Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request, 32550-32552 [2014-13031]

Download as PDF 32550 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 108 / Thursday, June 5, 2014 / Notices Dated: May 30, 2014. Niall Brennan, Acting Director, Offices of Enterprise Management, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES [FR Doc. 2014–13012 Filed 5–30–14; 5:00 pm] Proposed Information Collection Activity; Comment Request Administration for Children and Families BILLING CODE 4120–03–P Proposed Projects Title: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Online Request Form OMB No.: Description: The proposal is for an online form for filing a request for ACF documents under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The form prompts requesters to provide all the information necessary to ensure the most efficient processing of the request: name, address, telephone number, email address, description of the documents sought, date or time frame for the documents sought, limit on fees requester is willing to pay, whether expedited processing or a fee waiver is sought and the justification for the waiver or expedited processing. The online form is voluntary; it is provided purely for the convenience of the requester and is not required to file a FOIA request. Respondents: Individuals, private organizations, businesses, state or local governments seeking access to ACF records under the FOIA. ANNUAL BURDEN ESTIMATES Number of respondents Instrument Number of responses per respondent Average burden hours per response Total burden hours 200 1.15 .25 58 Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: .................................................... rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES FOIA Online Request Form ............................................................................. ........................ ........................ ........................ 58 In compliance with the requirements of Section 506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Administration for Children and Families is soliciting public comment on the specific aspects of the information collection described above. Copies of the proposed collection of information can be obtained and comments may be forwarded by writing to the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, 370 L’Enfant Promenade SW., Washington, DC 20447, Attn: ACF Reports Clearance Officer. Email address: infocollection@ acf.hhs.gov. All requests should be identified by the title of the information collection. The Department specifically requests comments 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; (c) the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Consideration will be given to VerDate Mar<15>2010 14:59 Jun 04, 2014 Jkt 232001 comments and suggestions submitted within 60 days of this publication. Robert Sargis, Reports Clearance Officer. [FR Doc. 2014–13043 Filed 6–4–14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4184–01–P DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Administration for Children and Families Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request Title: Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program Performance Measures. OMB No.: New Collection. Description The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) block grant (42 U.S.C. 8621 et seq.) was established under Title XXVI of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981, Public Law 97–35. The Office of Community Services (OCS) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF) administers LIHEAP at the federal level. The LIHEAP statute requires HHS to develop performance measures and report to Congress annually on program impacts on recipient and eligible households. The primary program goals, as articulated in the statute, are to PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 ensure that benefits are targeted to those households where the greatest program impacts are expected, and to assure that timely resources are available to households experiencing home energy crises. OCS is seeking authorization to collect data from all state grantees and the District of Columbia that will establish performance indicators of the impact of LIHEAP services on its recipients. Specific data elements OCS is seeking to collect are detailed below. Broken down by main heating fuel type, report for all households receiving any type of LIHEAP-funded energy bill assistance and for all high energy burden households receiving any type of LIHEAP-funded energy bill assistance (‘‘high energy burden households’’ is defined as the top 25% of all bill assistance households sorted by energy burden for that state): • Total number of unduplicated households receiving LIHEAP-funded energy bill assistance. Note that the total number of unduplicated households served with LIHEAP funds is a current reporting requirement for the LIHEAP Household Report—Long Form. This new requirement is in addition to that requirement and is a slight variation in that grantees will be asked to exclude households receiving only LIHEAP services that are not related to payment of energy bills (such as weatherization assistance or heating/cooling equipment repairs/replacements). • Average household income. E:\FR\FM\05JNN1.SGM 05JNN1 rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 108 / Thursday, June 5, 2014 / Notices • Average household benefit. Note that the average LIHEAP cash benefit is currently a required reporting element for the LIHEAP Grantee Survey. In the Grantee Survey, state grantees are required to report the average benefit, broken down by program component (heating assistance, cooling assistance, crisis assistance, etc.). This new reporting requirement would be in addition to and is a slight variation on the existing requirement, in that state grantees will be asked to add all the different component cash benefits together and report average benefits broken down