Legislature(2017 - 2018)BARNES 124
04/26/2017 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE
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ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE LABOR AND COMMERCE STANDING COMMITTEE
April 26, 2017
3:20 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Sam Kito, Chair
Representative Adam Wool, Vice Chair
Representative Andy Josephson
Representative Louise Stutes
Representative Chris Birch
Representative Colleen Sullivan-Leonard
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Gary Knopp
Representative Mike Chenault (alternate)
Representative Bryce Edgmon (alternate)
OTHER MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Paul Seaton
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 229
"An Act relating to a bond or cash deposit required for an oil
or gas business; relating to claims against an oil and gas
business; and providing for an effective date."
- MOVED HB 229 OUT OF COMMITTEE
PRESENTATION: THE ROAD TO CENSUS 2020
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 229
SHORT TITLE: OIL & GAS BUSINESS BOND
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) SEATON
04/14/17 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
04/14/17 (H) L&C
04/24/17 (H) L&C AT 3:15 PM BARNES 124
04/24/17 (H) Heard & Held
04/24/17 (H) MINUTE(L&C)
04/26/17 (H) L&C AT 3:15 PM BARNES 124
WITNESS REGISTER
LINDA AKERS SMITH, Geographer
Los Angeles Regional Office
U.S. Census Bureau
Van Nuys, California
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided a PowerPoint presentation
entitled, "The Road to Census 2020."
ACTION NARRATIVE
3:20:11 PM
CHAIR SAM KITO called the House Labor and Commerce Standing
Committee meeting to order at 3:20 p.m. Representatives Kito,
Sullivan-Leonard, Stutes, Birch, and Josephson were present at
the call to order. Representative Wool arrived as the meeting
was in progress.
HB 229-OIL & GAS BUSINESS BOND
3:20:57 PM
CHAIR KITO announced that the first order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 229, "An Act relating to a bond or cash deposit
required for an oil or gas business; relating to claims against
an oil and gas business; and providing for an effective date."
3:21:50 PM
CHAIR KITO [resumed public testimony from April 24, 2017]. He
closed public testimony after ascertaining that no one wished to
testify.
3:22:00 PM
REPRESENTATIVE WOOL moved to report HB 229 out of committee with
individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes.
There being no objection, HB 229 was reported from the House
Labor and Commerce Standing Committee.
3:22:22 PM
The committee took an at-ease from 3:22 p.m. to 3:25 p.m.
^Presentation
Presentation: The Road to Census 2020
3:25:51 PM
CHAIR KITO announced that the final order of business would be a
PowerPoint presentation entitled, "The Road to Census 2020,"
provided by Ms. Linda Akers Smith.
3:26:10 PM
LINDA AKERS SMITH, Geographer, Los Angeles Regional Office, U.S.
Census Bureau, provided a PowerPoint presentation entitled, "The
Road to Census 2020." Addressing slide 2, "Why We Do a Census,"
she stated that a census is done to apportion the 435 seats of
the U.S. House of Representatives. Turning to the map of U.S.
states on slide 3, "Apportionment, 2010 Official Results," she
explained that once the official results are released the
apportionment occurs - the states depicted in orange on the map
lost seats and those depicted in blue gained seats.
MS. AKERS SMITH moved to slide 4, "Also About Fairness?," and
noted that while the decennial census population count is about
the apportionment to congressional seats of the states, it is
also about fairness. The legislation is the basis of federal
legislation, including the Voting Rights Act, the Civil Rights
Act, and the Fair Housing Act. Continuing to slide 5, "And
About Funding," she said that the decennial count is also the
basis of the distribution of over $400 billion annually to the
states. The Brookings Institution created the table displayed
on slide 5, which shows the ten largest government programs, she
continued. Distribution is directly tied to population data and
this includes the Department of Housing and Urban Development,
the Department of Education, the Department of Transportation,
and other assistance programs.
MS. AKERS SMITH displayed slide 6, "The 2010 Census," and stated
that the net results were very good when compared to prior
censuses. To produce the net results, the U.S. Census Bureau
("the bureau") does a separate independent operation to measure
the outcome and then compares it to the results of the census.
Speaking to the graph on slide 6, she explained that the bars
above the line are the net undercount, as in the case of the
1980 and 1990 censuses. A half percentage over-count occurred
in 2000 and the 2010 census had an over-count of .01 percent.
