Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 235 / Monday, December 8, 1997 / Notices 64557

Pursuant to Section 3 (o) (3) of the

Act, maximum food stamp benefits for

Guam and the Virgin Islands cannot

exceed those in the 50 States and the

District of Columbia, so they are based

upon either the lower of their respective

TFPs or the TFP for rural II Alaska.

MAXIMUM ALLOTMENT AMOUNTS 1—OCTOBER 1997, AS ADJUSTED

Household

Size

Urban

Alaska

Rural I

Alaska

Rural II

Alaska Hawaii Guam 2 VirginIslands 2

1 ........................................................................................ $154 $196 $239 $197 $180 $157

2 ........................................................................................ 283 360 439 361 331 288

3 ........................................................................................ 405 516 628 517 474 413

4 ........................................................................................ 514 656 798 657 602 525

5 ........................................................................................ 611 779 948 780 715 623

6 ........................................................................................ 733 935 1,138 936 858 748

7 ........................................................................................ 810 1,033 1,257 1,035 948 827

8 ........................................................................................ 926 1,181 1,437 1,183 1,083 945

Each Additional Member ................................................... +116 +148 +180 +148 +135 +118

1Adjusted to reflect the cost of food in June, adjustments for each household size, economies of scale, and 1.00 percent of the TFP and

rounding. 2Adjusted to reflect changes in the cost of food in the 48 States and D.C., which correlate with price changes in these areas. Maximum allotments in these areas cannot exceed those in Rural II Alaska.

Dated: November 17, 1997.

Yvette S. Jackson,

Administrator, Food and Consumer Services.

[FR Doc. 97–31973 Filed 12–5–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–30–U

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.

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

MargaretlBatko@FCS.USDA.GOV.

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 costeffective 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.
64558 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 235 / Monday, December 8, 1997 / Notices

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

Household size 48

States1 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

FOOD STAMP PROGRAM—OCTOBER 1,

1997–SEPTEMBER 30, 1998—Continued

Household size 48

States1 Alaska Hawaii

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

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 fourperson 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]

Household size 48

States1

1 .................................................... $122

2 .................................................... 224

3 .................................................... 321

4 .................................................... 408

5 .................................................... 485

6 .................................................... 582

7 .................................................... 643

8 .................................................... 735

Each Additional Person ................ +92

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

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Utilities Service

Kodiak Electric Association, Inc.;

Finding of no Significant Impact

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.