Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance Fairness Act

To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to transition the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to the supplemental nutrition assistance program, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance Fairness Act 2. Amendments to the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (a) Definitions Section 3 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 ( 7 U.S.C. 2012 (1) in subsection (r) by inserting Puerto Rico, Guam, (2) in subsection (u)(2) by inserting , Puerto Rico, Hawaii (b) Eligible households Section 5 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 ( 7 U.S.C. 2014 (1) in subsection (b) by inserting Puerto Rico, Guam, (2) in subsection (c)(1) by striking and Guam Guam, and Puerto Rico (3) in subsection (e)— (A) in paragraph (1)(A) by inserting Puerto Rico, Hawaii, (B) in paragraph (6)(B) by inserting Puerto Rico, Guam, 3. Submission of plan of operation; technical assistance; determination and certification by Secretary of Agriculture (a) Submission of plan of operation On designating an agency of the kind described in section 3(s)(1) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 ( 7 U.S.C. 2012(s)(1) Secretary 7 U.S.C. 5(a) 7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq. (b) Technical assistance Within the 60-day period specified in subsection (a) and upon request from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Secretary shall provide appropriate training and technical assistance to enable the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to formulate a plan of operation described in subsection (a). (c) Determination by the Secretary of Agriculture Not later than 180 days after receiving a plan of operation described in subsection (a), the Secretary shall approve if such plan satisfies the requirements for a supplemental nutrition assistance program State plan in accordance with subsections (d) and (e) of section 11 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 ( 7 U.S.C. 2020 (d) Certification by the Secretary of Agriculture If the Secretary approves the plan submitted by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico under subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to the Congress, not later than 60 days thereafter, a certification that the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico qualifies to participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance program as a State as defined in section 3(r) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 ( 7 U.S.C. 2012(r) 4. Transition from the consolidated block grant for Puerto Rico (a) Covered period The Secretary may continue to implement the then most recent approved consolidated block grant specified in section 19(b)(1)(A) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 ( 7 U.S.C. 2028(b)(1)(A) (b) Report For each year a plan is continued under subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to the Congress an annual report on the operation of such plan. The Secretary shall include in such report information related to increases in funding that are required to accommodate the transition of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico from the receipt of block grant payments to the implementation of supplemental nutrition assistance program. 5. Consolidated block grant for Puerto Rico and American Samoa Section 19 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 ( 7 U.S.C. 2028 (1) in subsection (a)— (A) in paragraph (1)(A) by inserting until the end of the period described in section 4(a) of the Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance Fairness Act (A) (B) in paragraph (2)— (i) in subparagraph (A)— (I) in clause (i) by striking and (II) in clause (ii)— (aa) by inserting , and ending at the end of the period described in section 4(a) of the Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance Fairness Act thereafter (bb) by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and (cc) by adding at the end the following: (iii) subject to the availability of appropriations under section 18(a), for each fiscal year beginning after the end of the period described in section 4(a) of the Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance Fairness Act , (ii) in subparagraph (B)(i) by inserting ending at the end of the period described in section 4(a) of the Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance Fairness Act thereafter (iii) in subparagraph (C)— (I) by striking For (i) For , (II) by inserting ending at the end of the period described in section 4(a) of the Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance Fairness Act thereafter (III) by adding at the end, the following: (ii) For each fiscal year beginning after the end of the period described in section 4(a) of the Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance Fairness Act Public Law 96–597 48 U.S.C. 1469d(c) , and (C) in paragraph (3) by striking year, year ending at the end of the period described in section 4(a) of the Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance Fairness Act year (2) in subsection (b)(1)(A) by inserting and ending at the end of the period described in section 4(a) of the Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance Fairness Act year 6. Authorization of appropriations There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act such sums as may be necessary until the end of the period described in section 4(a). 7. Effective dates (a) In general Except as provided in subsection (b), this Act shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act. (b) Effective date of amendments The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on October 1 of the 1st fiscal year that begins 1 year after the Secretary submits to Congress the certification described in section 3(d) of this Act.

Summary: Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance Fairness Act This bill sets out a process to enable Puerto Rico to participate as a state in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Under current law, a state receives SNAP funding based on the number of participating households in the state whereas Puerto Rico receives a block grant to fund its nutrition assistance program. The bill requires Puerto Rico to submit to the Department of Agriculture (USDA) a plan of operation to transition away from the consolidated block grant program to SNAP. USDA must provide appropriate training and technical assistance to enable Puerto Rico to formulate such plan.