[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 67 (Thursday, April 7, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20381-20387]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-07419]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Supplemental Nutrition 
Assistance Program: Reporting of Lottery and Gambling, and Resource 
Verification

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. This is a revision of a 
currently approved collection and existing burden in use without a 
valid OMB control number in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance 
Program (SNAP). This information collection captures the burden 
associated with the requirement that States make ineligible SNAP 
participants with substantial lottery or gambling winnings and 
establish cooperative agreements with gaming entities within their 
States to identify SNAP participants with substantial winnings. 
Individuals and households are required to report substantial winnings. 
This revision removes the one-time start-up burden hours that were 
associated with establishing the collection of this information and 
modifies the ongoing burden hours associated with SNAP State agency 
eligibility workers in addition to bringing other burden activities 
associated with resource verification requirements into compliance.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or June 6, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent to: Program Design Branch, Program 
Development Division, Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, 1320 Braddock Place, 5th Floor, Alexandria, VA 22314. 
Comments may also be submitted via email to Jessica Luna at 703-305- 
4391 or 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 Jessica 
Luna at 703-305-4391.

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: Reporting of 
Lottery and Gambling, and Resource Verification.
    Form Number: N/A.
    OMB Control Number: 0584-0621.
    Expiration Date: November 30, 2022.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection and 
addition of an existing collection in use without an OMB control 
number.
    Abstract:

Lottery and Gambling

    In accordance with section 4009 of the Agricultural Act of 2014, 
households in which members receive substantial lottery and gambling 
winnings are ineligible for SNAP until

[[Page 20382]]

