99-36. Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collections; Comments Request(1) Food Stamp Application, Verification and Certification Activities, and (2) State Agency Options  

  • [Federal Register Volume 64, Number 2 (Tuesday, January 5, 1999)]
    [Notices]
    [Pages 472-477]
    From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
    [FR Doc No: 99-36]
    
    
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    
    DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
    
    Food and Nutrition Service
    
    
    Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collections; 
    Comments Request--(1) Food Stamp Application, Verification and 
    Certification Activities, and (2) State Agency Options
    
    AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service, USDA.
    
    ACTION: Notice.
    
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    
    SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
    Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is publishing for public comment a 
    summary of proposed information collections. The information collection 
    requirements described in this notice are limited to those which are 
    necessary to carry out the application, verification, and certification 
    of food stamp applicants and recipients.
    
    DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 8, 1999 to be 
    assured of consideration.
    
    ADDRESSES: 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 has 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 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 the use of appropriate automated, electronic, 
    mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms 
    of information technology.
        Send comments and request for copies of this information collection 
    to Margaret Werts Batko, Assistant Branch Chief, Certification Policy 
    Branch, Program Development Division, Food and Nutrition Service, USDA, 
    3101 Park Center Drive, Alexandria, Virginia, 22302, (703) 305-2516. 
    Comments may also be faxed to the attention of Ms. Batko at (703) 305-
    2486. The internet address is: [email protected] All 
    comments will be summarized and included in the request for Office of 
    Management and Budget approval of the information collection. All 
    comments will become a matter of public record.
    
    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Batko, (703) 305-2516.
    
    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The information collection requirements 
    described in this notice are limited to those which are necessary to 
    carry out Sections 3, 5, 6, 11 and 13 of the Food Stamp Act of 1977, 
    and Title IV of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity 
    Reconciliation Act of 1996, Pub. L. 104-193, enacted August 26, 1996, 
    as amended (PRWORA). PRWORA contained numerous amendments to the Food 
    Stamp Act of 1977 (hereinafter referred to as ``the Act''). PRWORA 
    contained several provisions designed to increase State agency 
    flexibility in administering the Food Stamp Program--especially in the 
    area of household application and certification for program benefits. 
    PRWORA changed the eligibility requirement for aliens without changing 
    the Food Stamp Act. PRWORA limited the eligibility of most able-bodied 
    adults without children to three months in a three-year period, 
    required that some individuals be sanctioned, and allowed some State 
    agency options. State agencies were notified in an agency memorandum 
    that they were required to implement the mandatory provisions of PRWORA 
    upon enactment for applicant households and at recertification for 
    participant households without waiting for formal regulations. The 
    alien provisions in PRWORA were subsequently amended by Public Law 104-
    208, the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act, dated September 30, 
    1996; Public Law 105-33, the Balanced Budget Act, dated August 5,
    
    [[Page 473]]
    
    1997; and Public Law 105-185, the Agricultural Research, Extension, and 
    Education Reform Act of 1988, dated June 23, 1998.
        This notice contains two separate information requests and takes 
    the statutory changes discussed in the preceding paragraph into 
    account. The first information request is related to the collection and 
    processing of information provided by households. The second one is 
    related to State agency options.
    
    Request 1
    
        Title: Application and Certification of Food Stamp Households.
        OMB Number: 0584-0064.
        Form Numbers: None.
        Expiration Date: (Three years from 10/31/00.)
        Type of Request: Update of a currently approved information 
    collection and request for approval of new collections.
        Abstract: Title 7, Part 273 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
    (CFR) sets forth the Food Stamp Program requirements for the 
    application, certification, and continued eligibility for food stamp 
    benefits. This rulemaking updates the collection burden and takes into 
    account changes required by PRWORA, as amended, in these areas. A 
    majority of the information collection or record keeping requirements 
    contained in this notice are currently approved by OMB under OMB Number 
    0584-0064. Proper notice and public comment were obtained prior to OMB 
    approval (see notice published in Federal Register of February 5, 1997, 
    62 FR 5380). No comments were received. At the time the February 5 
    notice was issued, proposed rules to implement the changes in these 
    areas were still in the development stage and some information 
    collection or record keeping requirements had not yet been identified. 
    The proposed rules are still in the Departmental clearance process, but 
    we have reevaluated and revised the time required to take actions 
    considering implementation of the new provisions and automation in most 
    State agencies.
    
