113 HR 1355 IH: State Nutrition Assistance Flexibility Act of 2013
U.S. House of Representatives
2013-03-21
text/xml
EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
1.Short title; table of
contents
(a)This Act may be cited as the State Nutrition Assistance Flexibility Act of
2013
.
(b)The table of contents of this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Purpose.
Sec. 3. Grants to States.
Sec. 4. Administrative and fiscal accountability.
Sec. 5. Nondiscrimination provisions.
Sec. 6. Definitions.
Sec. 7. Repeals.
Sec. 8. Severability.
Sec. 9. Effective date.
2.The purpose of this Act is to provide
Federal financial assistance to the States, in the form of a single grant, to
allow the States maximum flexibility in providing, and financing the provision
of, supplemental food and nutrition assistance.
3.
(a)Subject to the requirements of this Act,
each State that meets the requirements of
subsection (d) is entitled to receive from
the Secretary of the Treasury a grant for each quarter of each of fiscal years
2014 through 2023 in an amount equal to 25 percent of the amount that bears the
same relation to the funds appropriated by
subsection (b) for a fiscal year as the
number of individuals who reside within the State and are members of families
with incomes below the poverty line for the most recent fiscal year for which
satisfactory data are available, bears to the total number of such individuals
who reside in all States for such fiscal year.
(b)Out of any money in the Treasury of the
United States not otherwise appropriated, there are appropriated for each of
fiscal years 2014 through 2023, $37,642,040,000.
(c)Requirements
relating to intergovernmental financingThe Secretary of the
Treasury shall make the transfer of funds under grants under subsection (a)
directly to each State in accordance with the requirements of section 6503 of
title 31, United States Code.
(d)In order to
receive a grant under
subsection (a), the Governor of a State
shall certify to the Secretary of the Treasury—
(1)that the supplemental food and nutrition
assistance that will be provided by the State using such grant will include
limitations on the eligible uses of benefits that are at least as restrictive
as the limitations in place for the supplemental nutrition assistance program
established under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) as
of May 31, 2012; and
(2)that the State
will use a portion of the grant to establish a work activation program
described in
subsection (e) for able-bodied individuals
receiving supplemental food and nutrition assistance;
(e)
(1)The work activation program established by a State
under
subsection (d)(2) shall met the following
requirements:
(A)The average number of able-bodied
individuals receiving supplemental food and nutrition assistance that shall
participate in the program in the State for each month of a fiscal year shall
be based on the State’s relative proportion of able-bodied individuals
receiving supplemental food and nutrition assistance for the most recent month
of the most recent fiscal year for which satisfactory data is available,
compared to the total number of such individuals in all States for such month,
except that, each month, not less than a total of 1,500,000 individuals shall
participate in 1 or more such work activation programs.
(B)Each able-bodied
individual participating in the work activation program—
(i)shall at the time
of application for supplemental food and nutrition assistance and every 12
months thereafter, register for employment in a manner prescribed by the
Governor of the State;
(ii)shall, each month of participation in the
program, participate in—
(I)2
days of supervised job search for 8 hours per day at the program site;
and
(II)5 days of
off-site activity for 8 hours per day;
(iii)shall not refuse
without good cause to accept an offer of employment, at a site or plant not
subject to a strike or lockout at the time of the refusal, at a wage not less
than the higher of—
(I)the applicable
Federal or State minimum wage; or
(II)80 percent of the
wage that would have governed had the minimum hourly rate under section 6(a)(1)
of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1)) been applicable
to the offer of employment;
(iv)shall not refuse
without good cause to provide a State agency with sufficient information to
allow the State agency to determine the employment status or the job
availability of the individual; and
(v)shall not
voluntarily—
(I)quit a job;
or
(II)reduce work
effort and, after the reduction, the individual is working less than 30 hours
per week, unless another adult in the same family unit increases employment at
the same time by an amount equal to the reduction in work effort by the first
adult.
