[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6198491,"mediaKeyId","3846725-e21980aacc9e5d737d3c627831d8fa04","parentId",3846725,"title","Census Bureau tells Massachusetts to begin decade-long work on LUCA, BAS, PSAP and redistricting data now","audioSeconds",1353,"startMs",314000,"endMs",1667000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3846725-e21980aacc9e5d737d3c627831d8fa04&start=314&end=1667","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3846725-e21980aacc9e5d737d3c627831d8fa04/thumbnail_314000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6198491/Massachusetts/Census-Bureau-tells-Massachusetts-to-begin-decade-long-work-on-LUCA-BAS-PSAP-and-redistricting-data-now","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6198491-0e184f0859c22265c6dcdbb75b3a220f/orig.mp4?Expires=1770453724&Signature=gibaBIxV6b3W3Kyjcz1mFq3Re9TvS11Gbz~oKS1wPyJoX1OtzP2F31kuS~4D6nZh0~tMP4KsgBSzR~TFRQB4on0nDjqWbb8ahfzxFAXAKE7YELBWHL9CpTqX487DZ6u31N9~VyvTAk1WwtkIzEfS5BjfIV-2J2w~vUf7OozKT5S5SvVoydz7E6eyBzYhNn75BEuJ380ty6R8rNG6iQsXSe9oAldxxngsR-aLDGv5Xm8t9vnO0gy90UgAXJ0cw7XolVMBD9zTtDsSAiI747GzCA2G2YgWL0~TQ6EB8MAvwRJ-p-VnVl2CxjEgkOkgEB4tiGBJ1tEdKSsVTVJ2kemWww__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Massachusetts Senate","date","2025-06-16T00:00:00Z","article","At a Massachusetts legislative hearing, U.S. Census Bureau officials urged state and local governments to begin decade-long preparations now to protect address and boundary data ahead of the 2030 census. Andrea Grace Johnson, deputy division chief of the Geography Division at the U.S. Census Bureau, and James Whitehorn, chief of the Redistricting and Voting Rights Data Office, outlined the bureau’s geography programs, timelines and technical tools during the session.

Johnson said geography is “the foundation for both censuses and surveys” and described four recurring programs states can use to keep federal address and boundary lists current: the Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS), the School District Review Program, the Participant Statistical Area Program (PSAP) and the Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA). She told the committee BAS opens in January each year and that March 1 is the target date for updates to appear in American Community Survey tabulations, with a longer submission window through May 31. “It’s never hurt to plan ahead,” Johnson said, noting LUCA is a once-a-decade program that will begin preparations in early 2027 and will give participants months to submit address feedback.

James Whitehorn described the Redistricting and Voting Rights Data Office’s five-phase program that produces block-level geography and the redistricting data used by state legislatures and commissions. He said the bureau will begin collecting voting-district (precinct/ward) information in 2028 and follow that with two rounds of verification in 2029 and a shorter verification round in 2030. He emphasized that census blocks are the foundational unit of all other published geographies and that states can use the bureau’s block boundary suggestion tools to propose changes.

Officials also described new technical approaches the geography division is using to keep address registers current. Johnson explained the bureau’s “automated change detection” workflow: detecting cleared land or new construction through imagery, integrating building footprint data (commercial sources supplemented by bureau-created footprints) and applying machine learning to identify likely housing units. She showed an example near Worcester where detected housing units rose from 568 to 817 between years in the bureau’s internal files.

Whitehorn said the bureau will continue to adapt the content of redistricting data to federal policy and technical changes. He noted a major Office of Management and Budget (OMB) change (Statistical Policy Directive No. 15) that directs federal agencies to use a single combined race-and-ethnicity question and to add a Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) category; he said the Census Bureau is coordinating with state liaisons to ensure those changes will meet states’ redistricting needs.

Wendy Underhill and Helen Brewer of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) told the committee state legislatures can support accuracy by appointing nonpartisan liaisons, convening local partners and, where appropriate, funding complete-count outreach and LUCA participation. NCSL noted many states provided grants and created state-level complete-count committees for 2020; Massachusetts’ 2020 committee awarded grants and received $6.65 million that cycle.

