SUPPORTING STATEMENT
FOR PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT SUBMISSION
9000-0001, STANDARD FORM 28, 
AFFIDAVIT OF INDIVIDUAL SURETY

A.	Justification.

1.  Administrative requirements.  The Affidavit of Individual Surety (Standard Form (SF) 28) is used by all executive agencies, including the Department of Defense, to obtain information from inividuals wishing to serve as sureties to Government bonds.  In order to qualify as a surety on a Government bond, the individual must show a net worth not less than the penal amount of the bond on the SF 28.  It is an elective decision on the part of the maker to use individual sureties instead of other available sources of surety or sureties for Government bonds.

2.  Uses of information.  The information on SF 28 is used to assist the contracting officer in determining the acceptability of individuals proposed as sureties.
3.  Consideration of information technology.  We use improved information technology to the maximum extent practicable.  Where both the Government agency and contractors are capable of electronic interchange, the contractors may submit this information collection requirement electronically.

4.  Efforts to identify duplication.  This requirement is being issued under the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) which has been developed to standardize Federal procurement practices and eliminate unnecessary duplication.

5.  If the collection of information impacts small businesses or other entities, describe methods used to minimize burden. The burden applied to small businesses is the minimum consistent with applicable laws, executive orders, regulations, and prudent business practices.

6.  Describe consequence to Federal program or policy activities if the collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently. Collection of information on a basis other than solicitation-by-solicitation is not practical.

7.  Special circumstances for collection.  Collection is generally consistent with guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.6.

8.  Efforts to consult with persons outside the agency.  Under the procedures established for development of the FAR, agency and public comments were solicited and each comment addressed before finalization of the text.  A notice in the Federal Register at 72 FR 56337, October 3, 2007, made this requirement available to the public and requested comments.  No major problems regarding this requirement were reported.
9.  Explanation of any decision to provide any payment or gift to respondents, other than reenumeration of contractors or guarantees.  Not applicable.

10.  Describe assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents. This information is disclosed only to the extent consistent with prudent business practices and current regulations.

11.  Additional justification for questions of a sensitive nature.  No sensitive questions are involved.

12 & 13.  Estimated total annual public hour and cost burden.  Time required to read and prepare information is estimated at .4 hours per response.

Annual Cost to the Public

Estimated respondents/yr		500
Responses annually	x		1.43
Total annual responses		715
Estimated hrs/response	x		.4
Estimated total burden/hrs		286
Estimated cost to public ($24 + 75% OH)	x	$42
Total cost to the public		$12,012

14.  Estimated cost to the Government.  Time required for Governmentwide review is estimated at .5 hours per response.

Annual Reviewing Burden and Cost

Reviewing time/hr		.5
Responses/yr		x	1,430
Review time/yr			715
Average wages + overhead ($20/hr + 100% OH)		x	$40
Total Government cost			$28,600

15.  Explain reasons for program changes or adjustments reported in Item 13 and 14.  This submission requests an extension of OMB approval of an information collection requirement in the FAR.  The information collection requirement in the FAR remains unchanged.

16.  Outline plans for published results of information collections.  Results will not be tabulated or published.
17.  Approval not to display expiration date.  Not applicable.
18.  Explanation of exception to certification statement.  Not applicable.

B.  Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods.

Statistical methods are not used in this information collection.