    Revisions to Current Burden Estimates Under OMB No. 0584-0064
    
        In the February 5 notice, the new requirements for sponsored aliens 
    were included as a separate category. Since this is an integral part of 
    the application process, we have included them and the additional alien 
    eligibility and verification requirements in this rule in the burden 
    associated with processing initial applications. We separated 
    applications for initial application and recertification for both 
    household and State agency burden. We included burden previously 
    associated with application worksheets in the State agency's burden 
    associated with applications for initial certification and 
    recertification. We included the burden associated with giving an 
    explanation of monthly reporting and retrospective budgeting to 
    households in the State agency's burden for application processing 
    because the household must be given the explanation at the time of 
    certification and recertification. We separated State agency burden 
    associated with processing reports and changes during the certification 
    period into a separate category. We believe this will enable us to more 
    accurately estimate burden associated with these tasks.
        In making the new burden estimates, we factored in savings due to 
    State agency computerized systems. We do not have reliable data on 
    which to base our estimates, and we believe that the collection of such 
    data would be counterproductive. However, we would welcome any data 
    State agencies would like to submit for our future consideration.
        Burden associated with the items--Demand Letter for Overissuance, 
    Advance Notice of Administrative Disqualification Hearing, and Action 
    Taken on Administrative Disqualification Hearing, 7 CFR 273.17 and 7 
    CFR 273.18, are being transferred out of OMB NO. 0584-0064. We plan to 
    transfer the items to another existing OMB approval number or submit 
    the items to OMB for a separate approval number. This move is for 
    administrative management purposes because these forms are handled by a 
    separate division within the agency.
        Burden hours associated with information collection, reporting, and 
    recordkeeping as it relates to household application, certification, 
    and continued eligibility are described below and are assessed by using 
    one of two specific base figures. Burden associated with initial 
    applicant households is based on the number of initial applications 
    expected to be received (7,400,000, as reported by State agencies on 
    form FNS-366B). Burden associated with participating households such as 
    recertification applicants and reporting of changes in household 
    circumstances is based on the estimated number of participating 
    households (10,900,000 as reported by State agencies on form FNS-388). 
    Using these two base figures, the methodologies used and estimated 
    burden hours are as follows:
    
    7 CFR 273.2  Initial Food Stamp Application
    
        Household burden: Households must complete an application in order 
    to obtain benefits. Section 11(e)(2) of the Act (7 U.S.C. 2020(e)(2)) 
    provides that the State agency shall develop an application containing 
    the information necessary to comply with the Act. The Act requires an 
    adult representative to sign a statement, under penalty of perjury, 
    that the information provided on the application is true and correct to 
    the best of his/her knowledge, including information regarding the 
    citizenship or alien status of each member. Prior to PRWORA, State 
    agencies had to use a federally-designed application unless FNS 
    approved a State-designed deviation. The FNS-designed model application 
    sought information used to comply with the eligibility requirements of 
    Sections 5, 6, and 11 of the Act. Certain notices were required to be 
    provided on or with the State-designed applications to ensure 
    compliance other Federal laws governing nondiscrimination, civil 
    rights, privacy, and computer matching. All States were operating with 
    the FNS-designed model application or an FNS-approved deviation when 
    PRWORA was enacted.
        Section 835 of PRWORA amended Section 11(e) of the Act to eliminate 
    some mandatory form content requirements and to allow State agencies to 
    design their own application forms.
        Many State agencies have automated the application and application 
    processing requirements and some have on-line application systems. In 
    recognition of this, PRWORA provides that nothing in the Act shall 
    prohibit the use of signatures provided and maintained electronically, 
    storage of records using automated retrieval systems only, or any other 
    feature of a State agency's application system that does not rely 
    exclusively on the collection and retention of paper applications or 
    other records.
        Section 11(e)(4) of the Act and 7 CFR 273.14 of the current 
    regulations require State agencies to send the household a notice of 
    expiration when its certification period is going to expire and require 
    households to submit a new application in order to renew its 
    eligibility. These requirements were not changed by PRWORA. Section 
    3(c) of the Act, as amended by section 801 of PRWORA, allows longer 
    certification periods than were previously allowed. PRWORA allows State 
    agencies to assign certification periods up to 12 months except that 
    certification periods may be up to 24 months if all adult
    