by client fuel type, such as fuel oil, natural gas, electricity, etc. • Annual cost of main heating fuel. • Annual electricity cost. • Annual consumption of main heating fuel (optional). • Annual consumption of electricity (optional). For all households, by main heating fuel, report the: • Number of households where utility service termination was prevented. • Number of households where a fuel delivery prevented a loss of service. • Number of households where heating or cooling equipment was repaired or replaced prior to failure. • Number of households where utility service was restored • Number of households where a fuel delivery was made to a home that was out of fuel • Number of households where broken heating or cooling equipment was fixed due to being inoperable. Based on the data collected from grantees through the ACF On-Line Data Collection System (OLDC), OCS will calculate performance measures and report the results through the annual budget development process and in the annual LIHEAP Report to Congress. The data will help inform ACF and grantees about the impact LIHEAP has with respect to LIHEAP households’ home energy burden (the proportion of their income spent towards their home heating and cooling bills), restoring home energy service, and preventing loss of home energy service. Once the data are published in the LIHEAP Report to Congress, grantees will be able to compare their own results to the results for other states, as well as to regional and national results, through the LIHEAP Performance Measurement Web site. Respondents ACF published a Federal Register notice on June 6, 2013 soliciting 60 days of public comment on requiring new LIHEAP performance measures. ACF received comments regarding the first VerDate Mar<15>2010 14:59 Jun 04, 2014 Jkt 232001 Federal Register notice from LIHEAP grantees, LIHEAP sub-grantees, utility companies, national energy assistance associations, and individual low-income advocates. In response to the issues and concerns raised by the comments to the first Federal Register Notice, ACF has made several adjustments to its proposed data collection, as summarized below. Previously Required Data Elements Will Be Optional In an effort to address concerns about the burden of reporting, some previously required data elements are now being proposed as optional. Specifically, household utility consumption data and supplemental fuel and air conditioning expenditure and consumption data, originally required for the energy burden reduction measure, will be optional for all grantees. Grantees will be encouraged to collect this information wherever possible so that OCS can identify best practices, strategies, and benefits associated with this information. Burden Reduction Sampling Plans To Be Developed OCS also is developing best practice information to demonstrate to grantees how to collect the highest quality data with the lowest burden. As part of that effort, OCS is working collaboratively with state grantees that already collect the required data to develop an effective vendor and client sampling procedure that will furnish performance indicators within the targeted precision guidelines. ACF is planning to require that grantees obtain data the largest five electric and natural gas companies (by numbers of LIHEAP households served) and the largest ten fuel oil vendors (if applicable), largest ten propane vendors (if applicable), and largest ten other vendors that have automated information systems. In addition to the revisions made in response to public comments, ACF has also decided to merge this proposed data form with the LIHEAP Grantee Survey form. The Grantee Survey is a form that is required of all state grantees and the District of Columbia. The form has been used by ACF since the early 1980’s. It last received OMB clearance for fiscal years 2011–2014, under OMB clearance number 0970–0076. ACF proposes adding the previously cleared content with only two minor adjustments—a clarification to the instructions to grantees about the average household benefit amounts calculation and the addition of data fields needed for the performance PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 32551 impact data relating to the average household benefit by fuel type. This data will then be prepopulated into the performance impact section of the form to allow ACF to make the necessary calculations for the performance data. Grantees will submit this combine LIHEAP Performance Data Form to ACF by January 15th of each year. The grantee survey section of the form will be due beginning January 15, 2015 (same data as normally required annually), and the remaining sections of the form (performance impact data) will begin to be due annually starting January 15, 2016 regarding the prior federal fiscal year. Annual Burden Estimates The incremental burden associated with collecting the required data elements and furnishing reports to ACF through OLDC will be different for each grantee. Preliminary information from grantees has shown that some already collect extensive data on client energy expenditures and client service disruptions, while others have little or no data available to support the proposed reports. ACF is using the information collected on all state grantees capacity for this data collection requirement to develop individualized technical assistance to states to build their capacity for successfully providing valid and reliable data. ACF has already begun implementing technical assistance and training to state grantees regarding the proposed data. ACF conducted in-depth interviews with a small number of Best Practice grantees to learn more about their system development procedures and the annual burden hours required to implement their data collection and reporting systems. ACF found that some systems were designed to address both program administration and performance measurement goals, while others were mainly focused on performance measurement goals. The