[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 89 (Monday, May 10, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25830-25832]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-10928]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Regulations, 
Part 275--Quality Control

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 
notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment 
on the proposed information collection for the Supplemental Nutrition 
Assistance Program's Regulations, Part 275--Quality Control. 
Specifically, the burden associated with the collection of information 
for the sampling plan, arbitration process, and the good cause process. 
This collection is a revision of a currently approved collection, OMB 
No. 0584-0303.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before July 9, 2010.

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

[[Page 25831]]

information has 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; (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of 
information on those who are to respond, including the use of 
appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Comments may be sent to: Tiffany Susan Wilkinson, Program Analyst, 
Quality Control Branch, Program Accountability and Administration 
Division, Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 
3101 Park Center Drive, Room 822, Alexandria, VA 22302. You may also 
download an electronic version of this notice at http://www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/rules/regulations/default.htm and comment via e-
mail at [email protected] or use the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. 
Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the online instructions for 
submitting comments electronically.
    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, 
Room 822, Alexandria, Virginia 22302.
    All responses to this notice will be included in the request for 
Office of Management and Budget approval. All comments will also become 
a matter of public record.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection form and instruction should be 
directed to Tiffany Susan Wilkinson, (703) 305-2805.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance 
Program's (SNAP) Quality Control Regulations, Part 275.
    OMB Number: 0584-0303.
    Expiration Date: November 30, 2010.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Abstract: There are three components of the Quality Control (QC) 
system that are covered in this proposed information collection. They 
are: (1) The sampling plan; (2) the arbitration process; and (3) the 
good cause process. Each State is required to develop a sampling plan 
that demonstrates the integrity of its case selection procedures. The 
QC system is designed to measure each State agency's payment error rate 
based on a statistically valid sample of SNAP cases. A State agency's 
payment error rate represents the proportion of cases that were 
reported through a QC review as being ineligible, overissued and 
underissued SNAP benefits.
    The QC system contains procedures for resolving differences in 
review findings between State agencies and FNS. This is referred to as 
the arbitration process. The QC system also contains procedures that 
provide relief for State agencies from all or a part of a QC liability 
when a State agency can demonstrate that a part or all of an excessive 
error rate was due to an unusual event that had an uncontrollable 
impact on the State agency's payment error rate. This is referred to as 
the good cause process.
    The approved burden for the QC system includes the burden for the 
QC sampling plan, the arbitration process, and the good cause process. 
The annual reporting burden associated with the QC sampling plan 
remains at 265 hours. We estimate the annual reporting burdens 
associated with arbitration and good cause processes to total 936 hours 
and 160 hours, respectively. The increase in the proposed burden from 
the currently approved 840 to 936 hours for the arbitration process is 
due to an increase in the number of State agencies estimated to respond 
from 14 to 15 and to the estimated number of responses per State agency 
from 2.5 to 2.6. These increases are a result of State agencies more 
frequently disagreeing with FNS' findings. The proposed annual 
reporting burden for the good cause process is unchanged from the 
currently approved burden of 160 hours. The total reporting burden for 
the QC system is, therefore, 1,361 hours.
    The proposed annual recordkeeping burden associated with the QC 
sampling plan is 1.25 hours per year. The proposed annual recordkeeping 
burdens associated with arbitration have increased from 0.83 to 0.92 
hours and the good cause process remains at 0.0236 hour. The 
recordkeeping burden for the arbitration process increased from 0.83 
hour to 0.92 hour due to an increase in the estimated number of 
affected State agencies from 14 to 15 and an increase in the estimated 
number of responses per State from 2.5 to 2.6. The recordkeeping burden 
for the good cause process remains at 0.0236 hours. The total burden 
for recordkeeping is 2.19 hours. As a result, the total annual burden 
for the QC system, as proposed by this notice, increased from 1,267 to 
1,363 hours.
    Quality Control System Reporting Burden Associated with the 
Sampling Plan, Arbitration, and Good Cause:

                                                                    Reporting Burden
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                                                                                            Number of          Total                          Annual
             Affected public                        Requirement             Number of       responses/    responses  per     Time per        reporting
                                                                           respondents      respondent         year       response (hrs)   burden (hrs)
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State Agencies...........................  Sampling Plan...............              53              1                 1               5             265
State Agencies...........................  Arbitration Process.........              15              2.6              39              24             936
State Agencies...........................  Good Cause Process..........               1              1                 1             160             160
                                                                                                         -----------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                                                   1,361
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    Quality Control System Recordkeeping Burden Associated with the 
Sampling Plan, Arbitration, and Good Cause:

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                                                                  Recordkeeping Burden
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                                                                                                                                           Total annual
                                                                            Number of       Number of        Time per      Total annual     reporting &
             Affected public                        Requirement              records      records/state    record (hrs)    recordkeeping   recordkeeping
                                                                                                                           burden (hrs)    burden (hrs)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Agencies...........................  Sampling Plan...............              53              1            0.0236          1.25            266.25
State Agencies...........................  Arbitration Process.........              15              2.6          0.0236          0.92            936.92
State Agencies...........................  Good Cause Process..........               1            N/A            0.0236          0.0236          160.02
                                                                                                                         -------------------------------
                                                                                                                                  2.1936        1,363.19
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    The Combined Quality Control System's Estimated Burden (includes 
the burdens associated with the Sampling Plan, Arbitration and Good 
Cause): (Reporting 1,361 + Recordkeeping 2 burden hours) = 1,363 hours.

    Dated: April 29, 2010.
Julia Paradis,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-10928 Filed 5-7-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P