[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 122 (Friday, June 24, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41287-41288]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-14993]
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Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents
appearing in this section.
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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 122 / Friday, June 24, 2016 /
Notices
[[Page 41287]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food and Nutrition Service
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request--Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program--Trafficking
Controls and Fraud Investigations
AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service, 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 of a currently approved
collection codified by Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
regulations at 7 CFR 274.6(b)(5) and 274.6(b)(6).
Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) regulations at 7 CFR 274.6(b)(5)
allow State agencies to deny a request for a replacement SNAP
Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card until the household makes
contact with the State agency if the requests for replacement cards are
determined to be excessive. The State agency may determine the
threshold for excessive card replacments, not to be less than four
replacement cards in a 12-month period.
FNS regulations at 274.6(b)(6) require State agencies to monitor
EBT card replacement requests and send notices to households when they
request four cards within a 12-month period. The State agency shall be
exempt from sending this Excessive Replacement Card Notice if it adopts
the card withholding option in accordance with 7 CFR 274.6(b)(5) and
sends the requisite Withholding Replacement Card Warning Notice on the
fourth replacement card request.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before August 23, 2016.
ADDRESSES: Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed
information collection is necessary for the proper performance of the
functions of the agency, including whether the information has
practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimated burden
for the proposed information collection, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions 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 information collection on those who are
to respond, including the use of appropriate automated, electronic,
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms
of information technology.
Comments may be sent to Jane Duffield, Branch Chief, State
Administration Branch, Program Accountability and Administration
Division, Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture,
3101 Park Center Drive, Room 818, Alexandria, VA 22302. You may also
download an electronic version of this notice at http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/federal-register-documents/rules/view-all and
comment via email at [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
office of the Food and Nutrition Service during regular business hours
(8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday) at 3101 Park Center Drive,
Room 822, Alexandria, Virginia 22302.
All comments to this notice will be included in the request for
Office of Management and Budget approval. All comments will also become
a matter of public record.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Request for additional information or
copies of this information collection should be directed to Clyde
Thompson at (703) 305-2461.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Trafficking
Controls and Fraud Investigations.
OMB Number: 0584-0587.
Expiration Date: 9/30/2016.
Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Abstract: FNS regulations at 7 CFR 274.6 requires State Agencies to
issue warning notices to withhold replacement cards or a notice for
excessive replacement cards.
Withhold Replacement Card Warning Notice: State agencies may
require an individual member of a household to contact the State agency
to provide an explanation in cases where the number of requests for
card replacements is determined excessive. The State agency must notify
the household in writing when it has reached the threshold, indicating
that the next request for card replacement will require the client to
contact the State agency to provide an explanation for the requests,
before the replacement card will be issued. The State agency must also
notify the household in writing once the threshold has been exceeded
and the State agency is withholding the card until contact is made.
Excessive Replacement Card Notice: State agencies must monitor all
client requests for EBT card replacements and send a notice, upon the
fourth request in a 12-month period, alerting the household their
account is being monitored for potential, suspicious activity. The
State agency is exempt from sending this notice if they have chosen to
exercise the option to withhold the replacement card until contact is
made with the State agency.
The current approval annual burden is 8,336 hours. The updated
estimated annual burden is approximately 21,940.41 hours. This revised
estimate reflects an increase since the last OMB approval, due to
having more accurate figures of State participation and household card
request. This updated version also includes the time it takes a
household to read the notice required by 274.6(b)(6), which was not
included in the original burden. FNS estimates that it will take State
personnel approximately 2 minutes to generate and mail each required
notice to the client, to comply with 7 CFR 274.6; and that it will take
SNAP recipients approximately 2 minutes to read each notice they
receive and 28 minutes to make contact with the State agency when
required. FNS is currently aware of two State agencies which have opted
to follow our regulations at 274.6(b)(5) to withhold replacement cards,
with an additional State agency considering the option. All other State
agencies follow
[[Page 41288]]
our regulations at 274.6(b)(6) for the Excessive Replacement Card
Notice. Available data from 2015 shows that on average 2,527.5
households in a State request five or more replacement cards within 12
months. FNS estimates that half of all recipients who receive a notice
upon issuance of their fourth card (5,055) will not request a fifth
card.
Annual Reporting Burden Estimates
Affected Public: Individual/Household; and State and Local
Government Agencies.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 275,549.
Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 2.
Estimated Total Annual Responses: 550,994.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 21,940.
Estimated Annual Burden for 0584-0587 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Trafficking Controls and Fraud, 7 CFR 274
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Annual
CFR Title Number of responses per Total annual Burden hours Total burden
respondents respondent responses per response hours
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Affected Public: State and Local Agencies
274.6(b)(5)........................... Withhold Replacement Card 3 5,055 15,165 0.0334 506.5
Warning Notice.
274.6(b)(5)........................... Replacement Card Withheld 3 2,527.5 7,583 0.0334 253.2
Notice.
274.6(b)(6)........................... Excessive Replacement Card 50 5,055 252,750 0.0334 8,441.85
Notice.
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Subtotal.......................... ............................ 53 5,198 275,498 0.0334 9,201.55
Affected Public: Households
274.6(b)(5)........................... Withhold Replacement Card 15,165 1 15,165 0.0334 506.5
Warning Notice.
274.6(b)(5)........................... Replacement Card Withheld 7,581 1 7,581 0.5 3,790.5
Notice.
274.6(b)(5)........................... Excessive Replacement Card 252,750 1 252,750 0.0334 8,441.85
Notice.
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Subtotal.......................... ............................ 275,496 1 275,496 .0462 12,738.85
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Grand Total................... ............................ 275,549 2 550,994 0.0796 21,940.41
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Dated: June 16, 2016.
Yvette S. Jackson,
Acting Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-14993 Filed 6-23-16; 8:45 am]
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