[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 37 (Friday, February 24, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11193-11194]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-4257]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY


Proposed Collections; Comment Requests

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing 
effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general 
public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment 
on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the Office of the State Small Business 
Credit Initiative (SSBCI) within the Department of the Treasury is 
soliciting comments concerning (1) the SSBCI Allocation Agreement for 
Participating States, (2) the SSBCI Allocation Agreement for 
Participating Municipalities, (3) the SSBCI Application Form, and (4) 
the SSBCI Technical Assistance Quarterly Review collection.
    On September 27, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Small 
Business Jobs Act of 2010 (the ``Act''). Title III of the Act created 
the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI), which was funded 
with $1.5 billion to strengthen State programs that support lending to 
small businesses and small manufacturers. Treasury allocated Federal 
funds to participating States, territories, the District of Columbia, 
and municipalities (``Participating States'') in order to support 
statutorily eligible State or municipal capital access programs and 
other eligible State or municipal credit support programs, including 
loan guarantee, loan participation, collateral support, and venture 
capital programs. SSBCI is a one-time program of limited duration. The 
first two information collections memorialize the reporting 
requirements for Participating States, as required by the Act. The 
third information collection is only required of Participating States 
that wish to request an amendment to their prior approved applications. 
The final information collection is a voluntary telephonic collection 
from Participating States that wish to take advantage of technical 
assistance made available from Treasury as Participating States 
administer their programs.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before April 24, 2012 to 
be assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
    Fax: Attn: Request for Comments (SSBCI Proposed Information 
Collection) (202) 622-9947.
    Mail: Attn: Request for Comments (SSBCI Proposed Information 
Collection). Office of State Small Business Credit Initiative, 
Department of the Treasury, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, 
DC 20220.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and the Federal Register Doc. number that appears at the end of this 
document. Comments received will be made available to the public via 
regulations.gov or upon request, without change and including any 
personal information provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information 
about the filings or procedures should be directed to Deputy Director, 
SSBCI, Department of the Treasury, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20220.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: SSBCI Allocation Agreement for Participating States.
    OMB Control Number: 1505-0227.
    Abstract: The SSBCI Allocation Agreement for States, which is 
required by Title III of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 
111-240, ``the Act''), will memorialize the terms and conditions for 
funds made available to participating states under the SSBCI. Among 
other duties, included in the terms of this agreement is the 
requirement that all Participating States submit quarterly and annual 
reporting to Treasury which details the use of funds under the program. 
This information is necessary in order to comply with reporting 
requirements established by the Act.
    The SSBCI Allocation Agreement for Participating Municipalities is 
a modified version of the SSBCI Allocation Agreement for Participating 
States that contains additional specific provisions for municipalities 
participating in the SSBCI, principally: (a) a requirement that 
municipal applicants applying jointly for SSBCI funds shall document 
and provide to Treasury a copy of a cooperative agreement that details 
the roles and responsibilities among each municipality as a condition 
of closing; and (b) a requirement that, for any loans or investments 
made outside of the geographic borders of a Participating Municipality, 
that Participating Municipality shall warrant in writing that such a 
transaction will result in significant economic benefit to that 
municipality.
    The SSBCI Application form will collect information from 
Participating

[[Page 11194]]

States, territories, or municipalities that wish to request an 
amendment to their existing approved SSBCI Application throughout the 
term of the Allocation Agreement. This form will collect the following: 
(a) Information about proposed changes to the apportionment of SSBCI 
funds among programs; (b) program design information for proposed new 
programs; or, (c) proposed material changes to the design of programs. 
Only those participating states, territories, or municipalities that 
elect to request a modification to their original SSBCI Application 
will be required to complete this form.
    The SSBCI Technical Assistance Quarterly Review collection is a 
voluntary collection from Participating States, territories, and 
municipalities that will be conducted telephonically on a quarterly 
basis and will not require a written submission to Treasury. The SSBCI 
Technical Assistance Quarterly Review will collect the following: (a) 
Qualitative data related to program performance; (b) an assessment of 
program implementation status to date; and (c) an assessment any future 
challenges to program performance. This data will be used by Treasury 
to determine the types and methods through which to offer technical 
assistance to participants in order to assist states with meeting the 
program performance goals of achieving the private leverage 
expectations of the SSBCI.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: States, territories, the District of Columbia and 
municipalities that were approved by Treasury to participate in the 
SSBCI.

SSBCI Quarterly and Annual Reporting Requirements

    Estimated Number of Respondents: 62.
    Estimated Average Time per Respondent: Approximately ten (10) hours 
per respondent per year. The estimated average time per respondent for 
the quarterly report is one (1) hour per report for a total of four (4) 
hours per year. The estimated average time per respondent for the 
annual report ranges from two (2) hours per year to approximately 
nineteen (19) hours per year depending on the use of electronic 
reporting mechanisms. The weighted average time per respondent for the 
annual report is 6.36 hours per year. The total estimated annual burden 
for this collection is 642 hours per year.

SSBCI Allocation Agreement for Participating Municipalities

    Estimated Number of Respondents: 5.
    Estimated Average Time per Respondent: SSBCI anticipates that 3 
applicants will require a cooperative agreement. The estimate time to 
complete this document is 40 hours per agreement, for a net, one-time 
total of 120 hours. Municipalities that have applied for the SSBCI 
program anticipate a total of 195 loan or investment transactions per 
year. SSBCI estimates that approximately 20% of these transactions may 
occur outside of the boundaries of applicant municipalities and that 
for each applicable transaction, the warranty will take approximately 1 
hour to complete. Therefore, the estimated annual burden associated 
with warrants will take 39 hours.

SSBCI Application Form

    Estimated Number of Respondents: 15 per year.
    Estimated Average Time per Respondent: The estimated average time 
per respondent to complete the sections of the application form that 
document program design is approximately nine (9) hours per respondent 
per year. SSBCI estimates that approximately 15 respondents will elect 
to request a modification each year for a total estimated annual burden 
of 135 hours per year.

SSBCI Technical Assistance Quarterly Review

    Estimated Number of Respondents: 62.
    Estimated Average Time per Respondent: Approximately four (4) hours 
per respondent per year. The estimated average time per respondent for 
the quarterly review is one (1) hour telephone call conducted a total 
of four (4) hours per year. The estimated total annual burden is 248 
hours per year.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours for all Collections: 1,064 
hours, plus a one-time total burden of 135 hours for municipalities 
that apply jointly.
    Request for Comments: Comments submitted in response to this notice 
will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval. All 
comments will become a matter of public record. Comments are invited 
on: (a) Whether the collection of information is necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether 
the information has practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's 
estimate of the burden of the 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 
respondents, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology, and (e) estimates 
of capital or start-up costs and costs of operation, maintenance, and 
purchase of services to provide information.

Robert Dahl,
Treasury PRA Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2012-4257 Filed 2-23-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-25-P