[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 207 (Friday, October 29, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59977-59979]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-23600]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Supplemental Nutrition 
Assistance Program (SNAP) Benefit Expungement and Off-Line Storage

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 this proposed information collection associated with SNAP benefit 
storage and expungement provisions of the 2008 and 2018 Farm Bills. 
This collection involves both a new collection and an existing 
collection in use without an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
control number. The new collection is for providing SNAP households 
advance or concurrent notice prior to the State agency expunging unused 
SNAP benefits from the household's Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) 
account due to nine months of account inactivity. The existing 
collection is for providing SNAP households advance or concurrent 
notice of State agency action to store unused SNAP benefits offline due 
to three or more months of account inactivity and for those households 
to seek reinstatement of benefits prior to permanent expungement. A 60-
Day Federal Register Notice for this proposed information collection 
was previously published on February 11, 2020 (85 FR 7716). The 
Department was unable to submit an Information Collection Request (ICR) 
to OMB within a reasonable timeframe following the publication of the 
2020 notice. In an effort to be fully transparent, the Department is 
publishing the notice again for public comment and plans to submit an 
ICR to OMB following an analysis of comments.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before December 28, 
2021.

ADDRESSES: The Food and Nutrition Service, USDA, invites interested 
persons to submit written comments on this information collection. 
Comments may be submitted in writing by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Mail: Comments should be addressed to Shanta Swezy, Chief, 
Issuance Support Branch, Retailer and Issuance Policy and Innovation 
Division, Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), U.S. Department of 
Agriculture (USDA), 1320 Braddock Place, 5th Floor, Alexandria, 
Virginia 22314.
    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 Shanta 
Swezy at 703-305-2238.

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: SNAP Benefit Storage and Expungement.
    Form Number: Not Applicable.
    OMB Number: 0584-NEW.
    Expiration Date: Not Yet Determined.
    Type of Request: New collection.

[[Page 59978]]

    Abstract: The Department published the final rule, ``Supplemental 
Nutrition Assistance Program: 2008 Farm Bill Provisions on 
Clarification of Split Issuance; Accrual of Benefits and Definition 
Changes,'' on August 24, 2020, (85 FR 52025), to implement the 
mandatory SNAP benefit storage and expungement provisions of the Food, 
Conservation and Energy Act of 2008, Public Law 110-234 (2008 Farm 
Bill). In the final rule, the Department also adopted as final the 
provisions in the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, Public Law 115-
334 (2018 Farm Bill), which made additional mandatory changes to the 
provisions governing the storage and expungement of unused benefits.
    These Farm Bill provisions require State agencies to provide a 30-
day advance notice prior to permanently expunging unused SNAP benefits 
after nine months of inactivity. State agencies that opt to take unused 
benefits off-line after three months of SNAP EBT account inactivity 
must also provide up to 10 days advance or concurrent notice prior to 
taking such action and to reinstate benefits stored off-line within 48 
hours of a household's request if the benefits have not reached the 
expungement timeframe. Currently, only six State agencies are 
exercising the option to store unused benefits off-line prior to 
expungement. This information is currently being collected without OMB 
approval.

1. Expungement Notice

    Affected Public: (a) Individuals/Households and (b) State agencies: 
Respondent groups identified include: (1) 2,961,834 SNAP households 
(Approximately 16 percent of all SNAP households nationwide) who do not 
access their benefits within nine months and (2) 53 State SNAP 
agencies. Out of the 2,961,834 Individuals/Households involved in this 
data collection request, approximately 540,818 will also receive an 
Off-line Storage Notice. Of that 540,818, approximately 33,260 will 
receive an Off-line Benefit Reinstatement. Therefore, the agency is not 
double counting the same respondents for the different activities 
involved in this data collection.

a. Individuals/Households Annual Burden

    Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 2,961,834.
    Estimated Annual Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 2,961,834.
    Estimated Annual Time per Response: 2 minutes or 0.0334 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 98,925 hours.

b. State Agency Annual Burden

    Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 53.
    Estimated Annual Number of Responses per Respondent: 55,884.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 2,961,852.
    Estimated Annual Time per Response: 30 seconds or 0.0083 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 24,583 hours.

2. Off-Line Storage Notice

    Affected Public: (a) Households and (b) State agencies: Respondent 
groups identified include: (1) 540,818 SNAP households (Approximately 
14 percent of all SNAP households in the six States that currently take 
benefits off-line) who do not access their benefits within three months 
and (2) Six State SNAP agencies that have opted to store unused 
benefits off-line.

a. Individual/Household Annual Burden

    Estimated Number of Respondents: 540,818.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 540,818.
    Estimated Time per Response: 3.5 minutes or .0583 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 31,530 hours.

b. State Agency Annual Burden

    Estimated Number of Respondents: 6.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 90,136.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 540,818.
    Estimated Time per Response: 30 seconds or 0.0083 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 4,489 hours.

3. Off-Line Benefit Reinstatement

    Affected Public: (a) Households and (b) State agencies: Respondent 
groups identified include: (1) 33,260 SNAP households (Approximately 6 
percent of the estimated number of households whose benefits are taken 
off-line) who get their off-line benefits reinstated and (2) Six State 
SNAP agencies that have opted to store unused benefits off-line.

a. Individual/Household Annual Burden

    Estimated Number of Respondents: 33,260.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 33,260.
    Estimated Time per Response: 5 minutes or 0.0835 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 2,777 hours.

b. State Agency Annual Burden

    Estimated Number of Respondents: 6.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 5,543.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 33,260.
    Estimated Time per Response: 3 minutes or .0501 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 1,666 hours.

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                                                                                                                                Estimated
                                                                                    Estimated     Responses                    avg. number    Estimated
              Respondent                 CFR citation            Activity            annual     annually per   Total annual     of hours    annual total
                                                                                     number      respondent      responses    per response      hours
                                                                                   respondent                                    annually
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Individuals or Households SNAP         ................  Expungement Notice.....     2,961,834             1       2,961,834        0.0334        98,925
 Recipients.
                                       ................  Off-line Storage Notice       540,818             1         540,818        0.0583        31,530
                                       ................  Off-line Benefit               33,260             1          33,260        0.0835         2,777
                                                          Reinstatement.
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    Sub-total of Individual/           ................  .......................     2,961,834             1       3,535,912        0.1752       133,232
     Households SNAP Recipients.
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State Agencies.......................  ................  Expungement Notice.....            53        55,884       2,961,834        0.0083        24,583
                                       ................  Off-line Storage Notice             6        90,136         540,818        0.0083         4,489
                                       ................  Off-line Benefit                    6         5,543          33,260        0.0501         1,666
                                                          Reinstatement.
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    Sub-total of State Agencies......  53                66,715.................     3,535,912        0.0667          30,738
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[[Page 59979]]

 
        Grand Total Reporting Burden   ................  .......................     2,961,887             2       7,071,824        0.0232       163,970
         with both Affect Public.
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    This information is currently being collected without OMB approval.

Cynthia Long,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-23600 Filed 10-28-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P