CFR > Title 7 - Agriculture > SUBTITLE B—Regulations of the Department of Agriculture > CHAPTER II—FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (parts 210 to 296) > SUBCHAPTER C—FOOD STAMP AND FOOD DISTRIBUTION PROGRAM (parts 271 to 285) > PART 272—REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATING STATE AGENCIES > 272.1—General terms and conditions.

272.1—General terms and conditions.

(a) Coupons do not reduce benefits. The coupon allotment provided any eligible household shall not be considered income or resources for any purpose under any Federal, State, or local laws including, but not limited to, laws on taxation, welfare, and public assistance programs. No participating State or political subdivision shall decrease any assistance otherwise provided an individual or individuals because of the receipt of a coupon allotment.
(b) No sales taxes on food stamp purchases. (1) A State shall not participate in the Food Stamp Program if State or local sales taxes or other taxes or fees, including but not limited to excise taxes, are collected within the State on purchases made with food stamp coupons. “Purchases made with food coupons” for purposes of this provision shall refer to purchases of “eligible foods” as defined in § 271.2. Where the total value of groceries being bought by the recipient is larger than the amount of coupons being presented by the recipient, only the portion of the sale made in exchange for food stamps must be exempt from taxation in order for a State to satisfy the requirements of this provision. Although a food stamp recipient may use a combination of cash and food stamps in making a food purchase, only the dollar amount represented by the food coupons needs to be exempt from taxation.
(2) State and/or local law shall not permit the imposition of tax on food paid for with coupons. FNS may terminate the issuance of coupons and disallow administrative funds otherwise payable pursuant to part 277 in any State where such taxes are charged. Action to disallow administrative funds shall be taken in accordance with the procedures set forth in § 276.4.
(3) A State or local area which taxes some, but not all, eligible food items shall ensure that retail food stores in that locale sequence purchases of eligible foods paid for with a combination of coupons and cash so as to not directly or indirectly charge or assign a tax to food stamp recipients on eligible food items purchased with coupons. Prohibited methods include, but are not limited to, the allocation of coupons first to non-taxable eligible items, and the application of cash, rather than coupons, to taxable eligible food.
(c) Disclosure. (1) Use or disclosure of information obtained from food stamp applicant or recipient households shall be restricted to:
(i) Persons directly connected with the administration or enforcement of the provisions of the Food Stamp Act or regulations, other Federal assistance programs, federally-assisted State programs providing assistance on a means-tested basis to low income individuals, or general assistance programs which are subject to the joint processing requirements in § 273.2(j)(2).
(ii) Persons directly connected with the administration or enforcement of the programs which are required to participate in the State income and eligibility verification system (IEVS) as specified in § 272.8(a)(2), to the extent the food stamp information is useful in establishing or verifying eligibility or benefit amounts under those programs;
(iii) Persons directly connected with the verification of immigration status of aliens applying for food stamp benefits, through the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) Program, to the extent the information is necessary to identify the individual for verification purposes.
(iv) Persons directly connected with the administration of the Child Support Program under part D, title IV of the Social Security Act in order to assist in the administration of that program, and employees of the Secretary of Health and Human Services as necessary to assist in establishing or verifying eligibility or benefits under titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act;
(v) Employees of the Comptroller General's Office of the United States for audit examination authorized by any other provison of law; and
(vi) Local, State, or Federal law enforcement officials, upon their written request, for the purpose of investigating an alleged violation of the Food Stamp Act or regulation. The written request shall include the identity of the individual requesting the information and his authority to do so, violation being investigated, and the identity of the person on whom the information is requested.