From a national quality perspective, the 2010 results were very
good, she said, and the bureau wants this to continue.
3:28:37 PM
MS. AKERS SMITH turned to the graph on slide 7, "The Cost of the
Census," and stated that conducting a census is very expensive,
the cost going up exponentially. The bureau has traditionally
done the census using pencil and paper, she said, and as the
U.S. becomes more diverse the costs tend to be going up faster
than inflation and faster than population growth. According to
bureau estimates, she noted, if the census were repeated the
same way as in 2010 the cost would be over $17 billion.
MS. AKERS SMITH moved to slide 8, "Goals for the 2020 Census,"
and said the bureau can't continue its current path. Congress
has challenged the bureau to drive down census costs, she
continued, and therefore the bureau plans to test several
initiatives that are believed will drive down the costs of the
census similar to 2010 adjusted for inflation and yet produce
high quality results.
MS. AKERS SMITH discussed the bureau's work on four areas of
innovation, the first area being efficiency in building an
address list. She said the bureau's address list was updated in
the field in 2010 as part of a large-scale field operation where
the bureau hired over 150,000 people to travel every road using
a handheld device to verify and update the addresses on the
roads. For the 2020 Census, she continued, completeness and
accuracy remain equally as important. The bureau will do a 100
percent review of its address list using new methodologies and a
combination of in-office and in-field review. For the in-office
review, she explained, the bureau uses information from the
postal service, imagery, commercial databases, and files
provided from tribal, state, and local governments. Where
sources are not available or there are areas of rapid change,
the bureau puts people on the ground to update the address list.
3:30:26 PM
MS. AKERS SMITH related that the second innovation is generating
the largest possible self-response, thereby reducing the number
of households requiring follow-up. To motivate people to
respond, the bureau includes a nationwide communications and
partnership campaign, she stated. This campaign is focused on
getting people to respond on their own as it costs significantly
less to process a response over the Internet or through a paper
questionnaire than it does to send a field worker to knock on
the door. The bureau is planning on targeting ads to specific
audiences, she continued, and working with trusted voices to
inspire participation in the census. The bureau is also working
to allow more options to respond from any location at any time
via phone, Internet, or mobile website. This time, she noted, a
person doesn't need a questionnaire to respond - a person seeing
an ad can log on and count him or herself. Also, the bureau
might be at a community event with a table and iPads for people
to write on and send their responses directly to the bureau.
The bureau will continue to make paper questionnaires available
in places such as libraries, post offices, and community
centers, she said.
MS. AKERS SMITH noted that how the U.S. Census Bureau handles
the delivery of questionnaires and the enumeration of Alaskans
varies. In areas where there is an address for delivery to a
house, the bureau uses postal delivery. In areas without postal
delivery to the household, the bureau canvases the area, adds
any houses not on its list, and then knocks on the door and
conducts an interview. In Alaska's remote and sparsely settled
areas, she said, the bureau does something very similar, but
works closely with village leaders and starts its enumeration
activities much earlier.
MS. AKERS SMITH said the third innovation is using information
that the bureau already has to reduce expensive in-person
follow-up. This data will be used to identify vacant
households, determine the best time to visit a household, or
count the people and fill in responses with existing high-
quality data from trusted sources. However, she added, the
bureau still plans to knock on every door, but the reduction in
the number of visits will lead to significant cost savings.
MS. AKERS SMITH spoke to the fourth innovation of re-engineering
field operations. In [2010], she recounted, the bureau's in-
person follow-up was done mostly using pencil and paper. The
bureau relied on in-person meetings with staff and these
processes were significant contributors to cost increases. For
the 2020 Census, however, the bureau plans to use technology to
more efficiently and effectively manage its 2020 Census
fieldwork. The bureau is re-organizing its field structure and
reducing the number of field offices, she explained. The bureau
has an operation-of-control system planned that will assist in
managing the work and enabling more efficient case assignments
and optimizing travel routes, she said; think in the style of
the United Parcel Service (UPS).
3:33:27 PM
MS. AKERS SMITH addressed slide 9, "Three Main Reasons We Miss
People," and explained that the first reason the bureau misses
people is because it doesn't have their address in its address
file. A form cannot be sent to someone for whom the bureau
doesn't have an address and if the bureau gets a response it
cannot match the person to a place on the ground. The second
reason why the bureau misses people is that it doesn't get a
response, she continued. The bureau sends a questionnaire and
knocks on the door, but no one answers. The third reason is
that the bureau gets a partial response, the census self-
response only, so sometimes children and unrelated individuals
don't get counted, or when multiple families live in a
household, even temporarily, they don't get counted.
