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[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 7, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13563-13564]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-5452]

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COMMITTEE FOR PURCHASE FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR SEVERELY DISABLED

Information Collection To Be Submitted to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for Approval Under the Paperwork Reduction 
Act; Initial Certification

AGENCY: Committee for Purchase from People Who Are Blind or Severely 
Disabled.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Committee for Purchase from People Who Are Blind or 
Severely Disabled (The Committee) will submit the collections of 
information listed below to OMB for approval under the provisions of 
the Paperwork Reduction Act. This notice solicits comments on these 
collections of information.

DATES: Submit your written comments on the information collection on or 
before May 7, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Mail your comments on the requirement to Lou Bartalot, 
Director Compliance and Review, Committee for Purchase from People Who 
Are Blind or Severely Disabled, 1421 Jefferson Davis Highway, Jefferson 
Plaza 2, Suite 10800, Arlington, VA 22202-3259; fax (703) 603-0655; or 
email rulecomments@abilityone.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request a copy of the applicable 
forms or explanatory material, contact Edward Yang at information in 
above paragraph.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
regulations at 5 CFR part 1320, which implement provisions of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), require that 
interested members of the public and affected agencies have an 
opportunity to comment on information collection and recordkeeping 
activities (see 5 CFR 1320.8(d)). The Committee plans to submit a 
request to OMB to renew its approval of the collections of information 
concerning annual certification of nonprofit agencies serving people 
who are blind or who have other significant disabilities to participate 
in the AbilityOne Program. The Committee is requesting a 3-year term of 
approval for these information collection activities.
    Federal agencies may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not 
required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays 
a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control numbers for these 
collections of information are 3037-0002 and 3037-0001.
    The JWOD Act of 1971 (41 U.S.C. Chapter 85) is the authorizing 
legislation for the AbilityOne Program. The AbilityOne Program creates 
jobs and training opportunities for people who are blind or who have 
other severe disabilities. Its primary means of doing so is by 
requiring Government agencies to purchase selected products and 
services from nonprofit agencies employing such individuals. The 
AbilityOne Program is administered by the Committee. Two national, 
independent organizations, National Industries for the Blind (NIB) and 
NISH, help State and private nonprofit agencies participate in the 
AbilityOne Program.
    The implementing regulations for the JWOD Act, which are located at 
41 CFR Chapter 51, provide the requirements, procedures, and standards 
for the AbilityOne Program. Section 51-4.3 of the regulations sets 
forth the standards that a nonprofit agency must meet to maintain 
qualification for participation in the AbilityOne Program. Under this 
section of the regulations, a nonprofit agency that wants to continue 
to participate in the AbilityOne Program must submit a completed copy 
of the appropriate Annual Certification form (Committee Form 403 or 
404). This documentation helps the Committee determine whether the 
applicant nonprofit agency is meeting the requirements of the 
AbilityOne Program.
    This information collection renewal request seeks approval for the 
Committee to continue to collect the information required under 41 CFR 
51-4.3 of the regulations so that the Committee can continue to verify 
the appropriateness of nonprofit agencies that would like to 
participate in the JWOD Program. Both forms have added three new 
questions concerning the number of veterans employed at the agencies 
doing direct labor and the wages paid to veterans working on AbilityOne 
projects and have revised the language at the bottom of the 
certification section.
    Title: Annual Certification--Qualified Nonprofit Agency Serving 
People Who Are Blind, 41 CFR 51-4.3.
    OMB Control Number: 3037-0001.
    Form Number: Committee Form 403.
    Description of Respondents: Nonprofit agencies serving people who 
are blind that participate in the JWOD Program.
    Annual Number of Respondents: About 70 nonprofit agencies serving 
people who are blind will annually request to be verified for 
participation in the AbilityOne Program.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: Burden is estimated to average 6 hours 
per respondent. Total annual burden is 420 hours. Note: this burden 
estimate is only for the reporting of information; a separate burden 
estimate exists for the recordkeeping requirement.

    Title: Initial Certification--Qualified Nonprofit Agency Serving 
People Who Are Severely Disabled, 41 CFR 51-4.3.
    OMB Control Number: 3037-0002.
    Form Number: Committee Form 404.
    Description of Respondents: Nonprofit agencies serving people who 
are severely disabled that participate in the JWOD Program.

[[Page 13564]]

    Annual Number of Respondents: About 550 nonprofit agencies serving 
people who are severely disabled will annually request to be verified 
for participation in the JWOD Program.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: Burden is estimated to average 6 hours 
per respondent. Total annual burden is 3,300 hours. Note: this burden 
estimate is only for the reporting of information; a separate burden 
estimate exists for the recordkeeping requirement.
    We invite comments concerning this renewal on: (1) Whether the 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
our agency's functions, including whether the information will have 
practical utility; (2) the accuracy of our estimate of the burden of 
the collection of information; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways 
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents.

Barry S. Lineback,
Director, Business Operations.
[FR Doc. 2012-5452 Filed 3-6-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6353-01-P
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