Notice2022-15796
Agency Information Collection Activities: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Waivers Under the Food and Nutrition Act
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
July 29, 2022
Issuing agencies
Agriculture DepartmentFood and Nutrition Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on this planned information collection. This is a revision of a currently approved collection. Section 6(o) of the Food and Nutrition Act establishes a time limit of the receipt of benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for certain able- bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) who are not working. The provision authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture, upon a State agency's request, to waive the time limit for any group of individuals if the Secretary determines "that the area in which the individuals reside has an unemployment rate of over 10 percent, or does not have a sufficient number of jobs to provide employment for the individuals." As required by the statute, to receive a waiver, the State agency must submit sufficient supporting information so that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) can make the required determination as to the area's unemployment rate or insufficiency of available jobs. This collection of information is, therefore, necessary to obtain waivers of the SNAP time limit. In October 2020, the U.S. District Court in District of Columbia vacated the final rule titled, "Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Requirements for Able- Bodied Adults Without Dependents". USDA is revising the hours associated with this collection to reflect the return to regulations prior to the final rule.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 145 (Friday, July 29, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 145 (Friday, July 29, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45737-45739]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-15796]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food and Nutrition Service
Agency Information Collection Activities: Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program Waivers Under the Food and Nutrition Act
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 planned information collection. This is a revision of a
currently approved collection. Section 6(o) of the Food and Nutrition
Act establishes a time limit of the receipt of benefits under the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for certain able-
bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) who are not working. The
provision authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture, upon a State
agency's request, to waive the time limit for any group of individuals
if the Secretary determines ``that the area in which the individuals
reside has an unemployment rate of over 10 percent, or does not have a
sufficient number of jobs to provide employment for the individuals.''
As required by the statute, to receive a waiver, the State agency must
submit sufficient supporting information so that the United States
Department of Agriculture (USDA) can make the required determination as
to the area's unemployment rate or insufficiency of available jobs.
This collection of information is, therefore, necessary to obtain
waivers of the SNAP time limit. In October 2020, the U.S. District
Court in District of Columbia vacated the final rule titled,
``Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Requirements for Able-
Bodied Adults Without Dependents''. USDA is revising the hours
associated with this collection to reflect the return to regulations
prior to the final rule.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before September 27,
2022.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent to: Certification Policy Branch,
Program Development Division, Food and Nutrition Service, U.S.
Department of Agriculture, 1320 Braddock Place, 5th Floor, Alexandria,
VA 22314. Comments may also be submitted via fax to the attention of
the Certification Policy Branch or via email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d4879a958497849686a1b8b1a794a1a7b0b5fab3bba2"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="560518170615061404233a3325162325323778313920">[email protected]</span></a>.
Comments will also be accepted through the Federal eRulemaking Portal.
Go to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>, 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 the Alison
Conrad at 703-305-2022.
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,
[[Page 45738]]
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: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Waivers of Section
6(o) of the Food and Nutrition Act.
Form Number: N/A.
OMB Control Number: 0584-0479.
Expiration Date: 1/31/2023.
Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Abstract: Section 6(o) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008
establishes a time limit for the receipt of Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for certain able-bodied adults
without dependents (ABAWDs) who are not working at least 20 hours per
week. This time limit applies only to adults between 18 and 50 years of
age that do not have children or adult dependents in their SNAP
household. ABAWD recipient eligibility is limited to three months
within a 36-month period, unless the individual is working, or
participating in a designated employment and training activity, for 20
hours per week.
The provision authorizes that upon the request of a State agency,
the Secretary of Agriculture may waive this provision for any group of
individuals if the Secretary determines ``that the area in which the
individuals reside has an unemployment rate of over 10 percent or does
not have a sufficient number of jobs to provide employment for the
individuals.'' As required in the statute, to receive a waiver, the
State agency must submit sufficient supporting information so that the
Secretary can make the required determination as to the area's
unemployment rate or insufficiency of available jobs. This collection
of information is necessary to obtain waivers of the SNAP ABAWD time
limit.
State agencies submit formal requests to waive the ABAWD time limit
to the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) for approval through the
electronic Waiver Information Management System (WIMS). In their
requests, State agencies (1) designate the areas where they wish to
waive the time limit, (2) explain the criteria for which those areas
qualify for a waiver, and (3) provide required data to justify their
request. A typical State waiver request includes several geographic
areas, and each geographic area may include multiple cities or
counties. FNS reviews the requests and supporting information to ensure
that all necessary requirements to waive the time limit are met.