(vii) Local, State or Federal law enforcement officers, upon written request, for the purpose of obtaining the address, social security number, and, if available, photograph of any household member, if the member is fleeing to avoid prosecution or custody for a crime, or an attempt to commit a crime, that would be classified as a felony (or in the State of New Jersey, a high misdemeanor), or is violating a condition of probation or parole imposed under a Federal or State law. The State agency shall not require a household to present photographic identification as a condition of eligibility and must accept any document that reasonably establishes the applicant's identity. The State agency shall also provide information regarding a household member, upon the written request of a law enforcement officer acting in his or her official capacity, where such member has information necessary for the apprehension or investigation of another member who is fleeing to avoid prosecution or custody for a felony, or has violated a condition of probation or parole. If a law enforcement officer provides documentation indicating that a household member is fleeing to avoid prosecution or custody for a felony, or has violated a condition of probation or parole, the State agency shall terminate the participation of the member. A request for information absent documentation would not be sufficient to terminate the member's participation. The State agency shall disclose only such information as is necessary to comply with a specific written request of a law enforcement agency authorized by this paragraph.
(2) Recipients of information released under paragraph (c)(1) of this section must adequately protect the information against unauthorized disclosure to persons or for purposes not specified in this section. In addition, information received through the IEVS must be protected from unauthorized disclosure as required by regulations established by the information provider. Information released to the State agency pursuant to section 6103(l) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 shall be subject to the safeguards established by the Secretary of the Treasury in section 6103(l) of the Internal Revenue Code and implemented by the Internal Revenue Service in its publication, Tax Information and Security Guidelines.
(3) If there is a written request by a responsible member of the household, its currently authorized representative, or a person acting on its behalf to review material and information contained in its casefile, the material and information contained in the casefile shall be made available for inspection during normal business hours. However, the State agency may withhold confidential information, such as the names of individuals who have disclosed information about the household without the household's knowledge, or the nature or status of pending criminal prosecutions.
(d) Information available to the public. (1) Federal regulations, Federal procedures embodied in FNS notices and policy memos, State Plans of Operation, and corrective action plans shall be available upon request for examination by members of the public during office hours at the State agency headquarters as well as at FNS regional and national offices. State agency handbooks shall be available for examination upon request at each local certification office within each project area as well as at the State agency headquarters and FNS Regional offices. State agencies, at their option, may require other offices within the State to maintain a copy of Federal regulations.
(2) Copies of regulations, plans of operation, State manuals, State corrective action plans, and Federal procedures may be obtained from FNS in accordance with part 295 of this chapter.
(e) Records and reports. Each State agency shall keep such records and submit such reports and other information as required by FNS.
(f) Retention of records. Each State agency shall retain all program records in an orderly fashion, for audit and review purposes, for a period of 3 years from the month of origin of each record. The State agency shall retain fiscal records and accountable documents for 3 years from the date of fiscal or administrative closure. Fiscal closure means that obligations for or against the Federal government have been liquidated. Administrative closure means that the State agency has determined and documented that no further action to liquidate the obligation is appropriate. Fiscal records and accountable documents include, but are not limited to claims and documentation of lost benefits. Retention methods for ATP cards are provided in part 274.
(g) Implementation. The implementation schedule for any amendment to the regulations shall be specified in the amendment.
(1) Amendment 132. Program changes required by Amendment 132 to the food stamp regulations shall be implemented as follows:
(i) State agencies shall eliminate the purchase requirement for all households on or before January 1, 1979. The State agency shall designate the month the purchase requirement is to be eliminated. If the month designated is other than January 1979, the State agency shall obtain prior approval of FNS. FNS shall approve the designation of months prior to January 1979, if the State agency demonstrates that an accounting procedure for the new issuance system will be in place. The submission dates for the forms FNS-250 and FNS-256, stipulated in § 274.8(a), shall be effective with the reports for the first month of issuance without a purchase requirement. For example, if EPR is implemented in January, the FNS-250 and FNS-256 for January would be due by March 17, 1979. The FNS-259 shall be submitted in accordance with § 274.8(a)(3) starting with the quarter beginning January 1979.
(ii) State agencies may implement all eligibility rules contained in part 273 and all issuance rules contained in part 274 at the same time the purchase requirement is eliminated, but in no case shall eligibility and issuance rules be implemented prior to elimination of the purchase requirement. State agencies may also implement portions of part 273 and part 274 separately after the purchase requirement is eliminated, provided that the eligibility rules setting the income standards, the income deductions and the household allotment calculation are implemented at the same time, and all rules are implemented no later than 3 months after the purchase requirement is eliminated. However, if a State agency implements EPR after December 1, 1978, it shall implement the certification and other issuance regulations for all new applications and recertifications no later than March 1, 1979.
