Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Request and Comment Request, 9887-9891 [2024-02766]
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Section 19(b)(6) of the Act,66 the
Commission has considered the
sufficiency and appropriateness of
existing laws and rules applicable to
government securities brokers,
government securities dealers, and their
associated persons in approving the
proposal. The proposal will benefit
investors and market participants by
promoting greater transparency into the
U.S. Treasury Securities market while
also maintaining the confidentiality of
individual market participants and
transactions.
IV. Conclusion
It is therefore ordered, pursuant to
Section 19(b)(2) of the Act,67 that the
proposed rule change (SR–FINRA–
2023–015) be, and hereby is, approved.
For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.68
Sherry R. Haywood,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024–02804 Filed 2–9–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
[Docket No: SSA–2023–0051]
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Agency Information Collection
Activities: Proposed Request and
Comment Request
The Social Security Administration
(SSA) publishes a list of information
collection packages requiring clearance
by the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) in compliance with
Public Law 104–13, the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, effective October
1, 1995. This notice includes revisions
of OMB-approved information
collections, and two new collections for
OMB-approval.
SSA is soliciting comments on the
accuracy of the agency’s burden
estimate; the need for the information;
its practical utility; ways to enhance its
quality, utility, and clarity; and ways to
minimize burden on respondents,
including the use of automated
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology. Mail, email, or
fax your comments and
recommendations on the information
collection(s) to the OMB Desk Officer
and SSA Reports Clearance Officer at
the following addresses or fax numbers.
(OMB), Office of Management and
Budget, Attn: Desk Officer for SSA,
Fax: 202–395–6974
66 15
U.S.C. 78s(b)(6).
U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).
68 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
67 15
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(SSA), Social Security Administration,
OLCA, Attn: Reports Clearance
Director, Mail Stop 3253 Altmeyer,
6401 Security Blvd., Baltimore, MD
21235, Fax: 833–410–1631, Email
address: OR.Reports.Clearance@
ssa.gov
Or you may submit your comments
online through https://www.reginfo.gov/
public/do/PRAmain by clicking on
Currently under Review—Open for
Public Comments and choosing to click
on one of SSA’s published items. Please
reference Docket ID Number [SSA–
2023–0051] in your submitted response.
I. The information collection below is
pending at SSA. SSA will submit it to
OMB within 60 days from the date of
this notice. To be sure we consider your
comments, we must receive them no
later than April 12, 2024. Individuals
can obtain copies of the collection
instruments by writing to the above
email address.
1. Representative Availability Portal
for Social Security Administration
Hearings—20 CFR 404.929, 404.933,
404.1740, 416.1429, 416.1433, 416.1540,
418.1350, 422.203—0960–NEW. As part
of the appeals process, claimants can
request a hearing with an
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ).
Approximately 80 percent of claimants
have appointed representatives at the
hearing level. When the Social Security
Administration (SSA) schedules
hearings before an ALJ, it usually
considers the availability of appointed
representatives, if applicable.
Appointed representatives may be
members of large firms, appearing at
hearings nationwide, or may be solo
practitioners servicing a specific
geographic location or hearing office. In
both situations, it is typical for
appointed representatives to represent
more than one claimant at any given
moment; some represent hundreds of
claimants at once.
Historically, the process of seeking,
tracking, and considering representative
availability has been a manual and timeintensive activity. In the past, hearing
offices sought representative availability
information by contacting each
representative individually. More
recently, Office of Hearings Operations’
Regional Offices representatives
collected availability information.
Representatives provided Regional
Office staff with their hearing
availability via telephone or email.
However, the process for gathering and
considering representative availability
was not standardized and varied greatly
amongst Regional Offices. The
appointed representative community
informed SSA they would appreciate a
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9887
consistent and standardized electronic
process to submit their availability for
hearing appearances.
In the Spring of 2023, SSA initiated
the Enhanced Representative
Availability Process (ERAP) to provide
representatives with a more
standardized and streamlined process to
email their availability for hearings. In
the interim, SSA obtained OMB
approval to test a new Representative
Availability Portal (Portal) to offer the
representative community a web-based
option to submit their monthly
availability to SSA, as per 20 CFR
404.1740(b)(3)(iii) and
416.1540(b)(3)(iii) and in a manner
consistent with ERAP. SSA tested the
portal among 11 appointed
representative practice groups
nationwide. We are currently seeking
OMB approval for the national rollout of
the Portal, which collects standardized
information regarding appointed
representative availability for the
purpose of scheduling hearings.
SSA plans to roll the Portal out to all
appointed representatives registered
with the Registration, Appointment and
Services for Representatives (RASR)
application, other professional
representatives who regularly conduct
hearing business with SSA but are not
registered with RASR, and delegated
officials from appointed representative’s
Designated Scheduling Groups (DSG). A
DSG is a representative-identified
scheduling group which can include
one representative, or multiple
representatives. Respondents will need
to have a mySocial Security account to
use the Portal and be registered into the
Portal by SSA systems. Respondents
who wish to use the Portal, but who are
not registered with RASR, or who do not
have a Representative ID, must provide
SSA systems with the necessary data,
including name and SSN, to complete
the Portal registration process.
Portal respondents, once registered,
are authorized representatives and
delegated officials from appointed
representatives’ DSG. SSA will use the
Portal to track availability for hearings
for the DSG. Representatives provide
hearing availability for the DSG monthly
(as described above), and SSA considers
the DSG-provided availability when
scheduling hearings. SSA will announce
the response window for the Portal each
month via a reminder email,
approximately ten days prior to the
deadline for Portal submissions.
Following the submission deadline, the
Portal will ‘‘lock,’’ and respondents will
not be able to submit availability
through the Portal at that time.
However, SSA has some discretion to
approve a request for a late submission
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or modification and plans to have the
capacity to unlock the Portal, when
warranted. Portal response options will
include DSG group, hearing region,
availability during the period of
submission, and respondent-preferred
case maximums. The Portal will allow
SSA to obtain the information we
require to schedule hearings for
attendees.
If the respondents choose not to
submit their availability via the Portal,
the option of submitting their
availability through email submission
(as is the current practice) will remain.
If a representative elects not to timely
submit any availability via the Portal or
email, SSA will schedule their hearings
without their input.
We expect use of the Portal will result
in receiving consistent structured data
from appointed representatives, which
will allow for a more streamlined and
effective hearing scheduling process.
