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

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…