(iii) State agencies shall have up to 4 months following the first day that applications are taken under the new rules, to convert the current caseload to the new program. Households coming due for recertification during this time will be converted to the new program at recertification. Remaining households shall be converted by a desk review during that 4-month period. The new income definition, deductions, and allotment calculation shall be completed for all households which are converted through a desk review. To the extent that the case file and other information available to the State agency permit, other eligibility criteria, such as work registration, resources, tax dependency, and alien status, shall be considered during the desk review. Otherwise, nonincome eligibility factors shall be deferred until the household's scheduled recertification. In no event shall a household's certification period be extended as a result of the desk review. Until recertified or converted by a desk review, a household shall continue to receive the bonus portion of the allotment, calculated in accordance with the income, deduction, and basis of issuance provisons of the Food Stamp Act of 1964. During the case file conversion period, some households may be participating on the basis of the old program rules and some on the new rules. Claims against households and restoration of benefits shall not be assessed provided that whichever program rules are in use for a particular case are correctly applied during the conversion period. However, errors caused by miscalculations based on the old or new program rules which result in an entitlement to restoration of lost benefits or an overissuance shall be assessed in accordance with §§ 273.17 and 273.18 of these regulations. The procedures for calculating lost benefits or overissuances as specified in §§ 273.17 and 273.18 shall be applied to any case found to be in error after the implementation of these procedures, even though the action which caused the error may have occurred prior to the date of implementation. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the preceding provisions of this paragraph, State agencies shall have up to four months following the first day that applications are taken under the new rules, to convert the current caseload to the new program. Households coming due for recertification during this time shall be converted to the new Program at recertification. However, if the State agency elects to schedule a desk review for these households earlier in the four-month period, conversion shall take place after the desk review. Further, State agencies may elect to do a point-in-time computer conversion in lieu of individual desk reviews. Such a computer conversion must cover entire categories of households, such as public assistance households, all households in a particular project area, all households currently in the computer files, etc., and the State agency may not elect to postpone the conversion of certain cases until recertification.
(iv) State agencies shall implement § 273.17 on the restoration of lost benefits on or before March 1, 1979. State agencies are encouraged to implement restoration of lost benefits concurrent with the elimination of the purchase requirement, especially as they relate to households which are entitled to lost benefits but which have been unable to receive them because the households are currently ineligible. State agencies shall notify currently ineligible households of the availability of their lost benefits by using one of the following procedures:
(A) State agencies which can readily identify the ineligible households which are entitled to lost benefits shall notify these households and restore the lost benefits within 4 months of the date restoration of lost benefits is implemented.
(B) Other State agencies shall issue a one-time-only press release notifying ineligible households that benefits can be restored. The press release shall advise households to contact the local food stamp office for more information. In addition, State agencies issuing the press release shall request the assistance of local Community Action Programs, general assistance agencies, legal services programs funded by the Legal Services Corporation, State employment service and unemployment compensation offices and other State and Federal governmental agencies providing services to low-income households, such as the Social Security Administration or the Community Services Administration. FNS shall provide the State agency with copies of the letter to be used to request assistance from outreach organizations and governmental agencies, and the fliers and posters which will be distributed upon request to such organizations and agencies. The language of the request for assistance, the notice to households and the poster is contained in the appendix to this rulemaking. State agencies shall mail the request for assistance and display posters in all local agency food stamp certification and issuance offices and welfare offices within 30 days of receipt from FNS. In project areas subject to the bilingual requirements of § 272.4(c), State agencies shall provide translations of the posters and fliers. Upon request, FNS shall provide Spanish posters and fliers. FNS shall reimburse State agencies for all costs of providing translations of the posters and fliers in languages other than Spanish. The State agency shall display the posters in its offices for six months. Households whose entitlement to benefits has been clearly established may apply for restoration of lost benefits under this paragraph for an indefinite period. Households whose entitlement to restoration of lost benefits was established more than three years prior to application for retroactive benefits under this paragraph shall be permitted to document entitlement if entitlement cannot be verified from State agency records. Such households shall sign an affidavit under penalty of perjury explaining their entitlement. In lieu of the requirements of this paragraph, State agencies may elect to provide notice pursuant to paragraph (g)(1)(iv)(A) of this section, in any or all project areas within the State.