(C)An able-bodied
individual participating in the work activation program who fails to comply
with 1 or more of the requirements described in subparagraph (B)—
(i)shall be subject
to a sanction period of not less than a 2-month period beginning the day of the
individual’s first failure to comply with such requirements during which the
individual shall not receive any supplemental food and nutrition assistance;
and
(ii)may
receive supplemental food and nutrition assistance after the individual is in
compliance with such requirements for not less than a 1-month period beginning
after the completion of such sanction period, except that such assistance may
not be provided retroactively.
(2)A State that does not
meet the participation requirements under
paragraph (1)(A) for the preceding
fiscal year, as determined by calculating the average monthly participation for
such year, shall be subject to a reduction of grant funds for the first full
quarter after the Secretary of the Treasury determines that the State failed to
meet such participation requirements in an amount equal to the greater
of—
(A)10 percent of the
grant funds the State would have otherwise received for such quarter; or
(B)a percentage of
funds that equals the percentage by which the State failed to meet such
participation requirements.
(f)
(1)Except as provided in
paragraph (2), amounts received by a
State under
subsection (a) for any fiscal year shall be
expended by the State in such fiscal year or in the succeeding fiscal
year.
(2)Use of rainy day
fund permittedOf the amounts received by a State under
subsection (a), the State may set aside, in
a separate account, such amounts as the State deems necessary to provide,
without fiscal limitation, supplemental food and nutrition assistance and
services for indigent individuals during—
(A)periods of
unexpectedly high rates of unemployment; or
(B)periods related to
circumstances that are not described in
subparagraph (A) and that cause
unexpected increases in the need for such assistance and services for such
individuals.
(3)Funds remaining
after fiscal year 2023If, after 2023, a State has funds in the
account under paragraph (2), the State may only expend such funds if such funds
are used in a manner that is permitted under
subsection (g), as such subsection is in
effect on September 30, 2023.
(g)A State may only use the amounts received under subsection
(a) as follows:
(1)For the purpose under
section 2, except that nothing in this Act
shall be construed as limiting the flexibility of a State to determine which
providers of such assistance and services qualify to receive payment from a
grant made to the State under
subsection (a).
(2)Authority to use
portion of federal assistance for other welfare-related programs
(A)Subject to the limit under
subparagraph (B), to carry out a State
program pursuant to any or all of the following provisions of law:
(i)Part A of title IV of the Social Security
Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).
(ii)Section 1616 of
such Act (42 U.S.C. 1382e).
(B)A
State may not use more than 30 percent of the amount received under
subsection (a) for a fiscal year to carry
out a State program, or programs, under
subparagraph (A).
(C)Any amounts that are used under subparagraph (A)—
(i)shall not be
subject to any of the requirements of
subsection (f) or
section 5; and
(ii)shall be subject
to—
(I)the audit
requirements under
section 4; and
(II)any requirements
that apply to Federal funds provided directly for such State program.
(h)No funding for
illegal aliensExcept as provided under this Act, no funds
appropriated in this Act may be used to provide supplemental food and nutrition
assistance to an alien who is not lawfully admitted for permanent residence or
otherwise permanently residing in the United States under color of law.
(i)Nothing
in this Act shall be construed as providing an individual with an entitlement
to supplemental food and nutrition assistance under this Act.
4.Administrative
and fiscal accountability
(a)
(1)Contract with
approved auditing entityNot later than October 1, 2014, and
annually thereafter, a State shall contract with an approved auditing entity
(as defined under
paragraph (3)(B)) for purposes of
conducting an audit under
paragraph (2) (with respect to the fiscal
year ending September 30 of such year).
(2)Under a contract under
paragraph (1), an approved auditing
entity shall conduct an audit of the expenditures or transfers made by a State
from amounts received under a grant under this
section 3(a) with respect to the fiscal year
which such audit covers, to determine the extent to which such expenditures and
transfers were expended in accordance with this Act.
(3)
(A)With respect to a State, the audit under
paragraph (2) shall be conducted by an
approved auditing entity in accordance with generally accepted auditing
principles.
(B)For purposes of this section, the term
approved auditing entity means, with respect to a State, an entity
that is—
(i)approved by the
Secretary of the Treasury;
(ii)approved by the
chief executive officer of the State; and
(iii)independent of
any Federal, State, or local agency.
