[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 98 (Friday, May 21, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27814-27815]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-12912]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
Proposed Collection; Comment Request
AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, DOL.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to
reduce paperwork and respondent burden conducts a preclearance
consultation program to provide the general public and Federal agencies
with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing
collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995 (PRA95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This program helps to
ensure that 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 on respondents can be properly assessed.
Currently, the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is
soliciting comments concerning the proposed revision of the ETA 2112
report: Financial Transaction Summary.
A copy of the proposed information collection request (ICR) can be
obtained by contacting the office listed below in the ADDRESSES section
of this notice.
The Department of Labor is particularly interested in comments
which:
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 responses through the use of
appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological
collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g.,
permitting electronic submissions of responses.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the
ADDRESSES section below on or before July 20, 1999.
ADDRESSES: James E. Herbert, Unemployment Insurance Service, Employment
and Training Administration, Department of Labor, Room C-4514, 200
Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20210; 202-219-5653 x 380 (this
is not a toll-free number); jherbert@doleta.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The ETA 2112 Report, OMB No. 1205-0154, collects, in summary form,
totals of all financial transactions affecting the status of each
State's account in the Unemployment Trust Fund (UTF) for the month
reported. The transactions include receipts, disbursements,
adjustments, and fund balances. The ETA uses report data to monitor UTF
funds flows, to identify excessive drawdowns from the UTF, which may
cause loss of interest to the UTF, and to record transaction
information in the Unemployment Insurance Database and the UTF
subsidiary to the Departmental General Ledger. The transaction
information is used to compile the annual departmental consolidated
financial statements. ETA also uses information on the ETA 2112 for
research and actuarial projects: generating statistics on the UI
program, projecting benefit financing requirements, and analyzing the
solvency of the UTF. That information is used by States, other Federal
Agencies, and research groups to manage and analyze UTF activities.
Additionally, the ETA uses ETA 2112 information for reviewing proposed
State and Federal UI laws, especially pertaining to benefit financing
issues, and to monitor State activities conducted under Title IX of the
Social Security Act (Reed Act).
It is necessary to revise the ETA 2112 format and instructions to
accommodate the reporting of the following changes:
States may now make reimbursements of Combined Wage Claims
(CWC) through the Unemployment Trust Fund Accounting Systems (UTFAS),
replacing the old system of issuing a check directly to the State
billing for reimbursement.
States may transfer to the Internal Revenue Service the
amounts withheld for Federal income tax purposes from benefit payments
directly through the UTFAS.
In FY 1999 there was a distribution of Reed Act money
under section 903 of the Social Security Act. This was the first
distribution since FY 1958. The existing ETA 2112, developed long after
that distribution, does not provide report cells for new distributions.
Because of these events, the ETA has decided to rewrite the ETA
2112 to include new cells in the report, and to revise reporting
instructions accordingly.
II. Current Actions
This action is required to update the ETA 2112 to capture
information on financial transactions not available in
[[Page 27815]]
the current configuration, specifically automated CWC reimbursements,
the transfer of withholding amounts to the IRS, and new Reed Act
distributions. The first two items are currently reported on the ETA
2112 in the general ``Comments'' section.
The revision to the ETA 2112 will provide a separate line for
specific reporting.
The Reed Act revision will provide a separate line to report Reed
Act activity beyond amounts amortized with Title III administrative
grant funds.
Type of Review: Revision.
Agency: Employment and Training Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund Activity, OMB Number:
1205-0154.
Affected Public: State government (State Employment Security
Agencies).
Total Respondents: 50 States, Washington, DC, Puerto Rico, and the
Virgin Islands.
Frequency: Monthly.
Total Responses: 636.
Average Time per Response: 1 hour.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 636.
Total Burden Cost: 636 x $26.10 = $16,600.
Comments submitted in response to this comment request will be
summarized and/or included in the request for Office of Management and
Budget approval of the information collection request; they will also
become a matter of public record.
Dated: May 17, 1999.
Grace A. Kilbane,
Director, Unemployment Insurance Service.
[FR Doc. 99-12912 Filed 5-20-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-30-M
