Department of Agriculture September 17, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is publishing for public comment a summary of a proposed information collection. This is a revision of a currently approved collection for form FNS-46, Issuance Reconciliation Report, which concerns benefit issuance operations in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The form will be modified and simplified. FNS plans to update the form FNS-46, to capture Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP) benefit issuances and returns data. This form update will ensure D-SNAP data will be more readily available, enabling FNS to respond to requests from multiple agencies on contributions to Federal disaster relief efforts. The form will be simplified since it no longer captures coupon issuances and returns. (Food stamp coupons were deobligated in 2009.) Instead it will summarize Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) issuances and returns.

This proposed rule would increase the assessment rate established for the Avocado Administrative Committee (Committee) for the 2013-14 and subsequent fiscal periods from $0.25 to $0.30 per 55- pound bushel container of Florida avocados handled. The Committee locally administers the marketing order, which regulates the handling of avocados grown in South Florida. Assessments upon Florida avocado handlers are used by the Committee to fund reasonable and necessary expenses of the program. The fiscal period begins April 1 and ends March 31. The assessment rate would remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.