lowest burden systems are those that are focused on performance measurement goals. The burden estimates listed below assume that the required incremental burden should be limited to the incremental burden associated with performance measurement data collection and reporting only. The table below shows the estimated data collection and reporting burden for the performance impact data. These estimates are based on a small number of interviews with grantees, subgrantees, and energy vendors that are currently reporting data in that way. E:\FR\FM\05JNN1.SGM 05JNN1 32552 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 108 / Thursday, June 5, 2014 / Notices Number of respondents Instrument Grantees .......................................................................................................... Sub-Grantees (in states with sub-grantee managed systems) ....................... Large Energy Vendors (largest 5 electric, 5 gas, 10 fuel oil, and 10 propane vendors per state—average) ....................................................................... Small Energy Vendors (excluded except in special circumstances) ............... Number of responses per respondent 51 Average burden hours per response Total burden hours 1 1 100 80 5,100 16,000 200 1 1 40 10 61,200 2,000 1,981 1 ( 2) 84,300 1 200 1 1,530 Total Annual Burden Hours ...................................................................... 1 Estimate. 2 Varies. The following burden estimates pertain to the grantee survey section of the form: ANNUAL BURDEN ESTIMATES FOR LIHEAP PERFORMANCE DATA FORM: PART I—LIHEAP GRANTEE SURVEY Number of respondents Number of responses per respondent Average hour burden per response Total burden hours 51 1 3.5 178.50 Grantees .......................................................................................................... Additional Information Copies of the proposed collection may be obtained by writing to the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, 370 L’Enfant Promenade SW., Washington, DC 20447, Attn: ACF Reports Clearance Officer. All requests should be identified by the title of the information collection. Email address: infocollection@acf.hhs.gov. OMB Comment: OMB is required to make a decision concerning the collection of information between 30 and 60 days after publication of this document in the Federal Register. Therefore, a comment is best assured of having its full effect if OMB receives it within 30 days of publication. Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent directly to the following: Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project, Email: OIRA_ SUBMISSION@OMB.EOP.GOV Attn: Desk Officer for the Administration for Children and Families. Robert Sargis, Reports Clearance Officer. rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES [FR Doc. 2014–13031 Filed 6–4–14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4184–01–P VerDate Mar<15>2010 14:59 Jun 04, 2014 Jkt 232001 DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration [Docket No. FDA–2011–N–0627] Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for Office of Management and Budget Review; Comment Request; General Administrative Procedures: Citizen Petitions; Petition for Reconsideration or Stay of Action; Advisory Opinions AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS. ACTION: Notice. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing that a proposed collection of information has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. DATES: Fax written comments on the collection of information by July 7, 2014. SUMMARY: To ensure that comments on the information collection are received, OMB recommends that written comments be faxed to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attn: FDA Desk Officer, FAX: 202–395–7285, or emailed to oira_ submission@omb.eop.gov. All comments should be identified with the OMB control number 0910–0183. Also include the FDA docket number found in brackets in the heading of this document. ADDRESSES: PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 FDA PRA Staff, Office of Operations, Food and Drug Administration, 8455 Colesville Rd., COLE–14526, Silver Spring, MD 20993–0002, PRAStaff@ fda.hhs.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In compliance with 44 U.S.C. 3507, FDA has submitted the following proposed collection of information to OMB for review and clearance. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: General Administrative Procedures: Citizen Petitions; Petition for Reconsideration or Stay of Action; Advisory Opinions—(OMB Control Number 0910–0183)—Extension The Administrative Procedures Act (5 U.S.C. 553(e)), provides that every Agency shall give an interested person the right to petition for issuance, amendment, or repeal of a rule. Section 10.30 (21 CFR 10.30) sets forth the format and procedures by which an interested person may submit to FDA, in accordance with § 10.20 (21 CFR 10.20) (Submission of documents to Division of Dockets Management), a citizen petition requesting the Commissioner of Food and Drugs (the Commissioner) to issue, amend, or revoke a regulation or order, or to take or refrain from taking any other form of administrative action. The Commissioner may grant or deny such a petition, in whole or in part, and may grant such other relief or take other action as the petition warrants. Respondents are individuals or households, State or local governments, not-for-profit institutions, or groups. Section 10.33 (21 CFR 10.33) issued under section 701(a) of the Federal, E:\FR\FM\05JNN1.SGM 05JNN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 108 (Thursday, June 5, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32550-32552]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-13031]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    Title: Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program Performance 
Measures.
    OMB No.: New Collection.

