[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 204 (Friday, October 23, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54831-54832]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-25528]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

    In compliance with Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 concerning opportunity for public comment on proposed 
collections of information, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health 
Services Administration (SAMHSA) will publish periodic summaries of 
proposed projects. To request more information on the proposed projects 
or to obtain a copy of the information collection plans, call the 
SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer on (240) 276-1243.
    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collections of 
information are 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; (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 respondents, 
including through the use of automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology.

Proposed Project: Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant 
Synar Report Format, FFY 2011-2013--(OMB No. 0930-0222)--Revision

    Section 1926 of the Public Health Service Act [42 U.S.C. 300x-26] 
stipulates that funding Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT) 
Block Grant agreements for alcohol and drug abuse programs for fiscal 
year 1994 and subsequent fiscal years require States to have in effect 
a law providing that it is unlawful for any manufacturer, retailer, or 
distributor of tobacco products to sell or distribute any such product 
to any individual under the age of 18. This section further requires 
that States conduct annual, random, unannounced inspections to ensure 
compliance with the law; that the State submit annually a report 
describing the results of the inspections, describing the activities 
carried out by the State to enforce the required law, describing the 
success the State has achieved in reducing the availability of tobacco 
products to individuals under the age of 18, and describing the 
strategies to be utilized by the State for enforcing such law during 
the fiscal year for which the grant is sought.
    Before making an award to a State under the SAPT Block Grant, the 
Secretary must make a determination that the State has maintained 
compliance with these requirements. If a determination is made that the 
State is not in compliance, penalties shall be applied. Penalties 
ranged from 10 percent of the Block Grant in applicable year 1 (FFY 
1997 SAPT Block Grant Applications) to 40 percent in applicable year 4 
(FFY 2000 SAPT Block Grant Applications) and subsequent years. 
Respondents include the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American 
Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, 
Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands.
    Regulations that implement this legislation are at 45 CFR 96.130, 
are approved by OMB under control number 0930-0163, and require that 
each State submit an annual Synar report to the Secretary describing 
their progress in complying with section 1926 of the PHS Act. The Synar 
report, due December 31 following the fiscal year for which the State 
is reporting, describes the results of the inspections and the 
activities carried out by the State to enforce the required law; the 
success the State has achieved in reducing the availability of tobacco 
products to individuals under the age of 18; and the strategies to be 
utilized by the State for enforcing such law during the fiscal year for 
which the grant is sought.
    SAMHSA's Center for Substance Abuse Prevention will request OMB 
approval of revisions to the current report format associated with 
Section 1926 (42 U.S.C. 300x-26). The report format is minimally 
changing. Any changes in either formatting or content are being made to 
simplify the reporting process for the States and to clarify the 
information as the States report it; both outcomes will facilitate 
consistent, credible, and efficient monitoring of Synar compliance 
across the States and will reduce the reporting burden by the States. 
All of the information required in the new report format is already 
being collected by the States. Specific revisions all appear in Section 
I

[[Page 54832]]

(Compliance Progress) of the report format and include clarifications 
to Questions 4a, 5b, 5e and 5f. Additionally, three new questions (5c, 
5d and 5g) have been added and two items have been added to Question 
7b. Information on these additions appears below:
    Question 5c: Level of Enforcement--This question, which asks the 
State to select whether enforcement is conducted only at those outlets 
randomly selected for the Synar survey, only at a subset of outlets not 
randomly selected for the Synar survey, or a combination of the two, 
has been newly added to the ASR format. It has been added to provide 
additional information about State enforcement programs, which is 
frequently requested by partner agencies and can also be used to target 
technical assistance.
    Question 5d: Frequency of Enforcement--This question, which asks 
the State to select whether every tobacco outlet in the State did or 
did not receive at least one enforcement compliance check in the last 
year, has been newly added to the ASR format. It has been added to 
provide additional information about State enforcement programs, which 
is frequently requested by partner agencies and can also be used to 
target technical assistance.
    Question 5g. Relationship of State Synar Program to FDA-Funded 
Enforcement Program--This question, which asks the State to describe 
the relationship between the State's Synar program and the Food and 
Drug Administration (FDA)-funded enforcement program, has been added to 
the ASR format. The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, 
recently signed into law by President Obama, requires the FDA to 
reissue the 1996 regulation aimed at reducing young people's access to 
tobacco products and curbing the appeal of tobacco to the young. This 
regulation must be reissued by April 2010. As part of the 
implementation of this regulation, FDA will be contracting with States 
to enforce new Federal youth access provisions. This question asks the 
State to describe the relationship and coordination between its Synar 
program and the enforcement program funded by FDA.
    Question 7b. Synar Survey Results for States that Do Not Use the 
Synar Survey Estimation System (SSES)--Two items have been added to 
this question (accuracy rate and completion rate). These items were 
added to ensure that the same statistical parameters are asked of both 
States that do and do not use the SSES to analyze their Synar survey 
results.

                                             Annual Reporting Burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     Number of
                 45 CFR Citation                    respondents    Responses per     Hours per      Total hour
                                                        \1\         respondents      response         burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annual Report (Section 1--States and                          59               1              15             885
 Territories) 96.130(e)(1-3)....................
State Plan (Section II-States and Territories)                59               1               3             177
 96.130(e)(4,5), 96.130(g)......................
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................              59  ..............  ..............           1,062
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Red Lake Indian Tribe is not subject to tobacco requirements.

    Send comments to Summer King, SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer, 
Room 7-1044, One Choke Cherry Road, Rockville, MD 20857. Written 
comments should be received within 60 days of this notice.

    Dated: October 15, 2009.
Elaine Parry,
Director, Office of Program Services.
[FR Doc. E9-25528 Filed 10-22-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4162-20-P