Food Stamp Program Improvements Act of 1994

Summary: TABLE OF CONTENTS: 
     Title I:  Reporting and Staggered Issuance for Households 
          on Reservations 
     Title II:  Access to Retail Food Stores by Food Stamp 
          Households 
Food Stamp Program Improvements Act of 1994 - 
Title I:  Reporting and Staggered Issuance for Households on Reservations
 - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to:  (1) permit a State to require periodic reporting by migrant or seasonal farmworker households; and (2) set forth conditions under which a State may require such reporting for reservation households. 
Provides for staggered food stamp issuances on reservations. 
Requires a General Accounting Office study and report on tribal organization administration of the food stamp program. 
Title II:  Access to Retail Food Stores by Food Stamp Households
 - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to:  (1) redefine "retail food store"; and (2) define "staple foods." 
Expands the use and disclosure of information provided by retail and wholesale food concerns to include Federal and State law enforcement and investigative agencies. 
Requires demonstration projects to test innovative activities directed at coupon trafficking. 
Continues program eligibility for establishments or house-to-house trade routes currently authorized to accept food stamps. 
Requires a report on the impact of this Act on retail store program participation.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Food Stamp Program Improvements Act 
of 1994''.

 TITLE I_REPORTING AND STAGGERED ISSUANCE FOR HOUSEHOLDS ON RESERVATIONS

SEC. 101. BUDGETING AND MONTHLY REPORTING ON RESERVATIONS.

    (a) In General._Section 6(c)(1) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 
U.S.C. 2015(c)(1)) is amended_
        (1) in subparagraph (A)_
            (A) by striking clause (ii); and
            (B) by redesignating clauses (iii) and (iv) as clauses (ii) 
        and (iii), respectively; and
        (2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
        ``(C) A State agency may require periodic reporting on a monthly 
    basis by households residing on a reservation only if_
            ``(i) the State agency reinstates benefits, without 
        requiring a new application, for any household residing on a 
        reservation that submits a report not later than 1 month after 
        the end of the month in which benefits would otherwise be 
        provided;
            ``(ii) the State agency does not delay, reduce, suspend, or 
        terminate the allotment of a household that submits a report not 
        later than 1 month after the end of the month in which the 
        report is due;
            ``(iii) on the date of enactment of this subparagraph, the 
        State agency requires households residing on a reservation to 
        file periodic reports on a monthly basis; and
            ``(iv) the certification period for households residing on a 
        reservation that are required to file periodic reports on a 
        monthly basis is 2 years, unless the State demonstrates just 
        cause to the Secretary for a shorter certification period.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments._
        (1) The second sentence of section 3(c) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 
    2012(c)) is amended by striking ``For'' and inserting ``Except as 
    provided in section 6(c)(1)(C), for''.
        (2) Section 5(f)(2)(C) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 2014(f)(2)(C)) is 
    amended by striking ``clauses (i), (ii), (iii), and (iv)'' and 
    inserting ``clauses (i), (ii), and (iii)''.

SEC. 102. STAGGERED ISSUANCES ON RESERVATIONS.

    Section 7(h)(1) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2016(h)(1)) 
is amended by striking the second sentence and inserting the following 
new sentence: ``Upon the request of the tribal organization that 
exercises governmental jurisdiction over the reservation, the State 
agency shall stagger the issuance of benefits for eligible households 
located on reservations for at least 15 days of a month.''.
    SEC. 103. GAO STUDY AND REPORT ON ADMINISTRATION OF FOOD STAMP 
      PROGRAM BY TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS.
    (a) Study._The Comptroller General of the United States shall 
conduct a study of the feasibility and desirability of_
        (1) increasing the opportunity for a tribal organization of an 
    Indian tribe to administer the food stamp program established under 
    the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) in connection 
    with members of the tribe by_
            (A) modifying the requirements established under sections 
        3(n)(2) and 11(d) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 2012(n)(2) and 2020(d));
            (B) modifying or eliminating the cost-sharing requirements 
        established for the tribal organization under section 16(a) of 
        such Act (7 U.S.C. 2025); and
            (C) taking such other actions as the Comptroller General 
        considers appropriate; and
        (2) permitting the tribal organization to establish reasonable 
    and appropriate requirements with respect to issuance, reporting, 
    and certification requirements under the food stamp program for 
    members of the tribe.
    (b) Report._Not later than December 1, 1994, the Comptroller General 
shall report the results of the study required under subsection (a) to 
the Committee on Agriculture, and the Subcommittee on Native American 
Affairs of the Committee on Natural Resources, of the House of 
Representatives, and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
Forestry, and the Committee on Indian Affairs, of the Senate, so that 
the results of the study may be considered by the Committee on 
Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate during the 
reauthorization of the food stamp program during 1995.

SEC. 104. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

    (a) Section 908 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade 
Act Amendments of 1991 (Public Law 102-237; 7 U.S.C. 2015 note) is 
repealed.
    (b) Section 6(c)(4) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 
2015(c)(4)) is amended by striking ``Any'' and inserting ``Except as 
provided in paragraph (1)(C), any''.

     TITLE II_ACCESS TO RETAIL FOOD STORES BY FOOD STAMP HOUSEHOLDS

SEC. 201. FOOD STAMP ACT DEFINITIONS.

