18578 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 73 / Wednesday, April 16, 1997 / Notices

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the

burden of the collection of information

on those who are to respond, including

through the use of appropriate

automated, electronic, mechanical, or

other technological collection

techniques or other forms of information

technology. Comments may be sent to:

Michael E. Fishman, Acting Director,

Office of Analysis and Evaluation, Food

and Consumer Service, U.S. Department

of Agriculture, 3101 Park Center Drive,

Alexandria, VA 22302.

All responses to this notice will be

summarized and included in the request

for Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) approval. All comments will also

become a matter of public record.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or

copies of the proposed information

collection forms should be directed to

Michael E. Fishman, (703) 305–2117.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Tracking Nutrition Security

Changes: State Choices and the National

Food Stamp Program.

OMB Number: Not yet assigned.

Expiration Date: Not applicable.

Type of Request: New collection of

information.

Abstract: The new welfare reform law,

the Personal Responsibility and Work

Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996,

grants States a number of options in

how they administer the Food Stamp

Program. The Tracking Nutrition

Security Changes Study will provide the

USDA Food and Consumer Service with

information on the nature and extent of

States’ decisions since the passage of the

new law. The study will collect and

synthesize information on State choices,

primarily in three programmatic areas:

eligibility determination, benefit

calculation, and work requirements. The

study will also assess the variance of

food stamp policy choices across States

and the implementation of these choices

at the local food stamp office level.

Information will be collected from

States in two stages. First, descriptive

information will be collected from all 50

State food stamp agencies by telephone

interviews to identify the nature and

scope of selected State food stamp

choices. Next, on-site interviews with

key informants will be conducted in 10

to 15 States. These data will be collected

for a qualitative analysis of

implementation issues and descriptions

of specific agency practices.

Affected Public: State and local

governments, State nonprofit

organizations.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

One or two State food stamp officials

will respond from each of the 50 States

for the telephone survey. An average of

20 State and local government and

nonprofit officials in each of up to 15

States will respond to on-site

interviews, for a maximum total of 300

on-site interview respondents.

Estimated Time per Response: Phone

interviews will average 60 minutes per

State. On-site interviews will average 90

minutes per respondent.

Estimated Total Annual Burden on

Respondents: 500 hours.

Dated: April 7, 1997.

William E. Ludwig,

Administrator, Food and Consumer Service.

[FR Doc. 97–9741 Filed 4–15–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–30–U

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Consumer Service

RIN 0584–AC54

Food Stamp Program: Maximum

Allotments for Alaska, Hawaii, Guam,

and the Virgin Islands

AGENCY: Food and Consumer Service,

USDA.

ACTION: General notice.

SUMMARY: By this notice, the

Department of Agriculture is updating

the maximum food stamp allotments for

participating households in Alaska,

Hawaii, Guam, and the Virgin Islands.

These annual adjustments, required by

law, take into account changes in the

cost of food and statutory adjustments

since the amounts were last calculated.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Margaret Werts Batko, Assistant Branch

Chief, Certification Policy Branch,

Program Development Division, Food

and Consumer Service, U.S. Department

of Agriculture, 3101 Park Center Drive,

Alexandria, VA 22302, or telephone at

(703) 305–2516.

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 this action on

October 1, 1996 based on advance

notice of the new amounts. As required

by regulations published at 47 FR 46485

(October 19, 1982), annual statutory

adjustments to the maximum allotment

levels, income eligibility standards, and

deductions are issued by General

Notices published in the Federal

Register and not through rulemaking

proceedings.

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 and

related notice to 7 CFR Part 3015,

Subpart V (48 FR 29916, June 24, 1983),

this program is excluded from the scope

of Executive Order No. 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 on a

substantial number of small entities.

The action will increase the amount of

money spent on food through increases

in food stamp benefits. However, this

money will be distributed among all

eligible food stamp vendors, so the

effect on any one vendor will not be

significant.

Paperwork Reduction Act

This action does not contain reporting

or record keeping requirements subject

to review by OMB pursuant to the

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction

Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3507.

Background

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 families might use to

provide nutritious meals and snacks for

family members. The plan provides for

a diet required to feed a family of four

persons consisting of a man and 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 TFPs for Alaska and Hawaii are

based on an adjusted average for the sixmonth period that ends with June 1996.

Since the Bureau of Labor Statistics (the

source of food price data) no longer

publishes monthly information to

compute Alaska and Hawaii TFPs, the

adjusted average provides a proxy for

actual June 1996 TFP costs. The

adjusted average is equal to JanuaryJune 1996 TFP costs for Alaska and

Hawaii increased by the average

percentage difference between the cost

of the TFP in Alaska and Hawaii in June
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 73 / Wednesday, April 16, 1997 / Notices 18579

and the January-June average from 1976

through 1986 (a 1.53 percent increase

over January-June costs in Alaska and

1.82 percent increase in Hawaii).

