[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 163 (Wednesday, August 24, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51962-51964]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-18205]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Review of Major Changes 
in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

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. This information collection consists of 
State agency notification and data collection activities associated 
with a major change in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) 
operations at the State level.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before October 24, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent to: Jessica Luna, 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 [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 Jess 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: Review of Major Changes in the Supplemental Nutrition 
Assistance Program (SNAP).
    Form Number: N/A.
    OMB Control Number: 0584-0579.
    Expiration Date: 4/30/2023.
    Type of Request: Revision of currently approved collection.
    Abstract: Section 11 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (the 
Act) (7 U.S.C. 2020), as amended, requires the Department to develop 
standards for identifying major changes in the operations of State 
agencies that administer SNAP. Regulations at 7 CFR 272.15 require 
State agencies to notify the Department when planning to implement a 
major change in operations and to collect any information required by 
the Department to identify and correct any adverse effects on program 
integrity or access, including access by vulnerable households. 7 CFR 
272.15(a)(2) outlines the categories of major changes to include: the 
closure of a local office, substantial increased reliance on automated 
systems, changes in operations that potentially increase difficulty for 
household reporting, the reduction or change of functions or 
responsibilities assigned to merit system personnel, a decrease in the 
number of merit system personnel involved in the SNAP certification 
process, or other major changes identified by FNS. States make such 
changes in operations based upon a variety of interrelated factors.
    As decisions to make major changes to program operations rest with 
each individual State agency, the frequency and timing of the changes 
can only be estimated. Prior to any major change to

[[Page 51963]]

State operations, regulations at 7 CFR 272.15(a)(3) require State 
agencies to provide descriptive information to FNS via email regarding 
the major change together with an analysis of its projected impacts on 
program operations. The regulations also set out requirements for the 
State to collect and report monthly State-level data on application 
processing metrics, beginning with the quarter prior to implementation 
of the major change. This data must be reported separately for elderly 
and/or disabled households. This data is submitted on a quarterly basis 
to FNS via email. Reporting continues for at least one year after the 
change is completely implemented. Regulations at 272.15(b)(4) give FNS 
the authority to request additional data beyond the mandatory data 
reporting elements outlined at 272.15(a)(3). For example, depending 
upon the nature of the major change, States may be required to report 
more specific or timely information concerning the impact of the major 
change on payment accuracy, which could involve additional caseload 
data focused on households with specific characteristics. FNS will work 
with States to determine what additional information is practicable and 
require only the data that is necessary to evaluate the impact of the 
major change. FNS National Office and Regional Offices use data from 
States that are currently subject to Major Change Reporting to provide 
additional technical assistance to those States when needed. This 
information enables FNS to monitor the impact of States' changes and 
identify compliance and/or performance issues early.
    Reporting Burden Estimates FNS estimates out of 53 States, 13 
States submit major changes annually. We estimate a total of 65 annual 
responses and 6,704 total annual burden hours in the breakout below:
    (A) 7 CFR 272.15(a)(3) Initial Analysis of Major Change: Based upon 
FNS' experience over the last six years, out of the 53 State agencies 
this data collection impacts, FNS estimates that on average 13 States 
will submit major changes annually. FNS estimates that the overall 
annual total of the collection of information for the State agencies is 
65 total annual responses and 6,704 burden hours. With an estimated 13 
States reporting 1 major change per year, the initial reporting and 
analysis aspect of the rulemaking would be 13 annual responses x 40 
hours per initial response per State = an estimated 520 burden hours 
per year.
    (B) 7 CFR 272.15(b)(1)-(3) Reports Required without Additional Data 
Collection: After notifying FNS of a major change, States must report 
to FNS on a quarterly basis the mandatory reporting requirements 
outlined in 7 CFR 272.15(b)(1)-(3) and may be subject to additional 
reporting requirements depending on the major change. Therefore, FNS 
projects that for 8 of the 13 major changes expected each year there 
would be no additional reporting burden beyond the mandatory reporting. 
All 13 of the major changes (8 States report without additional data 
collection and 5 State reports required with additional data 
collection) estimated each year are expected to require some automated 
system reprogramming to generate the required mandatory data reporting. 
Therefore, FNS estimates 8 States will submit this report on a 
quarterly basis for a total of 4 responses/reports annually for a total 
of 32 annual responses. We estimate it will take approximately 42 hours 
per report, per State for a total of 1,344 annual burden hours. [In 
consultation with States, we determined it will take 96 hours per State 
agency to program its system to provide the data for the report which 
would be 1,248 hours per year (13 x 96). Preparing the 52 quarterly 
reports are estimated to require 18 hours per State agency. The total 
for the 13 States would be 1,248 + 936 hours = 2,184 total hours for 
reporting (divided by the 13 States = 168 hours per State per year).]
    (C) 7 CFR 272.15(b)(4) Reports Required with Additional Data 
Collection: Furthermore, FNS estimates it will require 5 States to 
report additional data on a quarterly basis for a year (a total of 4 
responses/reports annually for a total of 20 annual responses). We 
estimate it will take each State agency 242 hours per response for a 
total of 4,840 burden hours. [Such data will generally be collected 
through a sample of case reviews. While the required sample sizes may 
vary based on the type of major change and the proportion of the 
State's SNAP caseload it may affect, 200 cases per quarter would likely 
be an upper limit on what FNS would ask of a State. At an estimated one 
hour to review and report on a case, this would require 800 hours per 
year for one State each year.]
    When the 520 hours for major change notifications, the 1,344 hours 
for reports required without additional data and 4,480 hours for 
reports required with additional data are added the total for the 13 
States is 6,704 total annual burden hours. There are 13 total annual 
responses for major change notifications, 32 total annual responses for 
reports required without additional data and 20 total annual responses 
for reports required with additional data for a total of 65 total 
annual responses.
    (D) Additional Information: The current request is 3,504 reporting 
burden hours and 65 total annual responses. The revision to this 
information collection results in no change in the 13 total number of 
respondents and we are requesting 6,704 reporting burden hours which is 
an increase of 3,200 reporting burden hours from the previously 
approved request. The 65 total annual responses remain unchanged. Based 
on recent trends, FNS is increasing its burden estimates to account for 
anticipated increases in States implementing major changes in non-merit 
personnel and increased reliance on automated systems, such as robotic 
processing automation (RPA) or bots. Additional data collection on 
advanced technologies is necessary to identify and correct any adverse 
effect on program integrity, or access including access by vulnerable 
households.
    This information collection does not contain burden associated with 
recordkeeping and/or third party or public disclosures.
    Affected Public: State, Local and Tribal Government.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 13.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 5.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 65.
    Estimated Time per Response: 103.14.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 6,704 hours.

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                                                                              States
                  Section                            Requirement          responding per   Responses per     Number of       Hours per     Total burden
                                                                               year         respondent       responses       response          hours
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272.15(a)(3)..............................  Initial analysis of Major                 13               1              13              40             520
                                             Change.
272.15(b)(1)-(3)..........................  Reports required without                   8               4              32              42           1,344
                                             additional data collection.

[[Page 51964]]

 
272.15(b)(4)..............................  Reports required with                      5               4              20             242           4,840
                                             additional data collection.
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    Totals................................  ............................              13               5              65          103.14           6,704
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Cynthia Long,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-18205 Filed 8-23-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P