A bill to authorize the food stamp portion of the Minnesota Family Investment Plan.
PL 101-202 (S.1960), enacted 12/06/1989

103 STAT. 1796 
PUBLIC LAW 101-202—DEC. 6, 1989 
Public Law 101-202 
101st Congress 
An Act 
Dec. 6,1989 
To authorize the food stamp portion of the Minnesota Family Investment Plan. 
[8. 1960] 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled. That the Food 
Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) is amended by adding the 
following new section: 
7 use 2031. 
"SEC. 22. (a) IN GENERAL.— 
"(1) Subject to paragraph (2), upon written application of the 
State of Minnesota that complies with this section and sections 
6 to 11, 13, 130, and 132 of article 5 of 282 of the 1989 Laws of 
Minnesota, and after approval of such application by the Sec-
retary in accordance with subsections Qo) and (d), the State may 
implement a family investment demonstration project (herein-
after in this section referred to as the 'Project') in parts of the 
State to determine whether the Project more effectively helps 
families to become self-supporting and enhances their ability to 
care for their children than do the food stamp program and 
programs under parts A and F of title IV of the Social Security 
Act. The State may provide cash payments under the Project, 
subject to paragraph (2), that replace assistance otherwise avail-
able under the food stamp program and under part A of title IV 
of the Social Security Act. 
"(2) The Project may be implemented only in accordance with 
this section and only if the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services approves an application submitted by the State permit-
ting the State to include in the Project families who are eligible 
to receive benefits under part A of title IV of the Social Security 
Act. 
"(b) REQUIRED TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE PROJECT.—The ap-
plication submitted by the State under subsection (a) shall provide 
an assurance that the Project shall satisfy all of the following 
requirements: 
"(1) Only families may be eligible to receive assistance and 
services through the Project. 
"(2) Participating families, families eligible for or participat-
ing in the program authorized under part A of title IV of the 
Social* Security Act or the food stamp program that are assigned 
to and found eligible for the Project, and families required to 
submit an application for the Project that are found eligible for 
the Project shall be ineligible to receive benefits under the food 
stamp program. 
"(3XA) Subject to the provisions of this paragraph and any 
reduction imposed under subsection (cX3) of this section, the 
value of assistance provided to participating families shall not 
be less than the aggregate value of the assistance such families 
could receive under the food stamp program and part A of title 
IV of the Social Security Act if such families did not participate 
in the Project. 
PUBLIC LAW 101-202—DEC. 6, 1989 
103 STAT. 1797 
"(B) For purposes of satisfying the requirement specified in Children and 
subparagraph (A)— 
youth. 
"(i) payments for child care expenses under the Project 
shall be considered part of the value of assistance provided 
to participating families with earnings; 
"(ii) payments for child care expenses for families without 
earnings shall not be considered part of the value of assist-
ance provided to participating families or the aggregate 
value of assistance that such families could have received 
under the food stamp program and part A of title IV of the 
Social Security Act; and 
"(iii) any child support payments not assigned to the 
State under the provisions of part A of title IV of the Social 
Security Act, less $50 per month, shall be considered part of 
the aggregate value of assistance participating families 
would receive if such families did not participate in the 
Project; 
"(C) For purposes of satisfying the requirement specified in 
subparagraph (A), the State shall— 
"(i) identify the sets of characteristics indicative of fami-
lies that might receive less assistance under the Project; 
"(ii) establish a mechanism to determine, for each partici-
pating family that has a set of characteristics identified 
under clause (i) whether such family could receive more 
assistance, in the aggregate, under the food stamp program 
and part A of title IV of the Social Security Act if such 
family did not participate in the project; 
"(iii) increase the amount of assistance provided under 
the Project to any family that could receive more assist-
ance, in the aggregate, under the food stamp program and 
part A of title IV of the Social Security Act if such family 
did not participate in the Project, so that the assistance 
provided under the Project to such family is not less thsm 
the aggregate amount of assistance such family could re-
ceive under the food stamp program and part A of title IV 
of the Social Security Act if such family did not participate 
in the Project; and 
"<iv) increase the amount of assistance paid to participat-
ing families, if the State or locality imposes a sales tax on 
food, by the amount needed to compensate for the tax. 
This subparagraph shall not be construed to require the State to 
make the determination under clause (ii) for families that do 
not have a set of characteristics identified under clause (i). 
