[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 151 (Monday, August 8, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45643-45644]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-15624]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request--Food Stamp Program Application, Form FNS-252, Food 
Stamp Application for Stores

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has revised its Food 
Stamp Program Application for Stores, Form FNS-252 in Fiscal Year (FY) 
2004. The form was revised to simplify and streamline information 
collected from retailers on the application and make it easier to read. 
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) granted a one year approval 
of the use of this form. FNS did not begin to use the new form until 
the fourth quarter of FY 2004 when the new Store Tracking and 
Redemption Subsystem (STARS II) became operational. We are soliciting 
public comments on the content, format and design of the revised Form 
FNS-252.
    As conditions of clearance for the revised retailer application, 
OMB is requiring that FNS translate the Form FNS-252 into Spanish and 
have it in active use within the year. OMB is also requiring FNS to 
track and report on the completion rates for questions 14c, 15b, 16, 
and 17b. FNS translated the Form FNS-252, into Spanish and is in the 
process of working with a contractor to post this information on the 
FNS website. We expect to have the Spanish version of Form FNS-252 in 
active use by the end of the fourth quarter of FY 2005. FNS is also in 
the process of tracking the completion rate of those questions 
identified by OMB, and referenced above. We will report the results 
upon resubmission to OMB for approval. Finally, a question asking 
retailers to provide the number of check-out registers that are in the 
store was omitted from the revised Form FNS-252 in error. FNS needs 
this information for program management purposes, and it impacts our 
ability to accurately provide point-of-sale information to third party 
processors and State contractors. As a result of this finding, FNS 
intends to add this question to the revised Form FNS-252.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before October 7, 2005, 
to be assured of consideration.

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 will 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 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 Andrea Gordon, Chief, Retailer Management 
Branch, Benefit Redemption Division, Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 404, 
Alexandria, VA 22302; FAX number (703) 305-1863; or via e-mail to: 
[email protected]. All submitted comments should refer to the 
title of this notice and/or the OMB approval number.
    All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the 
request for OMB approval. All comments will become a matter of public 
record.

[[Page 45644]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The public can download the English 
version of Form FNS-252 from the FNS public Web site at: http://www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/retailers/retailer_app/default.htm. Requests for 
additional information should be directed to Andrea Gordon at (703) 
305-2456 or via e-mail at: [email protected]. Information requests 
submitted through email should refer to the title of this notice and/or 
the OMB approval number in the subject line.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Food Stamp Program: Food Stamp Program Application for 
Stores, Form FNS-252 (Soliciting Comments from Retailers on the Revised 
Application).
    OMB Number: 0584-0008.
    Form Number: FNS-252.
    Expiration Date: November 30, 2005.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Abstract: Section 9 of the Food Stamp Act of 1977, as amended (7 
U.S.C. 2018), requires retail food stores to submit applications to FNS 
for approval prior to participating in the Food Stamp Program (FSP). 
FNS recently revised Form FNS-252 to make it easier to understand and 
to streamline the information collected on the application. The revised 
Form FNS-252 is a significant improvement over the previous Form FNS-
252, while adhering to the regulatory requirements for the 
authorization process for retailers. FNS implemented the revised Form 
FNS-252 when the new Store Tracking and Redemption Subsystem (STARS II) 
became operational during the fourth quarter of FY 2004. We know that 
in the past, many retailers submitted an incomplete or erroneous 
application to the FNS field office. This can be attributed, in part, 
to applicants who are purchasing a business and do not have complete 
inventory or financial records at the time of application to the FSP. 
The revised Form FNS-252 deleted redundant questions and questions that 
solicit information that can be collected from other FNS sources such 
as store visits and databases. It is our belief that the revised 
application is easier to understand and complete, and has resulted in 
fewer mistakes upfront. Use of the revised Form FNS-252 also has 
reduced the time it takes for a field office to process an incomplete 
or incorrect application. Retailers also benefit from the simplified, 
revised Form FNS-252 because they better understand what information is 
being asked of them initially. Additionally, FNS published a 60-day 
notice in the Federal Register, on January 2, 2003 at 68 FR 79 and 
again on December 24, 2003 at 68 FR 74546, asking for comments from the 
public on the revised Forms FNS-252 and Form FNS-252-2 and the newly 
developed Addendum to Revised Retailer Application for Chain Stores, 
Form FNS-252-C respectively. We are now seeking comments on the 
content, design and format of the revised Form FNS-252.
    Burden Estimates: As noted above, we will evaluate the revised Form 
FNS-252 on the appropriateness and clarity of the form's content, 
format and design. Before making final changes to this form, we will 
consider feedback from the public. The burden associated with the 
revised Form FNS-252 is determined from information available in the 
STARS database on initial authorizations and reauthorizations. For the 
burden associated with initial authorizations, we have used end-of-year 
FY 2004 data as the base number for current estimates for the burden 
associated with adding the one additional question referenced above to 
the revised Form FNS-252. We believe this number will be constant for 
the present year. We will use 24,658 as the base number for FY 2005 for 
all newly authorized stores. For burden estimates associated with 
applications for reauthorization, we have used FY 2004 data of 30,097 
reauthorizations as the base number for FY 2005 estimates because we do 
not anticipate any radical variation in the number of stores to be 
reauthorized in the current year. We estimate that 99 percent (24,411) 
of the 24,658 applications and 3 percent (903) of the 30,097 
reauthorizations will be submitted using the Form FNS-252. In our 
previous submission to OMB, we estimated that it takes a retailer, on 
average, 19.4 minutes to compete the revised Form FNS-252. For this 
submission to OMB, we estimate that it will take a retailer an 
additional five seconds to complete the one additional question 
referenced above. We estimate the annual burden for the revised Form 
FNS-252 to be 8,100 hours [25,314 affected retailers (24,411 new 
authorizations + 903 reauthorizations) x .32 (19.4 minutes)].
    The estimated burden computation is provided below:
    New Authorizations--24,411 (24,658 x 99%); Reauthorizations--903 
(30,097 x 3%);
    Total Responses = 25,314 (24,411 + 903)
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: FNS-252: 8,100 (25,314 x .32) hour.
    Total Annual Hours: 8,100.
    Affected Public: Retail food stores.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 25,314.
    Estimated Annual Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 25,314.
    Estimate of Burden: 8,100.

    Dated: July 25, 2005.
Roberto Salazar,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 05-15624 Filed 8-5-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P