Description

    The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) block grant 
(42 U.S.C. 8621 et seq.) was established under Title XXVI of the 
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981, Public Law 97-35. The Office 
of Community Services (OCS) within the U.S. Department of Health and 
Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF) 
administers LIHEAP at the federal level.
    The LIHEAP statute requires HHS to develop performance measures and 
report to Congress annually on program impacts on recipient and 
eligible households. The primary program goals, as articulated in the 
statute, are to ensure that benefits are targeted to those households 
where the greatest program impacts are expected, and to assure that 
timely resources are available to households experiencing home energy 
crises.
    OCS is seeking authorization to collect data from all state 
grantees and the District of Columbia that will establish performance 
indicators of the impact of LIHEAP services on its recipients. Specific 
data elements OCS is seeking to collect are detailed below.
    Broken down by main heating fuel type, report for all households 
receiving any type of LIHEAP-funded energy bill assistance and for all 
high energy burden households receiving any type of LIHEAP-funded 
energy bill assistance (``high energy burden households'' is defined as 
the top 25% of all bill assistance households sorted by energy burden 
for that state):
     Total number of unduplicated households receiving LIHEAP-
funded energy bill assistance. Note that the total number of 
unduplicated households served with LIHEAP funds is a current reporting 
requirement for the LIHEAP Household Report--Long Form. This new 
requirement is in addition to that requirement and is a slight 
variation in that grantees will be asked to exclude households 
receiving only LIHEAP services that are not related to payment of 
energy bills (such as weatherization assistance or heating/cooling 
equipment repairs/replacements).
     Average household income.

[[Page 32551]]

     Average household benefit. Note that the average LIHEAP 
cash benefit is currently a required reporting element for the LIHEAP 
Grantee Survey. In the Grantee Survey, state grantees are required to 
report the average benefit, broken down by program component (heating 
assistance, cooling assistance, crisis assistance, etc.). This new 
reporting requirement would be in addition to and is a slight variation 
on the existing requirement, in that state grantees will be asked to 
add all the different component cash benefits together and report 
average benefits broken down by client fuel type, such as fuel oil, 
natural gas, electricity, etc.
     Annual cost of main heating fuel.
     Annual electricity cost.
     Annual consumption of main heating fuel (optional).
     Annual consumption of electricity (optional).
    For all households, by main heating fuel, report the:
     Number of households where utility service termination was 
prevented.
     Number of households where a fuel delivery prevented a 
loss of service.
     Number of households where heating or cooling equipment 
was repaired or replaced prior to failure.
     Number of households where utility service was restored
     Number of households where a fuel delivery was made to a 
home that was out of fuel
     Number of households where broken heating or cooling 
equipment was fixed due to being inoperable.
    Based on the data collected from grantees through the ACF On-Line 
Data Collection System (OLDC), OCS will calculate performance measures 
and report the results through the annual budget development process 
and in the annual LIHEAP Report to Congress. The data will help inform 
ACF and grantees about the impact LIHEAP has with respect to LIHEAP 
households' home energy burden (the proportion of their income spent 
towards their home heating and cooling bills), restoring home energy 
service, and preventing loss of home energy service. Once the data are 
published in the LIHEAP Report to Congress, grantees will be able to 
compare their own results to the results for other states, as well as 
to regional and national results, through the LIHEAP Performance 
Measurement Web site.

Respondents

    ACF published a Federal Register notice on June 6, 2013 soliciting 
60 days of public comment on requiring new LIHEAP performance measures. 
ACF received comments regarding the first Federal Register notice from 
LIHEAP grantees, LIHEAP sub-grantees, utility companies, national 
energy assistance associations, and individual low-income advocates. In 
response to the issues and concerns raised by the comments to the first 
Federal Register Notice, ACF has made several adjustments to its 
proposed data collection, as summarized below.

Previously Required Data Elements Will Be Optional

    In an effort to address concerns about the burden of reporting, 
some previously required data elements are now being proposed as 
optional. Specifically, household utility consumption data and 
supplemental fuel and air conditioning expenditure and consumption 
data, originally required for the energy burden reduction measure, will 
be optional for all grantees. Grantees will be encouraged to collect 
this information wherever possible so that OCS can identify best 
practices, strategies, and benefits associated with this information.