The Portal also meets a longstanding
customer-experience request by the
representative community, one of SSA’s
key stakeholders in the process.
The respondents are appointed
representatives, and delegated officials
from appointed representatives’ DSGs
who need to submit their availability to
SSA for hearings.
Type of Request: Request for a new
information collection.
This is a Correction Notice: SSA
published the incorrect information for
this new collection at 88 FR 71067, on
10/13/23. We are correcting this error
here.
Modality of completion
Number of
respondents
Frequency of
response
Number of
responses
Average
burden per
response
(minutes)
Estimated total
annual burden
(hours)
Average
theoretical
hourly cost
amount
(dollars) **
Total annual
opportunity cost
(dollars) ***
Representative Availability Portal for
SSA Hearings ......................................
* 3,000
12
36,000
20
12,000
** $71.17
*** $854,040
* This figure represents the approximate number of individual representatives registered with RASR who regularly schedule hearings with the agency.
** We based this figure on the mean hourly wage for the average lawyer in the United States as reported by Bureau of Labor Statistics data (https://www.bls.gov/
oes/current/oes_stru.htm).
*** This figure does not represent actual costs that SSA is imposing on recipients of Social Security payments to complete this application; rather, these are theoretical opportunity costs for the additional time respondents will spend to complete the application. There is no actual charge to respondents to complete the
application.
2. Statement of Death by Funeral
Director and State Death Match
Collections—20 CFR 404.301, 404.310–
404.311, 404.316, 404.330–404.341,
404.350–404.352, 404.371, 404.715,
404.720, and 416.912—0960–0142. The
death of a beneficiary is an event that
terminates the individual’s entitlement
to Social Security benefits. As regulated,
states must furnish death information to
SSA to compare to SSA’s payment files.
SSA employs two modalities for
ensuring it efficiently receives accurate
information regarding the deaths of
SSA-insured workers and beneficiaries:
(1) Form SSA–721, Statement of Death
by Funeral Director; and (2) the
Electronic Death Registration (EDR).
SSA operates the State Death Match
collections, which includes the EDR
process for electronically reporting
death records to SSA. The states furnish
death certificate information to SSA via
a manual registration process (the SSA–
721), or via the Electronic Death
Registration Process (EDR). Both death
match processes are automated
electronic transfers between the states
and SSA. This collection, via paper
form SSA–721 or the EDR, allows for
the funeral director or funeral home
responsible for the individual’s burial or
cremation to report the death to SSA.
SSA uses this information for three
purposes: (1) to establish proof of death
for the insured worker; (2) to determine
if the insured individual was receiving
any pre-death benefits SSA needs to
terminate; and (3) to ascertain which
surviving family member is eligible for
the lump-sum death payment or for
other death benefits. The respondents
for this information collection are
funeral directors who handled death
arrangements for the insured
individuals, and the states’ bureaus of
vital statistics.
Type of Request: Revision of an OMBapproved information collection.
EDR
Number of
respondents
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Modality of completion
Average cost
per record
request
Frequency of
response
Estimated total
annual burden
hours
(cost)
Average
theoretical
hourly cost
amount
(dollars) **
Total annual
opportunity cost
(dollars) ***
State Death Match—EDR * ...............................................
States Expected to Become—State Death Match—EDR
Within the Next 3 Years * ..............................................
54
3,164,477
$2.77
$473,342,469
** $21.33
*** $67,498,294
1
1,247
3.73
4,651
** 21.33
*** 26,598
Totals: ........................................................................
55
........................
........................
473,347,120
........................
*** 67,524,892
* Please note that both of these data matching processes are electronic, and nearly immediate. Therefore, there is only a cost burden, and no hourly burden for the
respondent to provide this information.
We estimated the frequency of responses by taking the total number of actual records received for calendar year 2022 for each category and dividing by the number of respondents, per category.
We have 54 States and Jurisdictions currently using EDR. Guam recently showed interest in becoming an EDR site. Estimated sometime mid to late next year
2024.
** We based this figure on the average Records Clerk hourly wages as reported by Bureau of Labor Statistics data (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm).
*** This figure does not represent actual costs that SSA is imposing on recipients of Social Security payments to complete this application; rather, these are theoretical opportunity costs for the additional time respondents will spend to complete the application. There is no actual charge to respondents to complete the
application.
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SSA–721
Number of
respondents
Modality of completion
SSA–721 ...................................................................................
I
437,449
Average
burden per
response
(minutes)
Frequency of
response
I
1
I
4
Average
theoretical
hourly cost
amount
(dollars) **
Estimated total
annual burden
(hours)
I
29,163
I
* $27.98
Total annual
opportunity
cost
(dollars) ***
I
** $815,981
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* We based this figure on average funeral home manager’s hourly salary in May 2022, as reported by Bureau of Labor Statistics data (Morticians, Undertakers, and
Funeral Arrangers).
** This figure does not represent actual costs that SSA is imposing on recipients of Social Security payments to complete this application; rather, these are theoretical opportunity costs for the additional time respondents will spend to complete the application. There is no actual charge to respondents to complete the
application.
3. Retaining Employment and Talent
After Injury/Illness Network (RETAIN)—
0960–0821. The SSA and the U.S.
Department of Labor (DOL) are
conducting the Retaining Employment
and Talent After Injury/Illness Network
(RETAIN) demonstration. The RETAIN
demonstration tests the impact of early
intervention strategies that improve
stay-at-work/return-to-work (SAW/
RTW) outcomes of individuals who
experience work disability while
employed. We define ‘‘Work disability’’
as an injury, illness, or medical
condition that has the potential to
inhibit or prevent continued
employment or labor force participation.
SAW/RTW programs succeed by
returning injured or ill workers to
productive work as soon as medically
possible during their recovery process,
and by providing interim part-time or
light duty work and accommodations, as
necessary. We loosely modeled the
RETAIN Demonstration Projects after
promising programs operating in
Washington State, including the Centers
of Occupational Health and Education
(COHE), the Early Return to Work
(ERTW), and the Stay at Work programs.
While these programs operate within
the state’s workers’ compensation
system, and are available only to people
experiencing work-related injuries or
illnesses, the RETAIN Demonstration
Projects provide opportunities to
improve SAW/RTW outcomes for both
occupational and non-occupational
injuries and illnesses of people who are
employed, or at a minimum in the labor
force, when their injury or illness
occurs.