they meet allowable financial resources and income eligibility 
requirements. Substantial winnings are defined as winnings that are 
equal to or greater than the resource limit for elderly or disabled 
households as defined in 7 CFR 273.8(b). States are also required to 
work cooperatively with entities responsible for gaming in their State 
to identify individuals and households with substantial winnings. SNAP 
households must report substantial winnings to State SNAP agencies. 
These requirements at 7 CFR 273.11(r) were implemented in 2019 through 
final rulemaking titled ``Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: 
Student Eligibility, Convicted Felons, Lottery and Gambling, and State 
Verification Provisions of the Agricultural Act of 2014'', published on 
April 15, 2019 (84 FR 15083, RIN 0584-AE41). A technical correction to 
the 60-Day Notice associated with this rulemaking was published on June 
21, 2019 (84 FR 29029, RIN 0584-AE41).
    In the process of renewing this information collection, FNS 
modified the reporting burden to remove the one-time start-up burden 
hours associated with the initial implementation of the requirements, 
such as establishing cooperative agreements. FNS also adjusted its 
calculation of burdens on State agency eligibility workers. Therefore, 
the burden for this set of requirements represents a decrease of -
408,406.25 burden hours from the previous approval for this collection.
    In the previous approval for this collection, the Agency assumed 
that 3 State SNAP agencies do not have lottery or gambling entities and 
are not likely to incur burden related to the lottery and gambling 
requirements. Because there is not an authoritative and comprehensive 
source of lottery and gambling legality information nationwide, and 
given wide variation across States, the Agency maintains this 
assumption for the purposes of this renewal.
    The Agency assumes that the 50 State SNAP agencies subject to this 
requirement (the Agency assumes 3 State SNAP agencies do not have 
lottery or gambling entities) have already established cooperative 
agreements with the public agency gaming entities (1 per State, 50 
total) and private gaming entities (4 per State, 200 total) in their 
State. These agreements use computerized data matching to identify 
winners within the SNAP participation list. The gaming entities must 
input data on each individual with winnings over the winnings threshold 
into the matching system, which FNS estimates to take 5 minutes (.0835 
hours). There is no national database of how many people win large 
amounts of money in State lotteries or through gaming activities. 
Therefore, FNS will continue to use the previously approved estimates 
as there has been no indication that they require adjustment. The 
Agency assumes that each of the public and private gaming entities 
would have 6,000 individuals (members of the general public) who win 
over the threshold each year and whose data would need to be uploaded 
to the matching system. The information technology staff from each 
State SNAP agency maintains the matching system, which the Agency 
estimates takes 320 hours per year. Once the data is uploaded, the 
Agency assumes that matches occur automatically.
    FNS estimates that 27,500 SNAP households will receive substantial 
lottery winnings per year, with most instances identified via the 
matching systems. FNS assumes that the matching systems will identify 
approximately 36,000 SNAP participants (average 720 per State agency) 
nationally each year. Of these, the State agencies will find that 
approximately 23,000 (average 460 per State agency) have actual 
substantial winnings (the others may be simply misidentified because of 
a similar name, inaccurate reporting, etc.). These matches are 
hereinafter referred to as ``substantive matches.'' Under 7 CFR 272.17 
and 7 CFR 273.11(r), FNS anticipates that the 50 State SNAP agencies 
will receive approximately 13,000 records (average 260 per State 
agency) annually with misidentified participants. It will take about 40 
minutes (.668 hours) for eligibility workers to identify each 
misidentification.
    For each substantive match, an eligibility worker will do the 
following:
     The eligibility worker will generate a request for contact 
(RFC) requesting more information. The burden associated with RFCs is 
already accounted for in OMB Control Number 0584-0064 (expiration 2/29/
2024) and is not counted in the total burden of this information 
collection.
     If the participant returns the RFC, the worker will review 
the returned information from the participant and engage in any 
additional verification. Under 7 CFR 272.17 and 7 CFR 273.11(r), FNS 
estimates that this will take eligibility workers approximately 20 
minutes (.334 hours) and that approximately 80 percent of participants 
will return the RFCs. This estimate for the rate of return is based on 
a prior estimate in OMB Control Number 0584-0064 (expiration 2/29/2024) 
regarding RFCs. Therefore, FNS estimates that eligibility workers will 
handle approximately 18,400 returned RFCs (average 368 per State 
agency) from substantive matches.
     If the matched participant responds to the RFC and the 
eligibility worker finds them to be a substantial winner, the worker 
will close the case and send a notice of adverse action. If the 
participant does not return the RFC (an estimated 20 percent), the 
worker will close the case and send a notice of adverse action for 
failure to return the RFC. The burden associated with notices of 
adverse action is accounted for in OMB Control Number 0584-0064 
(expiration 2/29/2024) and is not counted in the total burden of this 
collection.
    Under 7 CFR 273.11(r), households are also required to report their 
substantial winnings to their State SNAP agency. Out of the 27,500 SNAP 
participants who will receive substantial lottery winnings, FNS 
estimates 23,000 substantial winners will be identified through the 
matching process and 4,500 households will self-report lottery and 
gambling winnings.
    In response to the 4,500 (average 90 per State agency) households 
that self-report winnings, State eligibility workers will do the 
following:
     Under 7 CFR 272.17 and 7 CFR 273.11(r), Eligibility 
workers will review the information submitted by the participant. FNS 
estimates that this will take eligibility workers approximately 11 
minutes (0.1837 hours). This estimate is based on a prior estimate in 
OMB Control Number 0584-0064 (expiration 2/29/2024) for a similar 
simplified reporting requirement for able-bodied adults without 
dependents.
     If the eligibility worker finds the participant to be a 
substantial winner, the worker will close the case, and send notice of 
adverse action. Again, this burden is accounted for in OMB Control 
Number 0584-0064 (expiration 2/29/2024) and is not counted in the total 
burden of this collection.
    Under 7 CFR 273.11(r), SNAP households identified as substantial 
lottery winners via the matching process will receive and potentially 
respond to RFCs and notices of adverse action. The participant burdens 
associated with RFCs and notices of adverse action are accounted for in 
OMB Control Number 0584-0064 (expiration 2/29/2024) and are not counted 
in the total burden of this collection. FNS estimates that self-
reporting households will spend 10 minutes (.167 hours) per response to 
report their substantial winnings to the State SNAP agency. FNS 
utilized the estimate of 10 minutes based on a prior estimate in OMB 
Control Number 0584-

[[Page 20383]]

0064 (expiration 2/29/2024) for the time it takes a household to 
complete a periodic report.
    FNS recognizes that households who previously lost eligibility for 
SNAP due to lottery or gambling winnings may later re-apply to the 
program. The burden associated with submitting and processing 
applications is accounted for in OMB Control Number 0584-0064 
(expiration 2/29/2024) and is not counted in the total burden of this 
collection.
    This section of the information collection does not require any 
recordkeeping burden.