    Section 3 of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2012) is amended_
        (1) in subsection (k)_
            (A) by striking ``means (1) an establishment'' and all that 
        follows through ``spices, (2) an establishment'' and inserting 
        the following: ``means_
        ``(1) an establishment or house-to-house trade route that sells 
    food for home preparation and consumption and_
            ``(A) offers for sale, on a continuous basis, a variety of 
        foods in each of the 4 categories of staple foods specified in 
        subsection (u)(1), including perishable foods in at least 2 of 
        the categories; or
            ``(B) has over 50 percent of the total sales of the 
        establishment or route in staple foods,
    as determined by visual inspection, sales records, purchase records, 
    counting of stockkeeping units, or other inventory or accounting 
    recordkeeping methods that are customary or reasonable in the retail 
    food industry;
        ``(2) an establishment'';
            (B) by striking ``section, (3) a store'' and inserting the 
        following: ``section;
        ``(3) a store''; and
            (C) by striking ``section, and (4) any private'' and 
        inserting the following: ``section; and
        ``(4) any private''; and
        (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(u)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), `staple foods' means 
foods (as defined in subsection (g)) in the following categories:
        ``(A) Meat, poultry, or fish.
        ``(B) Bread or cereals.
        ``(C) Vegetables or fruits.
        ``(D) Dairy products.
    ``(2) `Staple foods' do not include accessory food items, such as 
coffee, tea, cocoa, carbonated and uncarbonated drinks, candy, 
condiments, and spices.''.

SEC. 202. PERIODIC NOTICE.

    Paragraph (2) of section 9(a) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 
U.S.C. 2018(a)(2)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(2) The Secretary shall issue regulations providing for_
        ``(A) the periodic reauthorization of retail food stores and 
    wholesale food concerns; and
        ``(B) periodic notice to participating retail food stores and 
    wholesale food concerns of the definitions of `retail food store', 
    `staple foods', `eligible foods', and `perishable foods'.''.
    SEC. 203. USE AND DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION PROVIDED BY RETAIL FOOD 
      STORES AND WHOLESALE FOOD CONCERNS.
    Section 9(c) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2018(c)) is 
amended_
        (1) in the second sentence, by inserting after ``disclosed to 
    and used by'' the following: ``Federal law enforcement and 
    investigative agencies and law enforcement and investigative 
    agencies of a State government for the purposes of administering or 
    enforcing this Act or any other Federal or State law and the 
    regulations issued under this Act or such law, and'';
        (2) by inserting after the second sentence the following new 
    sentence: ``Any person who publishes, divulges, discloses, or makes 
    known in any manner or to any extent not authorized by Federal law 
    (including a regulation) any information obtained under this 
    subsection shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned not 
    more than 1 year, or both.''; and
        (3) in the last sentence, by striking ``Such purposes shall not 
    exclude'' and inserting the following: ``The regulations shall 
    establish the criteria to be used by the Secretary to determine 
    whether the information is needed. The regulations shall not 
    prohibit''.
    SEC. 204. DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS TESTING ACTIVITIES DIRECTED AT 
      TRAFFICKING IN COUPONS.
    Section 17 of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2026) is amended 
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(l) The Secretary shall use up to $4,000,000 of the funds provided 
in advance in appropriations Acts for projects authorized by this 
section to conduct demonstration projects in which State or local food 
stamp agencies test innovative ideas for working with State or local law 
enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute coupon trafficking.''.

SEC. 205. CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY.

    An establishment or house-to-house trade route that is otherwise 
authorized to accept and redeem coupons under the Food Stamp Act of 1977 
(7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) on the day before the date of enactment of this 
Act shall be considered to meet the definition of ``retail food store'' 
in section 3(k) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 2012(k)) (as amended by section 
201) until the earlier of_
        (1) the periodic reauthorization of the establishment or route; 
    or
        (2) such time as the eligibility of the establishment or route 
    for continued participation in the food stamp program is evaluated 
    for any reason.

SEC. 206. REPORT ON IMPACT ON RETAIL FOOD STORES.

    Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of Agriculture shall prepare and submit to the Committee 
on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report on the 
impact of the amendments made by sections 201 and 202 on the involvement 
of retail food stores in the food stamp program established under the 
Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), including a description 
of_
        (1) the numbers and types of stores that were newly authorized 
    to participate in the food stamp program after implementation of the 
    amendments;
        (2) the numbers and types of stores that were withdrawn from the 
    food stamp program after implementation of the amendments;
        (3) the procedures used by the Secretary, and the adequacy of 
    the procedures used, to determine the eligibility of stores to 
    participate in the food stamp program and to authorize and 
    reauthorize the stores to participate in the food stamp program;
        (4) the adequacy of the guidance provided by the Secretary to 
    retail food stores concerning_
            (A) the definitions of ``retail food store'', ``staple 
        foods'', ``eligible foods'', and ``perishable foods'' for 
        purposes of the food stamp program; and
            (B) eligibility criteria for stores to participate in the 
        food stamp program; and
        (5) an assessment of whether the amendment to the definition of 
    ``retail food store'' under section 3(k) of such Act (as amended by 
    section 201(1)) has had an adverse effect on the integrity of the 
    food stamp program.







                                Speaker of the House of Representatives.







                             Vice President of the United States and    
                                                President of the Senate.