"(DXi) The State shall designate standardized amounts of 
assistance provided as food assistance under the Project and 
notify monthly each participating family of such designated 
amount. 
"(ii) The amount of food assistance so designated shall be at 
least the value of coupons such family could have received 
under the food stamp program if the Project had not been 
implemented. The provisions of this subparagraph shall not 
require that the State make individual determinations as to the 
amount of assistance under the Project designated as food 
assistance. 
"(iii) The 
State 
shall 
periodically 
allow 
participating 
families the option to receive such food assistance in the form 
of coupons. 
103 STAT. 1798 
PUBLIC LAW 101-202—DEC. 6, 1989 
Education. 
Employment 
and 
unemployment. 
Communications 
and telecom-
munications. 
Mail. 
Aged persons. 
Handicapped 
persons. 
"(E)(i) Individuals ineligible for the Project who are members 
of a household including a participating family shall have their 
eligibility for the food stamp program determined and have 
their benefits calculated and issued following the standards 
established under the food stamp program, except as provided 
differently in this subparagraph. 
"(ii) The State agency shall determine such individuals' eligi-
bility for benefits under the food stamp program and the 
amount of such benefits without regard to the participating 
family. 
"(iii) In computing such individuals' income for purposes of 
determining eligibility (under section 5(cXl)) and benefits, the 
State agency shall apply the maximum excess shelter expense 
deduction specified under section 5(e). 
"(iv) Such individuals' monthly allotment shall be the higher 
of $10 or 75 percent of the amount calculated following the 
standards of the food stamp program and the foregoing require-
ments of this subparagraph, rounded to the nearest lower whole 
dollar. 
"(4) The Project shall include education, employment, and 
training services equivalent to those offered under the employ-
ment and training program described in section 6(dX4) to fami-
lies similar to participating families elsewhere in the State. 
"(5) The State may select families for participation in the 
Project through submission and approval of an application for 
participation in the Project or by assigning to the Project 
families that are determined eligible for or are participating in 
the program authorized by part A of title IV of the Social 
Security Act or the food stamp program. 
"(6) Whenever selection for participation in the Project is 
accomplished through submission and approval of an applica-
tion for the Project— 
"(A) the State shall promptly determine eligibility for the 
Project, and issue assistance to eligible families, retroactive 
to the date of application, not later than thirty days follow-
ing the family's filing of an application; 
"(B) in the case of families determined ineligible for the 
Project upon application, the application for the Project 
shall be deemed an application for the food stamp program, 
and benefits under the food stamp program shall be issued 
to those found eligible following the standards established 
under the food stamp program; 
"(C) expedited benefits shall be provided under terms no 
more restrictive than under paragraph (9) of section 11(e) 
and the laws of Minnesota and shall include expedited 
issuance of designated food assistance provided through 
the Project or expedited benefits through the food stamp 
program; 
"(D) each individual who contacts the State in person 
during office hours to make what may reasonably be inter-
preted as an oral or written request to receive financial 
assistance shall receive and shall be permitted to file an 
application form on the same day such contact is first made; 
"(E) provision shall be made for telephone contact by, 
mail delivery of forms to and mail return of forms by, and 
subsequent home or telephone interview with, elderly 
individuals, physically or mentally handicapped individ-
PUBLIC LAW 101-202—DEC. 6, 1989 
103 STAT. 1799 
uals, and individuals otherwise unable to appear in person 
solely because of transportation difficulties and similar 
hardships; 
"(F) a family may be represented by another person if the 
other person has clearly been designated as the representa-
tive of such family for that purpose and the representative 
is an adult who is sufficiently aware of relevant cir-
cumstances, except that the State may— 
"(i) restrict the number of families who may be rep-
resented by such person; and 
"(ii) otherwise establish criteria and verification 
standards for representation under this subparagraph; 
and 
"(G) the State shall provide a method for reviewing ap- Homeless 
plications to participate in the Project submitted by, and persons, 
distributing assistance under the Project to, families that 
do not reside in permanent dwellings or who have no fixed 
J 
mailing address. 
