[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
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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.
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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]
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