Census Bureau – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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 conducting the Annual Retail Trade Survey (ARTS). The Census Bureau has determined to collect data covering annual sales, e-commerce sales, percent of e- commerce sales to customers located outside the United States, year-end inventories, total operating expenses, purchases, accounts receivables, and for select industries, merchandise line sales and percent of sales by class of customer. The ARTS was not conducted in 2007 because these data were collected by the 2007 Economic Censusa detailed portrait of the Nation's economy conducted once every five years, from the national to the local level.

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 providing notification of final criteria and guidelines for American Indian Areas (AIAs) 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. AIAs are geographic entities within the United States defined for the collection, tabulation, and presentation of decennial census data for federally and/or state-recognized American Indian tribes. AIAs will be used to collect, tabulate, and present data for the 2010 Census, period estimates from the American Community Survey (ACS), and potentially other Census Bureau statistical data. More specifically, for the 2010 Census, AIAs consist of the following types of geographic entities: American Indian reservations (AIRs). Off-reservation trust lands (ORTLs). Oklahoma tribal statistical areas (OTSAs). Tribal-designated statistical areas (TDSAs). State-designated tribal statistical areas (SDTSAs). Tribal census tracts (tribal tracts). Tribal block groups. Tribal subdivisions on AIRs, ORTLs, and OTSAs. Census designated places (CDPs) on AIRs, ORTLs, and OTSAs. The geographic entities listed above include both legal and statistical geographic entities (see ``Definitions of Key Terms'' section). The Census Bureau is not proposing any new types of AIAs for the 2010 Census. In these final criteria, the Census Bureau announces the following changes for the 2010 Census: Change the term ``State-Designated American Indian Statistical Areas'' (SDAISAs) to ``State-Designated Tribal Statistical Areas'' or SDTSAs. Clarify the definition and purpose of OTSAs. In addition, because all former AIRs in Oklahoma were delineated as OTSAs for Census 2000, the Census Bureau is providing notification that no new OTSAs may be delineated for the 2010 Census, and to the extent possible, OTSA boundaries for the 2010 Census should be consistent with those defined for Census 2000. The Census Bureau also seeks to avoid defining joint use area OTSAs for the 2010 Census. Clarify the definition, purpose, and the criteria and guidelines for TDSAs and SDTSAs. Identify tribal tracts and tribal block groups as separate statistical geographic entities distinct from, and in addition to, ``standard'' county-based census tracts and block groups. The Census Bureau has three geographic partnership programs through which it collects updates to the inventory, boundaries, and attributes of AIAs for the 2010 Census: The annual Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS), the State Reservation Program, and the Tribal Statistical Areas Program (TSAP). Both the BAS and the State Reservation Program provide the process for reviewing and updating those AIAs that are legal geographic entities: AIRs and ORTLs under the governmental authority of federally recognized American Indian tribes, tribal subdivisions within these federally recognized AIRs and ORTLs, and AIRs for state- recognized American Indian tribes. The TSAP provides the process for reviewing and updating those AIAs that are statistical geographic entities: OTSAs, tribal subdivisions within OTSAs, TDSAs, SDTSAs, tribal tracts, tribal block groups, and CDPs. Each of these programs is discussed in more detail within the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this Federal Register Notice. This Notice announces the Census Bureau's final criteria and guidelines for AIAs for the 2010 Census. In addition, this Notice contains a summary of comments received in response to the April 1, 2008, Federal Register (73 FR 17303), as well as the Census Bureau's responses to these comments. The Census Bureau has considered all comments received regarding the new criteria and guidelines and will enact the proposed criteria and guidelines, unaltered from those presented in the Federal Register (73 FR 17303). For information regarding similar programs for Alaska Native Areas (ANAs), please refer to the Federal Register Notice titled ``Alaska Native Areas (ANAs) for the 2010 CensusFinal Criteria and Guidelines''.

The Bureau of the Census (Census Bureau) is providing notification of final 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 statistical data. ANAs consist of two types of unique geographic entities: Alaska Native Regional Corporations (ANRCs) and Alaska Native village statistical areas (ANVSAs)\1\. The Census Bureau has not changed the process for naming and delineating boundaries of ANRCs from that used in Census 2000. The Census Bureau announces revisions to the criteria and guidelines for eligibility, location, delineation, and naming of ANVSAs to ensure more consistent and comparable ANSVAs and more meaningful, relevant, and reliable statistical data for Alaska Natives and their ANAs.\2\ This Notice also contains definitions of key terms used in the ANVSA criteria and guidelines for the 2010 Census.

The Bureau of the Census (Census Bureau) is requesting nominations of individuals to the Census Advisory Committee (CAC) on the Asian Population. The Census Bureau will consider nominations received in response to this notice, as well as from other sources. The SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice provides Committee and membership criteria.

In preparation for the 2010 Census, the Bureau of the Census (Census Bureau) adopts the following American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) policy statement. This final policy outlines the principles to be followed in all Census Bureau interactions with federally recognized AIAN tribal governments. The policy affirms the unique government-to- government relationship that exists between AIAN tribal governments and the Census Bureau and is consistent with the AIAN policy statement adopted by the Department of Commerce (DOC) on March 30, 1995. The adoption of this policy satisfies a long-standing request from AIAN populations, and the Census Bureau believes it will encourage and facilitate greater cooperation from these populations during decennial censuses and help us to better communicate with and enumerate this difficult-to-count population. This Notice also summarizes comments received on the draft AIAN policy statement published in the Federal Register on May 23, 2007 (72 FR 28952) and the Census Bureau's response to these comments. The policy statement adopted in this Notice differs from the proposed policy statement as follows: (a) The Introduction section was modified in response to comments received; (b) the definition of Federally Recognized Indian Tribe was modified in response to comments; (c) the definition of trust responsibility was deleted after agency review; (d) the definition of American Indian or Alaska Native Tribal Government was modified after agency review; (e) proposed Policy Principle No. 2 is renumbered as Policy Principle No. 4; (f) proposed Policy Principle No. 3 is renumbered as Policy Principle No. 5; (g) proposed Policy Principle No. 4 was modified in response to comments and is renumbered as Policy Principle No. 2; (h) proposed Policy Principle No. 5 is renumbered as Policy Principle No. 6; (i) proposed Policy Principle No. 6 was modified in response to comments and is renumbered as Policy Principle No. 7; (j) proposed Policy Principle No. 7 is renumbered as Policy Principle No. 8; (k) proposed Policy Principle No. 8 is renumbered as Policy Principle No. 9; and (l) proposed Policy Principle No. 9 was modified in response to comments and is renumbered as Policy Principle No. 3.

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 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 (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 also will discuss several economic initiatives, 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 amending its regulations to establish cutoff dates for the recognition of boundary changes for the 2010 Census. This amendment is necessary, as the existing cutoff dates are out of date. Upon effectiveness of this rule, the Census Bureau will recognize only those boundaries legally in effect on January 1, 2010, that have been reported officially to the Census Bureau no later than March 1, 2010.

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 U.S. Census Bureau (Census Bureau) issues this final rule to amend its regulations to implement provisions in the Foreign Relations Authorization Act. Specifically, the Census Bureau is requiring mandatory filing of export information through the Automated Export System (AES) or through AESDirect for all shipments where a Shipper's Export Declaration (SED) is required.

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 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 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 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 (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.

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 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)).