(v) State agencies shall assume the authority to settle or adjust recipient claims delegated under § 271.4(b) on or before July 1, 1979.
(vi) State agencies without a currently approved utility standard required in § 273.9(d)(5) shall develop and implement an FNS approved utility standard on or before October 1, 1979. The State agency shall notify households certified at the time the utility standard is implemented of the availability of the standard and the conditions for its use in lieu of actual expenses. Households qualified to use the standard and which elect to do so shall have the standard applied as any other change in circumstances. Otherwise, actual utility expenses shall continue to be used for households qualified for the standard until their next recertification.
(vii) State agencies shall advise FNS of their determination of the need for bilingual services as required by § 272.4(c) on or before December 1, 1978. If the State agency cannot determine, based on available information sources, whether or not bilingual services are required in particular project areas, it shall so advise FNS on or before December 1, 1978. The State agency shall then develop procedures to record the number of non-English-speaking low-income households which make contact with its offices in these project areas as required by § 272.4(c)(6). These procedures shall be implemented on or before March 1, 1979, and shall continue for 6 months. The State agency shall submit to FNS its determination(s) of the need for bilingual services not later than 60 days following the end of the 6-month period. Bilingual outreach materials shall be available for distribution within 90 days of the State agency's determination that such materials are required. When the State agency determines that bilingual staff and certification materials are required, it shall also make a determination of whether volunteers or paid staff will be used. When volunteers are to be used, the State agency shall provide the materials and arrange for volunteers within 90 days. Paid staff and materials shall be provided within 180 days.
(viii) Prior to the certification of households under these regulations, State agencies shall implement staff training for the transition as required in § 272.4(e)(3), and training for outreach workers, receptionists, and others, as required in § 272.4(e)(1) (v) and (vi). Beginning with these training sessions for the transition, State agencies shall implement the requirements for public participation at training sessions, as specified in § 272.4(e)(1)(iv). State agencies shall designate a training coordinator and develop and implement the ongoing training program required by § 272.4(e) on or before July 1, 1979.
(ix) Elimination of the purchase requirement and the implementation of the basic financial and nonfinancial eligibility criteria and other coupon issuance criteria shall not be extended for any reason. FNS may grant extensions for other provisions contained in these rules, provided that the State agency presents compelling justification for a delay and establishes an acceptable alternative schedule in advance of the implementation deadline. In no event will FNS grant an extension in excess of 120 days from the specified implementation date. In those cases where extensions are granted, the relevant Department regulations under the Food Stamp Act of 1964 shall remain in effect until superseded by implementation of the new rules.
(2) Amendment 137. Program changes required by Amendment 137 to the food stamp regulations shall be implemented for all households initially applying for food stamp benefits no later than 90 days following the publication of this amendment.
(3) Amendment 146. The procedures contained in Amendment 146 shall be implemented by State agencies in time to be able to issue reduced food stamp allotments or to suspend or cancel allotments within 60 days after the date of publication of this amendment in the Federal Register.
(4) Amendment 141. State agencies shall begin planning for and conducting ongoing consultations with the Indian tribal organizations of the reservations within their jurisdiction as soon as possible after the effective date of this amendment. Portions of the State Plan of Operation to be submitted for fiscal year 1980 shall be subject to ITO comment as required by § 281.2(a). The funding authority in § 281.9 shall apply to budgets beginning with the fourth quarter of fiscal year 1979.
(5) Amendment 211. State agencies shall implement the new Social Security Number (SSN) provisions for new applicants no later than February 1, 1983 and convert the current caseload at recertification or when the case is otherwise reviewed, whichever occurs first. The citizenship provisions must be implemented on or before April 1, 1983. All other provisions shall be implemented at State agency discretion.
