Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 237 / Tuesday, December 9, 2008 / Notices 74861 OFFICE OF PERSONNEL Islands (CNMI) COLA areas. Then we Washington, DC area. The Office of MANAGEMENT added an adjustment factor of 5.0 to the Personnel Management (OPM) conducts Honolulu County price index, 7.0 to the living-cost surveys to set the COLA 2007 Nonforeign Area Cost-of-Living Hawaii County, Kauai County, and Maui rates. The methodology for conducting Allowance Survey Report: Pacific and County price indexes, and 9.0 to the these surveys is prescribed in regulation Washington, DC, Areas Guam/CNMI price index and rounded at subpart B of part 591 of title 5 of the the results to the nearest whole AGENCY: U.S. Office of Personnel Code of Federal Regulations. percentage point. The results indicate a Management. This report provides the results of the reduction in the COLA rates for all COLA surveys OPM conducted in the ACTION: Notice. Pacific areas. spring and summer of 2007 in Honolulu SUMMARY: This notice publishes the Office of Personnel Management. County, Hawaii County, Kauai County, ‘‘2007 Nonforeign Area Cost-of-Living Michael W. Hager, Maui County, Guam, and the Allowance Survey Report: Pacific and Acting Director. Washington, DC area. The report details Washington, DC, Areas.’’ The Federal our comparison of living costs in the Government uses the results of surveys 2007 Nonforeign Area Cost-of-Living Allowance Survey Report: Pacific and Pacific areas with living costs in the such as these to set cost-of-living Washington, DC area. allowance (COLA) rates for General Washington, DC, Areas Schedule, U.S. Postal Service, and Table of Contents For the surveys, we contacted about 1,300 outlets and collected certain other Federal employees in Executive Summary Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the Northern approximately 5,500 prices on more Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the 1. Introduction than 240 items representing typical 1.1 Report Objectives U.S. Virgin Islands. This report contains consumer purchases. We also collected 2. Preparing for the Survey about 2,800 prices on rental housing. the results of the COLA surveys 2.1 COLA Advisory Committees conducted by the U.S. Office of 2.2 Pre-Survey Meetings We then combined the data using Personnel Management in Hawaii, 2.3 Survey Item Selection consumer expenditure information from Guam, and the Washington, DC, area 2.3.1 Special Considerations the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The final during the spring and summer of 2007. 2.4 Outlet Selection results are living-cost indexes, shown in DATES: Comments on this report must be 2.5 Geographic Coverage Table 1. These indexes compare living received on or before February 9, 2009. 3. Conducting the Survey costs in the Pacific COLA areas to those 3.1 Pricing Period in the Washington, DC area. The index ADDRESSES: Send or deliver comments 3.2 Non-Housing Price Data Collection to Charles D. Grimes III, Deputy 3.2.1 Data Collection Teams for the DC area (not shown) is 100.00 Associate Director for Performance and 3.2.2 Data Collection Process because it is, by law, the reference area. Pay Systems, Strategic Human 3.3 Housing (Rental) Price Data Collection The living-cost indexes shown in Table Resources Policy Division, U.S. Office of 4. Analyzing the Results 1 include the adjustment factor Personnel Management, Room 7300B, 4.1 Data Review prescribed at 5 CFR 591.227. 1900 E Street, NW., Washington, DC 4.2 Special Price Computations 4.2.1 K–12 Private Education TABLE 1—FINAL LIVING-COST 20415–8200; fax: (202) 606–4264; or e- 4.2.2 Health Insurance mail: [email protected]. 4.2.3 Water Utilities COMPARISON INDEXES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: J. 4.2.4 Energy Utilities Model Stanley Austin, (202) 606–2838; fax: 4.2.5 Rental Data Hedonic Models Allowance area Index (202) 606–4264; or e-mail: 4.3 Averaging Prices by Item and Area Honolulu County, HI ....................... 121.37 [email protected]. 4.4 Computing Price Indexes 4.4.1 Geometric Means Hawaii County, HI ........................... 111.71 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 4.4.2 Special Private Education Kauai County, HI ............................ 118.14 591.229 of title 5, Code of Federal Computations Maui County, HI .............................. 123.62 Regulations, requires the Office of 4.5 Applying Consumer Expenditure Guam/CNMI .................................... 