[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 141 (Tuesday, July 23, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44092-44094]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-17558]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food and Nutrition Service
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection;
Comment Request: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: State
Agency Options
AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this
notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment
on the proposed collection. This is a revision
[[Page 44093]]
of the currently approved burden for the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP): State Agency Options information collection.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before September 23,
2013.
ADDRESSES: 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 of the
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions that were used; (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
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate
automated, electronic, mechanical or other technological collection
techniques or other forms of information technology.
Comments may be sent to Angela Kline, Chief, Certification Policy
Branch, Program Development Division, Food and Nutrition Service (FNS),
U.S. Department of Agriculture, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 812,
Alexandria, VA 22302. Comments may also be faxed to the attention of
Ms. Kline at (703) 305-2486, or via email to [email protected].
Comments will also be accepted through the Federal eRulemaking
Portal. Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the online
instructions for submitting comments electronically.
All written comments will be open for public inspection at the FNS
office at 3101 Park Center Drive, Alexandria, Virginia, 22302, Room
800, during regular business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday
through Friday).
All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the
request for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval. All
comments will be a matter of public record.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or
copies of this information collection should be directed to Ms. Kline
at (703) 305-2495.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: State Agency
Options
OMB Number: 0584-0496
Form Number: None
Expiration Date: 11/30/2013
Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved information
collection.
Abstract: The collections covered under OMB Number 0584-0496,
address information and burden estimates associated with the following
State Agency Options: Establishing and reviewing standard utility
allowances and establishing methodology for offsetting cost of
producing self-employment income.
This notice revises the State Agency Options information collection
for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to reflect
changes in the number of States that have implemented the options
herein and the change in burden since the previous revision. Federal
regulations implementing SNAP application and certification procedures
are contained in Parts 271, 272 and 273 of Title 7 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR). The regulations addressing State agency
options specified in this collection are contained in 7 CFR part 273.
The last two revisions of this collection extended the collection
burden to account for changes required by the Farm Security and Rural
Investment Act of 2002 (FSRIA) proposed and final rules. The Food,
Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (FCEA) made no changes to this
collection. However, since the last renewal, there have been changes in
the number of states that take the options in this collection. This
collection revises the number of State agencies that have implemented
the options herein as well as the burden associated with the
collection.
Establishing and Reviewing Standard Utility Allowances
The regulations at 7 CFR 273.9(d)(6)(iii) allow State agencies to
establish standard utility allowances (SUA) in place of the actual
utility costs incurred by a household. State agencies are required to
review and adjust SUAs annually to reflect changes in the costs of
utilities. State agencies are required to submit the amounts of
standards when they are changed and methodologies used to develop and
update the standards to FNS for approval when they are developed or
changed.
Estimates of burden: Currently, 50 State agencies have a standard
that includes heating or cooling costs and 40 have a standard for
utility costs other than heating or cooling. In addition, 52 State
agencies have a telephone allowance standard. We estimate 52 State
agencies will submit one request to adjust the SUAs, for a total annual
response of 52 requests at a minimum of 2.5 hours annually (52 State
agencies x 1 SUAs request = 52 total annual responses x 2.5 hours = 130
hours). Total burden for this provision is estimated to be 130 hours
per year. This burden activity remains unchanged from the previous
submission.
Self-employment Costs
The regulations at 7 CFR 273.11(b) allow self-employment income to
be reduced by the cost of producing such income. The regulations allow
the State agencies, with approval from FNS, to establish the
methodology for offsetting the costs of producing self-employment
income, as long as the procedure does not increase program costs.
Estimates of burden: Based on the information provided in the Tenth
Edition of the SNAP State Options Report, 18 State agencies have
incorporated a methodology for determining the cost of doing business
in self-employment cases. This is an increase from ten states in the
2010 information collection. It is estimated that these 18 States will
submit one request, totaling 18 annual responses. States will incur a
burden of at least 10 working hours gathering and analyzing data,
developing the methodology, determining the cost implication and
submitting a request to FNS, for a total burden of 180 hours annually
(18 State agencies x 1 request = 18 total annual responses x 10 working
hours = 180 burden hours). This is an increase of 80 burden hours from
the previous submission.
Record Keeping Burden Only
All 53 State agencies are required to keep and maintain one record
of the information gathered and submitted to FNS for the SUA and self-
employment options. It is estimated that this process will take 7
minutes or .1169 hours per year for each State agency, resulting in a
total annual burden of 6 hours (53 State agencies x 1 record = 53 total
annual records x .1169 hours = 6 hours). This burden remains unchanged
from the previous submission.
The following table illustrates the burden estimates associated
with the State agency options included in this collection.
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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN23JY13.000
Estimated Annual Burden Summary for Reporting and Recordkeeping:
Affected Public: State agencies and local governments administering
SNAP.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 53
Estimated Annual Reports/Records Filed Per Respondent: 2.32
Estimated Total Annual Responses: 123
Estimated Burden Hours per Response: 2.57
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 316
Dated: July 11, 2013.
Audrey Rowe,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-17558 Filed 7-22-13; 8:45 am]
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