[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 28 (Monday, February 11, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7782-7783]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-2503]



[[Page 7782]]

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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Request and 
Comment Request

    The Social Security Administration (SSA) publishes a list of 
information collection packages that will require clearance by the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in compliance with Public Law 
104-13, the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, effective October 1, 1995. 
The information collection packages that may be included in this notice 
are for new information collections, approval of existing information 
collections, revisions to OMB-approved information collections, and 
extensions (no change) of OMB-approved information collections.
    SSA is soliciting comments on the accuracy of the agency's burden 
estimate; the need for the information; its practical utility; ways to 
enhance its quality, utility, and clarity; and on ways to minimize 
burden on respondents, including the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology. Written comments 
and recommendations regarding the information collection(s) should be 
submitted to the OMB Desk Officer and the SSA Reports Clearance 
Officer. The information can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to the 
individuals at the addresses and fax numbers listed below:

(OMB), Office of Management and Budget, Attn: Desk Officer for SSA, 
Fax: 202-395-6974, E-mail address: [email protected].
(SSA), Social Security Administration, DCBFM, Attn: Reports Clearance 
Officer, 1333 Annex Building, 6401 Security Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21235, 
Fax: 410-965-6400, E-mail address: [email protected].
    I. The information collections listed below are pending at SSA and 
will be submitted to OMB within 60 days from the date of this notice. 
Therefore, your comments should be submitted to SSA within 60 days from 
the date of this publication. You can obtain copies of the collection 
instruments by calling the SSA Reports Clearance Officer at 410-965-
0454 or by writing to the address listed above.
    1. Continuing Disability Review Report--20 CFR 404.1589, 416.989--
0960-0072. SSA uses the information collected on Form SSA-454-BK to 
determine whether an individual who receives Social Security disability 
benefits continues to be disabled. The SSA-454-BK updates the record of 
the disabled individual, providing information on recent medical 
treatment, vocational and education experience, work activity, and 
evaluations of potential for work for adults. It also collects 
information on ability of Title XVI children to function without marked 
and severe limitation. On the basis of the responses provided, SSA 
obtains medical and other evidence in order to make a determination 
whether disability, as defined by the Social Security Act, continues or 
has ended, and, if so, when the disability ended. A continuing 
disability review (CDR) is typically done when a disabled individual's 
medical reexamination diary matures, or when medical improvement is 
reported. The number of CDRs done each fiscal year depends on the 
number of maturing diaries, reports of medical improvement and SSA 
budget constraints. The respondents are recipients of benefits based on 
disability under Title II and/or Title XVI of the Social Security Act.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.
    Number of Respondents: 398,000.
    Frequency of Response: 1.
    Average Burden per Response: 60 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 398,000 hours.
    2. Cessation or Continuance of Disability or Blindness 
Determination and Transmittal--20 CFR 404.1512, 404.1588-1599, 
404.1615--0960-0442. The information collected on the SSA-833-C3/U3 is 
used to make determinations of whether individuals receiving Title II 
disability benefits continue to be unable to engage in substantial 
gainful activity and are still eligible to receive benefits. The 
respondents are State Disability Determination Services (DDS) 
employees.
    Type of Request: Extension of an OMB-approved information 
collection.
    Number of Respondents: 190,507.
    Frequency of Response: 1.
    Average Burden per Response: 30 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 95,254 hours.
    II. The information collections listed below have been submitted to 
OMB for clearance. Your comments on the information collections would 
be most useful if received by OMB and SSA within 30 days from the date 
of this publication. You can obtain a copy of the OMB clearance 
packages by calling the SSA Reports Clearance Officer at 410-965-0454, 
or by writing to the address listed above.
    1. Request for Review of Hearing Decision/Order--20 CFR 404.967-
404.981, 416.1467-416.1481--0960-0277. The HA-520 is needed in order to 
afford claimants their statutory right under the Social Security Act 
and implementing regulations to request review of an Administrative Law 
Judge's (ALJ) hearing decision or dismissal of a hearing request on 
Title II and Title XVI claims. An individual may request an Appeals 
Council review by filing a written request. A completed HA-520 ensures 
that SSA receives the information necessary to establish that the 
claimant filed the request for review within the prescribed time, and 
that the claimant has completed the requisite steps to permit review by 
the Appeals Council. The Appeals Council also uses the information to 
document the claimant's reason(s) for disagreeing with the ALJ's 
decision or dismissal, to determine whether the claimant has additional 
evidence to submit, and to determine whether the claimant has a 
representative or wants to appoint one. The respondents are claimants 
requesting review of an ALJ's decision or dismissal of hearing.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.
    Number of Respondents: 100,000.
    Frequency of Response: 1.
    Average Burden per Response: 10 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 16,667 hours.
    2. Employee Identification Statement--20 CFR 404.702--0960-0473. 
The information collected by Form SSA-4156 is used in scrambled 
earnings situations when two or more individuals have used the same 
Social Security Number (SSN), or when an employer (or employers) has 
reported earnings for two or more employees under the same SSN. The 
information on the form is used to help identify the individual (and 
the SSN) to whom the earnings belong. The respondents are employers 
involved in erroneous wage reporting.
    Type of Request: Extension of an OMB-approved information 
collection.
    Number of Respondents: 4,750.
    Frequency of Response: 1.
    Average Burden per Response: 10 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 792 hours.
    3. Authorization to Disclose Information to Social Security 
Administration--20 CFR 404.1512 & 20 CFR 416.912--0960-0623. SSA must 
obtain sufficient medical evidence to make eligibility determinations 
for Title II benefits and Title XVI payments. For SSA to obtain medical 
evidence, an applicant must authorize his or her medical source(s) to 
release the information to SSA. The applicant may use form SSA-827 to 
provide consent for the release of information. Generally,

