatory
flexibility analysis of any rule subject to the notice and comment
rulemaking requirements under the Administrative Procedure Act (5
U.S.C. 553) or any other statute, unless the agency certifies that the
rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities. Under section 605(b) of the RFA, however, if
the head of an agency certifies that a rule will not have a significant
impact on a substantial number of small entities, the statute does not
require the agency to prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis.
Pursuant to section 605(b), the Chief Counsel for Regulation,
Department of Commerce, submitted a memorandum to the Chief Counsel for
Advocacy, Small Business Administration, certifying that this proposed
rule will not have a significant impact on a substantial number of
small entities.
Number of Small Entities
This proposed rule, if implemented, would impact only governmental
units, some of which may be considered a small entity under the RFA.
The RFA defines ``small entity'' as a small business, small
organization, or small governmental jurisdiction. Specifically, the RFA
defines ``small governmental jurisdiction'' as the government of a
city, county, town, school district, or special district with a
population of less
[[Page 71271]]
than 50,000. Using this criterion, the Census Bureau estimates that
around 37,000 small governmental jurisdictions would be impacted by
this rulemaking.
Economic Impact
The Census Bureau does not anticipate any economic impact as a
result of this proposed rule. This rulemaking intends to resume the
implementation of the Population Estimates Challenge Program in 2023 to
provide eligible entities the opportunity to file a challenge to
population estimates for 2021 and subsequent years in forthcoming
estimates series, beginning with the Vintage 2022 series that is
scheduled to be published in 2023. There are no direct costs imposed on
governmental entities (units) that wish to initiate a challenge under
the Population Estimates Challenge Program.
Executive Orders
This rulemaking has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of Executive Order 12866. This proposed rule does not contain
policies with federalism implications as that term is defined in
Executive Order 13132.
Paperwork Reduction Act
This notice of proposed rulemaking does not contain a collection of
information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act
(PRA), 44 U.S.C., Chapter 35. Notwithstanding any other provision of
the law, no person is required to respond to, nor shall any person be
subject to a penalty for failure to comply with, a collection of
information subject to the requirements of the PRA, unless that
collection of information displays a currently valid Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) Control Number.
Robert L. Santos, Director, Census Bureau, approved the publication
of this notification in the Federal Register.
List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 90
Administrative practice and procedure, Census data, Population
census, Statistics.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, Census Bureau proposes
to amend 15 CFR part 90 as follows:
PART 90--PROCEDURE FOR CHALLENGING POPULATION ESTIMATES
0
1. The authority citation for part 90 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 13 U.S.C. 4 and 181.
0
2. Revise Sec. 90.2 to read as follows:
Sec. 90.2 Policy of the Census Bureau.
It is the policy of the Census Bureau to provide the most accurate
population estimates possible given the constraints of resources and
available statistical techniques. It is also the policy of the Census
Bureau, to the extent feasible, to provide governmental units the
opportunity to seek a review of and provide additional data for these
estimates and to present evidence relating to the accuracy of the
estimates.
0
3. Revise Sec. 90.7 to read as follows:
Sec. 90.7 Where to file a challenge.
A request for a population estimate challenge must be prepared in
writing by the governmental unit and filed with the Chief, Population
Division, Census Bureau by sending the request via email to
census.gov">[email protected]census.gov. The governmental unit must designate a
contact person who can be reached by telephone or email during normal
business hours should questions arise with regard to the submitted
materials.
0
4. Amend Sec. 90.8 by revising paragraphs (a), (c), and (d) to read as
follows:
Sec. 90.8 Evidence required.
(a) The governmental unit shall provide whatever evidence it has
relevant to the request at the time of filing. The Census Bureau may
request further evidence when necessary. The evidence submitted must be
consistent with the criteria, standards, and regular processes the
Census Bureau employs to generate the population estimate. The Census
Bureau challenge process cannot accept estimates developed from methods
different from those used by the Census Bureau. The Census Bureau will
only accept a challenge when the evidence provided indicates the use of
incorrect data, processes, or calculations in the estimates.
* * * * *
(c) For minor civil divisions and incorporated places, the Census
Bureau uses a housing unit method to distribute a county population to
places within its legal boundaries. The components in this method
include housing units estimates, average household population per
housing unit, and an estimate of the population in group quarters. The
estimation formula was simplified to increase the accuracy of the
estimates following the application of differential privacy as per the
Census Bureau's new disclosure avoidance framework. As a result, the
persons per household (PPH) and occupancy rate components were replaced
with the average household population per housing unit. Consequently,
the PPH and occupancy rate are no longer inputs used to produce those
population estimates and are not eligible to be challenged. The Census
Bureau will consider a challenge based on data related to changes in an
area's housing stock, such as data on demolitions, condemned units,
uninhabitable units, building permits, or mobile home placements or
other housing inventory-based data deemed comparable by the Census
Bureau. The Census Bureau will also consider a challenge based on
additional information about the group quarters population in a
locality.
(d) The Census Bureau will also provide a guide on its website as a
reference for governmental units to use in developing their data as
evidence to support a challenge to the population estimate. In
addition, a governmental unit may address any additional questions by
contacting the Census Bureau at 301-763-2461 or by sending emails to
census.gov">[email protected]census.gov.
Dated: November 17, 2022.
Shannon Wink,
Program Analyst, Policy Coordination Office, U.S. Census Bureau.
[FR Doc. 2022-25415 Filed 11-21-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P