    [[Page 474]]
    
    members are elderly or disabled. A State agency shall have at least one 
    contact with each certified household every 12 months.
        This information collection request takes into account additional 
    burdens imposed pursuant to PRWORA. These allow State agencies to 
    sanction food stamp households who are receiving grants under a State's 
    Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program if minor children are 
    not attending school, or if the adults do not have or are not working 
    toward attaining a secondary school diploma or its equivalent (Section 
    103 of PROWRA), makes individuals convicted of drug-related felonies 
    ineligible for food stamps (Section 115), makes fleeing felons and 
    probation and parole violators ineligible (Section 821), allows States 
    to disqualify individuals for failure to cooperate with child support 
    agencies or who are in arrears in court-ordered child support payments 
    (Sections 822 and 823), and limits the food stamp participation of most 
    able-bodied adults without dependents to 3 months in a 3-year period 
    (Section 824). These requirements mean that additional information has 
    to be requested on the application.
        Section 402(a)(2) of PRWORA, as amended, conditions food stamp 
    eligibility of some aliens on factors not related to their alien 
    status. For example, refugees and asylees are only eligible for 7 years 
    from the date of entry or the date status was granted. Some aliens 
    lawfully admitted for permanent residence must have earned or be 
    credited with 40 qualifying quarters of work as determined under title 
    II of the Social Security Act. Others have to have a military 
    connection, be battered, belong to certain Indian tribes, or belong to 
    certain Hmong or Highland Laotian Tribes during a certain period of 
    time. Some aliens are only eligible if they were lawfully residing in 
    the United States on August 22, 1996, or were age 65 or older on that 
    date. Determining and verifying these complicated new eligibility 
    requirements will significantly increase the information that must be 
    obtained on the application, and the household will have to submit 
    additional verification. Title IV of PRWORA requires the Department of 
    Justice (DOJ) to develop regulations to be used to verify citizenship 
    and eligible alien status. Under DOJ's August 4, 1998, proposed 
    regulations (63 FR 41662), applicants for food stamps must provide 
    verification of citizenship or alien status, each alien applicant 18 
    years of age or over must go to the food stamp office in person and 
    present his or her immigration document, and many aliens may be 
    required to submit an additional description identification document.
        The total number of respondents is the number of initial 
    applications expected to be received (7,400,000 less 200 alien 
    households that will not apply = 7,399,800). Household burden to 
    complete an initial application (assuming entries on every line) is 
    estimated to average at least 11 minutes (.1833 hour). In some States 
    the applications are on paper and in others they are on-line in 
    computerized systems. In States that have multiple program 
    applications, we are only considering the time it takes to complete the 
    food stamp portion. Normally, verification is done through documentary 
    evidence from a household's own records, such as birth certificates, 
    bank statements, income tax returns, and utility bills. OMB does not 
    require a burden assessment when collection of the information is 
    provided from a respondent's own records, but it may take time to 
    gather exact information from various documents such as wage stubs, 
    immigration documents, social security number cards, and so forth. We 
    estimate total annual household burden for initial applications to be 
    1,356,630 hours (7,399,800  x  .1833).
        State agency burden in processing initial applications: The State 
    agency must interview the household to obtain all necessary 
    information; explain the program; obtain required verification; and, 
    for households determined to be eligible, explain the reporting 
    requirements and compute the benefit level. Section 11(e)(3) of the Act 
    requires that the State agency verify the household's eligibility and 
    provide a clear written statement explaining what acts the household 
    has to perform to cooperate in obtaining verification and otherwise 
    completing the application process. As the result of PRWORA, additional 
    information relating to the work history of able-bodied adults without 
    dependents, the eligibility of aliens, disqualifications, and fleeing 
    felon status must now be determined and verified.
        At one time FNS designed a worksheet format to provide State 
    agencies a place to document additional information provided or 
    clarified by households during the interview; the type of verification 
    provided by the household; and computations of ineligibility or 
    eligibility and benefit levels. FNS does not have authority to approve 
    State forms, and many States have automated the eligibility 
    determination process. In some States the workers complete on-line 
    applications with households during the interview. The system stores, 
    interprets, and processes the information to determine if the household 
    is eligible and, if eligible, the correct benefit level. FNS will no 
    longer be making a worksheet format available to State agencies. State 
    agencies may develop a paper worksheet if they want one.
        In estimating the burden, we considered the changes in the 
    eligibility criteria and the simplified procedures pursuant to PRWORA, 
    reductions due to computerized systems which vary from State to State, 
    and increases due to including the explanation for monthly reporting. 
    Some applications may be denied for obvious reasons such as excess 
    resources or income in a short period of time while other applications 
    may take an extremely long time to process if the household contains 
    aliens or has self-employment income. We estimate that on average a 
    minimum of 15 minutes or .25 hours is required to perform an initial 
    certification. We estimate total annual burden to be 1,849,950 hours 
    (7,399,800  x  .25).
    