"(7) Whenever selection for participation in the Project is 
accomplished by assigning families that are determined eligible 
for or participating in the program authorized by part A of title 
IV of the Social Security Act or the food stamp program— 
"(A) the State shall provide eligible families assistance 
under the Project no later than benefits would have been 
provided following the standards established under the food 
stamp program; and 
"(B) the State shall ensure that assistance under the 
Project is provided so that there is no interruption in 
benefits for families participating in the program under 
part A of title IV of the Social Security Act or the food 
stamp program. 
"(8) Paragraphs (1)(B) and (8) of section 11(e) shall apply with 
respect to applicants and participating families in the same 
manner as such paragraphs apply with respect to applicants 
and participants in the food stamp program. 
"(9) Assistance provided under the Project shall be reduced to 
reflect the pro rata value of any coupons received under the 
food stamp program for the same period. 
"(10)(A) The State shall provide each family or family 
member whose participation in the Project ends and each 
family whose participation is terminated with notice of the 
existence of the food stamp program and the person or agency 
to contact for more information. 
"(B)(i) Following the standards specified in subparagraph (C), 
the State shall ensure that benefits under the food stamp 
program are provided to participating families in case the 
Project is terminated or to participating families or family 
members that are determined ineligible for the Project because 
of income, resources, or change in household composition, if 
such families or individuals are determined eligible for the food 
stamp program. Food coupons shall be issued to eligible families 
and individuals described in this clause retroactive to the date 
of termination from the Project; and 
"(ii) If sections 256.031 through 256.036 of the Minnesota 
Statutes, 1989 Supplement, or Minnesota Laws 1989, chapter 
282, article 5, section 130, are amended to reduce or eliminate 
benefits provided under those sections or restrict the rights of 
103 STAT. 1800 
PUBLIC LAW 101-202—DEC. 6, 1989 
Project applicants or participating families, the State shall 
exclude from the Project applicants or participating families or 
individuals affected by such amendments and follow the stand-
ards specified in subparagraph (C), except that the State shall 
continue to pay from State funds an amount equal to the food 
assistance portion to such families and individuals until the 
State determines eligibility or ineligibility for the food stamp 
program or the family or individual has failed to supply the 
needed additional information within ten days. Food coupons 
shall be provided to families and individuals excluded from the 
Project under this clause who are determined eligible for the 
food stamp program retroactive to the date of the determination 
of eligibility. The Secretary shall pay to the State the value of 
the food coupons for which such families and individuals would 
have been eligible in the absence of food assistance payments 
under this clause from the date of termination from the Project 
to the date food coupons are provided. 
"(C) Each family whose Project participation is terminated 
shall be screened for potential eligibility for the food stamp 
program and if the screening indicates potential eligibility, the 
family or family member shall be given a specific request to 
supply all additional information needed to determine such 
eligibility and assistance in completing a signed food stamp 
program application including provision of any 
relevant 
information obtained by the State for purpose of the Project. If 
the family or family member supplies such additional informa-
tion within ten days after receiving the request, the State shall, 
within five days after the State receives such information, 
determine whether the family or family member is eligible for 
the food stamp program. Each family or family member who is 
determined through the screening or otherwise to be ineligible 
for the food stamp program shall be notified of that determina-
tion. 
"(11) Section ll(e)(10) shall apply with respect to applicant 
and participating families in the same manner as such para-
graph applies with respect to applicants and participants in the 
food stamp program, except that families shall be given notice 
of any action for which a hearing is available in a manner 
consistent with the notice requirements of the regulations im-
plementing sections 402(a)(4) and 482(h) of the Social Security 
Act. 
"(12) For each fiscal year, the Secretary shall not be liable for 
any costs related to carrying out the Project in excess of those 
that the Secretary would have been liable for had the Project 
not been implemented, except for costs for evaluating the 
Project, but shall adjust for the full amount of the federal share 
of increases or decreases in costs that result from changes in 
economic, demographic, and other conditions in the State based 
on data specific to the State, changes in eligibility or benefit 
levels authorized by the Food Stamp Act, as amended, or 
changes in amounts of Federal funds available to States and 
localities under the food stamp program. 
"(13) The State shall carry out the food stamp program 
throughout the State while the State carries out the Project. 
"(14)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the State will 
carry out the Project during a five-year period beginning on the 
date the first family receives assistance under the Project. 
