[Federal Register: May 3, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 84)] [Notices] [Page 23594-23595] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr03my99-22] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Bureau of the Census 1999--2001 Company Organization Survey; Proposed Collection; Comment Request SUMMARY: 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, Pub. L. 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before July 2, 1999. ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Linda Engelmeier, Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 5033, 14th and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or copies of the information collection instrument and instructions should be directed to Paul Hanczaryk, Bureau of the Census, Room 2747, Federal Building 3, Washington, DC 20233-6100; telephone (301) 457-2580. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Abstract The Census Bureau conducts the annual Company Organization Survey (COS) in order to update and maintain a central, multipurpose business register, known as the Standard Statistical Establishment List (SSEL). In particular, the COS supplies critical information to the SSEL concerning the establishment composition, organizational structure, and operating [[Page 23595]] characteristics of multi-establishment companies. The SSEL serves two fundamental purposes: First and most important, it provides sampling populations and enumeration lists for the Census Bureau's economic surveys and censuses, and it serves as an integral part of the statistical foundation underlying those programs. Essential for this purpose is the SSEL's ability to identify all known United States business establishments and their parent companies. Further, the SSEL must accurately record basic business attributes needed to control sampling and enumeration. These attributes include industrial and geographic classifications, measures of size and economic activity, ownership characteristics, and contact information (for example, name and address). Second, it provides establishment data that serve as the basis for the annual County Business Patterns (CBP) statistical series. The CBP reports present data on a number of establishments, first quarter payroll, annual payroll, and mid-March employment summarized by industry and employment size class for the United States, states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, counties, and county-equivalents. No other annual or more frequent series of industry statistics provides comparable detail, particularly for small geographic areas. II. Method of Collection The Census Bureau will conduct the 1999-2001 COS in the same manner as the 1998 COS. These collections will direct inquiries to approximately 80,000 multi-establishment companies, which operate over 1.1 million establishments. This panel will be drawn from the SSEL universe of nearly 200,000 multi-establishment companies, which operate 1.6 million establishments. Additionally, the panel will include approximately 10,000 new single-establishment companies that will become active during 1999. The mailing list for the 1999 COS will include a certainty component, consisting of all multi-establishment companies with 50 or more employees, and those multi-establishment companies with administrative record values that indicate organizational changes. The mailing list also will include new entities that are most likely to report affiliation with multi-establishment companies. A non-certainty component will be drawn from the remaining multi-establishment companies based on employment size. All companies will receive the COS inquiries by mail, and most will respond by mail. As a test of new electronic reporting methods, a very small number of companies will receive and return responses by secure Internet transmission. Additionally, more than 1,300 larger enterprises (accounting for approximately 36 percent of covered establishments) will return their COS reports by other electronic means. All other survey respondents will return a paper questionnaire. Data content is identical for all reporting modes. The instrument will include inquiries on ownership or control by a domestic parent, ownership or control by a foreign parent, and ownership of foreign affiliates. Further, the instrument will list an inventory of establishments belonging to the company and its subsidiaries, and will request updates to these inventories, including additions, deletions, and changes to information on EIN, name and address, industrial classifications, payroll, end-of-year operating status, mid-March employment, first quarter payroll, and annual payroll. Additionally, the Census Bureau will pilot certain questions in the 1999--2001 COS in order to enhance future content. We will include questions on the number of leased employees working in the multi- establishment company, questions designed to improve the accuracy of establishment-level industrial classification codes, and questions on the inventory of Federal employer identification numbers belonging to the company. These additional questions will be directed to less than 500 companies. III. Data OMB Number: 0607-0444. Form Number: NC-9901. Type of Review: Regular submission. Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit, not-for-profit institutions. Estimated Number of Respondents: 90,000 enterprises. Estimated Time Per Response: 1.55 hours. Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 140,000. Estimated Total Annual Cost: $2,100,000 @ $15/hr. Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory. Legal Authority: Title 13 of United States Code, Sections 182, 195, 224, and 225. IV. Request for Comments Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden (including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information collection; they also will become a matter of public record. Dated: April 27, 1999. Linda Engelmeier, Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer. [FR Doc. 99-10936 Filed 4-30-99; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510-07-P