[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 201 (Wednesday, October 19, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 60748-60749]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-20972]


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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

20 CFR Part 411


Town Hall Meetings on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the 
Ticket To Work and Self-Sufficiency Program

AGENCY: Social Security Administration (SSA).

ACTION: Notice of public town hall meetings.

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SUMMARY: We intend to hold a series of town hall meetings to maximize 
the opportunities for individuals and organizations to give us input on 
our Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to amend our regulations for 
the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program (Ticket to Work 
program). We invite the public, including beneficiaries and other 
individuals with disabilities, their advocates, service providers, 
employers and other interested parties to attend these public meetings 
and to give us input on our proposed changes to the rules for the 
Ticket to Work program. We are announcing the scheduling of the first 
of these town hall meetings and a tentative schedule of additional 
meetings.

DATES: We will hold our first public town hall meeting in Irvine, 
California on November 4, 2005 at 9 a.m. and ending at 12 p.m. See 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for tentative sites and dates for 
additional town hall meetings.

ADDRESSES: The location for the first town hall meeting is: Hyatt 
Regency Irvine, 17900 Jamboree Road, Irvine, CA 92614, Telephone: (949) 
975-1234, Fax: (949) 852-1574, Web site: http://irvine.hyatt.com.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about these town hall 
meetings contact, Paul Kryglik by telephone (410) 965-3735 or TTY (410) 
966-5609, or by e-mail to [email protected]. You may also mail 
inquiries about these meetings to Paul Kryglik, Outreach Coordinator, 
ODISP, Office of Regulations, Social Security Administration, 107 
Altmeyer, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235-6401.
    For information on eligibility or filing for benefits, call our 
national toll-free number 1-800-772-1213 or TTY 1-800-325-0778, or 
visit our Internet site, Social Security Online, at http://www.socialsecurity.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On September 30, 2005, we published an NPRM in the Federal Register 
(70 FR 57222) to amend our current rules for the Ticket to Work program 
to improve the overall effectiveness of the program in assisting 
beneficiaries to maximize their economic self-sufficiency through work 
opportunities. We provided a 90-day period for interested parties to 
comment. The 90-day comment period ends December 29, 2005. For 
information on how to give us written comments on the NPRM or read the 
comments we receive, see ADDRESSES section of the NPRM, or ``How do I 
provide comments if I do not go to a town hall meeting?'' section later 
in this notice. You may also give us comments orally or in writing at 
any of the town hall meetings, as explained in this notice. You may 
read the NPRM for the Ticket to Work program Online. The NPRM is 
available on the Internet site for the Government Printing Office at 
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html. The NPRM is also available on 
the Internet site for SSA (i.e., Social Security Online) at http://policy.ssa.gov/pnpublic.nsf/LawsRegs.

What Is the Purpose of the Town Hall Meetings?

    As contemplated in the NPRM for the Ticket to Work program, we are 
conducting a series of town hall meetings open to the public in order 
to obtain additional input on our proposed changes to the current rules 
for the program. We are holding these town hall meetings to maximize 
public awareness of our proposed rules for the Ticket to Work program 
and to maximize the opportunity for beneficiaries and other individuals 
with disabilities, their advocates, service providers, employers and 
other interested parties to provide us input on our proposed changes to 
the program. We invite you and other interested persons to come to any 
of the town hall meetings to give us oral and/or written comments on 
the NPRM for the Ticket to Work program.

What Are the Agenda and Format for the Town Hall Meetings?

    The full agenda for the meetings, as soon as available, will be 
posted on the Internet on the ``Work Site'' of SSA's Office of 
Employment Support Programs, at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/work. 
Seating at the town hall meetings may be limited. In general, the 
agenda and format for the meetings will be as follows:
    There will be a brief introductory opening during which SSA 
officials and/or other personnel, including a facilitator, will 
introduce themselves and describe the purpose and format of the 
meeting, including the ground rules

