[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 235 (Monday, December 8, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64557-64558]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-31972]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food And Consumer Service
RIN 0584-AC57
Food Stamp Program: Maximum Allotments for the 48 States and the
District of Columbia, and Income Eligibility Standards for the 48
States and the District of Columbia, Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the
Virgin Islands
AGENCY: Food and Consumer Service, USDA.
ACTION: General notice.
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SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is to update for Fiscal Year 1998
the maximum allotment levels, which are the basis for determining the
amount of food stamps which participating households receive and the
gross and net income limits for food stamp eligibility. These
adjustments, required by law, take into account changes in the cost of
living and statutory adjustments since the amounts were last
calculated.
DATES: This notice is effective December 8, 1997.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Margaret Werts Batko, Assistant Chief,
Certification Policy Branch, Program Development Division, Food Stamp
Program, Food and Consumer Service, USDA, 3101 Park Center Drive,
Alexandria, Virginia 22302, (703) 305-2516. The e-mail address is
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Implementation
As required by Section 3(o) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (the
Act), 7 U.S.C. 2012(o), State agencies should have implemented the
adjustments to the maximum food stamp allotments reflected in this
notice on October 1, 1997, based on advance notice of the new amounts.
In accordance with regulations published at 47 FR 46485-46487 (October
19, 1982), annual statutory adjustments to the maximum allotment levels
and income eligibility standards are issued by general notices
published in the Federal Register and not through rulemaking
proceedings.
Classification
Executive Order 12866
This notice has been determined to be not significant for purposes
of Executive Order 12866 and therefore has not been reviewed by the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
Executive Order 12372
The Food Stamp Program is listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance under No. 10.551. For the reasons set forth in the final
rule related notice to 7 CFR part 3015, subpart V (48 FR 29116, June
24, 1983), this program is excluded from the scope of Executive Order
12372 which requires intergovernmental consultation with State and
local officials.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services has
certified that this action will not have a significant economic impact
and will not have an impact on a substantial number of small entities.
The action will increase the amount of money spent on food through food
stamps. However, this money will be distributed among the nation's food
vendors, so the effect on any one vendor will not be significant.
Paperwork Reduction Act
This action does not contain reporting or recordkeeping
requirements subject to approval by OMB pursuant to the provisions of
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3507.
Unfunded Mandate Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA)
Title II of UMRA establishes requirements for Federal agencies to
assess the effects of their regulatory actions on State, local, and
tribal governments and the private sector. Under Section 202 of the
UMRA, FCS generally must prepare a written statement, including a cost-
benefit analysis, for proposed and final rules with ``Federal
mandates'' that may result in expenditures to State, local, or tribal
governments, in the aggregate, or to the private sector, of $100
million or more in any one year. When such a statement is needed for a
rule, Section 205 of the UMRA generally requires FCS to identify and
consider a reasonable number of regulatory alternatives and adopt the
least costly, more cost-effective or least burdensome alternative that
achieves the objectives of the rule.
This notice contains no Federal mandates (under the regulatory
provisions of Title II of the UMRA) for State, local, and tribal
governments or the private sector of $100 million or more in any one
year. Thus this rule is not subject to the requirements of sections 202
and 205 of the UMRA.
[[Page 64558]]
Background
Income Eligibility Standards
The eligibility of households for the Food Stamp Program, except
those in which, in accordance with Section 5(a) of the Act, 7 U.S.C.
2014(a), all members are receiving ``benefits under a State program
funded under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act [],
supplemental security income [SSI] benefits under title XVI of the
Social Security Act [], or aid to the aged, blind, or disabled under
title I, X, XIV, or XV of the Social Security Act. * * *'' , is
determined by comparing their incomes to the appropriate income
eligibility standards (limits). Pursuant to Section 5(c)(2) of the Act,
households containing an elderly or disabled member are required to
have qualifying net incomes, while households which do not contain an
elderly or disabled member must have qualifying net incomes and
qualifying gross incomes. Households in which all members are receiving
Social Security Act title IV benefits or SSI are ``categorically
eligible;'' under 7 CFR 273.2(j)(2) their incomes do not have to be
below the income limits.