(6) Amendment 149. Changes to States' Quality Control systems as required by this amendment shall be implemented as follows:
(i) All State agencies shall continue conducting modified QC reviews [in accordance with regulations published February 9, 1979 ( 43 FR 8548 )] through August 31, 1979 and submit Form FNS-133 to FNS by September 15.
(ii) State agencies shall implement the requirements in subpart C of part 275 for conducting QC reviews no later than October 1, 1979. A quality control sampling plan (as specified in § 275.11(a) of these regulations) must be submitted by each State to the appropriate FNS Regional Office no later than September 1, 1979 (30 days prior to implementation). This will allow time necessary for approval of the plans prior to the October 1 implementation date.
(iii) State agencies are encouraged to implement QC September 1, if possible. States opting to implement early would not be required to operate for this month under an approved sampling plan. These States must, however, submit sampling plans in accordance with paragraph (g)(6)(ii) of this section. The month of September (sampling month) would serve as a test phase. Therefore, data collected for the sample month would not be required to be submitted to FNS or used in determining a State's cumulative allotment error rate.
(iv) Regulations published October 17, 1978 ( 43 FR 47846) which implement major aspects of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 provide for the conversion of cases via a desk review ( § 272.1(g)(1)(iii) ). Desk converted cases would be converted to the new eligibility criteria for income and deductions but may not have been converted to the new criteria for resources, work registration, tax dependency, etc. Therefore, States will have households participating in the program based on some of the eligibility criteria of the 1964 Food Stamp Act. Desk converted cases as provided in § 272.1(g)(1)(iii) and cases which should have been converted via desk review (some cases may not undergo the conversion process as required), shall be subject to standard QC review procedures. When the QC reviewer detects a variance in one of these cases which results from an element of eligibility which was not converted and was not required to have been converted, the reviewer shall disregard the variance. When the reviewer detects a variance in a case when an element of eligibility was, or should have been converted, the reviewer shall handle the variance like any other QC variance as identified in § 275.12 of these regulations. It is possible that desk converted cases may continue to show up in QC samples through February 1980.
(v) State agencies shall submit reports of QC review activity (one copy to the appropriate FNS Regional Office and one copy to the Deputy Administrator for Family Nutrition Programs, Washington, DC) as follows:
(A) Each State agency shall report the monthly progress of sample selection and completion on a form provided by FNS. This report shall be submitted to FNS so that it is received no later than 10 days after the end of each month, beginning December 10, 1979. Each report shall reflect sampling and review activity for the previous month.
(B) Each State agency shall report the results of QC review activity on a form provided by FNS. This report shall be submitted to FNS so that it is received no later than 90 days from the end of the reporting period.
(C) Corrections to information on the above reports requested by FNS must be submitted within 10 days of the request.
(7) Amendment 151. (i) State agencies shall implement the program changes required by amendment for all new applications and recertifications no later than January 1, 1980. Currently eligible households shall be converted at recertification or when they request conversion to the new deduction system by responding to the notice required in paragraph (g)(7)(iii) of this section or by otherwise requesting recomputation.
(ii) State agencies may but are not required to convert the current caseload to the shelter deduction system provided for in § 273.9(d)(5) through desk reviews or by computer search. State agencies are encouraged to convert eligible households to the new shelter deduction as soon as possible to allow these households to benefit during the winter months.
(iii) Notices explaining the changes and their applicability shall be available at all food stamp certification offices and shall also be mailed or otherwise provided individually to all currently certified households at least once prior to implementation. At a minimum, these notices shall be distributed in the month prior to implementation either with the ATP card or separately but no later than the 15th of the month. The notice shall advise the household of the availability of the new deductions and the procedures for reporting medical and shelter expenses. If the State agency can identify those households to which this amendment would apply, only these households need to receive the notice.
(iv) Fliers advising of the changes contained in this amendment shall be made available to public and general assistance offices, local Social Security offices, and any interested organizations, particularly those dealing with the elderly or disabled or those places where the elderly or disabled congregate, such as housing units. Also, posters explaining the changes shall be displayed in food stamp certification offices and shall be made available to public and general assistance offices, local Social Security offices and any other interested groups. State agencies shall notify all organizations on its outreach contact list of the changes and of the availability of posters and fliers. State agencies shall issue press releases to the news media advising of the impending program changes.
