[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 110 (Thursday, June 10, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30910-30911]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-12143]


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 Notices
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  Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 110 / Thursday, June 10, 2021 / 
Notices  

[[Page 30910]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Supplemental Nutrition 
Assistance Program Forms: Applications, Periodic Reporting, and Notices

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), 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 the 
currently approved collection for the applications, periodic reporting, 
and notices burden calculations for the Supplemental Nutrition 
Assistance Program (SNAP).

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before August 9, 2021.
     Preferred Method: Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to http://www.regulations.gov, and follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments electronically.
     Mail: Send comments to Certification Policy Branch, 
Program Development Division, FNS, 1320 Braddock Place, Alexandria, VA 
22314.
    All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the 
request for Office of Management and Budget (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 the 
Certification Policy Branch, Program Development Division, FNS, 1320 
Braddock Place, Alexandria, VA 22314 or via email to 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Forms: 
Applications, Periodic Reporting, and Notices.
    Form Number: None.
    OMB Number: 0584-0064.
    Expiration Date: December 31, 2020.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Abstract: Under Section 11(e)(8) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 
and 2008 (``the Act'') and 7 CFR 272.1(c)(4), SNAP State agencies 
(``State agencies'') are limited in the use or disclosure of 
information obtained from SNAP application forms or contained in case 
files of participating SNAP households to certain persons, specifically 
those directly connected with:
     The administration of SNAP;
     The administration of other Federal or Federally assisted 
means-tested programs;
     The verification of immigration status of aliens;
     The Office of the Comptroller General of the U.S. for 
audit and examination authorized by any other provisions of law;
     Local, State, or Federal law enforcement for the purpose 
of investigating an alleged violation of the Act or SNAP regulations;
     Local, State, or Federal law enforcement for the purpose 
of investigating if a household member is a fleeing felon or a parole 
violator; and
     Agencies of the Federal Government for the purposes of 
collecting the amount of an over issuance from Federal pay.
    While working on the renewal of this collection, which is currently 
under review with OMB, FNS identified that these activities (which we 
will refer to simply as ``third-party disclosures'') were not 
previously included in this collection. Due to unprecedented workload 
as a result of COVID-19 and due to the outstanding need to adequately 
research and estimate the burden of SNAP third-party disclosure 
requirements on State agencies, FNS was unable to include this activity 
with the original renewal request submitted to OMB prior to its 
original expiration date. Through this notice, FNS intends to initiate 
a resolution of this discrepancy by addressing SNAP third-party 
reporting requirements in a revision of this collection. FNS will 
continue to refine these estimates through a continuous review and 
improvement cycle with the FNS Privacy Officer that may result in 
additional revisions in future renewals. In an effort to formulate 
accurate burden estimates for third-party reporting requirements, FNS 
consulted with six State agencies prior to drafting this notice. The 
estimates below incorporate feedback we received from those State 
agencies.
    FNS estimates that each of the 53 SNAP State agencies may receive 
as many as 36 requests for household data disclosure annually by 
entities entitled to that information under Federal law.
    One example of a third-party disclosure request is law enforcement 
officials requesting information regarding a fleeing felon. Per 7 CFR 
273.11(n), upon written request, State agencies must disclose to law 
enforcement officers acting in their official capacity, the address, 
social security number, and, if available, photograph of the household 
member, if that household member is a fleeing felon.
    The time needed to fulfill a third-party request for information is 
approximately 0.5 hours (30 minutes). The time accounted for includes 
0.0835 hours (5 minutes) to read and review the request, 0.25 hours (15 
minutes) to find the related information from their caseloads and 
research the request, and 0.167 hours (10 minutes) to draft and send 
the information to the third-party via email or mail.
    Another third-party request may be received from a university for 
research purposes. These written requests for data should support 
Program research and evaluation. Disclosure requests for research 
purposes are allowable, as long

[[Page 30911]]

as they are directly related to the administration of SNAP per Section 
11(e)(8) of the Act. Additional cooperation by State agencies, local 
agencies, institutions, facilities and contractor's participation in 
programs authorized under the Act are required by section 17(k)(5) of 
the Act.
    The time needed to fulfill a third-party request for information is 
approximately 0.5 hours (30 minutes). The time accounted for includes 
0.0835 hours (5 minutes) to read and review the request, 0.25 hours (15 
minutes) to find the related information from their caseloads and 
research the request, and 0.167 hours (10 minutes) to draft and send 
the information to the third-party via email or mail.
    The current burden for this collection is 124,187,297 annual burden 
hours. Considering the burden adjustments made due to third-party 
disclosure requirements not delineated in previous burden tables, FNS 
calculates the revised total burden for this collection is 124,188,251 
annual burden hours which reflects an increase of 954 burden hours due 
to program changes and adjustments. The total burden is summarized 
below.
    Affected Public: State agencies that administer SNAP (SNAP State 
agencies).
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 53 SNAP State agencies.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 36 responses per 
State SNAP agency.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 1,908.
    Estimated Time per Response: 30 minutes (0.5 hours) per response.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 954 hours (1,908 
annual responses multiplied by 0.5 hours per response).

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                                                                                            Average                       Estimated avg.
                                                                           Estimated       estimated     Estimated total     number of       Estimated
                                                    Respondent             number of        number      annual responses     hours per     total annual
                                                                          respondents      responses                         response          hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Request--Third Party Reporting.......  State SNAP Agencies--Third-              53              36             1,908             0.5             954
                                            party Disclosures under 7
                                            CFR 272.1(c)(4).
Currently Approved Reporting and           All Affected Public (State       19,701,777           47.60    937,793,284.93            0.13     124,187,297
 Recordkeeping Burden, 0584-0064.           Agencies, Individuals/
                                            households).
                                                                       ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total Estimated Burden for 0584-0064.  ...........................      19,701,777           47.59    937,795,192.93            0.13     124,188,251
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Cynthia Long,
Acting Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-12143 Filed 6-9-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P