[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 189 (Friday, September 30, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59392-59393]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-21202]



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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Special Supplemental 
Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program 
Regulations--Reporting and Recordkeeping Burden

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 a proposed information collection. This collection is a revision of 
the currently approved information collection for the Special 
Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), 
which contains the reporting and recordkeeping burdens associated with 
the WIC Program regulations. These revisions include existing 
requirements that have been in use without Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) approval, identified during the drafting of proposed 
information collection requests associated with two rulemakings: the 
Revisions in the WIC Food Packages proposed rule and the WIC Online 
Ordering and Transactions proposed rule.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before November 29, 
2022.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent to: Allison Post, Chief, WIC 
Administration, Benefits, and Certification Branch, Policy Division, 
Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1320 
Braddock Place, 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 Allison 
Post at (703) 457-7708 or [email protected].

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: Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, 
and Children (WIC) Program Regulations--Reporting and Recordkeeping 
Burden.
    Form Number: N/A.
    OMB Number: 0584-0043.
    Expiration Date: 12/31/2023.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Abstract: FNS is currently drafting two proposed rules that would 
change Federal regulations governing the WIC Program at 7 CFR part 246. 
FNS will seek comment on the proposed information collections 
associated with those two rules separately. In the development of those 
two rules, FNS identified several existing requirements that are 
currently in use without OMB approval. This revision of OMB Control 
Number 0584-0043 adds those requirements and their associated burdens 
into this collection to correct this oversight. These requirements will 
be included in future revisions to the WIC burden.
    During development of the Revisions in the WIC Food Packages 
proposed rule, FNS identified the State agency reporting burden 
associated with 7 CFR 246.12(h)(1)(i) as in use without OMB approval. 
This provision requires the State agency to enter into a written 
agreement with retail vendors. State agencies must review completed 
applications and sign a vendor agreement where the agreement period 
must not exceed three years. The revision increases the approved annual 
reporting burden by 13,584.12 responses across all 89 State agencies, 
totaling 10,188.09 hours.
    During the development of the WIC Online Ordering and Transactions 
proposed rule, FNS identified six additional existing regulatory 
requirements as in use without OMB approval that affect the reporting 
burdens for WIC State agencies, households, and WIC-authorized retail 
vendors. The State agency reporting burden associated with vendor 
applications and agreements, discussed above, was identified during the 
development of both WIC proposed rules.
    WIC State Agency Reporting Burden: WIC regulations at Sec.  
246.12(g)(5), Sec.  246.12(j)(2), and Sec.  246.12(j)(4) require State 
agencies to visit vendors on site to conduct preauthorization visits of 
new vendor applicants, routine monitoring visits of five percent of 
vendors, and compliance investigations of five percent of vendors, 
respectively.\1\ These requirements involve both the necessary time to 
conduct the visit and the round-trip travel time. In addition to the 
13,584.12 responses and 10,188.09 hours associated with reviewing 
vendor applications and agreements discussed above, these revisions 
would add 3,571.20 responses and 4,943.33 hours to the approved WIC 
State agency reporting burden, for a total of 17,155.32 additional 
responses and 15,131.42 additional burden hours across all 89 State 
agencies.
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    \1\ The burden associated with conducting compliance 
investigations is already included in the approved burden for this 
collection, but the travel time has been previously omitted. 
Including the travel time affects the number of burden hours (686.07 
hours added) but not the number of responses associated with 
compliance investigations.
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    Household Reporting Burden: Section 246.12(r) requires WIC 
participants to pick up food instruments and cash-value vouchers (CVVs) 
in person when scheduled for a nutrition or recertification 
appointment. Outside of these scheduled appointments, State agencies 
may issue benefits through alternative means including electronic 
benefits transfer (EBT) or mailing, but many participants must still 
visit the clinic to pick up their benefits. Households with multiple 
WIC participants would only need to travel to the clinic once to pick 
up all members' benefits, and State agencies may issue up to three 
months of food instruments and CVVs at a time.
    If a State agency operates an offline EBT system or has not 
completed their transition to EBT, participants are generally required 
to reload their offline EBT card or pick up paper food instruments and 
CVVs in person. FNS estimates that in these State agencies, 656,135.82 
households visit the clinic three times per year outside of other 
scheduled appointments to pick up benefits in person, requiring 
1,968,407.46 visits and 984,203.73 hours. If a State agency operates an 
online EBT system, new participants generally pick up new EBT cards in

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person and all other participants receive benefits electronically. FNS 
estimates that in these State agencies, 1,042,098.07 households spend 
521,049.03 hours picking up EBT cards in person once per year outside 
of other scheduled appointments. These revisions would add 3,010,505.53 
responses and 1,505,252.76 total hours to the approved reporting burden 
for 1,698,234 households.
    WIC-Authorized Vendor Reporting Burden: In addition to the State 
agency reporting burden associated with preauthorization visits 
required by Sec.  246.12(g)(5), vendors' reporting burden must account 
for such visits. Approximately 1,513 vendors are newly authorized for 
the WIC Program each year and undergo preauthorization visits. Once 
authorized for the WIC Program, all 41,164 WIC-authorized vendors are 
required to attend annual training, per Sec.  246.12(j)(1). FNS 
estimates that including the burden associated with these two existing 
provisions adds 42,677 responses and 83,336.72 hours to the approved 
vendor reporting burden for this collection.
    Affected Public: Individual/Households; Business or Other for 
Profit; and State and Tribal Government. Respondent groups include WIC 
participants/households, WIC-authorized retail vendors, and WIC State 
agencies (including Indian Tribal Organizations and U.S. Territories).
    Estimated Number of Respondents: The total estimated number of 
respondents is 1,739,487 for the proposed revisions to the information 
collection request associated with OMB Number 0584-0043. This includes: 
89 State agencies; 1,698,234 WIC households, and 41,164 WIC-authorized 
retail vendors.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.77 responses.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: The total estimated number of 
responses is 3,072,396 for the proposed revisions to the information 
collection request associated with OMB Number 0584-0043.
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.52 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 1,607,837 hours.
    Current OMB Inventory: 4,547,099 hours and 48,798,800 responses.
    Difference (Burden Revisions Requested): +1,603,721 hours and 
+3,070,338 responses.\2\
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    \2\ The burden revisions requested do not exactly match the 
number of hours and responses for the proposed revisions to the 
information collection listed above because the burden associated 
with conducting compliance investigations is already included in the 
approved burden for this collection; the revision only adds the 
estimated travel time that is required to conduct compliance 
investigations.
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    Estimated Grand Total for Reporting and Recordkeeping Burden: 
6,150,819 hours and 51,869,137 responses (numbers may not sum due to 
rounding).

Tameka Owens,
Assistant Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-21202 Filed 9-29-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P