Proposed Rule On Private Printing Of Social Security Forms

From today's Federal Register:

Section 312(a) of the Social Security Independence and Program Improvement Act (SSIPA) amended the Social Security Act (the Act) and, among other things, added section 1140(a)(2)(A) to the Act. Pub. L. 103-296, Sec. 312(a) (codified as 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1320b-10(a)(2)(A)). This section prohibits any person from charging a fee to reproduce, reprint, or distribute SSA's official applications, forms, or publications unless the Commissioner grants the person specific written authorization in accordance with regulations which the Commissioner shall prescribe. This proposed rule would implement section 312(a) of the SSIPA by adding SSA publications to the current regulation and by providing for SSA's prior approval of requests to reproduce, reprint, and/or distribute its applications, forms, or publications when the person intends to charge a fee. Furthermore, our proposed rule would implement section 312(a) by establishing the procedure any person who intends to charge a fee for reproducing, reprinting, or distributing SSA materials must follow to obtain SSA's prior approval. The requirement to obtain SSA's prior approval would apply regardless of the means the person uses to transmit the document, e.g., Internet or direct mail. This regulation would help to ensure that consumers obtain accurate and current materials and information regarding the
Administration's programs.