(v) For the first two months of implementation, State agencies shall have up to 30 days to process changes in medical and shelter costs reported in conjunction with this amendment. The change shall be effective for the first issuance following that 30-day period with restoration of lost benefits to the point at which the change would normally become effective under § 273.12. The State agency may request an extension of processing time of up to 60 days to act on these changes. The State agency shall submit appropriate documentation to FNS for the State or any part of the State for which such an extension is requested. After the first two months the State agency shall act on these changes in accordance with the normal processing standards in § 273.12(c). For changes reported during a period of two months following a State agency's implementation of this amendment, verification of shelter and medical expenses required by § 273.2(f) must be obtained prior to the issuance of the third normal monthly allotment after the change is reported. If the household does not provide verification, the household's benefits will revert to the original level. State agencies are encouraged to complete such verification and, if needed, conduct an interview prior to processing the change. After this initial period, State agencies will verify these expenses in accordance with the normal timeliness standards.
(vi) Medical expenses shall be subject to the same rounding procedures used for shelter expenses in § 273.10(e)(1)(ii). This procedure shall be in effect until implementation of amendments to § 273.10(e)(1)(ii).
(vii) No household shall be entitled to restoration of lost benefits under this amendment for any period prior to the time the State agency has implemented its provisions. For the initial months after implementation, during which the longer processing time allowed under this amendment is in effect, a household shall be entitled to restoration of lost benefits back to the month the change would have become effective under the normal processing standards in § 273.12(c). After this initial period, no household shall be entitled to restoration of lost benefits unless the State agency does not act on reported changes in accordance with the timeliness standards in § 273.12(c) or the household is otherwise entitled under the provisions of § 273.17.
(viii) Implementation of these program changes falls in the last three months of the October 1979 to March 1980 reporting period for quality control. For the months of January, February and March 1980, all cases in which a household member is either 60 years of age or over, receives SSI, or disability benefits under title II of the Social Security Act will be subject to standard quality control review procedures, except that any varying information regarding medical deductions and/or shelter deductions in excess of the cap found in the review shall be disregarded in determining errors. Such information shall be noted on the Face Sheet of Form FNS-245 under part VII, Discrepancies and Other Information, and reported to the State agency for appropriate action on an individual case basis. Starting with the April-September 1980 reporting period, when the reviewer detects a variance in the medical deduction and/or the shelter deduction in excess of the cap, and these expenses were reported at application, recertification or during the certification period, the reviewer shall handle the variance like any other QC variance as identified in § 275.12 of the Performance Reporting System regulations.
(8) Amendment 152. The rounding procedure set forth in § 273.10(e) shall be in effect for new applications and recertifications no later than July 1, 1980. The State agency shall have up to 12 months following the implementation date of final regulations to convert the current caseload to the rounding procedure that is chosen under § 273.10(e)(1)(ii). The State agency shall have a choice of the following three options in converting households that are already participating at the time the new rounding procedure goes into effect:
(i) Convert households at recertification; (ii) convert households by conducting a desk review; or (iii) convert all households, or all households in a certain category, at a point-in-time. For example, the State agency may convert all public assistance households or all households in a project area by computer. Point-in-time mass conversions shall be conducted no later than July 1, 1980. In any case, the State agency shall advise FNS regarding which rounding and caseload conversion procedures are chosen and when the conversion will be completed.
(9) Amendment 154. State agencies shall implement the program changes required by Amendment 154 as follows:
(i) State agencies shall begin requiring social security numbers for all new applications and recertifications no later than the first day of the first month which commences 120 days from the date of publication of final rules. Participating households shall be requested to provide or apply for social security numbers (SSN) for appropriate household members at recertification, or at the time of office contact for any other reason. The State agency shall provide advance notification of this requirement and the consequences of noncompliance by sending an individual notice to all participating households and by providing press releases for dissemination through the media. The individual notices may be sent as either a one-time notice prior to implementation and/or with the notices of expiration of a certification period.