    7 CFR 273.14(b)  Food Stamp Application for Recertification
    
        Household burden: The number of households expected to file an 
    application for recertification is based on the number of current 
    participants (10,900,000 less 228,000 ineligible aliens = 10,672,000). 
    Elderly and disabled households may now be certified for up to 24 
    months and other households may be certified for up to 12 months. A few 
    State agencies assign three-month certification periods to prevent 
    quality control errors. Our burden assessment assumes on average 
    participating households will submit one application for 
    recertification each year. We estimate that most States will choose to 
    simplify the recertification form since FNS approval is no longer 
    required and that the burden time will be reduced as households become 
    familiar with the form. We estimate burden time for completing and 
    submitting a recertification application to be 8 minutes (.1333 hour). 
    We estimate total annual burden for recertification applications to be 
    1,422,933 hours (10,672,000  x  .1333).
        State agency burden in processing applications for recertification: 
    We are assuming that the recertification process will be performed on 
    all applications for recertification (10,672,000). We expect State 
    agencies to streamline the recertification process, and previously 
    verified information does not have to be reverified. We estimate it 
    will take an average of 11 minutes or .1833 hours to process an 
    application for
    
    [[Page 475]]
    
    recertification. We estimate total annual burden to be 1,956,533 hours 
    (10,672,000  x  .1833).
    
    7 CFR 273.10(g)  Notices of Eligibility, Denial, or Pending Status
    
        State agency burden: Each household that submits an initial 
    application or a reapplication must receive a notice of eligibility, 
    notice of denial notice, or notice of pending status awaiting 
    additional information. Estimates are based on the number of 
    applications for initial certification and recertification expected to 
    be received (18,071,800). There will be a decrease in the number of 
    responses because of a decrease in the number of households that apply 
    and the fact that longer certification periods will likely be assigned. 
    Based on the fact that most State agencies have computerized notices, 
    we estimate that it will take 2 minutes or .0333 hours to input data 
    and initiate the notice. We estimate total annual burden to be 602,393 
    hours (18,071,800  x  .0333).
    