As provided in Section 5(c)(1) of the Act, the net and gross income
limits applicable to food stamp eligibility are derived from the
Federal income poverty guidelines established under Section 673(2) of
the Community Services Block Grant Act, 42 U.S.C. 9902(2). The net
income limit is 100 percent of the poverty line. The gross income limit
is 130 percent of the poverty line. The guidelines are updated
annually. Based on that update, the Food Stamp Program's income
eligibility standards are updated each October 1. Instructions for
implementation of the required adjustments for October 1, 1997, were
issued by the Deputy Administrator of the Food and Consumer Service,
Food Stamp Program, in a July 29, 1997, memorandum to all State Food
Stamp Program Directors. The revised income eligibility standards for
the 48 States (including the District of Columbia, Guam and the Virgin
Islands), Alaska and Hawaii are as follows:
Food Stamp Program--October 1, 1997-September 30, 1998
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48
Household size States\1\ Alaska Hawaii
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Net Monthly Income Eligibility Standards (100 Percent of Poverty Level)
1.......................................... $658 $823 $ 756
2.......................................... 885 1,106 1,017
3.......................................... 1,111 1,390 1,278
4.......................................... 1,338 1,673 1,539
5.......................................... 1,565 1,956 1,800
6.......................................... 1,791 2,240 2,060
7.......................................... 2,018 2,523 2,321
8.......................................... 2,245 2,806 2,582
Each add. member........................... +227 +284 +261
Gross Monthly Income Eligibility Standards (130 Percent of Poverty
Level)
1.......................................... $855 $1,070 $983
2.......................................... 1,150 1,438 1,322
3.......................................... 1,445 1,806 1,661
4.......................................... 1,739 2,175 2,000
5.......................................... 2,034 2,543 2,339
6.......................................... 2,329 2,911 2,678
7.......................................... 2,623 3,280 3,018
8.......................................... 2,918 3,648 3,357
Each add. Member........................... +295 +369 +340
Gross Monthly Income Eligibility Standards For Households Where Elderly
Disabled Are A Separate Household (165 Percent of Poverty Level)
1.......................................... $1,085 $1,358 $1,248
2.......................................... 1,459 1,825 1,678
3.......................................... 1,833 2,293 2,108
4.......................................... 2,207 2,760 2,539
5.......................................... 2,581 3,228 2,969
6.......................................... 2,955 3,695 3,399
7.......................................... 3,329 4,163 3,830
8.......................................... 3,703 4,630 4,260
Each add. Member........................... +374 +468 +431
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\1\ Includes District of Columbia, Guam, and the Virgin Islands.
Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) and Allotments
As provided for in Section 3(o) of the Act, the TFP is a plan for
the consumption of foods of different types (food groups) that a
household might use to provide nutritious meals and snacks for
household members. The plan reflects a diet required to feed a family
of four persons consisting of a man and a woman aged 20 to 50, a child
6 to 8 and a child 9 to 11. The cost of the TFP is adjusted monthly to
reflect changes in the costs of the food groups.
The TFP is also the basis for establishing food stamp allotments.
``Allotment'' is defined in Section 3(a) of the Act as ``the total
value of coupons a household is authorized to receive during each
month.'' Food stamp allotments are adjusted periodically to reflect the
changes in food cost levels indicated in the changing amounts of the
TFP. Prior to the amendment of Section 3(o) of the Act by Section 804
of Pub. L. 104-193, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act of 1996, allotment amounts were established on each
October 1 at 103% of the cost of the TFP in the previous June. Amended
Section 3(o)(4) of the Act now provides that the TFP will be adjusted
each October 1 to reflect the exact cost, or 100%, of the TFP for the
previous June, rounding the results to the nearest lower dollar
increment for each household size, except that on October 1,1996, the
TFP was not to have been reduced below the amounts in effect on
September 30, 1996.
To obtain the maximum food stamp allotment for each household size
for the period October 1, 1997, to September 30, 1998, June 1997 TFP
costs for the above described four-person household were divided by
four, multiplied by the appropriate household size and economy of scale
factor, in accordance with Section 3(o)(1) of the Act, and the final
result was rounded down to the nearest dollar. The maximum benefit, or
allotment, is paid to households with no net income. For a household
with income, the household's allotment is determined by reducing the
maximum allotment for the household's size by 30 percent of the
individual household's net income in accordance with Section 8(a) of
the Act, 7 U.S.C. 2017(a). The following table shows the current
allotments for the 48 States and the District of Columbia.
Food Stamp Program--October 1, 1997-September 30, 1998
[Maximum Food Stamp Allotments]
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48
Household size States\1\
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1............................................................ $122
2............................................................ 224
3............................................................ 321
4............................................................ 408
5............................................................ 485
6............................................................ 582
7............................................................ 643
8............................................................ 735
Each Additional Person....................................... +92
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\1\ 48 States and the District of Columbia.
Dated: November 25, 1997.
Yvette S. Jackson,
Administrator, Food and Consumer Service.
[FR Doc. 97-31972 Filed 12-5-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-U