For the period January through June

1996, the average cost of the TFP was

$491.50 in Alaska, and $625.20 in

Hawaii. The proxy in Alaska for actual

June 1996 TFP costs was $499.02. This

proxy is multiplied by three separate

adjustment factors to create three TFPs

for Urban Alaska, Rural I Alaska, and

Rural II Alaska. The proxy in Hawaii

was $636.57. The June 1996 cost of the

TFP was $590.40 in Guam and $515.00

in the Virgin Islands.

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 the Personal Responsibility and Work

Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996,

Pub. Law 104–193, on August 22, 1996,

allotment amounts were established on

each October 1 at 103 percent 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 percent, of the TFP for the

previous June. This provision was

implemented by the Department as a

requirement of the Food Stamp Program

on October 1, 1996, without prior notice

and comment due to the binding, nondiscretionary nature of the statutory

provision. In accordance with 5 U.S.C.

553(b)(3)(B), the Department has

determined that good cause existed to

justify such implementation. In a

subsequent rulemaking, the Department

will issue a corresponding regulatory

change to 7 CFR 273.10(e)(4)(ii).

The maximum food stamp allotment

is paid to households that have no net

income. For households with some type

of income, their allotments are

determined by reducing the maximum

allotment for their household size by 30

percent of the household’s net income

in accordance with Section 8(a) of the

Act, 7 U.S.C. 2017(a). To obtain the

maximum food stamp allotment for each

household size, the TFP costs are

divided by four, multiplied by the

appropriate household size and

economy of scale factor, and the final

result rounded down to the nearest

dollar.

Section 804 of Pub. L. 104–193 also

amended Section 3(o) of the Act to

prohibit reducing food stamp allotments

for Fiscal Year (FY) 1997 below those in

effect on September 30, 1996. In FY

1996, Alaska (Urban, Rural I and II) and

Hawaii maximum food stamp

allotments for a four person household

were $510, $650, $791, and $663,

respectively. Based on the formula

discussed above, FY 1997 allotments

would have fallen below FY 1996 levels

to $502, $641, $780, and $636,

respectively. Consequently, in

accordance with the law, the food stamp

allotments for Alaska and Hawaii

published in this notice will remain the

same as last year’s.

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 the

lower of their respective TFPs or the

TFP for rural II Alaska.

MAXIMUM ALLOTMENT AMOUNTS 1.—OCTOBER 1996, AS ADJUSTED

Household size Urban

Alaska 2

Rural I

Alaska 2

Rural II

Alaska 2 Hawaii 2 Guam 3 Virgin Islands 3

1 .................................................................................................... $153 $195 $237 $198 $177 $154

2 .................................................................................................... 280 357 435 364 324 283

3 .................................................................................................... 401 512 623 522 464 405

4 .................................................................................................... 510 650 791 663 590 515

5 .................................................................................................... 605 772 939 787 701 611

6 .................................................................................................... 726 926 1127 945 841 733

7 .................................................................................................... 803 1024 1246 1044 929 811

8 .................................................................................................... 918 1170 1424 1193 1062 927

Each additional member ............................................................... +115 +146 +178 +149 +133 +116

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. 2 Held at FY 1996 levels as a result of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996.

3Adjusted to reflect changes in the cost of food in the 48 States and the District of Columbia, which correlate with price changes in these

areas. Maximum allotments in these areas cannot exceed those in Rural II Alaska.

Maximum allotments for the 48 States

and the District of Columbia are

published in a separate notice in the

Federal Register. Adjustments covered

by this notice are announced for Alaska,

Hawaii, Guam, and the Virgin Islands

only, reflecting revisions required by

changes in the cost of food and Pub.

Law 104–193.

(7 U.S.C. 2011–2034)

Dated: April 4, 1997.

William E. Ludwig,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 97–9858 Filed 4–15–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–30–U

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Consumer Service

RIN 0584–AC53

Food Stamp Program: Maximum

Allotments for the 48 States and the

District of Columbia, and Income

Eligibility Standards and Deductions

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 1997: the

maximum allotment levels, which are

the basis for determining the amount of

food stamps which participating

households receive, the gross and net

income limits for food stamp eligibility,

the standard deduction available to

certain households, and the homeless

household shelter allowance. These

adjustments, required by law, take into

account changes in the cost of living

and statutory adjustments since the

amounts were last calculated.

DATES: The effective date of this notice

regarding the adjustment of the

maximum allotments was October 1,