    7 CFR 273.21  Monthly Reports
    
        Household burden: State agencies have the option to require certain 
    households to report information about household circumstances, changed 
    or unchanged, on a monthly basis. State agencies determine what 
    information is to be reported and how. The content of each State 
    agency's report is not readily available from which to estimate burden 
    time per response. When monthly reporting was a Federal mandate, about 
    32% of the caseload was submitting monthly reports. When monthly 
    reporting became optional, we previously estimated that 16% of the 
    caseload would still be subject to monthly reporting. A few State 
    agencies have since eliminated monthly reporting for households on 
    Indian reservations when the Act was changed to impose restrictions on 
    reporting, and some State agencies have reduced the number of monthly 
    reporting households for their own administrative reasons over the past 
    several years. Based on this, we estimate a further reduction to 15% of 
    the caseload. We estimate that 1,600,800 participating households 
    (10,672,000  x  .15 = 1,600,800 ) will be subject to monthly reporting 
    and total annual responses would be 19,209,600 (1,600,800  x  12 
    months). We estimate burden time for a household to complete a monthly 
    report to be 7 minutes or .1167 hour. The monthly report is not 
    affected by automation and households must complete and return a paper 
    form. We estimate total annual burden to be 2,241,120 hours (19,209,600 
     x  .1167).
    
    7 CFR 273.12 (a)  Change Report
    
        Household burden: As stated earlier, we estimate that 15% of the 
    caseload will be required to report monthly. The remaining 85% of the 
    caseload (10,672,000  x  .85 = 9,071,200 households) must report 
    changes in circumstances that may affect their eligibility or benefit 
    level within 10 days of the date the change becomes known. Data is not 
    collected on the number of such change reporters or how often they 
    report. Previous estimates assumed that 75% of those subject to change 
    reporting would actually report, 25% of those households would report 
    at least once a year, and 50% would report at least twice a year. State 
    agencies may require households not subject to monthly reporting to 
    submit information about child support payments quarterly on a change 
    report form that is used for reporting other changes, or State agencies 
    may develop a separate child support report form. Under PRWORA, States 
    may assign longer certification periods which will result in more 
    changes being reported. Taking these factors into consideration, we 
    estimate that each change reporting household on average will submit 1 
    report a year for a total of 9,071,200 responses. We estimated the time 
    to complete a report to be 5 minutes or .08333 hours. This burden time 
    is not affected by automation as households must complete and submit a 
    paper form. We estimate total annual burden to be 755,933 hours 
    (9,071,200  x  .0833).
    
    7 CFR 273.21(j)(2)  Notice of Late or Incomplete Monthly Reports
    
        State agency burden: State agencies must notify households if a 
    monthly report is late or additional information or verification is 
    needed. We estimate that 5% (19,209,600  x  .05 = 960,480) of the 
    monthly reports expected to be received will be late or incomplete 
    resulting in the need to generate this notice. We estimate burden time 
    per response to be 2 minutes or .0333 hours and total annual burden to 
    be 32,016 hours (960,480  x  .0333).
    
    7 CFR 271.2 and 7 CFR 273.21(j)(2)  Adequate Notice to Monthly 
    Reporters
    
        State agency burden: State agencies must send monthly reporting 
    households a written notice if their benefits will be or have been 
    increased, reduced, or terminated based on information contained on the 
    monthly report. We estimate that 30% (19,209,600  x  .30 = 5,762,880) 
    of the monthly reports received will result in an increase, reduction, 
    or termination of benefits. The remaining 70% of the monthly reports 
    will not require a change in benefits, so no notice is necessary. We 
    estimate burden time per response to be 2 minutes or .0333 hours and 
    total annual burden to be 192,096 hours (5,762,880  x  .0333).
    
    7 CFR 273.13  Advance Notice of Adverse Action
    
        State agency burden: Households that submit a change report form 
    must receive a written notice of any action to reduce or terminate 
    benefits in advance of the date the action will become effective. We 
    estimate that 50% of the change reports expected to be received 
    (9,071,200  x  .50 = 4,535,600) will result in a reduction or 
    termination of benefits which will require the State agency to generate 
    this notice. We estimate the burden per notice to be 2 minutes or .0333 
    hours and total annual burden to be 151,187 hours (4,535,600  x  
    .0333).
    