Resource Verification

    Per Section 5(g) of the Food and Nutrition Act, all applicant 
households must meet the SNAP resource limits unless they are 
considered categorically eligible (Section 5(j) of the Food and 
Nutrition Act) for SNAP benefits. State eligibility workers must 
evaluate the resources available to each household to determine whether 
these households meet the SNAP resource limits as defined by 7 CFR 
273.8(b). Resources are one of several criteria that SNAP State 
agencies use to determine SNAP eligibility and States may elect to 
mandate verification of resources (7 CFR 273.2(f)(3)). All States must 
verify any resource information that appears to be questionable, in 
accordance with 7 CFR 273.2(f)(2)(i).
    With this information collection request, FNS is seeking OMB 
approval for the burden hours associated with resource verification 
information that is currently being collected in violation without a 
valid OMB control number or approved by OMB. Therefore, the burden 
hours for this requirement represent an additional 2,913,736.63 burden 
hours not included in the previous approval of this collection.
    Households are considered categorically eligible for SNAP if each 
member receives certain cash assistance benefits, including 
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Temporary Assistance for Needy 
Families (TANF) assistance. States also have the option to implement 
broad-based categorical eligibility policies to deem recipients of non-
cash or in-kind TANF benefits or services to be categorically eligible 
for SNAP. Out of 53 SNAP State agencies, 44 have adopted broad-based 
categorical eligibility policies. Therefore, only 9 States currently 
collect resource information as part of the SNAP eligibility 
determination process. State agencies conducting this process may need 
to contact financial institutions, Departments of Motor Vehicles, and 
other entities to obtain documentation of a household's resources. 
Households may need to submit proof of their available resources.
    In 2018, FNS consulted with 8 States operating the resource test to 
estimate the amount of time that State agency staff spent verifying 
resources with clients at initial certification and subsequent 
recertifications. Through this consultation with States, FNS learned 
that 4 States verify resources when reported resources are close to the 
limit or questionable (hereinafter referred to as ``High Limit'' 
States), 2 States only verify when the report is questionable (``Self-
Attestation'' States), and 2 States always verify resources (``Always'' 
States). For the purposes of this estimate, FNS assumes the 9th State 
verifies when a household is close to the asset limit or questionable 
(``High Limit''). In 2021, FNS confirmed that the following estimates 
remained accurate by consulting with States that verify resources.
    Using the estimates obtained during State consultation on resource 
verification, FNS estimates that State SNAP agency staff spend the 
following average times on resource verification:
     ``High Limit'' or ``Self-Attestation'' Staff: 12.3 minutes 
(0.205 hours) per case at initial certification and 7.4 minutes (0.123 
hours) per case at recertification.
     ``Always'' Staff: 43.75 minutes (0.729 hours) per case at 
initial certification and 26.25 minutes (0.438 hours) per case at 
recertification.
    To estimate the total burden hours on State agencies, FNS applied 
these average times to the most recently available participation data 
(FY20) for SNAP initial and recertification applicant households in the 
9 States that verify resources.\1\
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    \1\ National Data Bank data from FY2020, FNS 366-B, Total 
Initial Applications and Total Recertification Applications. OMB 
Control Number 0584-0594 (expiration 7/31/2023).
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    FNS then estimated the burden hours for households to provide 
verification using the same FY20 participation data. The Agency 
estimates that providing verification would take 4 minutes (0.0668 
hours) per household at initial certification and 6 minutes (.1002 
hours) at recertification. These time estimates come from other 
verification activities in OMB Control Number 0584-0064 (expiration 2/
29/2024). Using the estimates above for the number of households in 
each State subject to verification requirements, FNS then calculated 
the total number of households in each State that would have to 
participate in this annual burden in the chart below.
    This section of the information collection does not require any new 
recordkeeping burden. The related recordkeeping burden for State 
agencies is currently covered under the approved information collection 
burden for application processing, OMB Control Number 0584-0064 
(expiration 2/29/2024), which accounts for the casefile documentation 
that States maintain for each SNAP household at 7 CFR 273.2(f)(6).