The primary goals of the RETAIN
Demonstration Projects are:
1. To increase employment retention
and labor force participation of
individuals who acquire, and/or are at
risk of developing, work disabilities;
and
2. To reduce long-term work disability
among RETAIN service users, including
the need for Social Security Disability
Insurance and Supplemental Security
Income.
The Retain Demonstration aims to
validate and expand evidence-based
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strategies to accomplish these goals.
DOL funds intervention approaches and
programmatic technical assistance,
while SSA funds evaluation support,
including technical assistance and the
full evaluation for the demonstration.
The demonstration consists of two
Phases. The first involves the
implementation and assessment of
cooperative awards to eight states to
conduct planning and start-up activities,
including the launch of a small pilot
demonstration. During Phase 1, SSA
provided evaluation-related technical
assistance and planning, and conducts
evaluability assessments to assess which
states’ projects would allow for a
rigorous evaluation if continued beyond
the pilot phase. SSA completed Phase 1
on May 16, 2021. DOL selected a subset
of states and continued to Phase 2 full
implementation and evaluation on May
17, 2021, which will end in October
2025. During Phase 2, DOL funds the
operations and program technical
assistance activities for the
recommended states, and SSA funds the
full set of evaluation activities. The four
components of this evaluation,
completed during site visits, interviews
with RETAIN service users, surveys of
RETAIN enrollees, and surveys of
RETAIN service providers, include:
• The participation analysis: Using
RETAIN service user interviews and
surveys, this analysis provides insights
into which eligible workers choose to
participate in the program, in what ways
they participate, and how services
received vary with participant
characteristics. Similarly, it will assess
the characteristics of, and if possible,
reasons for non-enrollment of nonparticipants.
• The process analysis: Using staff
interviews and logs, this analysis
produces information about operational
features that affect service provision;
perceptions of the intervention design
by service users, providers,
administrators, and other stakeholders;
relationships among the partner
organizations; each program’s fidelity to
the research design; and lessons for
future programs with similar objectives.
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• The impact analysis: This analysis
produces estimates of the effects of the
interventions on primary outcomes,
including employment and Social
Security disability applications, and
secondary outcomes, such as health and
service usage. SSA identifies evaluation
designs for each state to generate impact
estimates, which could include
experimental or non-experimental
designs.
• The cost-benefit analysis: This
analysis assesses whether the benefits of
RETAIN justify its costs, conducted
from various perspectives, including
participants, state and Federal
governments, SSA, and society as a
whole. The purpose and proposed use
of this information collection is to
gather qualitative and quantitative data
needed to conduct the analysis. These
activities, include (1) surveys of
RETAIN enrollees and (2) follow-up
interviews with RETAIN service users.
The qualitative data collection consists
of: (1) semi-structured interviews with
program staff and service users; and (2)
staff activity logs. Program staff
interviews focus on staff’s perceptions
of the successes and challenges of
implementing each states program,
while staff activity logs house
information on staff’s time to inform the
benefit-cost analysis. Service user
interviews inform SSA’s understanding
of users’ experiences with program
services. The quantitative data include
SSA’s program records and survey data.
The survey data collection consists of:
(1) two rounds of follow-up surveys,
focusing on individual-level outcomes,
with enrollees, all of whom who have
experienced a disability onset; and (2)
two rounds of surveys with RETAIN
providers. Respondents learn of the
RETAIN program data collection efforts
through various outreach methods,
including, but not limited to mailings,
phone calls, and from other individuals.
SSA is constantly reviewing our
outreach strategies to ensure maximum
exposure and accessibility to the
materials. the respondents are staff
members selected for staff interviews
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and staff activity logs, and RETAIN
service users, enrollees, and providers.
Type of Request: Request for renewal
of an information collection.
RETAIN 2024 BURDEN FIGURES
Number of
respondents
Modality of completion
Average
burden per
response
(minutes)
Frequency of
response
Estimated total
annual burden
(hours)
Average
theoretical
hourly cost
amount
(dollars) *
Average wait
time for
teleservice
centers
(minutes) **
Total annual
opportunity
cost
(dollars) ****
Enrollee Survey Round 1 (Respondents) .....
Enrollee Survey Round 1 (Nonrespondents)
Enrollee Survey Round 2 (Respondents) .....
Enrollee Survey Round 2 (Nonrespondents)
Follow-up interviews with service users (Respondents) .................................................
Follow-up interviews with service users
(Nonrespondents) ......................................
1,872
468
4,493
1,123
1
1
1
1
20
3
26
3
624
23
1,947
56
* $29.76
* 29.76
* 29.76
* 29.76
** 19
** 0
** 19
** 0
*** $20,177
*** 684
*** 100,291
*** 1,667
20
1
141
47
* 29.76
** 19
*** 1,577
30
1
6
3
* 29.76
** 0
*** 89
Totals .....................................................
8,006
........................
........................
2,700
........................
........................
*** 124,485
Average
theoretical
hourly cost
amount
(dollars) *
Average wait
time for
teleservice
centers
(minutes) **
RETAIN 2025 BURDEN FIGURES
Number of
respondents
Modality of completion
Average
burden per
response
(minutes)
Frequency of
response
Estimated total
annual burden
(hours)
Total annual
opportunity
cost
(dollars) ***
Enrollee Survey Round 2 (Respondents) .....
Enrollee Survey Round 2 (Nonrespondents)
1,123
281
1
1
26
3
487
14
* $29.76
* 29.76
** 19
** 0
*** $25,088
*** 417
Totals .....................................................
Grand Total .....................................
1,404
........................
........................
........................
........................
........................
501
........................
........................
........................
........................
........................
*** 25,505
........................
Totals ..............................................
9,410
........................
........................
3,201
........................
........................
*** 149,990
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* We based these figures on average U.S. citizen’s hourly salary, as reported by Bureau of Labor Statistics data (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm).
** We based this figure on average FY 2023 wait times for teleservice centers (approximately 19 minutes per respondent), based on SSA’s current management information data.
** This figure does not represent actual costs that SSA is imposing on recipients of Social Security payments to complete these tasks; rather, these are theoretical
opportunity costs for the additional time respondents will spend to complete the tasks. There is no actual charge to respondents to complete the tasks.