[[Page 60749]]

for providing oral and/or written comments at the meeting.
    We will ask for public comments on our proposed rules after a 
presentation of an overview of SSA's Comprehensive Work Opportunity 
Initiative. This discussion will be followed by a brief overview of the 
Ticket NPRM followed by an opportunity to offer comment on the 
following areas: (1) State participation and beneficiary choice; (2) 
employment network payment systems; (3) ticket eligibility for 
beneficiaries whose conditions may improve; (4) eligibility for more 
than one ticket per period of eligibility; (5) the definition of 
``using a ticket'' and timely progress; (6) the evidence requirements 
for employment network payment; and (7) availability of phase 1 
milestone payments in conjunction with vocational rehabilitation 
reimbursement.
    The third and final phase of the meeting will start with an 
overview of SSA's Demonstration Projects and will be followed by an 
opportunity to comment on any of the Demonstration Projects or SSA Work 
Incentives.
    For each issue and as time allows, we will give each individual the 
opportunity to provide oral comments within a specified amount of time 
(e.g., approximately two minutes). Microphones will be stationed at 
convenient points in the meeting room. We will ask individuals wanting 
to provide comments to us to form a line behind each microphone and 
approach the microphone in turn. We will ask that each speaker, before 
delivering his or her remarks, identify themselves by full name, 
address, and telephone number. For those individuals representing 
organizations, we will request that they identify themselves by full 
name, state the name of the organization and the capacity in which they 
represent the organization, and give the organization's address and 
telephone number. Each individual will then state his/her comments 
regarding the area/issue open for comment. Each individual's remarks 
will be recorded and later transcribed and entered into the rulemaking 
record as written comments.
    We anticipate allotting a period of time to receive oral comments 
on each area/issue, with a short break between each such period. At 
times announced during the meeting, and at the end of each meeting, we 
will accept written comments from individuals wishing to give us 
comments in writing.

What Will SSA Do With the Comments It Receives on the NPRM?

    The transcript of the oral comments on the NPRM given to us at the 
town hall meetings and any written comments we receive at the meetings, 
together with the written comments that we receive in the manner 
prescribed in the NPRM during the 90-day comment period, will become a 
part of the rulemaking record for making changes to the regulations for 
the Ticket to Work program. The 90-day comment period ends on December 
29, 2005. We will consider all of these comments in developing the 
final rules for the Ticket to Work program. We will summarize the 
public comments we received on the NPRM and respond to the major 
comments in the preamble to our final regulations.
    We will post the written comments we receive during the 90-day 
comment period, including the transcript of the oral comments presented 
at the town hall meetings, on our Internet site at http://policy.ssa.gov/pnpublic.nsf/LawsRegs. You may also make arrangements to 
inspect the comments as explained in the ``How do I provide comments on 
the NPRM if I do not go to a town hall meeting?'' section of this 
notice.

What Are the Tentative Sites and Dates for Other Town Hall Meetings?

    The tentative sites and approximate dates for additional town hall 
meetings are as follows:

Miami, Florida: November 16, 2005 from 9 a.m.-12 p.m.
Hartford, Connecticut: December 6, 2005 from 9 a.m.-12 p.m.
Des Moines, Iowa: December 14, 2005 from 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

    When we have more information about these additional town hall 
meetings, we will publish that information in a notice(s) in the 
Federal Register at a time nearer to the event(s). Seating may be 
limited at these meetings.

How Do I Provide Comments on the NPRM if I Do Not Go to a Town Hall 
Meeting?

    You may give us your written comments by: using our Internet site 
facility (i.e., Social Security Online) at http://policy.ssa.gov/pnpublic.nsf/LawsRegs or the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov; e-mail to [email protected]; telefax to (410) 
966-2830; or letter to the Commissioner of Social Security, P.O. Box 
17703, Baltimore, MD 21235-7703. You may also deliver them to the 
Office of Regulations, Social Security Administration, 107 Altmeyer 
Building, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235-6401, between 
the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on regular business days. To be sure 
your comments are considered, we must receive them by December 29, 
2005.
    We post the comments on our Internet site at http://policy.ssa.gov/pnpublic.nsf/LawsRegs. You may also inspect the comments on regular 
business days by making arrangements with the following contact person: 
Greg Zwitch, SSA Regulations Officer, Social Security Administration, 
107 Altmeyer Building, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235-
6401, e-mail [email protected], or telephone (410) 965-1887 or TTY 
(410) 966-5609.

    Authority: Sec. 1148 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1320b-19); sec. 101(e), Pub. L. 106-170, 113 Stat. 1860, 1877 (42 
U.S.C. 1320b-19 note).

    Dated: October 14, 2005.
Martin H. Gerry,
Deputy Commissioner for Disability and Income Security Programs.
[FR Doc. 05-20972 Filed 10-18-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-U