[[Page 7783]]

the State DDS completes the form(s) based on information provided by 
the applicant, and sends the form(s) to the designated medical 
source(s).
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved information 
collection.

                                  Reading, Signing, and Dating the 1st SSA-827
                                                  [10 minutes]
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                                                                                   Estimated
                                                 Number of       Total annual      number of       Total burden
              Total respondents               reports by each     responses       minutes per         hours
                                                 respondent                         response
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3,853,928...................................               1        3,853,928               10          642,321
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                                  Signing and Dating Three Additional SSA-827s
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                   Estimated
                                                 Number of       Total annual      number of       Total burden
              Total respondents               reports by each     responses       minutes per         hours
                                                 respondent                         response
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3,853,928...................................               3       11,561,784                1          192,696
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


                             Reading the Explanation of the SSA-827 on the Internet
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                   Estimated
                                                 Number of       Total annual      number of       Total burden
              Total respondents               reports by each     responses       minutes per         hours
                                                 respondent                         response
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
586,232.....................................               1          586,232                3           29,312
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Collectively:
    Number of Respondents: 3,853,928.
    Average Burden per Response: 13 minutes to complete all four forms.
    Estimated Annual Burden for Reading Internet Explanation: 29,312.
    Estimated Annual Burden to Complete the Form: 864,329 hours.
    Correction: The first and second Federal Register Notices reported 
incorrect burden information and mentioned two alternate versions of 
the form which were discontinued previously. We are publishing this 
correction Notice to show the correct burden information and remove the 
references to the two discontinued forms.
    4. Epidemiological Research Report--20 CFR 401.165--0960-0701. 
Section 311 of the Social Security Independence and Program 
Improvements Act of 1994 directed SSA to provide support to health 
researchers involved in epidemiological research. Specifically, when a 
study is determined to contribute to a national health interest, SSA 
will furnish information to determine whether a study subject is shown 
on the SSA administrative records as being alive or deceased (vital 
status). SSA will recoup all expenses incurred in providing this 
information. Web-posted questions solicit the information SSA needs to 
provide the data and to collect the fees. The requestors are scientific 
researchers who are applying to receive vital status information about 
individuals from Social Security administrative data records.
    Type of Request: Extension of an OMB-approved information 
collection.
    Number of Respondents: 30.
    Frequency of Response: 1.
    Average Burden per Response: 120 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 60 hours.

    Dated: February 6, 2008.
Elizabeth A. Davidson,
Reports Clearance Officer, Social Security Administration.
 [FR Doc. E8-2503 Filed 2-8-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P