[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 7 (Wednesday, January 11, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2731-2734]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-636]


RIN: 0584-AB96


Food Stamp Program: Maximum Allotments for the 48 States and 
D.C., and Income Eligibility Standards and Deductions for the 48 States 
and D.C., 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 1995: 
(1) the maximum allotment levels, which are the basis for determining 
the maximum amount of food stamps which participating households 
receive, (2) the gross and net income limits for food stamp eligibility 
which certain households may have, (3) the standard deduction available 
to certain households, and (4) the homeless household shelter expense. 
These adjustments, required by law, take into account changes in the 
cost of living and statutory adjustments.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 1994.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Judith M. Seymour, Supervisor, 
Eligibility and Certification Regulations Section, Certification Policy 
Branch, Program Development Division, Food Stamp Program, Food and 
Consumer Service, USDA, Alexandria, Virginia 22302, (703) 305-2496.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

Publication

    As required by law, State agencies must implement this action on 
October 1, 1994 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, 
income eligibility

[[Page 2732]]

standards, and deductions are issued by General Notices published in 
the Federal Register and not through rulemaking proceedings.

Executive Order 12866

    This rule 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.

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

    Ellen Haas, 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 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 the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB).

Background

Income Eligibility Standards

    The eligibility of households for the Food Stamp Program, except 
those in which all members are receiving public assistance (PA) or 
supplemental security income benefits (SSI), is determined by comparing 
their incomes to the appropriate income eligibility standards (limits). 
Households containing an elderly or disabled member need to have net 
incomes below the net income limits, while households which do not 
contain an elderly or disabled member must have net incomes below the 
net income limit and gross incomes below the gross income limit.
    Households in which all members are receiving PA or SSI are 
categorically eligible; their incomes do not have to be below the 
income limits.
    In addition, elderly individuals (and their spouses) who are unable 
to prepare meals because of certain disabilities, may be considered 
separate households, even if they are living and eating with another 
household. 7 U.S.C. Sec. 2012(i). The Food Stamp Act limits separate 
household status to those persons who meet both of the following 
requirements:
    (1) Their own income may not exceed the net income eligibility 
standards, and
    (2) The income of those with whom they reside may not exceed 165 
percent of the poverty line.
    The net and gross income limits are derived from the Federal income 
poverty guidelines. The net income limit is 100 percent of the 
guidelines; the gross income limit is 130 percent of the guidelines. 
The guidelines are updated annually. Based on that update, the Food 
Stamp Program's income eligibility standards are updated annually. The 
effective date of October 1 is required by the Food Stamp Act.
    The revised income eligibility standards are as follows:

          Food Stamp Program October 1, 1994-September 30, 1995         
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                    48 States                           
          Household size               \1\         Alaska       Hawaii  
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Net Monthly Income Eligibility Standards (100 Percent of Poverty Level)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                        
1................................         $614         $767         $706
2................................          820        1,025          944
3................................        1,027        1,284        1,181
4................................        1,234        1,542        1,419
5................................        1,440        1,800        1,656
6................................        1,647        2,059        1,894
7................................        1,854        2,317        2,131
8................................        2,060        2,575        2,369
Each additional member...........         +207         +259         +238
                                                                        
------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Gross Monthly Income Eligibility Standards (130 Percent of Poverty   
                                 Level)                                 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                        
1................................         $798         $997         $918
2................................        1,066        1,333        1,227
3................................        1,335        1,669        1,536
4................................        1,604        2,005        1,844
5................................        1,872        2,340        2,153
6................................        2,141        2,676        2,462
7................................        2,410        3,012        2,771
8................................        2,678        3,348        3,079
Each additional member...........         +269         +336         +309
                                                                        
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Gross Monthly Income Eligibility Standards for Households Where Elderly
    Disabled Are a Separate Household (165 Percent of Poverty Level)    
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                        
1................................       $1,012       $1,265       $1,165
2................................        1,353        1,692        1,557
3................................        1,694        2,118        1,949
4................................        2,035        2,544        2,341
5................................        2,376        2,970        2,733
6................................        2,717        3,397        3,124
7................................        3,058        3,823        3,516
8................................        3,399        4,249        3,908

[[Page 2733]]

                                                                        
Each additional member...........         +341         +427         +392
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Includes District of Columbia, Guam, and the Virgin Islands.        



Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) and Allotments

    The TFP is a plan for the consumption of foods of different types 
(food groups) that households might use to provide nutritious meals and 
snacks for household members. The plan suggests amounts of food for 
men, women, and children of different ages, and it meets dietary 
standards. 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. 
Nationally, food stamp allotment levels are adjusted periodically to 
reflect changes in food cost levels. Section 3(o)(11) of the Food Stamp 
Act (7 U.S.C. Sec. 2012(o)(11)), provides for an adjustment on October 
1, 1994, based upon 103 percent of the June 1994 cost of the TFP for a 
family of four persons consisting of a man and woman ages 20-50 and 
children ages 6-8 and 9-11. In June 1994, the cost of the TFP was 
$375.30 in the 48 States and D.C.
    To obtain the maximum food stamp benefit for each household size, 
June 1994 TFP costs for the four-person household (of $375.30) were 
increased by 3 percent, divided by four, multiplied by the appropriate 
household size and economy of scale factor, and the final result was 
rounded down to the nearest dollar. The maximum benefit, or allotment, 
is paid to households which have no net income. For households which 
have some income, the individual 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.
    The following tables show the new allotments for the 48 States and 
D.C.