Burden Reduction Sampling Plans To Be Developed

    OCS also is developing best practice information to demonstrate to 
grantees how to collect the highest quality data with the lowest 
burden. As part of that effort, OCS is working collaboratively with 
state grantees that already collect the required data to develop an 
effective vendor and client sampling procedure that will furnish 
performance indicators within the targeted precision guidelines. ACF is 
planning to require that grantees obtain data the largest five electric 
and natural gas companies (by numbers of LIHEAP households served) and 
the largest ten fuel oil vendors (if applicable), largest ten propane 
vendors (if applicable), and largest ten other vendors that have 
automated information systems.
    In addition to the revisions made in response to public comments, 
ACF has also decided to merge this proposed data form with the LIHEAP 
Grantee Survey form. The Grantee Survey is a form that is required of 
all state grantees and the District of Columbia. The form has been used 
by ACF since the early 1980's. It last received OMB clearance for 
fiscal years 2011-2014, under OMB clearance number 0970-0076. ACF 
proposes adding the previously cleared content with only two minor 
adjustments--a clarification to the instructions to grantees about the 
average household benefit amounts calculation and the addition of data 
fields needed for the performance impact data relating to the average 
household benefit by fuel type. This data will then be prepopulated 
into the performance impact section of the form to allow ACF to make 
the necessary calculations for the performance data. Grantees will 
submit this combine LIHEAP Performance Data Form to ACF by January 15th 
of each year. The grantee survey section of the form will be due 
beginning January 15, 2015 (same data as normally required annually), 
and the remaining sections of the form (performance impact data) will 
begin to be due annually starting January 15, 2016 regarding the prior 
federal fiscal year.

Annual Burden Estimates

    The incremental burden associated with collecting the required data 
elements and furnishing reports to ACF through OLDC will be different 
for each grantee. Preliminary information from grantees has shown that 
some already collect extensive data on client energy expenditures and 
client service disruptions, while others have little or no data 
available to support the proposed reports. ACF is using the information 
collected on all state grantees capacity for this data collection 
requirement to develop individualized technical assistance to states to 
build their capacity for successfully providing valid and reliable 
data. ACF has already begun implementing technical assistance and 
training to state grantees regarding the proposed data.
    ACF conducted in-depth interviews with a small number of Best 
Practice grantees to learn more about their system development 
procedures and the annual burden hours required to implement their data 
collection and reporting systems. ACF found that some systems were 
designed to address both program administration and performance 
measurement goals, while others were mainly focused on performance 
measurement goals. The lowest burden systems are those that are focused 
on performance measurement goals. The burden estimates listed below 
assume that the required incremental burden should be limited to the 
incremental burden associated with performance measurement data 
collection and reporting only.
    The table below shows the estimated data collection and reporting 
burden for the performance impact data. These estimates are based on a 
small number of interviews with grantees, sub-grantees, and energy 
vendors that are currently reporting data in that way.

[[Page 32552]]



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     Number of        Average
                   Instrument                        Number of     responses per   burden hours    Total burden
                                                    respondents     respondent     per response        hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grantees........................................              51               1             100           5,100
Sub-Grantees (in states with sub-grantee managed         \1\ 200               1              80          16,000
 systems).......................................
Large Energy Vendors (largest 5 electric, 5 gas,       \1\ 1,530               1              40          61,200
 10 fuel oil, and 10 propane vendors per state--
 average).......................................
Small Energy Vendors (excluded except in special             200               1              10           2,000
 circumstances).................................
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total Annual Burden Hours...................           1,981               1           (\2\)          84,300
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Estimate.
\2\ Varies.

    The following burden estimates pertain to the grantee survey 
section of the form:

             Annual Burden Estimates for LIHEAP Performance Data Form: Part I--LIHEAP Grantee Survey
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                  Number of      Average  hour
                                                 Number of      responses per     burden  per     Total  burden
                                                respondents       respondent        response          hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grantees....................................              51                1              3.5           178.50
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Additional Information

    Copies of the proposed collection may be obtained by writing to the 
Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research 
and Evaluation, 370 L'Enfant Promenade SW., Washington, DC 20447, Attn: 
ACF Reports Clearance Officer. All requests should be identified by the 
title of the information collection. Email address: 
infocollection@acf.hhs.gov.
    OMB Comment:
    OMB is required to make a decision concerning the collection of 
information between 30 and 60 days after publication of this document 
in the Federal Register. Therefore, a comment is best assured of having 
its full effect if OMB receives it within 30 days of publication. 
Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent directly to the following: Office of 
Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project, Email: OIRA_SUBMISSION@OMB.EOP.GOV Attn: Desk Officer for the Administration for 
Children and Families.

 Robert Sargis,
Reports Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2014-13031 Filed 6-4-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-P
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