II. SSA submitted the information
collections below to OMB for clearance.
Your comments regarding these
information collections would be most
useful if OMB and SSA receive them 30
days from the date of this publication.
To be sure we consider your comments,
we must receive them no later than
March 13, 2024. Individuals can obtain
copies of these OMB clearance packages
by writing to the
OR.Reports.Clearance@ssa.gov.
1. Beyond Benefits Study (BBS)—
0960–NEW. The BBS will provide SSA
with information regarding the needs of
individuals who, due to medical
improvement or a change in eligibility,
have ‘‘exited’’ (called Exiters), or are
likely to ‘‘exit’’ (called Possible Exiters)
the Social Security Disability Insurance
(SSDI) program, the Supplemental
Security Income (SSI) program, or both.
The BBS will provide SSA with a
clearer understanding of the challenges
and needs of the target population as
Exiters leave the safety net and security
of disability benefits and attempt to
return to work. SSA will use the
findings from the BBS to identify
potential interventions and policies to
help Exiters and Possible Exiters
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achieve sustainable, substantial work
leading to self-sufficiency.
In seeking to understand the needs
(e.g., service, medical, and employment)
of Exiters and Possible Exiters, the study
aims to answer three primary research
questions: (1) what are the service,
medical, and employment needs
required to achieve sustainable,
substantive employment among
individuals who exit SSDI/SSI
programs; (2) what are the types of
services, resources, and interventions
that will help exiting individuals obtain
and retain employment, and should
SSA consider a larger test study; and (3)
what policy recommendations will
facilitate substantive and sustainable
employment among individuals who
exit SSDI/SSI programs?
The BBS will help SSA answer these
questions by collecting data through
surveys, interviews, and focus groups.
Quantitative data collection via the
survey will include 4,000 participants
stratified by exit status and other
criteria. The sample will include 2,000
Possible Exiters, 1,000 Short-term
Exiters (have exited within the last
year), and 1,000 Long-term Exiters (have
exited within the last 1–5 years) with
75% of respondents in each group
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having a high-scoring likelihood of
medical improvement based on the
Continuing Disability Review (CDR)
profiling model. The sample will be
further stratified by program type (SSDI
versus SSI) and by recommended
determinants of self-sufficiency (e.g.,
age, type of impairment, and urban or
rural locality).
The Motivational Interviewing Pilot
Test will recruit 50 Exiters to participate
in six sessions. During these sessions,
motivational interviewers assess each
participant’s readiness to return to work
using a standardized screener and
explore the interest and motivation
relating to obtaining and retaining
employment as well as career
advancement. Participants who drop out
after the first session will be replaced.
Data collection via the interviews and
focus groups will include (1) qualitative
in-depth interviews with Exiters and
Possible Exiters (70 individuals); (2) ten
focus groups with Exiters and Possible
Exiters (140 individuals, total); (3) two
focus groups with service providers (20
individuals, total); (4) in-depth
interviews with state and agency
leadership (30 individuals); and, (5) a
focus group with the motivational
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interview (MI) practitioners (five
individuals).
The respondents are individuals who
have volunteered to take part in the
study and are exiting (Exiters) or may be
exiting (Possible Exiters) SSA’s
disability program(s) due to medical
improvement or changes in eligibility;
vocational service providers; state and
Number of
respondents
Study component
Interviews with Exiters and Possible Exiters (icl. informed
consent and pre-collection questions) ...................................
Focus groups with Exiters and Possible Exiters (icl. informed
consent and pre-collection questions) ...................................
Focus group with service providers (icl. informed consent and
pre-collection questions) ........................................................
Focus group with motivational interviewer practitioners (icl. informed consent) .....................................................................
In-depth interviews with state and agency leadership (icl. informed consent and pre-collection questions) ......................
Survey (icl. informed consent and pre-collection questions) ....
MI Pilot (icl. informed consent and pre-collection questions) ...
Total ...................................................................................
agency leadership; and motivational
interviewers.
Type of Request: Request for a new
information collection.
Average
burden per
response
(minutes)
Frequency of
responses
Average
theoretical
hourly cost
amount
(dollars) *
Total burden
hours
Total annual
opportunity
cost
(dollars) **
70
1
65
76
* $12.81
** $974
140
1
65
152
* 12.81
** 1,947
20
1
65
22
* 24
** 528
5
1
65
5
* 35
** 175
30
4,000
50
1
1
6
65
50
60
33
3,333
300
* 56
* 12.81
* 12.81
** 1,848
** 42,696
** 3,843
4,315
4,565
........................
3,921
........................
** 52,011
* We base this figure on average DI payments wages for disability recipients as reported by SSA data (https://www.ssa.gov/legislation/2023factsheet.pdf).
** This figure does not represent actual costs that SSA is imposing on recipients of Social Security payments to complete this application; rather, these are theoretical opportunity costs for the additional time respondents will spend to complete the application. There is no actual charge to respondents to complete the
application.
State election agencies for verification.
The election agencies forward this
information to their State Motor Vehicle
Administration (MVA) and the State
MVA inputs the data into the American
Association of MVAs, a central
consolidation system that routes the
voter data to SSA’s Help America Vote
Verification (HAVV) system. Once
2. Help America Vote Act—0960–
0706. House Rule 3295, the Help
America Vote Act of 2002, mandates
that States verify the identities of newly
registered voters. When newly
registered voters do not have driver’s
licenses or State-issued ID cards, they
must supply the last four digits of their
Social Security number to their local
Number of
respondents
Modality of completion
HAVV .............................................................
I
Frequency of
response
I
48
102,200
Average
burden per
response
(minutes)
Number of
responses
I
4,905,600
I
2
SSA’s HAVV system confirms the
identity of the voter, the information
returns along the same route in reverse
until it reaches the State election
agency. The respondents are the State
MVAs seeking to confirm voter
identities.
Type of Request: Revision of an OMBapproved information collection.
Average
theoretical
hourly cost
amount
(dollars) *
Estimated total
annual burden
(hours)
I
163,520
I
* $22.07
Total annual
opportunity
cost
(dollars) **
I
** $3,608,886
* We based this figure on average local government information and records clerk’s salary shown on the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s website (https://www.bls.gov/
oes/current/oes434199.htm).
