[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 72 (Thursday, April 14, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22234-22235]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-07972]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; 
Required Elements of an Unemployment Insurance (UI) Reemployment 
Services and Eligibility Assessments (RESEA) Grant State Plan

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor's (DOL) Employment and Training 
Administration (ETA) is soliciting comments concerning a proposed 
extension for the authority to conduct the information collection 
request (ICR) titled, ``Required Elements of an Unemployment Insurance 
(UI) Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessments (RESEA) Grant 
State Plan.'' This comment request is part of continuing Departmental 
efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden in accordance with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA).

DATES: Consideration will be given to all written comments received by 
June 13, 2022.

ADDRESSES: A copy of this ICR with applicable supporting documentation, 
including a description of the likely respondents, proposed frequency 
of response, and estimated total burden, may be obtained free by 
contacting Ellen Wright by telephone at (202) 693-9995, TTY 1-877-889-
5627 (this is not a toll-free number), or by email at 
[email protected].
    Submit written comments about, or requests for a copy of, this ICR 
by mail or courier to the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and 
Training Administration, Office of Unemployment Insurance Room S-4524, 
200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20210; by email: 
[email protected], or by fax (202) 693-3975.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lawrence Burns by telephone at (202) 
693-3141 (this is not a toll-free number) or by email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DOL, as part of continuing efforts to reduce 
paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a pre-clearance consultation 
program to provide the general public and Federal agencies an 
opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing collections of 
information before submitting them to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for final approval. This program helps to ensure requested 
data can be provided in the desired format, reporting burden (time and 
financial resources) is minimized, collection instruments are clearly 
understood, and the impact of collection requirements can be properly 
assessed.
    The federal-state UI program is a required partner in the 
comprehensive, integrated workforce system. Individuals who have lost 
employment through no fault of their own and have earned sufficient 
wage credits may receive UI benefits if they meet initial and 
continuing eligibility requirements. Since 2005, one of the ways that 
the Department and participating state UI agencies have been addressing 
individual reemployment needs of UI claimants and working to prevent 
and detect UI improper payments is through the voluntary UI 
Reemployment and Eligibility Assessment (REA) program. Beginning in FY 
2015, states transitioned from REA to the voluntary RESEA program.
    The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, Public Law 115-123 (BBA), 
enacted on February 9, 2018, included amendments to the Social Security 
Act (SSA) creating a permanent authorization for the RESEA program. The 
RESEA provisions are contained in Section 30206 of the BBA, enacting 
new section 306 of the SSA. Section 306(e), SSA, provides the 
authorization and specific requirements for an annual RESEA state plan. 
To receive an RESEA grant, a state must submit an annual RESEA state 
plan that responds to all required elements and is approved by the 
Secretary of Labor. In 2019, ETA developed this state plan data 
collection to closely align with the statutory annual report 
requirements detailed in Section 306(3), SSA, and the essential 
administrative information necessary to complete the review, execution, 
and oversight of RESEA grants. ETA proposes to renew this data 
collection with several revisions intended to reflect recent changes to 
the RESEA program, to remove elements that are no longer routinely used 
to support grant management, and to provide states with the opportunity 
to include additional narrative descriptions that more fully reflect 
the state's planned RESEA activities and the economic or other factors 
that the state considered during the planning process. These proposed 
revisions include:
     Narrative boxes will be added to plan elements to allow 
states to provide additional information, clarifications, or other 
information relevant for the Department's wholistic review of planned 
RESEA activities;
     All response length limitations will be removed;
     Elements related to service delivery strategies will be 
revised to reflect recent program changes that allow for virtual and 
remote services;
     Information about administrative and staff-costs 
associated with specific RESEA services will no longer be collected; 
and
     To support the fiscal year 2023 implementation of section 
303(c)(2), SSA, which requires states to devote a specific percentage 
of their RESEA funding to evidence-based components with a high or 
moderate causal rating that show a demonstrated capacity to improve 
employment and earnings outcomes for program participants, elements 
identifying planned evidence-based components will be revised to 
include funding-level information.

42 U.S.C. 506(e) authorizes this information collection.

    This information collection is subject to the PRA. A Federal agency 
generally cannot conduct or sponsor a collection of information, and 
the public is generally not required to respond to an information 
collection, unless it is

[[Page 22235]]

approved by OMB under the PRA and displays a currently valid OMB 
Control Number. In addition, notwithstanding any other provisions of 
law, no person shall generally be subject to penalty for failing to 
comply with a collection of information that does not display a valid 
Control Number. See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6.
    Interested parties are encouraged to provide comments to the 
contact shown in the ADDRESSES section. Comments must be written to 
receive consideration, and they will be summarized and included in the 
request for OMB approval of the final ICR. In order to help ensure 
appropriate consideration, comments should mention OMB No. 1205-0538.
    Submitted comments will also be a matter of public record for this 
ICR and posted on the internet, without redaction. DOL encourages 
commenters not to include personally identifiable information, 
confidential business data, or other sensitive statements/information 
in any comments.
    DOL is particularly interested in comments that:
     Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
     Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
     Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     Minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology, (e.g., permitting 
electronic submission of responses).
    Agency: DOL-ETA.
    Type of Review: Revision.
    Title of Collection: Required Elements of an Unemployment Insurance 
(UI) Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessments (RESEA) Grant 
State Plan.
    Form: Annual RESEA State Plan Template.
    OMB Control Number: 1205-0538.
    Affected Public: State Workforce Agencies.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 53.
    Frequency: Annual.
    Total Estimated Annual Responses: 53.
    Estimated Average Time per Response: 44 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 2,332.
    Total Estimated Annual Other Cost Burden: $0.
    Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A).

Angela Hanks,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training, Labor.
[FR Doc. 2022-07972 Filed 4-13-22; 8:45 am]
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