MS. AKERS SMITH turned to slide 10, "2020 Census Local Update of
Census Addresses (LUCA)," and stated that regarding addresses
missing from the bureau's address list, there is an opportunity
to comment on the bureau's address list through the Local Update
of Census Addresses (LUCA) program. The bureau relies on a
complete and accurate list for each living quarter, she
explained, and if a house is not on the bureau's list then that
housing unit and its associated population will not be visited
or sent a questionnaire.
MS. AKERS SMITH displayed slide 11, "Who Can Participate in
LUCA," and noted that those who can participate in the LUCA
program include states, organized boroughs, incorporated places
such as cities and towns, federally recognized tribes with
reservation or off-reservation trust lands, and Alaska Native
regional associations. When governments lack the resources or
are not eligible to participate, she said, the bureau encourages
coordination with participating higher levels of government.
MS. AKERS SMITH moved to slide 12, "Confidentiality and
Security," and explained that Title 13 of the United States Code
authorizes the U.S. Census Bureau's work and provides strong
protection for the information that it collects. She said the
commitment to maintain confidentiality and security is critical
in gaining, and crucial in retaining, the public's support of
the bureau's work. Participants, she added, must understand
that information provided to and from LUCA falls under Title 13,
which specifically requires that the bureau ensure confidential
treatment of census related information, including individual
addresses and structure coordinates.
3:35:51 PM
MS. AKERS SMITH addressed slide 13, "Preparation Next Steps
(Participant)," and related that the bureau is currently doing
promotional workshops throughout the country via in-person and
webinar. The bureau is encouraging tribal, state, and local
governments to put a line item in their budgets now to ensure
staff and resources are allocated for the address review that
begins in February 2018, she said. The workshop provides step-
by-step guidance on how to prepare for the program and provides
suggestions on how to prioritize if a complete review is not
possible. Drawing attention to the packet she provided the
committee, she said there is a LUCA information guide that
highlights information provided in the workshops. She noted
that the guide, a letter regarding the program, and a request to
identify a contact person for the program, were also sent to the
highest elected officials and governors.
3:37:13 PM
MS. AKERS SMITH spoke to slide 25, "Preparation 2020 LUCA
Schedule." In January 2017, she said, the bureau sent letters
to the highest elected officials and currently the bureau is out
doing its promotional workshops. In July 2017, the bureau will
mail a LUCA invitation that includes registration materials. In
October 2017 the bureau will conduct technical LUCA workshops
via in-person workshops and webinars. December 15, 2017 is the
deadline for LUCA registration, she noted. Between February and
April of 2018, the LUCA materials begin to ship to participants
and upon receipt participants have 120 calendar days to conduct
their review and update the U.S. Census Bureau's address list.
Shortly thereafter, she continued, the bureau begins processing
the LUCA submission and does its address canvassing operation.
Between August and September 2019, the bureau delivers the LUCA
feedback to participants, which is the enumeration list that the
bureau plans on using to conduct the 2020 Census.
MS. AKERS SMITH concluded her presentation by thanking the
committee, the Department of Labor and Workforce Development,
and Liz Brooks who scheduled today's presentation.
3:38:05 PM
REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH offered his understanding of the census as
it relates to allocation of congressional seats. Regarding
illegal aliens and other people in the country who can't vote,
he inquired whether they are counted and therefore contribute to
the reallocation of congressional seats.
MS. AKERS SMITH replied that on census day the bureau counts
everyone, no matter if they are legal or illegal citizens. The
bureau sends them a questionnaire, and citizenship status is not
asked on the short-form questionnaire, she explained. The
short-form questionnaire asks age, race, gender, relationship,
and tenure.
REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH posed a scenario in which half of a state's
population is there illegally. He asked whether the U.S. Census
Bureau has any way to distinguish what that population is and
whether the bureau would reallocate congressional seats based on
that illegal population.
MS. AKERS SMITH responded that the bureau does not collect
information regarding citizenship or illegal status. The bureau
just counts the population and will provide the numbers to the
states for redistricting purposes by March 31, 2021.
