[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 189 (Monday, September 30, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51707-51708]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-21109]
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SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request--Evaluation of Fees on SBA's Surety Bond Guarantee
Program
AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
ACTION: 60-Day Federal Register notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: SBA intends to request approval from the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) for the collection of information described below. The
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 requires federal agencies to
publish a notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed
collection of information before submission to OMB and to allow 60 days
for public comment in response to the notice. This notice complies with
that requirement.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before November 29,
2019.
ADDRESSES: Comments are invited on (a) whether the collection of
information is necessary for the agency to properly perform its
functions; (b) whether the burden estimates are accurate; (c) whether
there are ways to minimize the burden, including through the use of
automated techniques or other forms of information technology; and (d)
whether there are ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of
the information.
Comments may be sent to Terrell Lasane (Lead Program Evaluator),
U.S. Small Business Administration, 409 3rd Street SW, Washington, DC
20416. 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.
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 or
copies of this information collection should be directed to Terrell
Lasane at 202-205-7111.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Evaluation of Fees on SBA's Surety Bond Guarantee Program.
Form Number: N/A.
OMB Number: Not Yet Assigned.
Expiration Date: Not Yet Determined.
Type of Request: New Collection.
Abstract: Under the Surety Bond Guarantee (SBG) Program, SBA
guarantees bid, payment, and performance bonds for small and emerging
contractors who cannot obtain surety bonds through regular commercial
channels. SBA's guarantee gives Sureties an incentive to provide
bonding for small businesses and, thereby, assists small businesses in
obtaining greater access to contracting opportunities. SBA's guarantee
is an agreement between a surety and SBA that SBA will assume a certain
percentage of the Surety's loss should a contractor default on the
underlying contract. On July 30, 2018, SBA announced a change in the
fee structure for its SBG Program (83 FR 36658, page 36658-36659). The
fee reductions were implemented on October 1, 2018, decreasing the
surety fee from a 26 percent to a 20 percent bond premium and
decreasing the Principal fee from $7.29 per thousand dollars of the
contract amount to $6.00 per thousand dollars of the contract amount.
Originally scheduled for 1 year, SBA extended the fee reduction until
September 30, 2020 in effort to collect more data to fully evaluate the
effect(s) of lower fees on the SBG Program (83 FR 40466, page 40466-
40467).
Given that the fee structure has not changed for the last 12 years,
SBA would like to evaluate the quantitative impacts of the change on
the SBG Program. To properly evaluate the impacts of the fee changes, a
multi-method approach will be applied including two study components:
(1) Statistical modeling and (2) a web-based survey. The statistical
modeling portion of the study will evaluate possible impacts including
changes in the utilization of the SBG Program (e.g., principals, surety
firms, surety agents) and changes in the SBA's portfolio of guaranteed
bonds (e.g., size, duration, risk, cash flow, geographic location,
industrial classification) which may, in turn, result in longer term
outcomes such as business formations, employment, and opportunities for
small and disadvantaged businesses. The web survey portion will
evaluate surety firms' and agents' perceptions of the fee reductions
and their explanations of how these reductions affected their bonding
practices and processes. Data collection efforts are required for the
survey portion of the study, while administrative data will be used for
the statistical modeling analysis.
Affected Public: Respondent groups identified include (1) surety
firms participating in the SBG Program and (2) surety agents
participating in the SBG Program. The universe of both respondent types
will be surveyed.
Estimated Number of Respondents: The total estimated number of
respondents is 500. This includes 50 surety firms and 450 surety
agents.
Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: Both participant
types will be asked to participate in one survey.
Estimated Total Annual Responses: 500.
Estimated Time per Response: The estimated response time is 15
minutes for both the surety firm and surety agent populations.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 7,500 minutes (125
hours).
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Estimated
Estimated Responses Total annual average number Estimated
Respondent number of annually per responses of hours per total hours
respondents respondent response
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Reporting Burden:
Surety firm..................... 50 1.00 50 .25 12.5
Surety agent.................... 450 1.00 450 .25 112.5
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Total Reporting Burden...... 500 .............. 500 .............. 125
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Curtis Rich,
Agency Clearance Office.
[FR Doc. 2019-21109 Filed 9-27-19; 8:45 a.m.]
BILLING CODE 8026-03-P