** This figure does not represent actual costs that SSA is imposing on recipients of Social Security payments to complete this application; rather, these are theoretical opportunity costs for the additional time respondents will spend to complete the application. There is no actual charge to respondents to complete the
application.
Naomi Sipple,
Reports Clearance Officer, Social Security
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2024–02766 Filed 2–9–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191–02–P
SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
[Docket No. SSA–2023–0027]
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program
AGENCY:
Social Security Administration
(SSA).
Notice of a new matching
program.
ACTION:
In accordance with the
provisions of the Privacy Act, as
amended, this notice announces a new
matching program with the Office of
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
21:06 Feb 09, 2024
Jkt 262001
Personnel Management (OPM). Under
this matching program, OPM will
disclose civil service benefit and
payment data to SSA. SSA is legally
required to offset specific benefits by a
percentage of civil service benefits
received (Spousal and Survivors
benefits, Supplemental Security Income
(SSI) benefits, and Retirement and
Disability Insurance Benefits are offset
by a percentage of the recipients’ own
Federal Government pension benefits).
SSA administers the Old Age,
Survivors, Disability Insurance (OASDI),
SSI, and Special Veterans’ Benefits
(SVB) programs. SSA will use the match
results under this agreement to meet its
civil service benefit offset obligations.
SSA’s Office of the Chief Actuary (OCA)
will also use OPM’s data for statistical
and research purposes in tracking the
PO 00000
Frm 00058
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
size of, and impact on, subpopulations
of government annuitants affected by
the Government Pension Offset, the
Windfall Elimination Provision, and in
cost estimates of proposals to change the
two provisions.
DATES: Submit comments on the
proposed matching program no later
than March 13, 2024.
The matching program will be
applicable on March 11, 2024, or once
a minimum of 30 days after publication
of this notice has elapsed, whichever is
later. The matching program will be in
effect for a period of 18 months.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
by any one of four methods—internet,
fax, mail, or email. Do not submit the
same comments multiple times or by
more than one method. Regardless of
which method you choose, please state
E:\FR\FM\12FEN1.SGM
12FEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 29 (Monday, February 12, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9887-9891]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-02766]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
[Docket No: SSA-2023-0051]
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Request and
Comment Request
The Social Security Administration (SSA) publishes a list of
information collection packages requiring clearance by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) in compliance with Public Law 104-13, the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, effective October 1, 1995. This notice
includes revisions of OMB-approved information collections, and two new
collections for OMB-approval.
SSA is soliciting comments on the accuracy of the agency's burden
estimate; the need for the information; its practical utility; ways to
enhance its quality, utility, and clarity; and ways to minimize burden
on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology. Mail, email, or fax your
comments and recommendations on the information collection(s) to the
OMB Desk Officer and SSA Reports Clearance Officer at the following
addresses or fax numbers.
(OMB), Office of Management and Budget, Attn: Desk Officer for SSA,
Fax: 202-395-6974
(SSA), Social Security Administration, OLCA, Attn: Reports Clearance
Director, Mail Stop 3253 Altmeyer, 6401 Security Blvd., Baltimore, MD
21235, Fax: 833-410-1631, Email address: [email protected]
Or you may submit your comments online through https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAmain by clicking on Currently under
Review--Open for Public Comments and choosing to click on one of SSA's
published items. Please reference Docket ID Number [SSA-2023-0051] in
your submitted response.
I. The information collection below is pending at SSA. SSA will
submit it to OMB within 60 days from the date of this notice. To be
sure we consider your comments, we must receive them no later than
April 12, 2024. Individuals can obtain copies of the collection
instruments by writing to the above email address.
1. Representative Availability Portal for Social Security
Administration Hearings--20 CFR 404.929, 404.933, 404.1740, 416.1429,
416.1433, 416.1540, 418.1350, 422.203--0960-NEW. As part of the appeals
process, claimants can request a hearing with an Administrative Law
Judge (ALJ). Approximately 80 percent of claimants have appointed
representatives at the hearing level. When the Social Security
Administration (SSA) schedules hearings before an ALJ, it usually
considers the availability of appointed representatives, if applicable.
Appointed representatives may be members of large firms, appearing at
hearings nationwide, or may be solo practitioners servicing a specific
geographic location or hearing office. In both situations, it is
typical for appointed representatives to represent more than one
claimant at any given moment; some represent hundreds of claimants at
once.
Historically, the process of seeking, tracking, and considering
representative availability has been a manual and time-intensive
activity. In the past, hearing offices sought representative
availability information by contacting each representative
individually. More recently, Office of Hearings Operations' Regional
Offices representatives collected availability information.
Representatives provided Regional Office staff with their hearing
availability via telephone or email. However, the process for gathering
and considering representative availability was not standardized and
varied greatly amongst Regional Offices. The appointed representative
community informed SSA they would appreciate a consistent and
standardized electronic process to submit their availability for
hearing appearances.
In the Spring of 2023, SSA initiated the Enhanced Representative
Availability Process (ERAP) to provide representatives with a more
standardized and streamlined process to email their availability for
hearings. In the interim, SSA obtained OMB approval to test a new
Representative Availability Portal (Portal) to offer the representative
community a web-based option to submit their monthly availability to
SSA, as per 20 CFR 404.1740(b)(3)(iii) and 416.1540(b)(3)(iii) and in a
manner consistent with ERAP. SSA tested the portal among 11 appointed
representative practice groups nationwide. We are currently seeking OMB
approval for the national rollout of the Portal, which collects
standardized information regarding appointed representative
availability for the purpose of scheduling hearings.
SSA plans to roll the Portal out to all appointed representatives
registered with the Registration, Appointment and Services for
Representatives (RASR) application, other professional representatives
who regularly conduct hearing business with SSA but are not registered
with RASR, and delegated officials from appointed representative's
Designated Scheduling Groups (DSG). A DSG is a representative-
identified scheduling group which can include one representative, or
multiple representatives. Respondents will need to have a mySocial
Security account to use the Portal and be registered into the Portal by
SSA systems. Respondents who wish to use the Portal, but who are not
registered with RASR, or who do not have a Representative ID, must
provide SSA systems with the necessary data, including name and SSN, to
complete the Portal registration process.
Portal respondents, once registered, are authorized representatives
and delegated officials from appointed representatives' DSG. SSA will
use the Portal to track availability for hearings for the DSG.
