[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 1 (Wednesday, January 2, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 147-157]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-6255]


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 Notices
                                                 Federal Register
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 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 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 1 / Wednesday, January 2, 2008 / 
Notices  

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request--Food Stamp Application, Form FNS-252 and a New On-Line 
Application for Stores, Form FNS-252-E

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 proposed information collections.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before March 3, 2008.

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 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 use of appropriate automated, electronic, 
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms 
of information technology.
    Comments may be sent to Andrea Gold, Chief, Retailer Management 
Branch, Benefit Redemption Division, Food and Nutrition Service, U. S. 
Department of Agriculture, 3101 Park Center Drive, Alexandria, VA 
22302. Comments may also be submitted via fax to the attention of 
Andrea Gold at (703) 305-1863 or via e-mail to [email protected].
    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, 
Alexandria, Virginia 22302, Room 404.
    All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the 
request for OMB approval. All comments will be a matter of public 
record.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The public can download the Form FNS-
252 from the FNS Web site at: http://www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/retailers.
    Requests for additional information or copies of the information 
collection should be directed to Andrea Gold at (703) 305-2456.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Food Stamp Program --Store Applications.
    OMB Number: 0584-0008.
    Form Number: FNS-252, 252-E, 252-2, and 252-C.
    Expiration Date: March 31, 2009.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    Abstract: Section 9 of the Food Stamp Act of 1977, as amended, (the 
Act) (7 U.S.C. 2018), requires retail food stores to submit 
applications to the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) for approval prior 
to participating in the Food Stamp Program (FSP). Currently, retailers 
who want to apply for authorization to participate in the FSP must 
complete Form FNS-252 (a paper application) manually. Once completed, 
applicant retailers must mail/deliver the application to the 
appropriate FNS Field Office, along with other required documents, for 
processing. A very small percentage of entities (1%) fax their 
applications. FNS field offices review applications to ensure that the 
firm is eligible. The firm is then authorized to accept FSP benefits, 
or denied. Field office staff manually enters the store application 
data into the nationwide Store Tracking and Redemption System (STARS) 
database using a series of on-line screens.
    FNS is committed to complying with the E-Government Act of 2002, 
which requires that, when practicable, federal agencies use electronic 
forms, electronic filing, and electronic signature to conduct official 
business. Current technological opportunities allow us to improve 
information collection in accordance with these statutes. FNS is 
developing an on-line application, Form FNS-252-E, as an electronic 
alternative for retailers who wish to complete and submit an 
application via the Internet from the FNS Web site.
    FNS regional and field office staff have suggested ways the data 
collection on the current Form FNS-252 could be improved when designing 
the new on-line application. As a result, FNS will revise the current 
Form FNS-252. The purpose of the revision to the currently approved 
collection for the Food Stamp Program Application for Stores, Form FNS-
252, is to continue the authority for the established application form 
and to update the number of collection hours. Efforts are being made to 
streamline the information collected on the application and make it 
easier to understand. Questions may be re-phrased or combined in order 
to provide clearer language. Those questions that no longer have any 
relevance to the authorization process will be deleted. We will include 
detailed instructions and provide on-line help, where appropriate. The 
application form will be developed in a customer and computer friendly 
format.
    FNS also intends to amend the information contained on pages 6 and 
7 of the current Form FNS-252. These changes are based on 
recommendations from FNS'' legal counsel to reduce redundant, ambiguous 
and technical language, and to provide clearer language describing our 
training requirements and the penalties for violating Program rules. 
Due to the importance of the information contained in this section, and 
to ensure that all our retailer applications provide the same 
information, FNS is also seeking approval to revise all forms 
associated with OMB No. 0584-0008, which are the Meal Service 
application, Form FNS-252-2, and the supplemental to the Retailer 
Application, Form FNS-252-C.
    We are soliciting public comments on the content, format, and 
design of the revised Form FNS-252 and the new on-line Form FNS-252-E.
    We do not know how many retailers will avail themselves of the on-
line application; however, we estimate that, initially, approximately 
40 percent of all retailers will use the on-line Form FNS-252-E. We are 
planning to reach out to retailers and industry representatives to

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promote this on-line alternative. As noted above, we will evaluate the 
revised Form FNS-252 and the new on-line application, Form FNS-252-E, 
on the appropriateness and clarity of the form's content, format, and 
design. Before making final changes to these forms, we will consider 
feedback from the public. The burden associated with the Form FNS-252 
and the on-line Form FNS-252-E is determined from the number of all 
newly authorized stores obtained from the STARS Database. We used the 
number of newly authorized retailers (21,801) from FY 2006 as the base 
number for current FY 2007 estimates. We further estimate that 40 
percent (8,720) of the 21,801 applications will be submitted using the 
on-line Form FNS-252-E and 60 percent (13,081) will be submitted using 
Form FNS-252 (paper application). In our last submission to OMB, we 
estimated that it takes a retailer, on average, 19.9 minutes to 
complete Form FNS-252. For this submission to OMB, as a result of 
anticipated improvements, we estimate that it will take retailers, on 
average, 18.9 minutes to complete either application form (Form FNS-
252-E or Form FNS-252). We estimate the annual burden for the new on-
line Form FNS-252-E to be 2,747 hours [8,720 (21,801 affected retailers 
x 40% new authorizations) x .315 (18.9 minutes)]. We further estimate 
the annual burden for the revised Form FNS-252 to be 4,339 hours 
[13,081 (21,801 affected retailers x 60% new authorizations) x .332 
(18.9 minutes)].
    Respondents: Retail food stores.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 45,765.
    Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 73,074.
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.114 or 7 minutes (rounded from 6 
minutes and 50 seconds).
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 8,309.

    Dated: December 19, 2007.
Roberto Salazar,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
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[FR Doc. 07-6255 Filed 12-31-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-C