[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 163 (Wednesday, August 24, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Page 49556]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-16831]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    DOC has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
clearance the following proposal for collection of information under 
the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35).
    Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.
    Title: 2006 Census Test.
    Form Number(s): DD-1, DD-1(E/S), DD-A(RQ), DD-1(E), DD-1(E)SUPP, 
DD-1(E)R, DD-20, D-20(S).
    Agency Approval Number: None.
    Type of Request: New collection.
    Burden: 37,808 hours.
    Number of Respondents: 239,890.
    Avg Hours Per Response: Households and reinterview--10 minutes; 
Persons in Gqs and reinterview--5 minutes.
    Needs and Uses: The U.S. Census Bureau requests authorization from 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to collect data from the 
public as part of the 2006 Census Test. The 2006 Census Test is one of 
a number of tests planned to improve the 2010 Census.
    Census 2000 was an operational and data quality success. However, 
that success was achieved at great operational risk and great expense. 
In response to the lessons learned from Census 2000, and in striving to 
better meet our Nation's ever-expanding needs for social, demographic, 
and geographic information, the U.S. Department of Commerce and the 
Census Bureau have developed a multi-year effort to completely 
modernize and re-engineer the 2010 Census of Population and Housing.
    In order to meet our constitutional and legislative mandates, we 
must implement a re-engineered 2010 Census that is cost-effective, 
improves coverage, and reduces operational risk. Achieving this 
strategic goal requires an iterative series of tests that will provide 
an opportunity to evaluate new or improved question wording, 
methodology, technology, and questionnaire design. The 2006 Census Test 
is part of this testing cycle, which has been planned to allow us to 
finalize methodologies and operational procedures in time to conduct a 
Dress Rehearsal in 2008 and a successful census in 2010.
    The 2006 Census Test draws heavily on the results of the 2004 
Census Test, a site test that we conducted to examine the feasibility 
of collecting personal information during Non Response Followup (NRFU) 
using Hand Held Computers (HHCs). The 2004 Census Test was the first 
large-scale test of a HHC in census-like conditions. The 2004 Census 
Test also studied new methods to improve coverage, including procedures 
for reducing duplication, and tested respondent reaction to revised 
race and Hispanic origin questions, examples, and instructions.
    The 2006 Census Test is a site test that includes a replacement 
questionnaire (in the mailout/mailback site), a NRFU component, an 
enumeration of group quarters (GQs), and an update/enumerate operation 
that includes activities planned to increase response rates on an 
American Indian Reservation. Like the other tests leading up to the 
2010 Census, this test is designed to evaluate new methods and systems 
intended to improve accuracy, reduce risks, and/or contain costs. In 
conjunction with the results of cognitive tests, focus groups, the 2003 
National Census Test, the 2004 Census Test, and the 2005 National 
Census Test, the 2006 Census Test will help us develop the optimal data 
collection methodology for the 2010 Census.
    There are two test sites for the 2006 Census Test--selected census 
tracts in Travis County, Texas, and the Cheyenne River American Indian 
Reservation and Off-Reservation Trust Land in South Dakota.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit; Not-for-profit institutions; State, local, or Tribal 
government.
    Frequency: One time.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Title 13, U.S.C., Sections 141 and 193.
    OMB Desk Officer: Susan Schechter, (202) 395-5103.
    Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained 
by calling or writing Diana Hynek, Departmental Paperwork Clearance 
Officer, (202) 482-0266, Department of Commerce, room 6625, 14th and 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at 
[email protected]).
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to Susan Schechter, OMB Desk Officer either by fax (202-395-7245) or e-
mail ([email protected]).

    Dated: August 19, 2005.
Madeleine Clayton,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 05-16831 Filed 8-23-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P