[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         
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                 48                     
               Household size                States\1\   Alaska   Hawaii
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                        
 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\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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