Discussion at the hearing repeatedly stressed that these programs are cooperative: the bureau compiles an initial address and block list and invites states, municipalities and qualified partners to review and propose corrections. Officials urged Massachusetts cities and towns to begin mapping, staffing and community outreach now so that when program windows open — LUCA preparation in early 2027, PSAP in 2028 and voting-district collection beginning 2028 — municipalities can make timely, documented submissions.

Proponents said early state engagement reduces reliance on door-to-door follow-up and statistical imputation, and produces the more accurate self-response rates the bureau prefers. The Census Bureau said it will provide materials and contacts, and presenters offered to share the presentation deck and further resources with the committee.

For administrative clarity: these remarks described ongoing programs and recommended state and local actions. No formal votes or policy changes were taken at the hearing.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Senate Committee on the Census - 6-16-2025","oneSentenceSummary","At a Massachusetts legislative hearing, U.S. Census Bureau officials urged state and local governments to begin decade-long preparations now to protect address and boundary data ahead of the 2030 census.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature MA, Massachusetts","taxId",77682,"location","Massachusetts","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6198482,"Boston planning staff say 2020 census left about 25,000 residents uncounted, urge early outreach and race/ethnicity fixes",349,7242000,7591000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3846725-e21980aacc9e5d737d3c627831d8fa04&start=7242&end=7591","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3846725-e21980aacc9e5d737d3c627831d8fa04/thumbnail_7242000.jpg","/articles/6198482/Massachusetts/Boston-planning-staff-say-2020-census-left-about-25000-residents-uncounted-urge-early-outreach-and-raceethnicity-fixes","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6198482-5a3004e8f471ffffdcee6e8b41d6d2bb/orig.mp4?Expires=1770453724&Signature=QYby5LNfcRbUVXc6lVs4RlX0otEuQx-A26r3YSd0KBx2XDE1yUEs0d31p~-x-ysdbaGGBRgsiQezqvGtHIL6kT-vh4npbREp-NRarCQ9w76ltxs8SVSc2RUkDwvOKQdnj~a~bW2EwjCo77ajJn80JEwMUlM9kpJztAnsDQSaJ5pETcUU5wmdoqr4S3hOm9ZCkwFfTBZEVa6C67F7rA08YUWxvUOEdV8IcxrU1wIxZ55yOzkhV~4nPW57lqygMgXQ5z44yQciaTu1QFxGuJqQnCLSNiMWw9cf1CG5GCseqeiKFCvZxSXQmL6B8sOdVIkrHKu-Ho9K1A3qPobsmO5c2Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Alvaro Lima of the City of Boston’s planning/research staff told a Massachusetts legislative hearing that the city estimates an undercount of roughly 25,000 residents in the 2020 census, and urged sustained local and state work to prevent similar gaps in 2030.

“We had, our calculations is that we had an undercount of around 25,000,” Lima said. “7,000 of those people were in group quarters.” He said the city worked with the Census Bureau to correct the group-quarters component using university and institutional lists, but that the residential undercount persisted and was carried forward into survey baselines such as the American Community Survey.

Lima described Boston’s LUCA workflow: the Census Bureau provides a master address list under Title 13; city planners and assessors compare that list with local records (inspectional services, building permits, assessor files), map addresses to parcels and document additions or deletions before sending corrected lists back to the bureau. “We map every unit of house in every parcel,” Lima said, describing a multi-month internal review by the city’s planning demographers and GIS staff.

City witnesses also told the committee that current race and ethnicity categories complicate outreach and service planning. Lima and Senator Miranda noted that groups such as Brazilians and Cape Verdeans do not always find an obvious category in the existing race/ethnicity fields and can be reclassified in ways that obscure community needs. Lima said multilingual, culturally tailored outreach and clearer disaggregation of origin groups would help local public-health and education planning.

Boston staff said the city coordinates a local complete-count committee, hires local enumerators who speak community languages, and uses targeted outreach at institutions (colleges, group quarters) and public events to improve self-response. Lima offered to share the city’s calculations and research with the committee.