Representatives provide hearing availability for the DSG monthly (as
described above), and SSA considers the DSG-provided availability when
scheduling hearings. SSA will announce the response window for the
Portal each month via a reminder email, approximately ten days prior to
the deadline for Portal submissions. Following the submission deadline,
the Portal will ``lock,'' and respondents will not be able to submit
availability through the Portal at that time. However, SSA has some
discretion to approve a request for a late submission
[[Page 9888]]
or modification and plans to have the capacity to unlock the Portal,
when warranted. Portal response options will include DSG group, hearing
region, availability during the period of submission, and respondent-
preferred case maximums. The Portal will allow SSA to obtain the
information we require to schedule hearings for attendees.
If the respondents choose not to submit their availability via the
Portal, the option of submitting their availability through email
submission (as is the current practice) will remain. If a
representative elects not to timely submit any availability via the
Portal or email, SSA will schedule their hearings without their input.
We expect use of the Portal will result in receiving consistent
structured data from appointed representatives, which will allow for a
more streamlined and effective hearing scheduling process. The Portal
also meets a longstanding customer-experience request by the
representative community, one of SSA's key stakeholders in the process.
The respondents are appointed representatives, and delegated
officials from appointed representatives' DSGs who need to submit their
availability to SSA for hearings.
Type of Request: Request for a new information collection.
This is a Correction Notice: SSA published the incorrect
information for this new collection at 88 FR 71067, on 10/13/23. We are
correcting this error here.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average
Average burden Estimated total theoretical Total annual
Modality of completion Number of Frequency of Number of per response annual burden hourly cost opportunity cost
respondents response responses (minutes) (hours) amount (dollars) ***
(dollars) **
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Representative Availability * 3,000 12 36,000 20 12,000 ** $71.17 *** $854,040
Portal for SSA Hearings......
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* This figure represents the approximate number of individual representatives registered with RASR who regularly schedule hearings with the agency.
** We based this figure on the mean hourly wage for the average lawyer in the United States as reported by Bureau of Labor Statistics data (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_stru.htm).
*** This figure does not represent actual costs that SSA is imposing on recipients of Social Security payments to complete this application; rather,
these are theoretical opportunity costs for the additional time respondents will spend to complete the application. There is no actual charge to
respondents to complete the application.
2. Statement of Death by Funeral Director and State Death Match
Collections--20 CFR 404.301, 404.310-404.311, 404.316, 404.330-404.341,
404.350-404.352, 404.371, 404.715, 404.720, and 416.912--0960-0142. The
death of a beneficiary is an event that terminates the individual's
entitlement to Social Security benefits. As regulated, states must
furnish death information to SSA to compare to SSA's payment files. SSA
employs two modalities for ensuring it efficiently receives accurate
information regarding the deaths of SSA-insured workers and
beneficiaries: (1) Form SSA-721, Statement of Death by Funeral
Director; and (2) the Electronic Death Registration (EDR). SSA operates
the State Death Match collections, which includes the EDR process for
electronically reporting death records to SSA. The states furnish death
certificate information to SSA via a manual registration process (the
SSA-721), or via the Electronic Death Registration Process (EDR). Both
death match processes are automated electronic transfers between the
states and SSA. This collection, via paper form SSA-721 or the EDR,
allows for the funeral director or funeral home responsible for the
individual's burial or cremation to report the death to SSA. SSA uses
this information for three purposes: (1) to establish proof of death
for the insured worker; (2) to determine if the insured individual was
receiving any pre-death benefits SSA needs to terminate; and (3) to
ascertain which surviving family member is eligible for the lump-sum
death payment or for other death benefits. The respondents for this
information collection are funeral directors who handled death
arrangements for the insured individuals, and the states' bureaus of
vital statistics.
Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information
collection.
EDR
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average
Average cost Estimated total theoretical Total annual
Modality of completion Number of Frequency of per record annual burden hourly cost opportunity cost
respondents response request hours (cost) amount (dollars) ***
(dollars) **
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Death Match--EDR *............................ 54 3,164,477 $2.77 $473,342,469 ** $21.33 *** $67,498,294
States Expected to Become--State Death Match--EDR 1 1,247 3.73 4,651 ** 21.33 *** 26,598
Within the Next 3 Years *..........................
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals:......................................... 55 .............. .............. 473,347,120 .............. *** 67,524,892
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Please note that both of these data matching processes are electronic, and nearly immediate. Therefore, there is only a cost burden, and no hourly
burden for the respondent to provide this information.
We estimated the frequency of responses by taking the total number of actual records received for calendar year 2022 for each category and dividing by
the number of respondents, per category.
We have 54 States and Jurisdictions currently using EDR. Guam recently showed interest in becoming an EDR site. Estimated sometime mid to late next year
2024.
** We based this figure on the average Records Clerk hourly wages as reported by Bureau of Labor Statistics data (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm).
*** This figure does not represent actual costs that SSA is imposing on recipients of Social Security payments to complete this application; rather,
these are theoretical opportunity costs for the additional time respondents will spend to complete the application. There is no actual charge to
respondents to complete the application.
[[Page 9889]]
SSA-721
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average
Average burden Estimated total theoretical Total annual
Modality of completion Number of Frequency of per response annual burden hourly cost opportunity
respondents response (minutes) (hours) amount cost (dollars)
(dollars) ** ***
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SSA-721........................................... 437,449 1 4 29,163 * $27.98 ** $815,981
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* We based this figure on average funeral home manager's hourly salary in May 2022, as reported by Bureau of Labor Statistics data (Morticians,
Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers).
** This figure does not represent actual costs that SSA is imposing on recipients of Social Security payments to complete this application; rather,
these are theoretical opportunity costs for the additional time respondents will spend to complete the application. There is no actual charge to
respondents to complete the application.