3:40:16 PM
REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH posed a scenario in which a state has
several million illegal residents who can't vote. He offered
his understanding that the census doesn't have a mechanism for
discerning whether people are reasonably and fairly a part of a
state's population for reallocating the congressional seats.
MS. AKERS SMITH answered, "Yes, that's true." States create
their own laws regarding redistricting, she continued, so it
would be up to the states to make the determination of how they
would want to do their redistricting. For the census, she
added, the bureau counts everyone once in the right place no
matter his or her citizenship status.
REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH asked what the census questions are and
whether there is a prescription for which questions are
permissible, the level of detail of the questions, and whether
the questions change from one census to the next. He further
asked who comes up with the questions, whether the questions are
invasive, and what the obligation is of a constituent to answer
all the questions.
MS. AKERS SMITH replied that the U.S. Census Bureau does two
things. Every ten years, she explained, the bureau takes a
decennial census that has only five questions. She offered her
belief that in the year 2000 the bureau had two forms, one a
long form that asked many questions and consisted of many pages.
In 2010, she continued, the bureau separated the two and now the
long-form questionnaire that asks social, demographic, and
economic characteristics is done through the bureau's American
Community Survey (ACS). The ACS is done every year and samples
three million people. The decennial census has been streamlined
and asks only the questions necessary to comply with
redistricting and other federal laws.
MS. AKERS SMITH said that in March [2017] the bureau published
recommendations of the questions it will ask for the 2020
Census, which are not going to change, as well as the questions
the bureau plans on asking through its American Community
Survey. This has been sent to Congress, she continued, and she
will provide a copy to the committee. In preparation for
determining what questions will be asked, the bureau works
through the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and OMB works
with all federal agencies to determine what their data needs
are. Once that happens, the bureau aggregates that information
to determine the questions that it needs to ask. A review is
then done every year so that if laws change, the bureau can look
at its questions and determine whether they are necessary to be
asked again. The bureau will finalize the questions in March
2018. She added that the memo she will copy to the committee is
interesting in that it provides every question the bureau asks,
why it is asked, what agency needs it, and how the data that is
gathered from that question benefits the community at large.
3:44:40 PM
REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH inquired as to the legal duty that a
citizen must answer the short-form questionnaire versus the long
form. He further inquired whether a person has the option to
choose not to answer.
MS. AKERS SMITH responded that she believes there is a law that
requires a person to answer the questions, but the bureau
doesn't put anyone in jail for not [answering] the question.
The bureau doesn't use the law to tie anyone's hands to answer
the questions. She noted that the bureau attempts to educate
the public by working with local governments through what the
bureau calls Complete Count Committees. The bureau met with
[Governor Walker's] staff this morning to request that a contact
person be named for the bureau to work with, she said. The
bureau tries to find trusted voices in the community to carry
this message over to help people understand why it is important
to answer the census questionnaire and respond to the American
Community Survey. The bureau tries to bring it down to the
local level and tries to find ways in which the community would
be more willing to respond and participate. A community might
not care so much about apportionment, she continued, but it
might care about federal legislation or community block grants
that benefit that community. There are some instances where no
matter how hard the bureau tries, it is not going to get a
response. It is a very small number of people, she said, and in
those cases the bureau tries to impute the data by looking at
characteristics of the geography and the responses that are
received around it.
3:47:25 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SULLIVAN-LEONARD admitted she is one of those
stubborn people who didn't want to fill out all the information
on the census sheets. She said she found the long form to be
very invasive even though she understood what the bureau was
trying to glean. She related that some folks in her district in
Wasilla don't have an address on their home and no mailbox and a
walk up the driveway may result in being greeted by a dog and a
gun. She asked how [Alaska residents] can have a say in this so
it is not so invasive. She added that she could understand
questions related to a person's age, number of children, and how
many children still live in the home, but beyond that the
question is how much is too much.
MS. AKERS SMITH offered her understanding of the aforementioned
concerns. She allowed a lot of information is being collected
these days, such as when a person is on the Internet. She said
she realizes that for some people it is very difficult to give
this information out, especially with the amount of fraud that
occurs. The bureau would like to work with legislators and
their communities to provide better education about why it would
be beneficial to the community. That is being done through the
bureau's Complete Count Committees, she continued, where if a
connection can be found for why someone should respond, why they
should give the bureau their address, and why they should return
a census questionnaire, the bureau will get a better response.
