The U.S. Census Bureau seeks public comment on revisions to the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll and the Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances by October 19, 2026.
“The Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll collects state and local government data by function for full-time and part-time employees and payroll. … The Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances collects state and local government finance data including government revenue, expenditure, debt, and details on pension systems. Data are collected for all agencies, departments, and institutions of the 50 state governments and for a sample of all local governments (counties, municipalities, townships, and special districts).”
“For Local Government Finances (F-28), the Census Bureau plans to add the collection of selected criminal justice intergovernmental expenditure details previously dropped to support the needs of the Bureau of Justice Statistics. In addition, a question to clarify payments made to retirement systems that the government is unable to classify will be added to remove classification issues in the financial admin and miscellaneous expenditure functions.”
“For Public Pensions (F-11), the Census Bureau plans to restructure the instrument to streamline collection and reduce respondent burden. The Census Bureau will combine several items including government contributions (into two items; own contributions and other government contributions), interest and dividends (into one item), state and local active membership (into one item), and state and local employee contributions (into one item). These revised questions will better align with Annual Comprehensive Financial Report structure, making collection easier for smaller pension system while affecting overall public estimates minimally. The Census Bureau will also drop sixteen actuarial data items only published in individual unit files, keeping fiduciary net position, actuarially determined contributions, discount rate, total pension liability, and net pension liability.”
“These changes will help to provide key data users with the data they need and modernize the survey’s content to maintain the relevancy and sustainability of these data. Cognitive testing shows the addition and removal of the forementioned content did not negatively impact overall response.”
- Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; State and Local Government Finance Collections, and Public Employment & Payroll Collections https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/08/18/2026-16791/agency-information-collection-activities-submission-to-the-office-of-management-and-budget-omb-for