3. Retaining Employment and Talent After Injury/Illness Network
(RETAIN)--0960-0821. The SSA and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) are
conducting the Retaining Employment and Talent After Injury/Illness
Network (RETAIN) demonstration. The RETAIN demonstration tests the
impact of early intervention strategies that improve stay-at-work/
return-to-work (SAW/RTW) outcomes of individuals who experience work
disability while employed. We define ``Work disability'' as an injury,
illness, or medical condition that has the potential to inhibit or
prevent continued employment or labor force participation. SAW/RTW
programs succeed by returning injured or ill workers to productive work
as soon as medically possible during their recovery process, and by
providing interim part-time or light duty work and accommodations, as
necessary. We loosely modeled the RETAIN Demonstration Projects after
promising programs operating in Washington State, including the Centers
of Occupational Health and Education (COHE), the Early Return to Work
(ERTW), and the Stay at Work programs. While these programs operate
within the state's workers' compensation system, and are available only
to people experiencing work-related injuries or illnesses, the RETAIN
Demonstration Projects provide opportunities to improve SAW/RTW
outcomes for both occupational and non-occupational injuries and
illnesses of people who are employed, or at a minimum in the labor
force, when their injury or illness occurs.
The primary goals of the RETAIN Demonstration Projects are:
1. To increase employment retention and labor force participation
of individuals who acquire, and/or are at risk of developing, work
disabilities; and
2. To reduce long-term work disability among RETAIN service users,
including the need for Social Security Disability Insurance and
Supplemental Security Income.
The Retain Demonstration aims to validate and expand evidence-based
strategies to accomplish these goals. DOL funds intervention approaches
and programmatic technical assistance, while SSA funds evaluation
support, including technical assistance and the full evaluation for the
demonstration. The demonstration consists of two Phases. The first
involves the implementation and assessment of cooperative awards to
eight states to conduct planning and start-up activities, including the
launch of a small pilot demonstration. During Phase 1, SSA provided
evaluation-related technical assistance and planning, and conducts
evaluability assessments to assess which states' projects would allow
for a rigorous evaluation if continued beyond the pilot phase. SSA
completed Phase 1 on May 16, 2021. DOL selected a subset of states and
continued to Phase 2 full implementation and evaluation on May 17,
2021, which will end in October 2025. During Phase 2, DOL funds the
operations and program technical assistance activities for the
recommended states, and SSA funds the full set of evaluation
activities. The four components of this evaluation, completed during
site visits, interviews with RETAIN service users, surveys of RETAIN
enrollees, and surveys of RETAIN service providers, include:
The participation analysis: Using RETAIN service user
interviews and surveys, this analysis provides insights into which
eligible workers choose to participate in the program, in what ways
they participate, and how services received vary with participant
characteristics. Similarly, it will assess the characteristics of, and
if possible, reasons for non-enrollment of non-participants.
The process analysis: Using staff interviews and logs,
this analysis produces information about operational features that
affect service provision; perceptions of the intervention design by
service users, providers, administrators, and other stakeholders;
relationships among the partner organizations; each program's fidelity
to the research design; and lessons for future programs with similar
objectives.
The impact analysis: This analysis produces estimates of
the effects of the interventions on primary outcomes, including
employment and Social Security disability applications, and secondary
outcomes, such as health and service usage. SSA identifies evaluation
designs for each state to generate impact estimates, which could
include experimental or non-experimental designs.
The cost-benefit analysis: This analysis assesses whether
the benefits of RETAIN justify its costs, conducted from various
perspectives, including participants, state and Federal governments,
SSA, and society as a whole. The purpose and proposed use of this
information collection is to gather qualitative and quantitative data
needed to conduct the analysis. These activities, include (1) surveys
of RETAIN enrollees and (2) follow-up interviews with RETAIN service
users. The qualitative data collection consists of: (1) semi-structured
interviews with program staff and service users; and (2) staff activity
logs. Program staff interviews focus on staff's perceptions of the
successes and challenges of implementing each states program, while
staff activity logs house information on staff's time to inform the
benefit-cost analysis. Service user interviews inform SSA's
understanding of users' experiences with program services. The
quantitative data include SSA's program records and survey data. The
survey data collection consists of: (1) two rounds of follow-up
surveys, focusing on individual-level outcomes, with enrollees, all of
whom who have experienced a disability onset; and (2) two rounds of
surveys with RETAIN providers. Respondents learn of the RETAIN program
data collection efforts through various outreach methods, including,
but not limited to mailings, phone calls, and from other individuals.
SSA is constantly reviewing our outreach strategies to ensure maximum
exposure and accessibility to the materials. the respondents are staff
members selected for staff interviews
[[Page 9890]]
and staff activity logs, and RETAIN service users, enrollees, and
providers.
Type of Request: Request for renewal of an information collection.
Retain 2024 Burden Figures
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average Average wait
Average burden Estimated theoretical time for Total annual
Modality of completion Number of Frequency of per response total annual hourly cost teleservice opportunity
respondents response (minutes) burden (hours) amount centers cost (dollars)
(dollars) * (minutes) ** ****
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enrollee Survey Round 1 (Respondents)... 1,872 1 20 624 * $29.76 ** 19 *** $20,177
Enrollee Survey Round 1 (Nonrespondents) 468 1 3 23 * 29.76 ** 0 *** 684
Enrollee Survey Round 2 (Respondents)... 4,493 1 26 1,947 * 29.76 ** 19 *** 100,291
Enrollee Survey Round 2 (Nonrespondents) 1,123 1 3 56 * 29.76 ** 0 *** 1,667
Follow-up interviews with service users 20 1 141 47 * 29.76 ** 19 *** 1,577
(Respondents)..........................
Follow-up interviews with service users 30 1 6 3 * 29.76 ** 0 *** 89
(Nonrespondents).......................
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals.............................. 8,006 .............. .............. 2,700 .............. .............. *** 124,485
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Retain 2025 Burden Figures
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average Average wait
Average burden Estimated theoretical time for Total annual
Modality of completion Number of Frequency of per response total annual hourly cost teleservice opportunity
respondents response (minutes) burden (hours) amount centers cost (dollars)
(dollars) * (minutes) ** ***
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enrollee Survey Round 2 (Respondents)... 1,123 1 26 487 * $29.76 ** 19 *** $25,088
Enrollee Survey Round 2 (Nonrespondents) 281 1 3 14 * 29.76 ** 0 *** 417
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals.............................. 1,404 .............. .............. 501 .............. .............. *** 25,505
Grand Total..................... .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. ..............
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals.......................... 9,410 .............. .............. 3,201 .............. .............. *** 149,990
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* We based these figures on average U.S. citizen's hourly salary, as reported by Bureau of Labor Statistics data (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm).
** We based this figure on average FY 2023 wait times for teleservice centers (approximately 19 minutes per respondent), based on SSA's current
management information data.