That goes back to redistricting, the Voting Rights Act, and
funding, she added. The U.S. Census Bureau uses population
counts for funding and needs to find ways to connect with people
to help them understand why it is important.
3:50:09 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SULLIVAN-LEONARD stated she understands the
aforementioned but is wondering if there is a different venue
that the bureau could use regarding funding that the bureau is
seeking. She suggested that there should also be a piece where
if someone gives the general information they shouldn't be
excluded. She said four different census people came to her
home and finally the Northwest director, Sharon Anderson, came
up from California, someone she knew, and they sat and talked
about it. There needs to be a little give and take or leniency,
she opined. The bureau cannot say that someone must do this
based on federal funding that is wanted or grants that might be
obtained for a particular district or across the state and
therefore the questionnaire must be filled out.
3:51:04 PM
CHAIR KITO recounted that he worked on the 2000 Census and that
there were questions about how to make the process more
efficient. Utilizing some statistical techniques was discussed,
but it was ultimately pulled back. Many discussions took place
coming up to 2000 about the benefits or detriments of not being
fully compliant with the census. He worked for the Department
of Transportation & Public Facilities at the time, he said. The
big issue for the department was having an accurate account for
the state because Alaska's population was a very big factor in
how much would be received from the federal government in
federal highway program allocations as well as the federal
aviation program. Some of the formulas used the decennial
census population to determine how much money would be received
for those programs. He stated he appreciates that the long form
is using the statistical methods to estimate who is responding
in what way. He inquired whether the bureau uses the
statistical techniques and has ways to ground truth whether it
is projecting accurate information from the sample of three
million people.
MS. AKERS SMITH replied she doesn't know if she can answer that
question very well and will follow up with the chair in this
regard. However, she said, when projecting information from the
American Community Survey's annual sample of three million
people, the bureau aggregates the data over time to create
smaller population estimates so that the smallest data estimates
used for the American Community Survey are the block groups. In
the block groups the bureau uses five years of ACS data to get a
good estimate. With each estimate, she added, the bureau also
has a margin of error that indicates how accurate or inaccurate
that data is. A margin of error will be given for every piece
of data because some populations can be very, very small and so
the margin of error will be very high.
3:54:08 PM
CHAIR KITO inquired whether there is a committee or a process
for coming up with the questions for the community survey. He
recalled Ms. Akers Smith saying the bureau has information that
designates which agency is requesting the question and why. He
further inquired whether there is a process for having the group
of people come together and decide which questions need to be
asked in the community survey.
MS. AKERS SMITH confirmed the bureau works through community
groups to gather information on the best way to ask these
questions. She said the package she will provide the committee
explains what federal agency is asking the question and includes
documentation on the process of working with community groups to
come up with some of the questions and to reword some of the
questions.
MS. AKERS SMITH added that Chair Kito brought up a good point
about some of the statistical methods used by the U.S. Census
Bureau. She noted that administrative records are one of the
statistical methods being used for the 2020 Census; the bureau
uses information that it already must get answers from folks who
don't return the questionnaire. She posed an example where the
bureau sends out a questionnaire and it comes back from the
postal service as undeliverable as addressed. The bureau would
visit the address to see if it is vacant, she explained, and if
it is, then the bureau wouldn't go back to visit it again. She
related that in the 2010 Census, the bureau would go up to six
personal visits, but she said that is not being done anymore.
Now the bureau attempts to make a visit and if there is no
response the bureau will use, if available, good quality records
data from trusted sources that the bureau already has with the
federal government or administrative records from states or
other organizations, to determine the status of that household.
Thus, she said, the bureau is reducing the number of visits.
3:56:34 PM
REPRESENTATIVE WOOL referenced the graph showing the amount of
over- and undercount. In regard to counting the population, he
asked what the bureau is comparing in order to know whether it
is over- or undercounting.
MS. AKERS SMITH responded that the bureau does a separate
operation independent of the decennial census called the
Coverage Measurement Program. In this program, she explained,
the bureau samples a small population that is stratified
throughout the U.S. and does a separate operation. The bureau
creates its own address list, has a staff separate from the
regular decennial census workers, and collects that information
separately. Then, in addition to personal visits and collecting
the same information, the bureau will go back multiple times and
ask coverage questions, such as whether there is anyone that is
being missed or whether there are any children in college and in
dormitories. Those results, she continued, are compared to the
census count to come up with the over- or under- coverage
results.