    7 CFR 273. 14(b)  Notice of Expiration
    
        State agency burden: The State agency must send each participating 
    household a notice when its certification period is about to expire 
    that informs the household it must reapply to receive continued 
    benefits. Based on a 1995 report on the Characteristics of Food Stamp 
    Households, the average certification period of all households, 
    including those with elderly and disabled members was 9.8 months. (The 
    number of annual notices was underestimated in the prior request.) 
    Under PRWORA and this proposal, State agencies may establish longer 
    certification periods--up to12 months for most households and 24 months 
    for households in which all adult members are elderly or disabled. 
    Households with an elderly or disabled person represent 34% of the 
    caseload, but all adult members in these households may not be elderly 
    or disabled. However, based on this new authority, it is anticipated 
    that State agencies will in general establish somewhat longer 
    certification periods to conserve resources. We estimate that on 
    average each certified household (10,672,000) will receive at least one 
    notice of expiration every 12 months. We estimate burden time per 
    response to be 2 minutes or .0333 hours and total annual burden to be 
    355,733 hours (10,672,000  x  .0333).
    
    7 CFR 273.12(c) and 273.21(j)  State Agency Burden in Processing 
    Reports and Changes
    
        When a report is submitted that shows a change, the State agency 
    must determine if and how the change will affect the household's 
    eligibility and benefit level, resolve questionable information, and 
    obtain additional
    
    [[Page 476]]
    
    verification. We estimate that this will be performed on all change 
    reports and 30 percent of the monthly reports (9,071,200 + 5,762,800 = 
    14,834,080) received. We estimate that this will take approximately 5 
    minutes or .0833 hour per change and the annual burden to be 1,236,173 
    hours (14,834,080  x  .0833).
        Record keeping burden only: Local agencies are required to maintain 
    client case records for three years, 7 CFR 272.1(f), and to perform 
    duplicate participation checks on individual household members to 
    ensure that a member is not participating in more than one household, 7 
    CFR 272.4(f).
        Data is not available on the actual number of local food stamp 
    offices in each State or the actual number of workers (recordkeepers) 
    that would be maintaining case files and performing duplicate 
    participation checks. Previous estimates reflected one record keeper 
    per State, but we believe this was too low. We are using the number of 
    food stamp project areas which is 2,715 for purposes of this 
    submission.
        (A) Case Files: The number of case files to be established and 
    maintained is equal to the number of applications expected to be 
    received for initial application and recertification. The number of 
    times recordkeepers must access these case files is equal to the number 
    of documents (105,910,560 responses) expected to be filed annually. We 
    estimate that each action will take a minimum of 2 minutes or .0333 
    hours. We estimate annual recordkeeping burden associated with 
    creating, filing, and maintaining household case files to be 3,526,822 
    hours (105,910,560  x  .0333).
        (B) Monitoring Duplicate Participation: The estimated annual record 
    keeping burden for maintaining this system which is automated by most 
    States is based on the number of applications expected to be received 
    (18,071,800) and the average number of persons (2.5) in each applicant 
    household. Assuming that at least 80% of the applications expected to 
    be received will be subject to this check, the estimated number of 
    duplicate participation checks (responses) that must be performed by 
    State agencies is 36,143,600 (18,071,800  x  .80  x  2.5). Burden is 
    estimated to be 15 seconds (or .0042 hours) per response, for a total 
    burden of 151,803 hours annually.
        (C) We estimate total recordkeeping burden to be 3,678,625 hours 
    annually (3,526,822 + 151,803). Burden per recordkeeper would be 1,355 
    hours annually (3,678,625/2,715 recordkeepers).
        Summary of burden hours for public--State and local governments, 
    potential applicants, and current participants:
    
    Respondents: 18,071,800
    Annual responses: 119,261,240
    Total burden hours: 16,275,901
    
    The net affect of these Program changes and adjustments is a reduction 
    in total burden hours of 3,752,042 from 20,027,943 to 16,275,901 due 
    primarily to a reevaluation based on State agencies' automated systems.
    
