[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 126 (Tuesday, July 6, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35460-35462]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-14303]


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

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Supplemental Nutrition 
Assistance Program Emergency Allotments (COVID-19)

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.
    This collection is an extension, without change, of a currently 
approved collection for activities associated with administering 
emergency allotments (EA) waivers. The Families First Coronavirus 
Response Act of 2020, enacted March 18, 2020, includes a general 
provision that allows the Department of Agriculture to issue emergency 
allotments (EA) waivers based on a public health emergency declaration 
by the Secretary of Health and Human Services under section 319 of the 
Public Health Service Act related to an outbreak of COVID-19 when a 
State has also issued an emergency or disaster declaration.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before September 7, 
2021.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent to: Kelly Stewart, Food and Nutrition 
Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1320 Braddock Place, 5th 
Floor, Alexandria, VA 22314; telephone 703-305-2425. Comments may also 
be submitted via email to [email protected]. Comments will also be 
accepted through the Federal eRulemaking Portal.

[[Page 35461]]

    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 Kelly 
Stewart at [email protected]; telephone 703-305-2425.

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: Agency Information Collection Activities: Supplemental 
Nutrition Assistance Program Emergency Allotments (COVID-19).
    OMB Number: 0584-0652.
    Expiration Date: 1/31/2022.
    Type of Request: Extension, without change, of a currently approved 
collection.
    Abstract: The Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020 (Pub. 
L. 116-127), enacted March 18, 2020, includes a general provision that 
allows the Department of Agriculture to issue emergency allotments (EA) 
based on a public health emergency declaration by the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services under section 319 of the Public Health 
Service Act related to an outbreak of COVID-19 when a State has also 
issued an emergency or disaster declaration. In January 2021, the 
Department obtained Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval to 
collect the information as described in this Notice for a period of one 
year (OMB Control Number 0584-0652; expiration 1/31/2022). The 
President's Executive Order on Economic Relief Related to the COVID-19 
Pandemic, issued January 22, 2021, directed all Federal agencies to 
consider administrative actions to better address the current economic 
crisis resulting from the pandemic. FNS reviewed existing EA policy and 
issued updated State guidance \1\ on April 1, 2021, outlining a new 
approach to calculating EA that provides greater equity for households 
most in need. The April 2021 guidance supersedes previous guidance 
issued in March 2020 and April 2020. In addition to outlining a new EA 
minimum benefit policy, the April 2021 guidance describes an EA phase-
out request States may use when their State-level emergency declaration 
expiration date is imminent. The State agency process for requesting 
EA, as outlined in the April 2021 guidance, remains generally 
unchanged, though the State must now confirm that the State's emergency 
or disaster declaration remains active when requesting EA. USDA 
anticipates the need to collect the data beyond the expiration date and 
is seeking approval of this Information Collection Request in order to 
meet the continuing information collection and reporting requirements 
detailed in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ https://fns-prod.azureedge.net/sites/default/files/resource-files/snap-covid-emergency-allotments-phase-3-guidance.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As authorized by Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020, 
State agencies impacted by COVID-19 may submit an EA waiver request to 
their FNS Regional Office for approval to provide a EA to households to 
bring all households up to the maximum benefit due to pandemic related 
economic conditions. As outlined in the April 2021 guidance, State 
agency waivers will generally be approved under one or more the 
following conditions as it relates to COVID-19:

 Residents of the State are confirmed to have contracted COVID-
19
 Some or all areas of the State are containment or quarantine 
zones
 Businesses have closed or significantly reduced their hours
 The State's residents have experienced economic impacts due to 
job suspensions or losses
 The State's residents have been directed to practice social 
distancing,

    The State agency must also confirm that the State's emergency or 
disaster declaration remains active.
    In addition, to allow for State EA phase-out upon expiration of the 
State's emergency declaration, States may request EA approval for one 
additional issuance month if:
     The national public health emergency declaration that was 
extended on January 21, 2021, by the Secretary for Health and Human 
Services under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act remains in 
place, and
     The State-issued emergency or disaster declaration has 
expired or will expire in the current month. This will allow a State 
that has lost or will lose its declaration in the current month to 
provide one additional issuance month of EA and to notify SNAP 
participants that EA benefits will be ending.
    Once the State's EA waiver has been approved by FNS, the State may 
provide the EA without contacting the household. Following waiver 
approval, FNS will require State Agencies to attest to FNS on a monthly 
basis the EA waiver is still needed and that the State declaration 
remains in place. Both the initial EA waiver and the monthly 
attestation are conducted via email. FNS expects 53 State agencies will 
submit one initial EA waiver to FNS. Currently 51 State agencies are 
operating under an EA waiver. It is possible that States may have more 
than one declared public health emergency over the next year as COVID-
19 rates ebb and flow, therefore we are including hours for these 
initial waiver requests in this IC as a precautionary measure. There 
are three reporting requirements for this information collection 
request. (1) Each initial EA waiver submission should take 
approximately one hour to complete. (2) Each monthly email attesting to 
the continued need for the EA waiver is expected to take 15 minutes to 
complete. FNS expects that any phase-out request, as outlined in the 
April 2021 guidance, would be included in the email as part of the 
monthly attestation process; the indication of phase-out would simply 
signal the end of that State's need for EA and, thus, monthly 
attestations. The phase out request is expected to take 1 minute of the 
15 minutes estimated for monthly attestation; therefore, no additional 
burden is estimated for phase-out requests.
    Section 18(b) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, as amended, 
requires that, ``In any fiscal year, the Secretary shall limit the 
value of those allotments issued to an amount not in excess of the 
appropriation for such fiscal year.'' Because the EA waiver increases 
the monthly benefit of participants above the amount originally 
anticipated for this fiscal year, the amount of benefits issued and 
redeemed must be carefully tracked to ensure FNS does not exceed its 
appropriation. As such, it is necessary for FNS to collect information 
from State agencies operating EA on a more frequent basis than would be 
reported normally. Generally, States report disaster-related

[[Page 35462]]

SNAP participation and issuance data to FNS on the FNS-292B, Report of 
Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Benefit Issuance, within 45 
days of terminating disaster assistance.
    While a State is operating under an EA waiver, (3) FNS requires the 
State to submit bi-weekly FNS-292B reports. The burden for a State 
agency to submit FNS-292B reports during normal operations is currently 
captured under the information collection for the Food Programs 
Reporting System (FPRS), OMB Control Number 0584-0594 (expiration date 
7/31/2023). However, FNS is accounting for the additional burden used 
for EA in this request and including the burden for submitting this 
form more frequently under this information collection.
 FNS-292B--Takes States approximately 24 minutes or 0.4008 
hours per response x 53 State Agencies x 26 weeks = 552.30 hours.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                             Number of     Frequency of    Total annual      Hours per     Annual burden
       Respondent category            Instruments             Form          respondents      response        responses       response         (hours)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Agencies..................  Bi-weekly EA         FNS-292B.........              53              26           1,378          0.4008          552.20
                                   Reporting to FNS.
                                  Initial Waiver       N/A..............              53               1              53               1              53
                                   Request--Emergency
                                   Allotment.
                                  Monthly EA           N/A..............              53              12             636            0.25             159
                                   Attestation
                                   (including Phase-
                                   Out Requests).
                                                                         -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................  ...................  .................              53              39           2,067       0.3697641          764.30
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Affected Public: State, Local and Tribal Governments.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 53.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 39.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 2,067.
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.3697641 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 764.

Cynthia Long,
Acting Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-14303 Filed 7-2-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P