PUBLIC LAW 101-202—DEC. 6, 1989 
103 STAT. 1801 
"(B) The Project may be terminated— 
"(i) by the State one hundred and eighty days after the 
State gives notice to the Secretary that it intends to termi-
nate the Project; 
"(ii) by the Secretary one hundred and eighty days after 
the Secretary, after notice and an opportunity for a hear-
ing, determines that the State materially failed to comply 
with this section; or 
"(iii) whenever the State and the Secretary jointly agree 
to terminate the Project. 
"(15) Not more than six thousand families may participate in 
the Project simultaneously. 
"(c) ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OP THE PROJECT.—The 
Project shall be subject to the following additional terms and 
conditions: 
"(1) The State may require any parent in a participating 
family to participate in education, employment, or training 
requirements unless the individual is a parent in a family with 
one parent who— 
"(A) is ill, incapacitated, or sixty years of age or older; 
"(B) is needed in the home because of the illness or 
incapacity of another family member; 
"(C) is the parent of a child under one year of age and is 
personally providing care for the child; 
"(D) is the parent of a child under six years of age and is 
employed or participating in education or employment and 
training services for twenty or more hours a week; 
"(E) works thirty or more hours a week or, if the number 
of hours worked cannot be verified, earns at least the 
Federal minimum hourly wage rate multiplied by thirty 
per week; or 
"(F) is in the second or third trimester of pregnancy. 
"(2) The State shall not require any parent of a child under 
six years of age in a participating family with only one parent to 
be employed or participate in education or employment and 
training services for more than twenty hours a week. 
"(3) For any period during which an individual required to 
participate in education, employment, or training requirements 
fails to comply without good cause with a requirement imposed 
by the State under paragraph (1), the amount of assistance to 
the family under the Project may be reduced by an amount not 
more than 10 percent of the assistance the family would be 
eligible for with no income other than that from the Project. 
"(d) FUNDING.— 
"(1) If an application submitted under subsection (a) complies 
with the requirements specified in subsection (b), then the 
Secretary shall— 
"(A) approve such application; and 
"(B) subject to subsection (b)(12) from the funds appro-
priated under this Act provide grant awards and pay the 
State each calendar quarter for— 
"(i) the cost of food assistance provided under the 
Project equal to the amount that would have otherwise 
been issued in the form of coupons under the food 
stamp program had the Project not been implemented, 
as estimated under a methodology satisfactory to the 
Secretary after negotiations with the State; and 
103 STAT. 1802 
PUBLIC LAW 101-202—DEC. 6, 1989 
"(ii) the administrative costs incurred by the State to 
provide food assistance under the Project that are au-
thorized under subsections (a), (g), (h)(2), and (h)(3) of 
section 16 equal to the amount that otherwise would 
have been paid under such subsections had the Project 
not been implemented, as estimated under a methodol-
ogy satisfactory to the Secretary after negotiations 
with the State: Provided, That payments made under 
subsection (g) of section 16 shall equal payments that 
would have been made if the Project had not been 
implemented. 
"(2) The Secretary shall periodically adjust payments made to 
the State under paragraph (1) to reflect— 
"(A) the cost of coupons issued to individuals ineligible for 
the Project specified in subsection (b)(3)(E) in excess of the 
amount that would have been issued to such individuals 
had the Project not been implemented, as estimated under 
a methodology satisfactory to the Secretary after negotia-
tions with the State; and 
"(B) the cost of coupons issued to families exercising the 
option specified in paragraph (b)(3)(D)(iii) in excess of the 
amount that would have been issued to such individuals 
had the Project not been implemented, as estimated under 
a methodology satisfactory to the Secretary after negotia-
tions with the State. 
"(3) Payments under paragraph (1)(B) shall include adjust-
ments, as estimated under a methodology satisfactory to the 
Secretary after negotiations with the State, for increases or 
decreases in the costs of providing food assistance and associ-
ated administrative costs that result from changes in economic, 
demographic, or other conditions in the State based on data 
specific to the State, changes in eligibility or benefit levels 
authorized by the Food Stamp Act, as amended, and changes in 
or additional amounts of Federal funds available to States and 
localities under the food stamp program. 
"(e) WAIVER.—With respect to the Project, the Secretary shall 
waive compliance with any requirement contained in this Act (other 
than this section) that, if applied, would prevent the State from 
carrying out the Project or effectively achieving its purpose. 
