2018-02362. Agency Information Collection Under OMB Review: Approval of Licensing or Certification Test and Organization or Entity

AGENCY:

Veterans Benefits Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, this notice announces that the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), Department of Veterans Affairs, will submit the collection of information abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The PRA submission describes the nature of the information collection and its expected cost and burden; it includes the actual data collection instrument.

DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before March 9, 2018.

ADDRESSES:

Submit written comments on the collection of information through www.Regulations.gov,, or to Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Attn: VA Desk Officer; 725 17th St. NW, Washington, DC 20503 or sent through electronic mail to [e-mail]. Please refer to “OMB Control No. 2900-0697” in any correspondence.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Cynthia Harvey-Pryor, Enterprise Records Service (005R1B), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20420, [phone] or email [e-mail]. Please refer to “OMB Control No. 2900-0697” in any correspondence.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Authority: US Code 38 Section 3689.

Title: Approval of Licensing or Certification Test and Organization or Entity.

OMB Control Number: 2900-0697.

Type of Review: Reinstatement of a previously approved collection.

Abstract: SAAs and VA will use the information to decide whether the licensing and certification tests, and the organizations offering them, should be approved for use under the education programs VA administers. VA did not develop an official form for this information collection since section 3689 of title 38, United States Code, permitted VA to delegate the approval functions to the State Approving Agencies; and from the inception of this information collection, VA has given the State Approving Agencies the authority to approve licensing and certification tests and organizations. Consequently, the State Approving Agencies have developed their own forms to gather information they will need per their respective state laws to decide whether the licensing and certification tests and the organizations offering them should be approved. In the case of an organization seeking approval directly from VA, any information VA receives concerning the request for approval is forwarded directly to the appropriate State Approving Agency. Since SAAs have approval authority, education institutions and licensing and certification organizations supply information to the SAAs for approval in a manner specified by the SAA.

An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on this collection of information was published at 82 FR 82 on March 17, 2017, pages 14277-14278.

Affected Public: Individuals or Households.

Estimated Annual Burden: 817 hours.

Estimated Average Burden per Respondent: 3 hours.

Frequency of Response: Annually.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 2451 respondents.

By direction of the Secretary.

Cynthia Harvey-Pryor,

Department Clearance Officer, Office of Quality, Privacy and Risk, Department of Veterans Affairs.