    Request 2
    
        Title: State Agency Options.
        OMB Number: Will be assigned when approved.
        Form Number: None.
        Expiration Date: Three years after OMB approved.
        Type of Request: New.
        Abstract: The collections covered under OMB Number 0584-0064 
    address information that will become part of a household's case file. 
    The information collection and burden estimates associated with the 
    following 4 collections will be assigned a separate OMB number because 
    they are not related to household case files. The number that is 
    assigned will be included in the preamble to the regulations which 
    implements the PRWORA changes.
        1. Homeless shelter estimate--7 CFR 273.9(d): Section 5(e) of the 
    Act, 7 U.S.C. 2014(e)(5), as amended by section 809 of PRWORA, allows 
    State agencies to use a homeless shelter cost estimate as a separate 
    deduction (instead of allowing only the amount that exceeds 50 percent 
    of income under the excess shelter cost deduction.) We estimate that 20 
    State agencies will choose this option and that these States will spend 
    1 hour per year updating the estimate for an annual burden of 20 hours.
        2. Establishing and reviewing standard utility allowances--7 CFR 
    273.9(d): State agencies may establish standard utility allowances to 
    be used in lieu of actual utility costs in determining a deduction from 
    household income for shelter expenses. Currently, 49 State agencies 
    have a standard that includes heating or cooling costs and 21 have a 
    standard for utility costs other than heating or cooling. Of the 49 
    States, we estimate that 10 will develop one or more additional 
    standards each year for the next 3 years. We estimate that this process 
    will take an average of 4 hours since the basic information will likely 
    already be included as a component of the main standard that is now 
    being used. We also estimate that State agencies will continue to 
    review the standards yearly, although they will no longer be required 
    to do so, to determine if increases are needed due to the cost of 
    living. We estimate a minimum of 2.5 hours annually to make this review 
    and adjustment. Total burden for this provision is estimated to be 
    162.5 hours per year.
        3. Mandatory utility standards--7 CFR 273.9(d). Section 809 of 
    PRWORA amended Section 5(e)(7)(C) of the Act (7 U.S.C. 2014(e)(7)(C)) 
    to allow State agencies to mandate use of standard utility allowances 
    when the excess shelter cost deduction is computed instead of allowing 
    households to claim actual utility costs provided the standards will 
    not increase program costs. We expect less than 7 States will choose 
    this option so information collection and reporting burden is not 
    required to be assessed.
        4. Establishing methodology for offsetting cost of producing self-
    employment income--7 CFR 273.10. The gross amount of self-employment 
    income is reduced by the cost of producing such income. Section 5(m) of 
    the Act, 7 U.S.C. 2014(m), as amended by section 812 of PRWORA allows 
    State agencies to use a reasonable estimate of self-employment costs 
    rather than actual costs to compute net income from self-employment 
    provided the method will not increase program costs. Requests to use 
    such estimates must be submitted to FNS and must include a description 
    of the proposed method; the number, type, and percent of households 
    affected; and documentation indicating that the procedure would not 
    increase Program costs. We estimate that 10 State agencies will submit 
    requests each year for the next three years. It is estimated that these 
    States will incur a one-time burden of at least 10 working hours 
    gathering and analyzing data, developing the methodology, determining 
    the cost implications, and submitting a request to FNS for a total 
    burden of 100 hours annually. State agencies are not required to 
    periodically review their approved methodologies. We do not anticipate 
    that State agencies will voluntarily review their methodologies for 
    change on a regular basis, thus burden is not being assessed for this 
    purpose at this time.
        Affected Public: State and local governments.
        Estimated Number of Respondents: 49.
        Estimated Number of Responses: 138.
        Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 286.
    
    
    [[Page 477]]
    
    
        Dated: December 14, 1998.
    Samuel Chambers, Jr.,
    Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
    [FR Doc. 99-36 Filed 1-4-99; 8:45 am]
    BILLING CODE 3410-30-P
    
    
    

Document Information

Published:
01/05/1999
Department:
Food and Nutrition Service
Entry Type:
Notice
Action:
Notice.
Document Number:
99-36
Dates:
Comments must be received on or before March 8, 1999 to be assured of consideration.
Pages:
472-477 (6 pages)
PDF File:
99-36.pdf