Supporting Statement (Guidelines)

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

Guidelines for the Transfer of Excess Computers or Other Technical

Equipment Pursuant to Section 14220 of the 2008 Farm Bill

OMB NO. 0505-____

A. Justification

1. Circumstances that make the collection of information necessary and any legal or administrative requirements that necessitate the collection.

In accordance with procedures in the Federal Management Regulation, Subpart 102-36.295, each agency is responsible for submitting an annual report of all personal property furnished to non-Federal recipients to the General Services Administration. USDA requires information in order to: verify eligibility of requestors; determine availability of excess property; have contact information of the requestor available; and to ensure an organization is designated to receive property on behalf of an eligible recipient. Information will be used to coordinate the transfer of property to eligible recipients. Respondents will be authorized representatives of a city, town, or local government entity located in a rural area as defined in 7 U.S.C. 1991(a)(13)(A). The statute authority for this collection of information can be found in 7 U.S.C. 2206b, Availability of excess and surplus computers in rural areas.

2. How, by whom, and for what purpose the information is to be used.

• Information is collected via letters from requestors (electronic copies are acceptable).

• Information is collected for each request.

• Requests must include: (1) Type of excess computers or other technical equipment requested; (2) Justification for eligibility; (3) Contact information of the requestor; (4) Logistical information such as when and how the property will be picked up; and (5) Information on the recipient’s designated organization that is designated to receive and refurbish the property for the eligible recipient.

• Requests will come from an authorized representative of a city, town, or local government entity located in a rural area as defined in 7 U.S.C. 1991(a)(13)(A).

• USDA requires information in order to: verify eligibility of requestors; determine availability of excess property; have contact information of the requestor available; and to ensure an organization is designated to receive property on behalf of an eligible recipient.

• Information will be used to coordinate the transfer of excess property to eligible recipients and as input for the required annual report to the General Services Administration, of all personal property furnished to non-Federal recipients.

3. Explanation as to whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Letters from requestors can be sent electronically via fax or scanned and emailed. The collection of information does not involve any other use of information technology. The use of additional information technology will be considered once enough data is available for analysis.

4. Explanation of efforts to identify duplication and why any similar information already available cannot be used or modified for use for the purposes described in item 2 above.

This is a new personal property disposal authority and therefore the requested information is not known to be available from any other source.

5. Collection of information impact on small businesses or other small entities.

This information collection does not impact small businesses and will have no significant economic impact on cities, towns, or local government entities located in rural areas. Information required is the bare minimum needed to fulfill the requirements of this law.

6. Explanation of the consequence to Federal program or policy activities if the collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently, as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing burden.

Without a request, USDA may be unable to fulfill the benefits intended by this law, to cities, towns, or local government entities in rural areas.

7. Explanation of any special circumstances that would cause information collection to be conducted in a manner: requiring respondents to report information to the agency more often than quarterly; requiring respondents to prepare a written response to a collection of information in fewer than 30 days after receipt of it; requiring respondents to submit more than an original and two copies of any document; requiring respondents to retain records, other than health, medical, government contract, grant-in-aid, or tax records for more than 3 years; in connection with a statistical survey, that is not designed to produce valid and reliable results that can be generalized to the universe of study; requiring the use of a statistical data classification that has not been reviewed and approved by OMB; that includes a pledge of confidentiality that is not supported by authority established in statue or regulation, that is not supported by disclosure and data security policies that are consistent with the pledge, or which unnecessarily impedes sharing of data with other agencies for compatible confidential use; or requiring respondents to submit proprietary trade secret, or other confidential information unless the agency can demonstrate that it has instituted procedures to protect the information's confidentiality to the extent permitted by law.

There are no special circumstances which would cause information collection to be conducted in a manner inconsistent with the above requirements. The collection of information is conducted in a manner consistent with the guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.6.

8. A copy of the publication in the Federal Register of the notice, required by 5 CFR 1320.8(d), soliciting comments on the information collection prior to submission to OMB is attached. A summary of public comments received in response to that notice and explanation of actions taken in response to those comments will be published when the notice is submitted to the Federal Register as a Final Rule.

