[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 189 (Tuesday, September 30, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58725-58726]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-23176]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


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

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 
notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment 
on the proposed information collection. This 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 December 1, 2014.

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 will 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; and (d) ways 
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who 
are to respond, including use of appropriate, automated, electronic, 
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms 
of information technology.
    Comments may be sent to Sasha Gersten-Paal, Branch Chief, 
Certification Policy Branch, Program Development Division, Food and 
Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 3101 Park Center 
Drive, Room 812, Alexandria, VA 22302. Comments may also be submitted 
via fax to the attention of Sasha Gersten-Paal at 703-305-2507 or via 
email to [email protected]. Comments will also be 
accepted through the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the

[[Page 58726]]

online instructions for submitting comments electronically.
    All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the 
request for Office of Management and Budget approval. All comments will 
be a matter of public record.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of this information collection should be directed to Sasha 
Gersten-Paal at (703) 305-2507.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Waivers of Section 
6(o) of the Food and Nutrition Act.
    OMB Number: 0584-0479.
    Expiration Date: January 31, 2015.
    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 at least 20 hours per week. This time limit applies 
only to adults between 18 and 50 years of age that do not have children 
or adult dependents in their SNAP household. 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 that upon the request of a State agency, 
the Secretary of Agriculture may waive this 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 
collection of information is necessary in order to obtain waivers of 
the SNAP ABAWD time limit.
    Based on the experience of the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) 
during calendar year 2014, FNS projects that on an annual basis 43 
State agencies will submit requests for waivers of the time limit for 
ABAWD recipients based on a high unemployment rate or an insufficient 
number of jobs. Using unemployment projections from the Congressional 
Budget Office (CBO) through 2024, FNS believes that labor market 
conditions in 2014 would be more representative of the U.S. labor 
market over the next three years than would the preceding three years.
    A typical State waiver request includes several geographic areas 
and each geographic area may include multiple cities or counties. FNS 
projects that of the 43 requests each year, 33 will be based on labor 
market data, 8 will be based on a Labor Surplus Area (LSA) designation 
by the Department of Labor (DOL) and 2 will be based on a DOL extended 
unemployment benefit trigger notice. FNS estimates a response time of 
35 hours for each waiver request based on labor market data, which 
require detailed analysis of labor markets within the State. FNS 
estimates a burden of 4 hours per respondent for waivers based on an 
LSA designation or a DOL trigger notice, as the data required to 
support these waivers is readily available from the DOL Web site and 
requires minimal preparation by State agencies. FNS projects a total 
burden of 1,195 hours.
    Affected Public: State Agencies.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 43.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 43.
    Estimate Time per Response: Varies between 4 to 35 Hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 1,195.
    There is no recordkeeping requirement directly associated with this 
information collection.

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                                                                             Estimated       Responses
          OMB #0584-0479                     Requirement             number of     annually per    Total annual      Hours per     Annual burden
                                                                            respondents     respondent       responses       response          hours
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                                                                     State Agencies
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Affected Public:
    Reporting Burden......................  Submission of waiver request              33               1              33              35           1,155
                                             based on labor market data.
                                            Submission of waiver request               8               1               8               4              32
                                             based on Labor Surplus Area
                                             designation.
                                            Submission of waiver request               2               1               2               4               8
                                             based on DOL trigger notice.
                                                                         -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Reporting Totals..................  ............................              48  ..............  ..............  ..............           1,195
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    Dated: September 24, 2014.
Jeffrey J. Tribiano,
Acting Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-23176 Filed 9-29-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P