Reporting

Affected Public Individuals/Household

    Respondent Type: SNAP households.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 30,977,197.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.00.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 30,977,197.
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.078.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 2,421,974.31.

Affected Public State Agencies

    Respondent Type: State SNAP agencies (50), State gambling and 
gaming entities (50).
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 100.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 21,740.38.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 2,174,038.
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.252.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 548,170.07.

Affected Public Business

    Respondent Type: Business private gambling and gaming entities.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 200.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 6,000.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 1,200,000.
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.08.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 96,000.00.

Total Affected Public

    Respondent Type: SNAP households, State SNAP agencies, State 
gambling and gaming entities, and business private gambling and gaming 
entities.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 30,977,497.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.11.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 34,351,235.
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.089.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 3,066,144.38.

[[Page 20384]]



                                                                                                      Reference Burden Table Below
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                                                                                                                                                      Estimated
                                                                                                                  Estimated   Estimated   Estimated   number of     Estimated     Burden hours    Previously   Difference    Differences
          Burden activities                 Reg. section           Respondent type      Description of activity   number of   frequency     total       burden    total burden   in use without    approved      due to        due to
                                                                                                                 respondents      of        annual    hours per       hours        a valid OMB      burden     adjustments     program
                                                                                                                               response   responses    response                  control number     hours                      changes
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Lottery & Gambling..................  7 CFR 273.11(r)........  SNAP Individuals/        *Self-report lottery or        4,500          1        4,500      0.167          751.50            0.00     4,593.00     -3,841.50          0.00
                                                                Households.              gambling winnings to
                                                                                         State SNAP Agency.
Resource Verification...............  7 CFR 273.2(f)(1) & (2)  SNAP Individuals/        Verification of           20,426,390          1   20,426,390     0.0668    1,364,482.85    1,364,482.85         0.00           N/A          0.00
                                                                Households.              resources at initial
                                                                                         application.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      7 CFR 273.2(f)(8)(i)...  SNAP Individuals/        Verification of           10,546,307          1   10,546,307     0.1002    1,056,739.96    1,056,739.96         0.00           N/A          0.00
                                                                Households.              resources at
                                                                                         recertification.
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    SNAP Individual/Household Subtotal Reporting...............................................................   30,978,697       1.00   30,978,697      0.078    2,422,224.81    2,421,222.81     4,593.00     -3,841.50          0.00
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Lottery & Gambling..................  7 CFR 272.17(a) & (b)..  State SNAP Agency        ** Establish                       0          0            0          0            0.00            0.00    80,000.00    -80,000.00          0.00
                                                                Managers.                cooperative agreements
                                                                                         with State public
                                                                                         agency and private
                                                                                         business gaming
                                                                                         entities.
                                      7 CFR 272.17(c)........  State Public Agency      ** Establish                       0          0            0          0            0.00            0.00    16,000.00    -16,000.00          0.00
                                                                Gaming Entity Managers.  cooperative agreements
                                                                                         with State SNAP agency.
                                      7 CFR 272.17(c)........  State SNAP IT Staff....  ** Create a data                   0          0            0          0            0.00            0.00   208,000.00   -208,000.00          0.00
                                                                                         matching system with
                                                                                         State public agency
                                                                                         and private business
                                                                                         gaming entities.
                                      7 CFR 272.17 and 7 CFR   State SNAP Agency        Eligibility worker                50        260       13,000      0.668        8,684.00            0.00     8,671.00         13.00          0.00
                                       273.11(r).               Eligibility Worker.      follow-up (matched,
                                                                                         misidentified).
                                      7 CFR 272.17 and 7 CFR   State SNAP Agency        Eligibility worker                50        368       18,400      0.334        6,145.60            0.00       23,000    -16,027.75          0.00
                                       273.11(r).               Eligibility Worker.      follow-up (matched,
                                                                                         substantive).
                                      7 CFR 272.17 and 7 CFR   State SNAP Agency        Eligibility worker                50         90        4,500      0.184          826.65            0.00
                                       273.11(r).               Eligibility Worker.      follow-up (self-
                                                                                         reported winners).
                                      7 CFR 272.17(c)........  State Public Agency      Input data into data              50      6,000      300,000       0.08       24,000.00            0.00       24,000          0.00          0.00
                                                                Gaming Entity Staff      matching system for
                                                                Member.                  use by State SNAP
                                                                                         agency.

