[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 94 (Friday, May 15, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 27930]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-11754]


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COMMITTEE FOR PURCHASE FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR SEVERELY DISABLED


Information Collection To Be Submitted to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for Approval Under the Paperwork Reduction 
Act; Initial Certification

AGENCY: Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely 
Disabled.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely 
Disabled (Committee) will submit the collection of information listed 
below to OMB for approval under the provisions of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act. This notice solicits comments on this collection of 
information.

DATES: Submit your written comments on the information collection on or 
before July 15, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Mail your comments on the requirement to Lou Bartalot, 
Director Compliance, Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind 
or Severely Disabled, 1401 S. Clark Street, Suite 715, Arlington, VA 
22202-4149; fax (703) 603-0655; or email [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request a copy of the applicable 
forms or explanatory material, contact Edward Yang at the address in 
the above paragraph or through the above email address.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
regulations at 5 CFR part 1320, which implement provisions of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), require that 
interested members of the public and affected agencies have an 
opportunity to comment on information collection and recordkeeping 
activities (see 5 CFR 1320.8(d)). The Committee plans to submit a 
request to OMB to approve a revised collection of information 
concerning annual certification of nonprofit agencies serving people 
who are blind or who have other significant disabilities to participate 
in the AbilityOne Program. The Committee is requesting a 3-year term of 
approval for this information collection activity.
    Federal agencies may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not 
required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays 
a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control numbers for the 
current collections of information are 3037-0001 and 3037-0002. The OMB 
control number for the revised collection of information is 3037-0013.
    The JWOD Act of 1971 (41 U.S.C. 8501-8506) is the authorizing 
legislation for the AbilityOne Program. The AbilityOne Program creates 
jobs and training opportunities for people who are blind or who have 
other severe disabilities. Its primary means of doing so is by 
requiring Government agencies to purchase selected products and 
services from nonprofit agencies employing such individuals. The 
AbilityOne Program is administered by the Committee. Two national, 
independent organizations, National Industries for the Blind (NIB) and 
SourceAmerica, help State and private nonprofit agencies participate in 
the AbilityOne Program.
    The implementing regulations for the JWOD Act, which are located at 
41 CFR Chapter 51, provide the requirements, procedures, and standards 
for the AbilityOne Program. Section 51-4.3 of the regulations sets 
forth the standards that a nonprofit agency must meet to maintain 
qualification for participation in the AbilityOne Program. Under this 
section of the regulations, a nonprofit agency that wants to continue 
to participate in the AbilityOne Program must submit a completed copy 
of the appropriate Annual Certification form (Committee Form 403 or 
404). This documentation helps the Committee determine whether the 
applicant nonprofit agency is meeting the requirements of the 
AbilityOne Program.
    This information collection request seeks approval for the 
Committee to continue to collect the information required under 41 CFR 
51-4.3 of the regulations, but in a revised and expanded format, so 
that the Committee can continue to verify the appropriateness of 
nonprofit agencies that would like to participate in the AbilityOne 
Program. The previous separate forms have been combined into one form. 
The items being certified have been revised to match the regulatory 
requirements of section 51-4.3 and to collect other pertinent 
information on the qualifications of nonprofit agencies. New questions 
concerning nonprofit agency hours, wages, people performing direct 
labor, subcontracting and veterans have been added. In addition, the 
language at the bottom of the certification section has been revised.
    Title: Annual Representations and Certifications For AbilityOne 
Qualified Nonprofit Agency.
    OMB Control Number: 3037-0013.
    Form Number: Reps and Certs.
    Description of Respondents: Nonprofit agencies serving people who 
are blind or significantly disabled that participate in the AbilityOne 
Program.
    Annual Number of Respondents: About 570 nonprofit agencies serving 
people who are blind or significantly disabled will annually 
participate in the AbilityOne Program.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: Burden is estimated to average 8 hours 
per respondent. Total annual burden is 4,560 hours. Note: this burden 
estimate is only for the reporting of information; a separate burden 
estimate exists for the recordkeeping requirement.
    We invite comments concerning this renewal on: (1) Whether the 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
our agency's functions, including whether the information will have 
practical utility; (2) the accuracy of our estimate of the burden of 
the collection of information; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways 
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents.

Barry S. Lineback,
Director, Business Operations.
[FR Doc. 2015-11754 Filed 5-14-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6353-01-P