(ii) If any affected member(s) of a household does not have his or her SSN readily available at the time of application, recertification, or any office contact, he or she shall follow the procedures for furnishing an SSN in accordance with § 273.6 as amended.
(iii) State agencies shall implement the fraud claims procedures contained in §§ 273.16 and 273.18. Implementation shall be no later than the first of the month following the 120th day from the date of publication of final rules. By implementation the State agency shall also have an approved system for handling claims, including a method for accounting for the fifty percent retention of the value of funds collected from fraud claims. Any collection action on fraud claims after implementation is subject to the fifty percent retention including claims established under the Food Stamp Act of 1964 as amended and under the Food Stamp Act of 1977, as amended. However, only individuals found guilty of fraud through an administrative fraud hearing or through a court of law under regulations promulgating the Food Stamp Act of 1977, as amended, are subject to the recovery provisions in §§ 273.16 and 273.18 retroactive to implementation of fraud claim provisions under the 1977 Act.
(10) Amendment 207. State agencies shall implement the changes in the rules required by Amendment 207 no later than January 1, 1983. Disabled parents who requested and were denied separate household status on or after September 8, 1982, will be entitled to benefits retroactive to the dates of their applications for separate household status.
(11) Amendment 160. State agencies shall implement the provisions of this amendment as follows:
(i) State agencies shall submit the initial State corrective action plans so they are received by FNS within 90 days of publication of these regulations as required in § 275.22(a) of this chapter. This initial plan shall contain all known deficiencies in the State which meet the criteria set forth in § 275.16(b) of this chapter and shall identify, for each such deficiency, the items required in § 275.17(b) of this chapter. Project areas also shall prepare and submit to the State corrective action plans for all identified deficiencies. These plans shall be submitted within 60 days of identification of a deficiency and shall include any deficiencies known to the project area prior to publication of these regulations for which corrective action has not been completed. Ninety days after publication of these regulations, all provisions of §§ 275.15, 275.16, 275.17, 275.18, 275.19 and 275.22 of this chapter shall be implemented.
(ii) State agencies shall have submitted management evaluation (ME) review schedules within 90 days of publication of these regulations as required by § 275.20 of this chapter. These review schedules shall contain all information required by § 275.20 of this chapter and shall be adhered to unless a change is necessary. If a modification to an ME review schedule is necessary at any time in the review period, the State shall notify the appropriate FNS Regional Office of the modification.
(iii) State agencies shall implement ME reviews within 90 days of publication of these regulations, following the provisions of §§ 275.5, 275.6, 275.7, 275.8, and 275.9 of this chapter. Any waiver from the requirements of § 275.7 or § 275.9 must be requested 60 days prior to its implementation as identified in § 275.5(c). Development or submission of requests for a deviation shall not delay implementation of the ME review sub-system past the required implementation date.
(iv) All provisions of these regulations which are not addressed in paragraphs (g)(11) (i) and (ii) of this section shall be implemented within 90 days of publication of these regulations. While this includes the requirements for a Performance Reporting System Coordinator and designation of an organizational entity for effecting corrective action as identified in § 275.2(a) of this chapter, this position and designation may be established on an interim basis; provided that the provisions of § 275.2(a) of this chapter are fully implemented by October 1, 1980. During this interim period States shall ensure that all responsibilities of the coordinator or entity are adhered to.
(12) [Reserved]
(13) Amendment 162. Program changes required by Amendment 162 of the Food Stamp Program regulations shall be implemented as follows:
(i) The fee agent system for conducting interviews is currently in use and its continuing use is approved.
(ii) All other rules except paragraph (p) of § 272.8 shall be implemented as soon as practical but no later than 90 days following the date of final rulemaking. A fee agent training plan must be submitted within 45 days of the date of final rulemaking. Paragraph (p) of § 272.8 concerning points and hours shall be implemented following the time standards contained therein.
(14) Amendment 142. (i) State agencies shall restore lost benefits to households who had their eligibility or benefit levels adversely affected because Federal energy assistance payments were counted as income and/or resources. Entitlement to restoration of lost benefits shall be retroactive to October 1, 1979 for payments received under CSA's ECAP; to November 27, 1979 for payments received under DHEW's EAP; and to January 7, 1980 for the one-time-only energy assistance payments to SSI households in accordance with Pub. L. 96-126.
