[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 1 (Monday, January 4, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52-54]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-29007]


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

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Supplemental Nutrition 
Assistance Program (SNAP) Requirement for National Directory of New 
Hires Employment Verification

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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

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

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before March 5, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent to: Maribelle Balbes, Food and 
Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1320 Braddock Place, 
Alexandria, Virginia 22314. Comments may also be submitted via email 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. 
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 Evan 
Sieradzki at 703-605-3212.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This collection is a revision of an expired 
collection at 84 FR 11928. In 2016, an Interim Final Rule titled 
``Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Requirement for National 
Directory of New Hires Employment Verification and Annual Program 
Activity Reporting,'' was published in the Federal Register. This rule 
codified section 4013 of the Agricultural Act of 2014, requiring State 
agencies to access employment data through the National Directory of 
New Hires (NDNH) at the time of certification, including 
recertification, to determine eligibility

[[Page 53]]

status and correct benefit amount for SNAP applicants. The rule also 
amended regulations to increase the frequency of the requirement for 
State agency submission of the Program Activity Statement from an 
annual requirement based on the State fiscal year to a quarterly 
requirement. The burden hours for the increase in submission frequency 
for the Program Activity Statement, form FNS-366B, have been merged 
into the Food Programs Reporting System (FPRS) information collection, 
OMB #0584- 0594 (expiration 7/31/2023). Therefore, this notice seeks to 
renew the burden hours associated with the National Directory of New 
Hires portion of this information collection only and removes burden 
hours and references for the Program Activity Statement, form FNS-366B.
    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 that were 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.
    Title: SNAP Requirement for National Directory of New Hires 
Employment Verification.
    Form Number: N/A.
    OMB Number: 0584-0608.
    Expiration Date: 5/31/2019.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Abstract: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) 
regulations at 7 CFR 272.16 require that each State agency must 
establish a system to compare identifiable information about each adult 
household member against data from the U.S. Department of Health and 
Human Services' (HHS) National Directory of New Hires (NDNH). This 
comparison will be used to determine the eligibility status of the 
household and determine the correct benefit amount the household should 
receive.
    Applicant and Recipient Screening: The State agency must compare 
identifiable information about each adult household member against 
information from the NDNH. States must make the comparison of matched 
data at the time of application and recertification and must 
independently verify any positive match results. Verification of Match: 
The State agency must independently verify the information prior to 
taking any adverse action against an individual. Should the State 
agency receive employment information via the NDNH that was previously 
unreported by the household, the State agency may issue a Request for 
Contact to the household to verify the information or contact the 
employer directly, depending upon applicable reporting requirements as 
defined at 7 CFR 273.12.
    Notice: The Notice of Adverse Action or Notice of Denial is issued 
by State agencies to participating households whose benefits will be 
reduced or terminated as the result of a change in household 
circumstances. Should the State agency independently verify unreported 
or underreported income discovered through NDNH, and that income 
results in a reduction of benefits or change in eligibility, the State 
agency must take action by issuing the household a Notice of Adverse 
Action or Notice of Denial and adjusting benefits accordingly.
    Burden Estimates: The previous burden for this collection was 
252,432 reporting hours (209,899 reporting burden hours for State 
agencies + 41,583 reporting burden hours for households). The requested 
burden is 521,719.02 (482,290.88 reporting burden hours for State 
agencies + 39,428.14 reporting burden hours for households), which 
represents an increase of 269,287.02 hours due to program adjustments. 
There are no recordkeeping requirements associated with this 
collection.
    Affected Public: State and local agencies, households.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,180,536.20.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 8.8567.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 10,455,713.40.
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.04989.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 521,719.02 hours. See 
the table below for estimated total annual burden for each type of 
respondent.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                             Estimated       Estimated       Estimated       Estimated       Estimated
                Regulation                         Burden activity           number of     responses per   total annual      hours per     total annual
                                                                            respondents     respondent       responses       response          hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              State Agency Reporting Burden
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
272.2.....................................  Program Activity Statement..               0               0               0               0               0
272.15....................................  NDNH--Applicant/Recipient                 53      147,162.75    7,799,626.00          0.0501      390,761.26
                                             Screening.
272.15....................................  NDNH--Verification of Match.              53       19,886.85    1,054,003.00          0.0668       70,407.40
272.15....................................  NDND--Notice of Adverse                   53        7,954.74      421,601.20          0.0501       21,122.22
                                             Action or Notice of Denial.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    State Agency Total..................................................              53      175,004.34    9,275,230.20     0.051997726      482,290.88
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Household Reporting Burden
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
272.15....................................  NDNH--Response to Request         758,882.00            1.00      758,882.00          0.0334       25,346.66
                                             for Contact.
272.15....................................  NDNH--Response to Notice of       421,601.20            1.00      421,601.20          0.0334       14,081.48
                                             Adverse Action or Notice of
                                             Denial.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Household Reporting Total...........................................    1,180,483.20               1    1,180,483.20          0.0334       39,428.14
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Grand Totals....................................................    1,180,536.20     8.856749501   10,455,713.40     0.049897984      521,719.02
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



[[Page 54]]

Pamilyn Miller,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-29007 Filed 12-31-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P