The hearing included senators’ follow-up on the city’s methodology and a request that the city provide the committee with its undercount calculations and the research behind race/ethnicity classification concerns. City staff said they would provide the documents and continue coordinating with state and federal partners; no formal action was taken at the hearing.","The City of Boston told the legislature it estimates roughly 25,000 residents were not captured in the 2020 census (about 6–7,000 of whom were group-quarters residents later documented) and urged state and local leaders to fund outreach, LUCA participation and improved race/ethnicity reporting to avoid repeated undercounts.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6198486,"Secretary Galvin urges state funding and local record improvements to prevent 2030 undercount",936,3888000,4824000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3846725-e21980aacc9e5d737d3c627831d8fa04&start=3888&end=4824","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3846725-e21980aacc9e5d737d3c627831d8fa04/thumbnail_3888000.jpg","/articles/6198486/Massachusetts/Secretary-Galvin-urges-state-funding-and-local-record-improvements-to-prevent-2030-undercount","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6198486-64ccdd444830d6dd21d47e89650015ed/orig.mp4?Expires=1770453724&Signature=VMxvh~wa6PPZDG7zyCo7ye2yJaQ29Y1QEQzevQN0qj5Z-~R0A0gpSbmjxbDqpMaandbx0aQHNCPuEZDqi2Lw0VfVD6WSOSOFetMCyX0~TCVnd3qd1FDWAypVlFWixOV5DxFNGZJzLSTTJFQyKykjYqGJ64CqeUOAqqOAo07VMQGIebSIFQCE4Sg3nLjjr0kBgxq9KoOgFOxhxvFOL49BIdvpduzSBLefgU7eXSCEyCceM-3gSmdfMl5w57nKuI6l7o8bceEeueYQ0eLMs6q5NR0vMXsM~Y~cRAan587RNtmlzjtGXAl6P2o8u9AJpfj045TM5~T29TuJxJTgT69LfQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Massachusetts Secretary William Galvin told a legislative hearing that the commonwealth must invest in local technical assistance and outreach to reduce the risk of an undercount in the 2030 census. Galvin recounted challenges from the 2020 census — pandemic-related disruptions, litigation over citizenship questions and significant local variation in records — and said the state needs to shore up municipal lists and support community outreach.

“It's a crisis in a sense,” Galvin said, noting litigation and pandemic disruption multiplied the usual counting challenges. He described two major 2020 complications: a sudden campus shutdown that removed many students from campus addresses shortly before Census Day, and public fears among immigrant populations about whether noncitizens would be counted. To verify populations during 2020, Galvin said Massachusetts used university housing records and annual local residency lists as evidence for the Census Bureau. He said that approach helped Massachusetts reach a recorded population above 7 million and that those alternative records were offered to federal officials to support counts.

Galvin told the committee local capacity is uneven and in some communities knowledge about record-keeping procedures eroded after staff turnover following 2020. He said municipal clerks and school officials remain crucial to producing reliable annual lists and building records that feed programs such as LUCA, and he urged legislative support for funding to assist municipalities in preparing accurate records.

On budgetary steps, Galvin said he requested an additional $500,000 for the state’s census line item to create technical-assistance grants for municipal work and LUCA participation. He said the House adopted that request but the Senate did not; the matter was in conference at the time of the hearing.

Galvin also identified operational concerns the committee should track: the U.S. Postal Service’s irregularities could affect address match quality, and local governments will need help validating subdivisions and conversions of nonresidential buildings into housing units. He recommended convening municipal, planning, school and outreach staff now to catalog local changes and to standardize documentation that could be used for LUCA submissions and to respond if field follow-up becomes necessary.

Galvin told senators the state has worked closely with the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute and the Secretary of State’s office on prior rounds and would continue to coordinate with federal liaisons and municipal staff. He said the state intends to expand outreach and technical assistance to communities that report declining response rates or weaker address records. No formal policy or expenditure decision was made during the hearing; Galvin’s comments were presented as guidance and a request to the legislature.","Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin told a legislative hearing that the state should expand support for municipal record-keeping and grant programs to reduce risks the commonwealth faces in getting an accurate count in 2030, citing student relocations and immigrant response hesitancy in 2020.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Census Bureau tells Massachusetts to begin decade-long work on LUCA, BAS, PSAP and redistricting data now

Boston planning staff say 2020 census left about 25,000 residents uncounted, urge early outreach and race/ethnicity fixes

Secretary Galvin urges state funding and local record improvements to prevent 2030 undercount