[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 134 (Tuesday, July 14, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 37755]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-18680]



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Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 134 / Tuesday, July 14, 1998 / Rules 
and Regulations

[[Page 37755]]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service

7 CFR Parts 272 and 275


Food Stamp Program: Quality Control Provisions of the Mickey 
Leland Childhood Hunger Relief Act

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule; announcement of effective and implementation dates.

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SUMMARY: This action announces the effective and implementation dates 
for certain provisions in final regulations published June 2, 1997, 
Food Stamp Program: Quality Control Provisions of the Mickey Leland 
Childhood Hunger Relief Act. The affected provisions contain 
information collections relating to Quality Control system arbitration 
and good cause processes. These information collections needed Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB) approval, in accordance with the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, prior to their implementation. A 
notice published in the Federal Register on December 19, 1997, 
solicited comment on the proposed information collections. OMB approved 
the information collections through June 30, 2001.

DATES: The information collections at 7 CFR 275.3(c)(4) are effective 
August 13, 1998 and will be implemented October 1, 1998, for the fiscal 
year 1999 Quality Control reporting period. Information collections at 
7 CFR 275.23(e)(5) and at 7 CFR 275.23(e)(7) will be implemented August 
13, 1998. Information collections at 7 CFR 275.23(e)(9) will be 
implemented October 1, 1998, for the fiscal year 1999 Quality Control 
reporting period.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Retha Oliver, (703) 305-2474.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The final rule, Food Stamp Program: Quality 
Control Provisions of the Mickey Leland Childhood Hunger Relief Act 
(``Leland Rule'') published June 2, 1997 (62 FR 29652), contains 
information collections that are subject to review by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(44.U.S.C. 3507). These information collections pertain to the Quality 
Control (QC) burden for the arbitration and good cause processes. The 
implementation dates in this notice affect the following provisions in 
the Leland Rule: 7 CFR 275.3(c)(4) [Arbitration]; 7 CFR 275.23(e)(5) 
[State agencies' liabilities for payment error--Fiscal Year 1992 and 
beyond]; 7 CFR 275.23(e)(7) [Good Cause]; and 7 CFR 275.23(e)(9) 
[Timeframes for announcing State agency error rates, for notifying 
States of their error rates and liabilities, and for completing all 
cases].
    During final clearance of the Leland Rule, OMB determined that the 
reporting and recordkeeping burdens associated with the arbitration and 
good cause processes needed to be submitted for OMB approval through an 
approval process specifically designed for paperwork burdens. In 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, a December 19, 
1997, notice (62 FR 66593) solicited public comment on the reporting 
and recordkeeping burden for the QC sampling plan, arbitration and good 
cause. There was one comment on the notice. This comment disagreed with 
the estimated burdens for the sampling plan and the arbitration 
process, stating that the State it represented spent more time than 
allotted in the notice for these two activities. The Department did not 
revise these estimates. These estimates are averages for States and the 
Department believes the estimates in the notice more accurately reflect 
the amount of time that States, on average, expend on these activities. 
The reporting and recordkeeping burden associated with the Food Stamp 
Program QC System sampling plan, arbitration and good cause is approved 
through June 30, 2001 under OMB No. 0584-0303. This action establishes 
effective and implementation dates for the specified provisions in the 
Leland rule.

    Dated: July 6, 1998.
George A. Braley,
Acting Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 98-18680 Filed 7-13-98; 8:45 am]
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