On December 5, 2019, FNS published the final rule, ``Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program: Requirements for Able-Bodied Adults
Without Dependents'' (84 FR 66782). This rule significantly increased
the reporting burden associated with this information collection,
primarily because of the start-up costs associated with the rule, and
adjusted the estimates of the type of data States would use to support
their ABAWD waiver requests. When the U.S. District Court for the
District of Columbia vacated this rule on October 18, 2020, the
previous regulations were reinstated. As a result, the reporting burden
estimates for this information collection have decreased with this
revision to reflect the return to regulations prior to the final rule.
Based on FNS's experience in Fiscal Years (FY) 2018 through 2021,
FNS projects that 35 out of 53 State agencies will submit requests for
a waiver of the time limit for ABAWD recipients based on a high
unemployment rate or an insufficient number of jobs. Based on requests
submitted and approved in FY 2019, FNS projects that of the 35 requests
each year, 33 will use labor market data and two will use the
Department of Labor's (DOL) Labor Surplus Area (LSA) designations or an
extended unemployment benefits (EB) trigger notice to request a waiver.
FNS is using only FY 2019 as the baseline for this part of the estimate
because of the unique circumstances affecting the data States submitted
to support their ABAWD waiver requests in FYs 2020 through 2022, as
explained below.
In late FY 2019 through late FY 2020, States submitted ABAWD waiver
requests using the criteria outlined in the final rule titled,
``Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Requirements for Able-
Bodied Adults Without Dependents'' (84 FR 66782). As mentioned above,
the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia vacated this rule
on October 18, 2020, and States no longer request ABAWD waivers using
these methods. In FY 2020 through FY 2022, the ABAWD time limit was
partially suspended by the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act (Pub.
L. 116-127), and States primarily supported their waivers using EB
trigger notices because of the economic impact of the COVID-19
pandemic. This simplified the waiver request process for States and
reduced the amount of time it takes to compile and share the data to
support the waiver request. FNS does not expect a significant number of
States to qualify for EB trigger notices beyond FY 2022, having already
seen a drop-off in calendar year 2022 qualifications. FNS anticipates
States currently using this criterion to switch to requests using labor
market data in the future, which takes more time to compile.
In line with the estimates included in the 2018 renewal of this
information collection, FNS provides two estimates for the burden of
preparing and submitting waiver requests based on the waiver criteria
used. For the first waiver criteria in the burden chart below, FNS
estimates a response time for this activity is approximately 35 hours
to prepare and submit via WIMS for each waiver request based on labor
market data, which require detailed analysis of labor markets within
the State using Bureau of Labor Statistics or a cooperating agency's
data.
For the second criteria in the burden chart below, FNS estimates a
burden of four hours per respondent to prepare and submit via WIMS
waivers based on an LSA designation or an EB trigger notice, as the
data required to support these waivers is readily available from the
DOL website and requires minimal preparation by State agencies.. FNS
projects a total annual burden of 1,163 hours and 35 responses (33
responses based on labor market data and two responses based on an LSA
designation or EB trigger notice). This revision results in a decrease
of 170,093 hours and 2,174,037 responses as a result of program
changes.
Reporting
Affected Public: State, Local, or Tribal Governments.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 35.
Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.
Estimated Total Annual Responses: 35.
Estimated Time per Response: 33.23.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 1,163 Hours.
There is no recordkeeping or third party reporting requirement
directly associated with this information collection.
[[Page 45739]]
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Estimated Estimated Estimated
Respondent category Type of respondents Burden activity CFR citation number of Responses per Total annual hours per total burden
respondents respondent responses response hours
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State Agency....................... State Program Staff... Preparation and submission 7 CFR 273.24(f)....... 33 1 33 35 1,155
of Labor Market Data to
support ABAWD waiver
request.
State Agency....................... State Program Staff... Preparation and submission 7 CFR 273.24(f)....... 2 1 2 4 8
of Labor Surplus Area
designation or EB Trigger
Notice criteria to support
ABAWD waiver request.
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Total.......................... ...................... ........................... ...................... 35 1 35 33.23 1,163
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Cynthia Long,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-15796 Filed 7-28-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P
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