[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 27 (Wednesday, February 9, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7148-7149]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-2894]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Economic Development Administration
Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Revolving Loan
Fund (RLF) Reporting and Compliance Requirements
AGENCY: Economic Development Administration.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort
to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public
and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on
proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before April 11, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Diana Hynek, Departmental
Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th
and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet
at dHynek@doc.gov).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or
copies of the information collection instrument and instructions should
be directed to Kenneth M. Kukovich, EDA PRA Liaison, Office of
Management Services, Economic Development Administration, Department of
Commerce, HCHB Room 7227, 1401 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC
20230; telephone: (202) 482-4965; fax: (202) 501-0766; e-mail:
kkukovich@eda.doc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
The mission of the Economic Development Administration (EDA) is to
lead the Federal economic development agenda by promoting innovation
and competitiveness, preparing American regions for growth and success
in the worldwide economy. One of EDA's eight economic development
programs is the Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) program.
Under the RLF program, EDA's regional offices award competitive
grants to units of state and local government, institutions of higher
education, public or private non-profit organizations, EDA-approved
economic development district organizations, and Indian Tribes to
establish RLFs. Following grant award, an RLF grantee disburses money
from the RLF to make loans at interest rates that are at or below the
current market rate to small
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businesses or to businesses that cannot otherwise borrow capital. On
occasion, RLFs also make loans to finance public infrastructure. As the
loans are repaid, the grantee uses a portion of interest earned to pay
administrative expenses and adds the remaining principal and interest
repayments to the RLF's capital base to make new loans. An RLF award
that is well managed is actively used to make loans to eligible
businesses and entities, continues to revolve funds, and does not have
a termination date.
One of the unique features of the program is that, by law, EDA must
exercise fiduciary responsibility over its RLF portfolio in
perpetuity--a significant challenge since many RLF grants date back to
1979. EDA's regulations therefore require EDA RLF grantees to submit an
ED-209, Semi-annual Report to EDA, every six months for each RLF they
operate. In addition, EDA RLF grantees must submit an ED-209I, RLF
Income and Expense Statement, if either of the following conditions
applies to their RLF: (a) Total administrative expenses for the 6-month
period exceed $100,000, or (b) administrative expenses for the 6-month
period exceed 50 percent of RLF income for the 6-month period. EDA
requires that both of these reports be completed and submitted via the
web-based Revolving Loan Fund Management System (RLFMS). This system
was successfully launched on April 1, 2010, and was designed to
eliminate duplicative data entry fields and pre-populate all calculable
fields.
II. Method of Collection
Electronically via the RLFMS.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0610-0095.
Form Number(s): ED-209 and ED-209I.
Type of Review: Regular submission (extension of a currently
approved information. collection).
Affected Public: Not for-profit institutions; state or local
governments.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,460.
Estimated Time per Response: ED-209, 3 hours; and ED-209I, 1 hour.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 3,796.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0.
IV. Request for Comments
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information;
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of
automated collection techniques or other forms of information
technology.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information
collection; they also will become a matter of public record.
Dated: February 4, 2011.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2011-2894 Filed 2-8-11; 8:45 am]
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