3:57:58 PM
REPRESENTATIVE WOOL referenced the graph showing the annual
increase in costs and asked why the costs are going up given the
bureau is getting away from paper and pencil and digitizing
would make it more efficient.
MS. AKERS SMITH answered that it is much more difficult to count
people these days. The U.S. is a society that moves around more
than it used to 30 years ago and there are a lot of different
living situations now, she said. The bureau is spending more
time, and therefore money, trying to capture information from
people because people aren't aware of what the census does and
the importance of the census, and they don't easily answer the
census questionnaire.
3:59:21 PM
REPRESENTATIVE WOOL recalled that when he was a child the 1960
Census was a big deal, interesting and fun. But, he continued,
in 2010 Census people going door to door in Fairbanks were
chased away by individuals who were sometimes armed. He asked
when the switch occurred from fun and friendly to not fun and
friendly. He further asked when the short form/long form began
and whether it saves time and money.
MS. AKERS SMITH replied she isn't sure when it changed from fun
and friendly to not so fun. Maybe society has changed a little
bit since then, she suggested, and people are now inundated with
information and are asked to give a lot of their information.
Regarding short form versus long form, she offered her belief
that the 2000 Census was the last time the bureau did both the
short and long forms and probably the last time the bureau used
the long form data. The American Community Survey (ACS) was
begun in 2005 and that is now where the long form data is
collected. In the 2010 Census the bureau only collected the
short form data, she continued, and in the 2020 Census the
bureau will also only collect short form data. She added that
collecting the long-form data was costlier because folks who
received the long form were more likely not to respond initially
and this lower response rate resulted in additional cost
attempting to collect the information. It was a very long
interview and if there were 10 people in a household, it could
take a very long time to complete that interview.
CHAIR KITO stated that he believes the change was a gradual
process. In the 1970s, he recalled, social security numbers
were used for a lot of things. Other people getting ahold of
social security numbers was not that big in the 1970s, but it
was a bit more in the 1980s and was big in the 1990s and
individuals became much more concerned about the proliferation
of their personal data. He offered his belief that the shift
occurred between the 1990 and 2000 Censuses.
4:03:44 PM
REPRESENTATIVE WOOL offered his understanding that anyone who
gets the 2020 Census will get the short form of five questions,
and that the long form is a different survey.
4:04:25 PM
REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH agreed that the census used to be a
pleasant and monumental experience. He inquired whether the
data from census forms is available to researchers without
attribution. He further inquired whether the data is accessible
to folks that the government wants it accessible to, even if it
isn't tied back to a specific individual. He also inquired
whether the data is aggregated after it is gathered.
MS. AKERS SMITH responded yes, the bureau takes data and removes
all personally identifiable information from the data, mixes it
up somewhat and makes it available to researchers through the
bureau's public use micro-data samples and this happens right
after the census.
4:05:58 PM
CHAIR KITO asked whether there are things that need to be done
at the state level right now.
MS. AKERS SMITH answered that there are a few things that the
U.S. Census Bureau would like the state to do. The bureau is
going to be doing a national campaign and is going to start its
outreach, she said. A partnership specialist has already been
hired who has experience working the 2010 Census as a recruiting
assistant in remote Alaska areas. This specialist is working
directly with Native Alaskan and village areas and is currently
in the field communicating with the local governments. The
bureau would like to see the state participate in the LUCA
program any way it can, she continued, whether it is reviewing
addresses or encouraging local governments to participate in the
program and to review their address lists. Next, the bureau
needs to take its message to the local level and help Alaskans
understand why it is important to conduct the census and who
better to tell Alaskans than other Alaskans. She said the
bureau wants to work with communities and needs someone at the
executive level to help create what the bureau calls a "Complete
Count Committee." That committee works with the bureau's
partnership staff and that helps direct different types of
campaigns to get information out about the census and why it is
important. She pointed out that the committee packet includes
copies of legislation that has been passed by the states of New
York and Illinois and which established Complete Count
Committees. She said the bureau further requests a line item in
the state's budget, so the state can support work of the
Complete Count Committee.
CHAIR KITO thanked Ms. Akers Smith and said he looks forward to
working with her.
4:08:33 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Labor and Commerce Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at
4:08 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| Presentation-US Census 2020 Akers Smith 4.25.17.pdf |
HL&C 4/26/2017 3:15:00 PM |