Under the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (the "Act"), the Department of the Treasury is responsible for implementing several components of the Act. Among these components is a program under title III of the Act which requires Treasury to make payments to participating states. Participating states will use the federal funds for programs that leverage private lending to help finance small businesses and manufacturers that are creditworthy, but are not getting the loans they need to expand and create jobs. The collection of information is necessary to ensure that the allocation agreement constitutes a legal binding obligation of the participating state and to monitor participating state compliance and performance. The recordkeeping requirements ensure both the effective and efficient use of the funds consistent with the agreement.
On September 27, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (the ÂActÂ). The Act created the State Small Business Credit Initiative (ÂSSBCIÂ) to be administered by the Department of the Treasury (ÂTreasuryÂ) which was funded with $1.5 billion to strengthen state programs that support lending to small businesses, and small manufacturers. The SSBCI is expected to help spur up to $15 billion in lending to small businesses to help address the current economic challenges facing small businesses many of which are at imminent risk for failure. The SSBCI is currently a one-time program created to address the acute need for small business access to credit in the current economy. Applications from the states, territories and the District of Columbia that have indicated their intent to apply were due by June 27, 2011; applications from municipalities were due September 27, 2011. More than 58 eligible applicants applied for allocations.
As noted in the PRA Justification memo, this request comprises a reinstatement of two prior approved collections as well as two new collections. The need for each of these collections is to immediately increase the effectiveness of funds already disbursed (and in the case of the Municipal Allocation Agreement, to effectuate the approval of funds to five applicants whose submitted applications presented specific changes to the standard agreement). The need for each of these collections are driven by the needs of participating states to be able to quickly adapt to economic changes and to enhance program performance, thus meeting the program objective of rapidly using these funds to promote small business lending, as noted above. Further, Section 3003(c)(4) of the Act subjects all participating states to potential rescission of allocated amounts if all funds are not deployed within two years of the initial allocation. It is therefore critical that the revised SSBCI Application and the revised SSBCI allocation agreement with the new collections of information contained therein be made available immediately to applicant states, territories, and municipalities.
For the above states reasons, Treasury respectfully requests emergency PRA clearance of the revised SSBCI Application and revised SSBCI Allocation Agreement.
The new burden reflects elements of the compliance standards guidance not explicitly defined in the original clearance.
No
No
No
Yes
No
Uncollected
Daniel Ballard 202 674-1781
Reginfo record details
No
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
PRA_national_compliance_standards_short.doc
PRA Justification Memorandum vFINAL to OMB.docx
Compliance Guidance