[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 182 (Tuesday, September 20, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58238-58240]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-24086]


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

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; Waivers Under Section 6(o) of the Food and Nutrition 
Act

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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

SUMMARY: In accordance with Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 
notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment 
on proposed information collections. The proposed collection is a 
revision of a currently approved collection. The purpose of Section 
6(o) of the Food and Nutrition Act is to establish a time limit for the 
receipt of benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program 
(SNAP) for certain able-bodied adults who are not working. The 
provision authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture, upon a State 
agency's request, to waive the provision for any group of individuals 
if the Secretary determines ``that the area in which the individuals 
reside has an unemployment rate of over 10 percent, or does not have a 
sufficient number of jobs to provide employment for the individuals.''
    As required in the statute, in order to receive a waiver the State 
agency must submit sufficient supporting information so that the United 
States Department of Agriculture (USDA) can make the required 
determination as to the area's unemployment rate or sufficiency of 
available jobs. This collection of information is, therefore, necessary 
in order to obtain waivers of the SNAP time limit.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before November 21, 
2011.

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; (d) ways to 
minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who 
respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology. Comments may be sent to Angela 
Kline, Chief, Certification Policy Branch, Program Development 
Division, Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 
3101 Park Center Drive Suite 812, Alexandria, VA 22302. Comments may 
also be faxed to the attention of Ms. Kline at (703) 305-2486 or sent 
by e-mail to [email protected]. Comments will also be accepted 
through the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments electronically.

[[Page 58239]]

    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 812. 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: Requests for additional information 
should be directed to Ms. Kline at (703) 305-2495.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Waivers under Section 6(o) of the Food and Nutrition Act.
    OMB Number: 0584-0479.
    Expiration Date: December 31, 2011.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Abstract: Section 824 of the Personal Responsibility and Work 
Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), Public Law 104-193, 
110 Stat. 2323 amended Section 6(o) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 
U.S.C. 2015(o)) to establish a time limit for the receipt of food stamp 
benefits for certain able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) who 
are not working. This time limit is confined to adults between 18 and 
50 years of age that do not have children or adults dependent upon 
them. ABAWD recipient eligibility is limited to three months within a 
36 month period, unless the individual is working, or participating in 
a designated employment and training activity, for 20 hours per week. 
(Note: pursuant to the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Pub. 
L. 110-234, 122 Stat. 923, enacted May 22, 2008), the Food Stamp Act 
was renamed the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 and the Food Stamp 
Program was renamed the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program 
[SNAP].) The provision authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture, upon a 
State agency's request, to waive the provision for any group of 
individuals if the Secretary determines ``that the area in which the 
individuals reside has an unemployment rate of over 10 percent or does 
not have a sufficient number of jobs to provide employment for the 
individuals.''
    As required in the statute, in order to receive a waiver the State 
agency must submit sufficient supporting information so that the 
Secretary can make the required determination as to the area's 
unemployment rate or insufficiency of available jobs. This is 
established by State agencies demonstrating that the statewide, or a 
geographical region's, unemployment rate exceeds 10%, is 120% or more 
of the national unemployment rate, or is on Department of Labor (DOL) 
``trigger'' list for extended unemployment insurance benefits. This 
collection of information is necessary in order to obtain waivers of 
the SNAP recipient time limit.
    Based on the experience of the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) 
during calendar year 2008, FNS projects that on an annual basis 48 
State agencies will submit requests for waivers of the time limit for 
ABAWD recipients based on an insufficiency of jobs. Using unemployment 
projections from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) through 2014, 
FNS believes that labor market conditions in 2008 would be more 
representative of the U.S. labor market over the next three years than 
would the preceding three years.
    During the period from April 1, 2009 through September 30, 2010, 
the time limit for able-bodied adults without dependents was suspended 
by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Pub. L. 111-5) which 
suspended the need for the waivers that are included in this 
information collection. Subsequent to September 30, 2010, most waivers 
were based on State eligibility for extended unemployment benefits (EB) 
under trigger notices issued by the U.S Department of Labor Employment 
and Training Administration (DOLETA).
    Of the 48 State waiver requests, FNS projects that 36 waiver 
requests will be based on labor market data for clients in specific 
geographic areas within states that have an unemployment rate greater 
than 20 percent above the national average in that area. A typical 
State waiver includes several geographic areas where each geographic 
area may include multiple political jurisdictions. FNS projects one of 
the waiver requests will be based solely on the designation of areas as 
Labor Surplus Areas (LSAs) by the DOLETA, eleven will be statewide 
waivers based on entitlement to EUC based on trigger notices issued by 
the DOL. For waivers based on the unemployment rate of specified 
geographic areas within a State, FNS estimates a response time of 35 
hours for each waiver request. The 35 hour time per response reflects 
preparation of waiver requests by the State agency which requires 
detailed analysis of labor markets within the State. These waivers 
frequently cover multiple timeframes and multi-county labor market 
areas. FNS projects a total burden of 1,260 hours for the 36 waivers 
covering specific geographic areas based on unemployment rate greater 
than 20 percent above the national average. For the waiver based solely 
on LSA designation and the 11 estimated waivers based on trigger 
notices, FNS estimates a burden of 48 hours or four hours per waiver 
since the data supporting these waivers is readily available from the 
DOL Web site and requires minimal preparation by the State agencies. 
FNS projects a total burden of 1,308 hours for this information 
collection, a reduction of 372 hours from the prior approved 
information collection burden of 1,680 hours. There is no specific 
recordkeeping requirement directly associated with this information 
collection.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                             Estimated       Response
          OMB  0584-0479                    Requirement              number       annually per    Total annual      Hours per     Annual burden
                                                                            respondents     respondent       responses       response          hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Affected Public:
    State Agencies
Reporting Burden..........................  Submission of waiver request              36               1              36              35           1,260
                                             based on labor market data.
                                            Submission of waiver request               1               1               1               4               4
                                             based on Labor Surplus Area
                                             designation.
                                            Submission of waiver request              11               1               4               4              44
                                             based on DOL trigger
                                             notices.

[[Page 58240]]

 
                                            Reporting Totals............              48  ..............              48  ..............            1308
Recordkeeping Burden......................  Recordkeeping...............               0               0               0               0               0
                                            Recordkeeping Totals........               0               0               0               0               0
                                            Total Recordkeeping and                   48  ..............              48  ..............            1308
                                             Reporting Burden.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Dated: September 12, 2011.
Audrey Rowe,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-24086 Filed 9-19-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P