             Allotment Amounts \1\--October 1994 as adjusted            
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              48 States 
                       Household size                          and D.C. 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1..........................................................         $115
2..........................................................          212
3..........................................................          304
4..........................................................          386
5..........................................................          459
6..........................................................          550
7..........................................................          608
8..........................................................          695
Each additional person.....................................         +87 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Adjusted to reflect the cost of food in June, adjustments for each  
  household size, economies of scale, a 3 percent increase in the TFP   
  and rounding.                                                         

Minimum Benefit

    Pursuant to Section 8(a) of the Food Stamp Act, the $10 minimum 
monthly benefit provided to all one- and two-person households must be 
adjusted on each October 1 to reflect the percentage change in the TFP 
for the 12-month period ending the preceding June, with the result 
rounded to the nearest $5. In order to implement this provision of the 
law, the minimum benefit is adjusted each year as follows: (1) the 
percentage change in the TFP from June of the previous year to June of 
the current year (prior to rounding) is calculated; (2) this percentage 
change is multiplied by the previous ``unrounded'' minimum benefit to 
obtain a new unrounded benefit amount; and (3) the new unrounded 
minimum benefit is then rounded to the nearest $5 in accordance with 
the statutory provisions.
    The unrounded cost of the TFP was $364.895 in June 1993 and 
$375.3158 in June 1994. The change from June 1993 to June 1994 is 
1.028558 percent, which when multiplied by $11.24974, the unrounded 
minimum benefit in Fiscal Year 1993, results in a new unrounded minimum 
benefit of $11.56999. Rounded to the nearest $5, the minimum benefit 
for Fiscal Year 1995 is $10.

Deductions

    Food stamp benefits are calculated on the basis of an individual 
household's net income. Deductions serve to lower household net income 
and thus to increase household benefits. When a household's net income 
decreases, its food stamp benefits increase.

Adjustment of the Standard Deduction

    Section 5(e) of the Food Stamp Act provides that, in computing 
household income, households shall be allowed a standard deduction. 7 
U.S.C. Sec. 2014(e). Section 5(e) also requires that the standard 
deduction be adjusted periodically. The deduction for the 48 States and 
D.C. was last adjusted effective October 1, 1993. Section 5(e)(4) 
requires that the adjustment in the level of the standard deduction 
shall take into account changes in the Consumer Price Index for All 
Urban Consumers (CPI-U) published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics 
(BLS) for items other than food. (7 U.S.C. Sec. 2014(e)(4). The 
adjustments are rounded to the nearest lower dollar pursuant to the 
requirements of Section 5(e). There are separate standard deductions 
for the 48 States and D.C., Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the Virgin 
Islands.
    The following table shows the deductions resulting from the last 
adjustment, the unrounded results of this adjustment, and the new 
deduction amounts that go into effect on October 1, 1994.

                 Standard Deductions for All Households                 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     Previous                           
                                     standard       New        Standard 
                                    deductions   unrounded    deductions
                                    (effective  numbers (10-  (effective
                                     10-1-93)      1-94)       10-1-94) 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
48 States and DC.................         $131      $134.53         $134
Alaska...........................          223       229.47          229
Hawaii...........................          185       189.93          189
Guam.............................          262       269.03          269
Virgin Islands...................          115       118.70          118
------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 2734]]



Adjustment of the Shelter Deduction

    Section 13912 of the Mickey Leland Childhood Hunger Relief Act, 
Chapter 3, Title XIII, Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, Pub. 
L. 103-66, enacted August 10, 1993, (the Leland Act) amended section 
5(e) of the Food Stamp Act to change procedures for adjusting the 
excess shelter deduction cap. Prior to the Leland Act, the excess 
shelter deduction cap was adjusted annually based on changes in the 
shelter, fuel and utilities components of housing costs in the CPI-U 
published by BLS. The Leland Act, however, mandated increases in the 
shelter cap effective July 1, 1994, and October 1, 1995, and an 
elimination of the cap effective January 1, 1997. The shelter cap 
amounts effective for Fiscal Year 1995 were announced in a General 
Notice published in the Federal Register on March 14, 1994 at 59 FR 
11761, and in a proposed rule on Excess Shelter Expense Limit and 
Standard Utility Allowances published in the Federal Register on 
November 22, 1994. For the convenience of the reader, however, we are 
restating those amounts below.

  Maximum Shelter Deductions for Households Without Elderly or Disabled 
                                 Member                                 
                  [Effective 07-01-94 through 09-30-95]                 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                        
------------------------------------------------------------------------
48 States and DC..............................................      $231
Alaska........................................................       402
Hawaii........................................................       330
Guam..........................................................       280
Virgin Islands................................................       171
------------------------------------------------------------------------

(7 U.S.C. 2011-2032)

Adjustment of the Homeless Household Shelter Expense

    Section 11(e)(3)(E) of the Food Stamp Act requires the Secretary to 
prescribe rules requiring state agencies to develop standard estimates 
of the shelter expenses that may reasonably be expected to be incurred 
by households in which all members are homeless but which are not 
receiving free shelter throughout the month. 7 U.S.C. Sec. 
2020(e)(3)(E). In recognition of the difficulty State agencies may face 
in gathering the necessary information to compute standard shelter 
estimates for their States, the Secretary offered a standard estimate 
which may be used by all State agencies in lieu of their own estimates.
    In the Deduction and Disaster Provisions from the Mickey Leland 
Memorial Domestic Hunger Relief Act final rule, published at 56 FR 
63613 (December 4, 1991), the Department stated that it would annually 
adjust the homeless household shelter expense each October 1 using the 
same changes in the shelter, fuel and utilities component of the CPI 
used in indexing the shelter cap. This year's homeless household 
shelter expense is $139.

    Dated: January 4, 1995.
Ellen Haas,
Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services.
[FR Doc. 95-636 Filed 1-10-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-U