** This figure does not represent actual costs that SSA is imposing on recipients of Social Security payments to complete these tasks; rather, these are
theoretical opportunity costs for the additional time respondents will spend to complete the tasks. There is no actual charge to respondents to
complete the tasks.
II. SSA submitted the information collections below to OMB for
clearance. Your comments regarding these information collections would
be most useful if OMB and SSA receive them 30 days from the date of
this publication. To be sure we consider your comments, we must receive
them no later than March 13, 2024. Individuals can obtain copies of
these OMB clearance packages by writing to the
[email protected].
1. Beyond Benefits Study (BBS)--0960-NEW. The BBS will provide SSA
with information regarding the needs of individuals who, due to medical
improvement or a change in eligibility, have ``exited'' (called
Exiters), or are likely to ``exit'' (called Possible Exiters) the
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program, the Supplemental
Security Income (SSI) program, or both. The BBS will provide SSA with a
clearer understanding of the challenges and needs of the target
population as Exiters leave the safety net and security of disability
benefits and attempt to return to work. SSA will use the findings from
the BBS to identify potential interventions and policies to help
Exiters and Possible Exiters achieve sustainable, substantial work
leading to self-sufficiency.
In seeking to understand the needs (e.g., service, medical, and
employment) of Exiters and Possible Exiters, the study aims to answer
three primary research questions: (1) what are the service, medical,
and employment needs required to achieve sustainable, substantive
employment among individuals who exit SSDI/SSI programs; (2) what are
the types of services, resources, and interventions that will help
exiting individuals obtain and retain employment, and should SSA
consider a larger test study; and (3) what policy recommendations will
facilitate substantive and sustainable employment among individuals who
exit SSDI/SSI programs?
The BBS will help SSA answer these questions by collecting data
through surveys, interviews, and focus groups. Quantitative data
collection via the survey will include 4,000 participants stratified by
exit status and other criteria. The sample will include 2,000 Possible
Exiters, 1,000 Short-term Exiters (have exited within the last year),
and 1,000 Long-term Exiters (have exited within the last 1-5 years)
with 75% of respondents in each group having a high-scoring likelihood
of medical improvement based on the Continuing Disability Review (CDR)
profiling model. The sample will be further stratified by program type
(SSDI versus SSI) and by recommended determinants of self-sufficiency
(e.g., age, type of impairment, and urban or rural locality).
The Motivational Interviewing Pilot Test will recruit 50 Exiters to
participate in six sessions. During these sessions, motivational
interviewers assess each participant's readiness to return to work
using a standardized screener and explore the interest and motivation
relating to obtaining and retaining employment as well as career
advancement. Participants who drop out after the first session will be
replaced.
Data collection via the interviews and focus groups will include
(1) qualitative in-depth interviews with Exiters and Possible Exiters
(70 individuals); (2) ten focus groups with Exiters and Possible
Exiters (140 individuals, total); (3) two focus groups with service
providers (20 individuals, total); (4) in-depth interviews with state
and agency leadership (30 individuals); and, (5) a focus group with the
motivational
[[Page 9891]]
interview (MI) practitioners (five individuals).
The respondents are individuals who have volunteered to take part
in the study and are exiting (Exiters) or may be exiting (Possible
Exiters) SSA's disability program(s) due to medical improvement or
changes in eligibility; vocational service providers; state and agency
leadership; and motivational interviewers.
Type of Request: Request for a new information collection.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average
Average burden theoretical Total annual
Study component Number of Frequency of per response Total burden hourly cost opportunity
respondents responses (minutes) hours amount cost (dollars)
(dollars) * **
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interviews with Exiters and Possible Exiters (icl. 70 1 65 76 * $12.81 ** $974
informed consent and pre-collection questions).........
Focus groups with Exiters and Possible Exiters (icl. 140 1 65 152 * 12.81 ** 1,947
informed consent and pre-collection questions).........
Focus group with service providers (icl. informed 20 1 65 22 * 24 ** 528
consent and pre-collection questions)..................
Focus group with motivational interviewer practitioners 5 1 65 5 * 35 ** 175
(icl. informed consent)................................
In-depth interviews with state and agency leadership 30 1 65 33 * 56 ** 1,848
(icl. informed consent and pre-collection questions)...
Survey (icl. informed consent and pre-collection 4,000 1 50 3,333 * 12.81 ** 42,696
questions).............................................
MI Pilot (icl. informed consent and pre-collection 50 6 60 300 * 12.81 ** 3,843
questions).............................................
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total............................................... 4,315 4,565 .............. 3,921 .............. ** 52,011
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* We base this figure on average DI payments wages for disability recipients as reported by SSA data (https://www.ssa.gov/legislation/2023factsheet.pdf).
** This figure does not represent actual costs that SSA is imposing on recipients of Social Security payments to complete this application; rather,
these are theoretical opportunity costs for the additional time respondents will spend to complete the application. There is no actual charge to
respondents to complete the application.
2. Help America Vote Act--0960-0706. House Rule 3295, the Help
America Vote Act of 2002, mandates that States verify the identities of
newly registered voters. When newly registered voters do not have
driver's licenses or State-issued ID cards, they must supply the last
four digits of their Social Security number to their local State
election agencies for verification. The election agencies forward this
information to their State Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) and the
State MVA inputs the data into the American Association of MVAs, a
central consolidation system that routes the voter data to SSA's Help
America Vote Verification (HAVV) system. Once SSA's HAVV system
confirms the identity of the voter, the information returns along the
same route in reverse until it reaches the State election agency. The
respondents are the State MVAs seeking to confirm voter identities.
Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information
collection.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average
Average burden Estimated total theoretical Total annual
Modality of completion Number of Frequency of Number of per response annual burden hourly cost opportunity
respondents response responses (minutes) (hours) amount cost (dollars)
(dollars) * **
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HAVV............................. 48 102,200 4,905,600 2 163,520 * $22.07 ** $3,608,886
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* We based this figure on average local government information and records clerk's salary shown on the Bureau of Labor Statistic's website (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes434199.htm).
** This figure does not represent actual costs that SSA is imposing on recipients of Social Security payments to complete this application; rather,
these are theoretical opportunity costs for the additional time respondents will spend to complete the application. There is no actual charge to
respondents to complete the application.
Naomi Sipple,
Reports Clearance Officer, Social Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2024-02766 Filed 2-9-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P