(4)Not later than December 31, 2014, and annually thereafter,
a State shall submit the results of the audit under
paragraph (2) (with respect to the fiscal
year ending on September 30 of such year) to the State legislature and to the
Secretary of the Treasury.
(5)Additional
accounting requirementsThe provisions of chapter 75 of title 31,
United States Code, shall apply to the audit requirements of this
section.
(b)Reimbursement
and penaltyIf, through an
audit conducted under
subsection (a), an approved auditing entity
finds that any amounts paid to a State under a grant under
section 3(a) were not expended in accordance
with this Act, the State shall pay to the Treasury of the United States any
such amount, plus 10 percent of such amount as a penalty.
(c)Annual reporting
requirements
(1)Not later than January 31, 2015, and annually thereafter,
each State shall submit to the Secretary of the Treasury and the State
legislature a report on the activities carried out by the State during the most
recently completed fiscal year with funds received by the State under a grant
under section 3(a) for such fiscal year.
(2)A
report under
paragraph (1) shall, with respect to a
fiscal year—
(A)contain the
results of the audit conducted by an approved auditing entity for a State for
such fiscal year, in accordance with the requirements of
subsection (a) of this section;
(B)specify the amount
of the grant made to the State under
section 3(a) that is used to carry out a
program under
section 3(f)(2);
(C)specify the number
of participants in the work activation program described in
section 3(e) in the State;
(D)specify the number
of participants in such program that found work through the program, including
the number of such participants who were hired as part-time employees and the
number of such participants who were hired as full-time employees; and
(E)be in such form
and contain such other information as the State determines is necessary to
provide—
(i)an
accurate description of the activities conducted by the State for the purpose
described under
section 2 and any other use of funds permitted
under subsections (f) and (g) of
section 3; and
(ii)a
complete record of the purposes for which amounts were expended in accordance
with this Act.
(3)Conformity with
accounting principlesAny financial information in the report
under
paragraph (1) shall be prepared and
reported in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, including
the provisions of chapter 75 of title 31, United States Code.
(4)A State shall make copies of the reports required
under this section available on a public Web site and shall make copies
available in other formats upon request.
(d)Failure To
comply with requirementsThe Secretary of the Treasury shall not
make any payment to a State under a grant authorized by
section 3(a)—
(1)if an audit for a
State is not submitted as required under
subsection (a), during the period between
the date such audit is due and the date on which such audit is submitted;
or
(2)if a State fails
to submit a report as required under
subsection (c), during the period between
the date such report is due and the date on which such report is
submitted.
(e)Administrative
supervision and oversight
(1)Limited role for
secretary of treasury and the attorney general
(A)The
authority of the Secretary of the Treasury under this Act is limited to—
(i)promulgating
regulations, issuing rules, or publishing guidance documents to the extent
necessary for purposes of implementing
subsections (a)(3)(B),
(b), and
(d);
(ii)making quarterly
payments to the States under grants under this Act in accordance with
section 3(a);
(iii)approving
entities under
subsection (a)(3)(B) for purposes of
the audits required under
subsection (a);
(iv)withholding
payment to a State of a grant under
subsection (d); and
(v)exercising the
authority relating to nondiscrimination that is specified in
section 5(b).
(B)The authority of the Attorney General to supervise the
amounts received by a State under
section 3(a) is limited to the authority
under
section 5(c).
(2)
(A)Except as provided under
paragraph (1), an administrative officer,
employee, department, or agency of the United States (including the Secretaries
of Agriculture and Health and Human Services) may not—
(i)supervise—
(I)the amounts
received by the States under
section 3(a); or
(II)the use of such
amounts by the States; or
(ii)promulgate
regulations or issue rules in accordance with this Act.
(B)Limitation on
secretaries of agriculture and Health and Human ServicesThe
Secretaries of Agriculture and Health and Human Services shall have no
authority over any provision of this Act.
(f)Reservation of
state powersNothing in this section shall be construed to limit
the power of a State, including the power of a State to pursue civil and
criminal penalties under State law against any individual or entity that
misuses, or engages in fraud or abuse related to the funds provided to a State
under this Act.