119.98 Personnel Management (OPM) to Weights 5. Final Results publish nonforeign area cost-of-living 1. Introduction allowance (COLA) survey summary 6. Post Survey Meetings reports in the Federal Register. We are List of Appendices 1.1 Report Objectives publishing the complete ‘‘2007 Appendix 1: Prior Survey Results: 1990–2006 This report provides the results of the Nonforeign Area Cost-of-Living Appendix 2: Estimated DC Area Middle 2007 Pacific nonforeign area cost-of- Allowance Survey Report: Pacific and Income Annual Consumer Expenditures Washington, DC, Areas’’ with this Appendix 3: COLA Survey Items and living allowance (COLA) survey notice. The report contains the results of Descriptions conducted by the U.S. Office of the COLA surveys we conducted in Appendix 4: COLA Rental Survey Data Personnel Management (OPM) in the Hawaii, Guam, and the Washington, DC, Collection Elements spring and summer of 2007. In addition Appendix 5: Utility Usage and Calculations to providing these results, the report area during the spring and summer of Appendix 6: Hedonic Rental Data Equations 2007. describes how we prepared for and and Results conducted the survey, and how we Survey Results Appendix 7: Final Living-Cost Results for COLA Areas analyzed the results. The results show Using an index scale with comparative living-cost differences Washington, DC, area living costs equal Executive Summary between the Pacific areas, i.e., Honolulu to 100, we computed index values of The Government pays cost-of-living County, Hawaii County, Kauai County, relative prices in the Honolulu County, allowances (COLAs) to Federal Maui County, and Guam, and the Hawaii County, Kauai County, Maui employees in nonforeign areas in Washington, DC area. By law, County, and Guam and the consideration of living costs Washington, DC is the base or Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana significantly higher than those in the ‘‘reference’’ area for the COLA program. VerDate Aug<31>2005 17:04 Dec 08, 2008 Jkt 217001 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4701 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\09DEN2.SGM 09DEN2 pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES2 74862 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 237 / Tuesday, December 9, 2008 / Notices 2. Preparing for the Survey items to reflect a wide array of items Noodle Soup in both the COLA and DC consumers typically purchase. To areas because it is typical of canned 2.1 COLA Advisory Committees determine what consumers purchase, soups, and consumers commonly Before conducting the Pacific survey, we used the Bureau of Labor Statistics purchase it. OPM established COLA Advisory (BLS) 2002/2003 Consumer Expenditure 2.3.1 Special Considerations Committees (CACs) in Honolulu, the Survey (CES). We aggregated CES Hawaii County areas of Hilo and Kailua expenditures into the following nine Health Insurance: It was not practical Kona, Kauai, Maui, and Guam. The major expenditure groups (MEGs): to compare the prices of exactly the settlement of Caraballo, et al. v. United —Food, same quality and quantity of health States, No. 1997–0027 (D.V.I.), August —Shelter and Utilities, insurance between the COLA and 17, 2000, provides for employee —Household Furnishings and Supplies, Washington, DC, areas because the same involvement in the administration of the —Apparel, array of plans is not offered in each area, COLA program. As in previous surveys, —Transportation, and a significant proportion of Federal we found it valuable to involve —Medical, employees in both the COLA and DC employee and agency representatives in —Recreation, areas subscribe to plans not available planning and conducting the surveys —Education and Communication, and nationwide. To compare the employee and in reviewing the survey results. —Miscellaneous. health benefits premiums of these often Each CAC is composed of highly different plans, OPM would have We further subdivided each MEG into approximately 12 agency and employee to adjust for differences in benefits and primary expenditure groups (PEGs). In representatives from the survey area and coverage. Research conducted by the all, there were 45 PEGs. For example, 2 OPM representatives. The functions of parties prior to the Caraballo settlement we subdivided Food into the following the CACs include the following: indicated this would not be feasible. nine PEGs: —Advising and assisting OPM in Therefore, we use the non-Postal planning COLA surveys; —Cereals and Bakery Products; Service employee’s share of the Federal —Providing or arranging for data —Meats, Poultry, Fish, and Eggs; Employees Health Benefits premiums by collection observers during COLA —Dairy Products; plan for each plan offered in each area. surveys; —Fresh Fruits and Vegetables; OPM maintains these data in the Central —Advising and assisting OPM in —Processed Foods; Personnel Data File (CPDF), including reviewing survey data; —Other Food at Home; the number of white-collar Federal —Advising OPM on its COLA program —Nonalcoholic Beverages; employees enrolled in each plan. As administration, including survey —Food Away from Home; and described in Section 4.2.3 below, we methodology; —Alcoholic Beverages. used these data to compute the average —Assisting OPM in disseminating To select survey items, we chose a ‘‘price’’ of health insurance for Federal information to affected employees sufficient number of items to represent employees in the COLA and DC areas. about the surveys and the COLA each PEG and reduce overall price index Housing: For housing items, we program; and variability. To do this, we applied the survey rental rates for specific kinds or —Advising OPM on special situations following guidelines: classes of housing and collect detailed or conditions, such as hurricanes and Each survey item should be— information about each housing unit.