The Office of Procurement and Property Management’s (OPPM) proposed rule will describe its information gathering requirements and also provide a 60-day comment period.  During this time, interested members of the public will have the opportunity to provide OPPM with their input concerning the usefulness, legitimacy, and merit of the information collection activities OPPM is proposing.

Because of previous experience under similar programs and first-hand knowledge working with recipients of those programs, no consultations with prospective representatives were performed.

9. Explanation of the decision to provide any payment or gift to respondents, other than remuneration of contractors or grantees.

No payments or gifts are provided to respondents.

10. Description of assurances of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for the assurances in statute, regulation, or agency policy.

The Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552a as amended deals with records maintained on individuals. No information, confidential or otherwise, on individuals is required under this program. Requestors should not send USDA any item, collection, or grouping of information about an individual, except for information that is publicly accessible. There are no assurances of confidentiality to respondents. The information provided will become part of the official property records to support transactions under this notice.

11. Additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private.

Questions of a sensitive nature, or commonly considered private, are not found in this information collection.

12. Estimates of the hour burden of the collection of information

Although estimates should not include burden hours for customary and usual business practices, OPPM has the following estimates:

- Number of respondents would be about 400, based on the USDA number of recipients for FY 2010 under the Computers for Learning program;

- Frequency of responses will be occasionally as respondents assess their needs, but should be no more than once a year based on the supposition that requestors will ask for enough property that will be needed each year;

- Annual hour burden for each respondent will be about 10 minutes; and

- Total hour burden for all respondents will be about 67 hours.

The hour burden on respondents is not expected to vary widely because of differences in activity, size, or complexity.

This request for approval does not cover more than one form.

Estimates of annualized cost to respondents for the hour burdens for collections of information, identifying and using appropriate wage rate categories.

The following categories of occupations and their median hourly rates were taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ May 2009 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates for the United States listing:

- Secretary, except legal, medical and executive - $14.41/hr x .167 (10 min) = $2.41

- Correspondence clerk - $15.35/hr x .167 (10 min) = $2.56

- Executive secretary and Administrative Assistant - $20.03 x .167 (10 min) = $3.35

- Total burden hours (67) multiplied by average hourly cost ($2.77) = $185.59

13. Estimate of the total annual cost burden to respondents or record keepers resulting from the collection of information.

There are no capital or start-up cost components required nor operation or maintenance and purchase of services components associated with this information collection. No equipment, software, or services will have to be procured by the respondents in order to provide the information requested.

14. Estimates of annualized cost to the Federal government.

There should be no additional costs to the Federal government incurred because of this information collection. Costs include quantification of hours, operation expenses (e.g. equipment, overhead, printing, support staff), and any other expenses. USDA, which currently participates in the Computers for Learning Program and the Stevenson-Wydler Act programs, already collects this information from various schools and institutions. Since there is a finite amount of excess computers or other technical equipment, OPPM expects the cost to be the same (i.e., the cost to the Federal government is the same regardless of who is the final recipient of the property).

15. Explanation for any program changes or adjustments reported in items 13 or 14 of the OMB Form 83-I.

This is a new information collection burden, required in order to fulfill the requirements of this part.

16. Plan outline for the tabulation and publication of information collection results that will be published.

In accordance with procedures in the Federal Management Regulation, Subpart 102-36.295, each agency is responsible for submitting an annual report to the General Services Administration (GSA) of all personal property furnished to non-Federal recipients. This annual report lists the name of each recipient, their zip code, the Federal Supply Class Group of the property, the total original acquisition cost of the property and the authority under which the property was furnished. USDA agencies submit individual reports to OPPM, who then submits a consolidated USDA report to GSA.

The only analyses that are planned to be performed are internal and in conjunction with ensuring that property is distributed in a fair and equitable manner.

17. Approval is requested to not display the OMB approval expiration date of the information collection.

Information provided by requestors is in a letter they write and submit and not any standard or other type of form. Therefore, displaying the expiration date of OMB approval is not feasible.

18. Explanation for each exception to the certification statement identified in item 19, "Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions," of OMB Form 83-I.

The agency is able to certify compliance with all provisions under Item 19 of OMB Form 83-I.

B. Collections of information employing statistical methods

This information collection does not employ statistical methods.

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