5.Nondiscrimination
provisions
(a)Nondiscrimination
against individualsNo individual shall be excluded from
participation in, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination under,
any program or activity funded in whole or in part with amounts paid to a State
under this
section 3(a) on the basis of such
individual’s—
(1)disability under
section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794);
(2)sex under title IX
of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.); or
(3)race, color, or
national origin under title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d
et seq.).
(b)
(1)If the Secretary of the Treasury determines that a State
or an entity that has received funds from amounts paid to a State under a grant
under section 3(a) has failed to comply with a provision of law referred to in
subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury shall notify the chief executive
officer of the State of such failure to comply and shall request that such
chief executive officer secure such compliance.
(2)Refusal to
secure complianceIf, not later than 60 days after receiving
notification under
paragraph (1), the chief executive
officer of a State fails or refuses to secure compliance with the provision of
law referred to in such notification, the Secretary of the Treasury may—
(A)refer the matter
to the Attorney General with a recommendation that an appropriate civil action
be instituted; or
(B)exercise the
powers and functions provided under section 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of
1973 (29 U.S.C. 794a), title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C.
1681 et seq.), or title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et
seq.) (as applicable).
(c)If a matter is referred to the Attorney General under
subsection (b)(2)(A), or the Attorney General has reason to believe that a
State or entity has failed to comply with a provision of law referred to in
subsection (a), the Attorney General may bring a civil action in an appropriate
district court of the United States for such relief as may be appropriate,
including injunctive relief.
6.For purposes of this Act:
(1)The term
able-bodied individual means an individual who—
(A)is more than 18,
and less than 63, years of age;
(B)is not physically
or mentally incapable of work;
(C)is not the
full-time caretaker of a disabled adult dependent; and
(D)does not have a
dependent child.
(2)Physically or
Mentally Incapable of WorkThe term physically or mentally
incapable of work shall mean an individual—
(A)who currently
receives benefits from the Supplemental Security Income program or another
program that provides recurring benefits to individuals because the individual
is disabled and unable to work; or
(B)who has been
medically certified as physically or mentally incapable of work and who has a
credible pending application for enrollment in the Supplemental Security Income
program or another program that provides recurring benefits to individuals
because the individual is disabled and unable to work.
(3)The term poverty
line means the poverty line (as defined by the Office of Management and
Budget and revised annually in accordance with section 673(2) of the Community
Services Block Grant Act) applicable to a family of the size involved.
(4)The term
supervised job search means a job search program which has the
following characteristics:
(A)The job search
occurs at an official location where the recipient's presence and activity can
be directly observed, supervised, and monitored.
(B)The recipient's
entry, time on site, and exit from the official job search location are
recorded in a manner which prevents fraud.
(C)The recipient is
expected to remain and undertake job search activities at the job search center
except for brief, authorized departures for specified off-site
interviews.
(D)The amount of time
the recipient is observed and monitored engaging in job search at the official
location is recorded.
(5)Supplemental
food and nutrition assistanceThe term supplemental food and
nutrition assistance shall be defined by a State with respect to use of
such term for purposes of the application of this Act to the State.
(6)The term State has the meaning
given the term in section 3 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C.
2012) as of May 31, 2012.
(7)The term
work activation means—
(A)supervised job
search;
(B)community service
activities;
(C)education and job
training for individuals who are family heads or married spouses of family
heads; or
(D)drug or alcohol
treatment.
7.The following provisions are
repealed:
(1)The Emergency Food
Assistance Act of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 7501 et seq.).
(2)Section 5 of the
Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973, (commonly known as the
commodity supplemental food program) (7 U.S.C. 612c note).
(3)Section 4402 of
Public Law 107–171 (relating to the seniors farmers’ market nutrition program)
(7 U.S.C. 3007).
(4)The Food and
Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.).
(5)Section 19 of the
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769a).
8.If any provision of this Act, or the
application of such provision to any person or circumstance, is found to be
unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act, or the application of that
provision to other persons or circumstances, shall not be affected.
9.This Act and the
amendments made by this Act shall take effect with respect to items and
services furnished on or after October 1, 2013.