Census Bureau March 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Bureau of the Census (U.S. Census Bureau) is giving notice of a meeting of the Census Advisory Committee of Professional Associations. The Committee will address policy, research, and technical issues related to 2010 Decennial Census Programs. The Committee will also discuss several economic initiatives and demographic program topics, as well as issues pertaining to 2010 communications. Last-minute changes to the agenda are possible, which could prevent giving advance public notice of schedule adjustments.

The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

The Bureau of the Census (Census Bureau) is requesting comment on proposed criteria and guidelines for Alaska Native Areas (ANAs) for the 2010 Census. Criteria are those rules and conditions that must be met when defining a geographic entity; guidelines are procedures and measures suggested by the Census Bureau to enhance the utility of statistical geographic areas for presentation and analysis of statistical data. ANAs are geographic entities within the State of Alaska defined for the collection, tabulation, and presentation of decennial census data and will be used for the 2010 Census. ANAs also will be used to tabulate and present period estimates from the American Community Survey (ACS) after 2010 and potentially other Census Bureau surveys. ANAs consist of two types of unique geographic entities: Alaska Native Regional Corporations (ANRCs) and Alaska Native village statistical areas (ANVSAs) \1\. At this time, the Census Bureau does not propose any changes to the process for naming and delineating boundaries of ANRCs as used in Census 2000. The Census Bureau proposes to revise the criteria and guidelines for eligibility, location, delineation, and naming of ANVSAs to ensure more consistent and comparable ANVSAs and more meaningful, relevant, and reliable statistical data for Alaska Natives and their ANAs. This Notice also contains definitions of key terms used in the ANVSA criteria and guidelines for the 2010 Census.

Census tracts are relatively permanent small-area geographic divisions of a county or statistically equivalent entity \1\ defined for the tabulation and presentation of data from the decennial census and selected other statistical programs. Census tracts will also be used to tabulate and publish estimates from the American Community Survey (ACS) \2\ after 2010. The primary goal of the census tract program is to provide a set of nationally consistent small, statistical geographic units, with stable boundaries, that facilitate analysis of data across time.

This notice documents the final procedures for the 2010 Decennial Census Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA) program, as well as the comments received on the proposed procedures published in the June 22, 2007, Federal Register notice (72 FR 34434). The Bureau of the Census (Census Bureau) is using the LUCA program to help develop the housing unit and group quarters (e.g., college dormitory, nursing home, correctional facility, etc.) address information that it will need to conduct the 2010 Decennial Census LUCA program. The LUCA program is offered to tribal, state, and local units of general-purpose governments, such as cities and townships, and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico (or their designated representatives), in areas where the Census Bureau performs a precensus address canvassing operation. Participants have three options for reviewing and annotating the 2010 Decennial Census LUCA program materials. A future notice will announce the establishment, outside the Department of Commerce (DOC), of the Census Address List Appeals process that will be established by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the 2010 Census LUCA program. The Census Bureau and the OMB will publish a separate Federal Register notice seeking comments on this Appeals process at a later date.