1205-0222 ss 4 21 2010

SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR
OMB Control No. 1205-0222: MA 8-7, Transmittal of Unemployment Insurance Material

A. Justification
1. Necessity of Collection
Section 303(a)(6), SSA, requires, as a condition of receiving administrative grants, that
state law contain provision for the “making of such reports, in such form and containing
such information, as the Secretary of Labor may from time to time require, and
compliance with such provisions as the Secretary of Labor may from time to time find
necessary to ensure the correctness and verification of such reports.” Departmental
regulations at 20 CFR 601.3 in part implement this requirement by requiring the
submission of “all relevant state materials, such as statutes, executive and administrative
orders, legal opinions, rules, regulations, interpretations, court opinions, etc. . . .” Also,
the regulations for the UC for Federal Civilian Employees (UCFE) program at 20 CFR
609.1(d)(1) and for the UC for ex-servicemembers (UCX) program at 20 CFR
614.1(d)(1) require submission of certain documents to assure that states are properly
administering these programs. The Trade Adjustment Assistance (which includes Trade
Readjustment Allowances) program (TAA/TRA) regulations provide similar
requirements at 20 CFR 617.52(c)(1).
The MA 8-7 is the mechanism for implementing these submittal requirements, the
purpose of which is to provide the Secretary with sufficient information to determine if
(a) employers in a state qualify for tax credits under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act;
(b) the state meets the requirements for obtaining administrative grants under Title III,
SSA; and (c) the state is fulfilling it obligations under Federal UC programs.
2. Purpose of Information
The information transmitted by Form MA 8-7 is used by the Secretary to make findings
(as specified in the above cited Federal laws) required for certification to the Secretary of
the Treasury for payment to states or for certification of the state law for purposes of
additional tax credit. If this information is not available, the Secretary cannot make such
certifications.
3. Information Technology
To facilitate transmittal of required material, the Department prescribes the use of Form
MA 8-7, Transmittal of Unemployment Insurance Material. This simple checkoff form is
used by the states to identify material being transmitted to the Office of Workforce
Security and allows the material to be routed to appropriate staff for prompt action.

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Introduced and enacted state legislation are available to the Department through an
automated legislative reporting service for all states except Puerto Rico and the Virgin
Islands. States with information that is made available through this reporting service are
not required to submit introduced and enacted legislation.

4.

Availability of Similar Information for Duplication
There is no similar information available to duplicate. The Office of Workforce Security
is the only agency which needs or collects this material.

5.

Impact on Small Businesses or Small Entities
This collection does not involve small businesses or entities.

6.

Description of Consequences of Not Collecting Information
States could not be certified if this information were not collected and Form MA 8-7
greatly facilitates its receipt. Issues would not be identified timely if information is not
collected frequently and transmitted by Form MA 8-7. The information is required by
law and the use of Form MA 8-7 to transmit it speeds its receipt and makes for easy
identification of information.

7.

Special Circumstances
By law, states are required to collect and submit all relevant statutes transmitted by Form
MA 8-7. The collection is in accordance with the guidelines of 5 CFR 1320.5 . The
submittal of this information by Form MA 8-7 does not require any special
circumstances. There are no changes in the way the information is collected.

8. Copy, Data, and Page Number of Federal Register Publication
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the public was allowed 60
days to review and comment through the Federal Register Process. The Federal Register
Notice was published January 25, 2010 (Vol. 75, No. 15), and no comments were
received.
9. Payments or Gifts to Respondents
There are no payments or gifts to respondents.

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10. Assurance of Confidentiality
There is no assurance of confidentiality to respondents.
11. Sensitive Questions
Questions are not of a sensitive nature.
12. Estimate of Hour Burden of the Collection of Information
It is estimated that states will transmit the forms and their attached materials about once a
month. Based on experience, it is estimated that each form takes no more than a minute
for state agencies to fill out the check list and place the already available materials in an
envelope. This would average out to approximately 12 minutes each year for each state.
If 53 state agencies transmit the forms, the conservatively approximated burden hours are
estimated to be:
53 States X 1 min/transmittal X 12 transmittals/year = 10.6 hours, rounded to 11 hours.
The FY 2009 average hourly wage for state workforce agency staff as follows:
At an average salary of $35.77 per hour, and a total of 10.6 burden hours, rounded to 11
hours, the total cost to respondents is $ 379 per year.
13. Estimate of Total Annual Cost Burden to Respondents
None. This, and all other reporting for Unemployment Insurance, is paid for by monies
allocated to states for administration. There are no breakouts for specific reports or
information collection.
14. Annualized Cost to the Federal Government
There is no cost to the Federal Government. The use of Transmittal Form MA 8-7 saves
time and cost as it assures that only a secretary is needed to route materials to the proper
staff for timely action rather than have a professional look through the materials first to
determine content and assignment.
15. Reasons for Program Changes
There are no program changes.
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16. Publication of Results
There are no results to be published from the collection of information.
17. Approval to Not Display the Expiration Date for OMB Approval
The Department is not seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB
approval.
18. Exception to the Certification Statement
There are no exceptions to the Certification Statement.
B. Collection of Information Employment Statistical Methods
This collection does not employ statistical methods.

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