[[Page 20385]]

 
                                      7 CFR 272.17(c)........  State SNAP IT Staff....  Maintain a data                   50          1           50        320       16,000.00            0.00       16,000          0.00          0.00
                                                                                         matching system with
                                                                                         State public agency
                                                                                         and private business
                                                                                         gaming entities.
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Resource Verification...............  7 CFR 273.2(f)(1) & (2)  State SNAP Agency        Verification of                    2    119,172      238,344      0.729      173,752.78      173,752.78         0.00           N/A          0.00
                                                                Eligibility Worker.      resources at initial
                                                                                         application (States
                                                                                         verifying all
                                                                                         resources).
                                      7 CFR 273.2(f)(1) & (2)  State SNAP Agency        Verification of                    2    119,172      238,344      0.205       48,860.52       48,860.52         0.00           N/A          0.00
                                                                Eligibility Worker.      resources at initial
                                                                                         application (States
                                                                                         verifying resources if
                                                                                         questionable).
                                      7 CFR 273.2(f)(1) & (2)  State SNAP Agency        Verification of                    5    119,172      595,860      0.205      122,151.30      122,151.30         0.00           N/A          0.00
                                                                Eligibility Worker.      resources at initial
                                                                                         application (States
                                                                                         verifying resources if
                                                                                         close to the limit).
                                      7 CFR 273.2(f)(8)(i)...  State SNAP Agency        Verification of                    2     85,060      170,120      0.438       74,512.56       74,512.56         0.00           N/A          0.00
                                                                Eligibility Worker.      resources at
                                                                                         recertification
                                                                                         (States verifying all
                                                                                         resources).
                                      7 CFR 273.2(f)(8)(i)...  State SNAP Agency        Verification of                    2     85,060      170,120      0.123       20,924.76       20,924.76         0.00           N/A          0.00
                                                                Eligibility Worker.      resources at
                                                                                         recertification
                                                                                         (States verifying
                                                                                         resources if
                                                                                         questionable).
                                      7 CFR 273.2(f)(8)(i)...  State SNAP Agency        Verification of                    5     85,060      425,300      0.123       52,311.90       52,311.90         0.00           N/A          0.00
                                                                Eligibility Worker.      resources at
                                                                                         recertification
                                                                                         (States verifying
                                                                                         resources is close to
                                                                                         the limit).
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    State Agency Subtotal Reporting............................................................................          100  21,740.38    2,174,038      0.252      548,170.07      492,513.82   375,671.00   -320,014.75          0.00
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Lottery & Gambling..................  7 CFR 272.17(a) & (b)..  Private Business Gaming  ** Establish                       0          0            0          0            0.00            0.00       64,000    -64,000.00          0.00
                                                                Entity Managers.         cooperative agreements
                                                                                         with State SNAP agency.
                                      7 CFR 272.17(c)........  Private Business Gaming  Input data into data             200      6,000    1,200,000       0.08       96,000.00            0.00       96,000          0.00          0.00
                                                                Entity Staff Member.     matching system for
                                                                                         use by State SNAP
                                                                                         agency.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Business Subtotal Reporting................................................................................          200   6,000.00    1,200,000       0.08       96,000.00            0.00   160,000.00    -64,000.00          0.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 20386]]

 
        Reporting Grand Total Burden Estimates.................................................................   30,978,997       1.11   34,352,735      0.089    3,066,394.88    2,913,736.63   540,264.00   -387,856.25          0.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* FNS assumes that all participants reporting lottery and gambling winnings will also have either an initial or recertification application in the same year. To avoid double counting, these households are not separately included in
  the total number of respondents for this section.
** The start-up burden from the previous approval for this collection has been removed from the renewal.



[[Page 20387]]

Cynthia Long,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-07419 Filed 4-6-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P