Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Generic Clearance for Emergency Economic Information Collections, 63915-63916 [2024-17290]

Agencies

• Census Bureau
• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 151 (Tuesday, August 6, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63915-63916]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-17290]


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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; Generic Clearance for Emergency Economic Information 
Collections

    The Department of Commerce will submit the following information 
collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. We invite 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. Public comments were previously requested via the 
Federal Register on May 29, 2024 during a 60-day comment period. This 
notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.
    Agency: U.S. Census Bureau, Commerce.
    Title: Generic Clearance for Emergency Economic Information 
Collections.
    OMB Control Number: 0607-1019.
    Form Number(s): Various.
    Type of Request: Regular submission, Request for an Extension, 
without Change, of a Currently Approved Collection.
    Number of Respondents: 300,000.
    Average Hours Per Response: 10 minutes.
    Burden Hours: 50,000.
    Needs and Uses: The U.S. Census Bureau plans to request a 3-year 
extension of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for the 
Generic Clearance for Emergency Economic Information Collections 
(EEIC). The EEIC provides the quick turn-around necessary for 
conducting emergency economic information collections in response to 
unanticipated international, national, or regional declared emergencies 
or events of national interest arising as a direct result of declared 
emergencies having a significant economic impact on U.S. businesses 
and/or state or local governments. The purpose of the collections is to 
gauge and monitor the economic impact of such events on U.S. businesses 
or organizations and state or local governments.
    Emergencies, once declared by the authorized state or federal 
official or entity, that could trigger the need for an EEIC may have 
global, national, or regional impact on U.S. businesses and 
governments, and include the following examples:

--Pandemic or other health emergency
--Natural or manmade disaster
--Acts of war or terrorism
--Civil unrest or insurrection

    Other events of national interest arising as a direct result of 
declared emergencies may also have a significant impact on U.S. 
businesses or governments. General categories of national interest 
events arising as a direct result of declared emergencies which could 
trigger the need for an EEIC are:
--Economic crises
--Financial crises
--International geo-political instabilities
--Resource shortages
--Cyberterrorism
--New legislation passed as a direct result of a declared emergency

    EEIC questions may be included as supplemental questions on 
existing Census Bureau surveys or conducted as new special-purpose 
surveys. The data will be collected by paper or electronic instruments, 
depending on the survey or program.
    EEIC questions will be chosen from a pretested Question Bank. For 
some subjects, the Question Bank includes specific questionnaire 
content. In other cases, the Question Bank includes topics which will 
then be addressed with questions designed to meet data needs that arise 
during a future unknown event. Some questions have been cognitively 
tested and should be considered final; some may require testing for 
final wording. Questions that may require testing and refinement are 
annotated in the Question Bank. As the Question Bank matures with new 
or revised content, the Census Bureau will resubmit the bank for 
review.
    Prior to adding EEIC questions to any survey, the Census Bureau 
will consult with OMB and submit a request for approval, allowing 
between 3 and 10 business days for OMB action. Over the existing period 
of clearance, the EEIC Generic Clearance was used to clear supplemental 
questions which were added to existing surveys, responsive to

[[Page 63916]]

both recession conditions resulting from the COVID 19 Pandemic and 
various severe weather events which occurred in 2022.
    As data collections will be tailored to the emergency, users of the 
data may vary, but may include: federal, state, or local officials 
charged with decision- making during the emergency; business leaders 
and policymakers wishing to develop plans to ameliorate the effects of 
the emergency; academics and members of the press wishing to study and 
disseminate information about the emergency; and the public. The data 
collected will help us understand how and why data we collect in our 
ongoing surveys may be affected by the emergency, as well as allow us 
to disseminate data as part of existing releases, new releases, or 
experimental releases.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C., Sections 131, 161 and 182.
    This information collection request may be viewed at 
www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view the Department of 
Commerce collections currently under review by OMB.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of 
this notice on the following website www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. 
Find this particular information collection by selecting ``Currently 
under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search 
function and entering either the title of the collection or the OMB 
Control Number 0607-1019.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for 
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2024-17290 Filed 8-5-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P