"(f) PROJECT AUDITS.—The Comptroller General of the United 
States shall— 
"(1) conduct periodic audits of the operation of the Project to 
verify the amounts payable to the State from time to time under 
subsection (d); and 
Reports. 
"(2) submit to the Secretary, the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services, the Committee on Agriculture of the House of 
Representatives, and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 
and Forestry of the Senate a report describing the results of 
each such audit. 
"(g) CONSTRUCTION.—(1) For purposes of any Federal, State, or 
local law other than part A of title IV of the Social Security Act or 
the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.)— 
"(A) cash assistance provided under the Project that is des-
ignated as food assistance by the State shall be treated in the 
same manner as coupon allotments under the food stamp pro-
gram are treated; and 
p- >«"4^*'^'i-*#v.;-^M||i^.Vv,-«f ^*:4vv:<|-v--
PUBLIC LAW 101-202—DEC. 6, 1989 
103 STAT. 1803 
"(B) participating families sheill be treated in the same 
manner as participants in the food stamp program are treated. 
"(2) Nothing in this section shall— 
"(A) allow payments made to the State under the Project to be 
less than the amounts the State and eligible households within 
the State would have received if the Project had not been 
implemented; or 
"(B) require the Secretary to incur costs as a result of the 
Project in excess of costs that would have been incurred if the 
Project had not been implemented, except for costs for evalua-
tion. 
"(h) QUALITY CONTROL.—Participating families shall be excluded 
from any sample taken for purposes of making any determination 
under section 16(c). For purposes of establishing the total value of 
allotments under section 16(cXlXC), food coupons and the amount of 
federal liability for food assistance provided under the Project as 
limited by subsection b(12) of this section shall be treated as allot-
ments issued under the food stamp program. Payments for adminis-
trative costs incurred by the State shall be included for purposes of 
establishing the adjustment under section 16(cXl)(A). 
"(i) EVALUATION.—(1) The State shall develop and implement a 
plan for an independent evaluation designed to provide reliajale 
information on Project impacts and implementation. The evaluation 
will include treatment and control groups and will include random 
assignment of families to treatment and control groups in an urban 
setting. The evaluation plan shall satisfy the evaluation concerns of 
the Secretary of Agriculture such as effects on benefits to partici-
pants, costs of the Project, payment accuracy, administrative con-
sequences, any reduction in welfare dependency, any reduction in 
total assistance payments, and the consequences of cash payments 
on household expenditures, and food consumption. The evaluation 
plan shall take into consideration the evaluation requirements and 
administrative obligations of the State. The evaluation will measure 
the effects of the Project in regard to goals of increasing family 
income, prevention of long-term dependency, movement toward self-
support, and simplification of the welfare system. 
"(2) The State shall pay 50 percent of the cost of developing and 
implementing such plan and the Federal Government shall pay the 
remainder. 
"(j) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the following 
definitions apply: 
"(1) The term 'family' means the following individuals who 
live together: a minor child or a group of minor children related 
to each other as siblings, half siblings, stepsiblings, or adopted 
siblings, together with their natural or adoptive parents, or 
their caregiver. Family also includes a pregnant woman in the 
third trimester of pregnancy with no children. 
"(2) The term 'contract' means a plan to help a family pursue 
self-sufficiency, based on the State's sissessment of the family's 
needs and abilities and developed with a parental caregiver. 
"(3) The term 'caregiver' means a minor child's natural or 
adoptive parent or parents who live in the home with the minor 
child. For purposes of determining eligibility for the Project, 
'caregiver' also means any of the following individuals who live 
with and provide care and support to a minor child when the 
minor child's natural or adoptive parent or parents do not 
reside in the same home: grandfather, grandmother, brother. 
103 STAT. 1804 
PUBLIC LAW 101-202—DEC. 6, 1989 
sister, stepfather, stepmother, stepbrother, stepsister, uncle, 
aunt, first cousin, nephew, niece, persons of preceding genera-
tions as denoted by prefixes of 'great' or 'great-great' or a spouse 
of any person named in the above groups even after the mar-
riage ends by death or divorce. 
"(4) The term 'State' means the State of Minnesota.". 
Approved December 6,1989. 
LEGISLATIVE fflSTORY—S. 1960: 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 135 (1989): 
Nov. 21, considered and passed Senate and House.