(ii) State agencies shall use the following procedures for notifying households of entitlement to restoration of benefits under Amendment 142:
(A) State agencies which can readily identify those SSI households who received the one-time payment and those households who received payments under the Energy Crisis Assistance or Energy Allowance Programs which lost benefits because their energy assistance payment was counted as income and/or resources must notify such households of entitlement to restoration of lost benefits.
(B) State agencies which cannot readily identify households entitled to restoration of lost benefits due to the circumstances described in § 272.1(g)(14)(i) must issue a one-time-only press release to notify households which have participated since October 1, 1979 of possible entitlement to restoration of lost benefits. State agencies may, at their option, use additional means of notification such as posters.
(15) Amendment 163. State agencies shall implement the provisions in this amendment no later than July 1, 1980.
(16) Amendment 174. State agencies shall implement the program changes required by Amendment 174 as follows:
(i) State agencies shall implement the income/resource disregard provision for Federal, State, and local energy assistance payments ( §§ 273.8 and 273.9 of this subchapter) no later than October 1, 1981.
(ii) State agencies shall implement the new maximum resource limit and the exemption of vehicles for the physically disabled ( § 273.12 of this subchapter) no later than October 1, 1981 for all new applicants. State agencies shall convert the current caseload to the new resource limit at the time of recertification, or at any other time the casefile is reviewed prior to recertification.
(iii) State agencies shall implement the student participation provisions of this amendment ( §§ 273.1, 273.2, 273.5, 273.7 and 273.11 of this subchapter) no later than October 1, 1981 for all new applicants. Current caseload shall be converted at the time of recertification or any time the casefile is reviewed prior to recertification.
(17) Amendment 158. (i) The procedures contained in part 273 regarding SSI food stamp joint application processing shall become effective on August 1, 1980 for all State agencies except that:
(A) In those areas designated as SSI/Elderly Cash-out Demonstration Project Sites or Demonstration Project Comparison Sites, implementation of these provisions will be delayed. In addition, Social Security office service areas which contain either demonstration projects sites or demonstration comparison sites will be temporarily exempted, in their entirety, from implementation of these provisions whether or not their boundaries are co-terminous with demonstration project sites and/or demonstration comparison site boundaries. This temporary exemption removes the administrative problem of the same SSA office simultaneously operating under both joint processing and cash-out regulations. The procedures contained in this rulemaking shall become effective for these project areas on the first day of the month following the ninetieth day after the termination of the demonstration project.
(B) State agencies in SSI cash-out States as defined in § 273.20 shall not implement the provisions of this rulemaking. In the event an SSI cash-out State loses that status, the State agency shall implement the provisions of this rulemaking on the first day of the month following the ninetieth day after the Secretary of Health and Human Services determines that the State no longer qualifies for cash-out status.
(ii) State agencies shall distribute fliers advising of the changes contained in this amendment to public and general assistance offices, local Social Security offices, any interested organizations, particularly those dealing with the elderly or disabled, and those places where the elderly or disabled congregate, such as housing units senior citizens centers, and elderly feeding programs. Also, posters explaining the changes shall be displayed in food stamp certification offices and shall be made available to public and general assistance offices, local Social Security offices and any other interested groups. State agencies shall notify all organizations on their outreach contact lists of the changes and of the availability of posters and fliers. State agencies shall issue press releases to the news media advising of the impending program changes. FNS will supply State agencies with model language describing the changes which State agencies may use in their publications.
(18) Amendment 168. The provisions of Amendment 168 shall be effective on the thirtieth day following their publication. Any claims filed against State agencies for incidents that occur after the publication of this amendment shall be filed in accordance with the provisions of this amendment. Any claims filed against State agencies for incidents that occurred prior to the publication of this amendment shall be filed in accordance with the rules in effect at the time they occurred. However, the administrative review procedures contained in this amendment shall be applicable to all claims that are filed after the effective date of this amendment.
(19) -(20) [Reserved]