§ 2017 — Value Of Allotment

(a) The value of the allotment which State agencies shall be authorized to issue to any households certified as eligible to participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance program shall be equal to the cost to such households of the thrifty food plan reduced by an amount equal to 30 per centum of the household’s income, as determined in accordance with section 2014(d) and (e) of this title, rounded to the nearest lower whole dollar: Provided, That for households of one and two persons the minimum allotment shall be 8 percent of the cost of the thrifty food plan for a household containing 1 member, as determined by the Secretary under section 2012 of this title, rounded to the nearest whole dollar increment. (b) The value of benefits that may be provided under this chapter shall not be considered income or resources for any purpose under any Federal, State, or local laws, including, but not limited to, laws relating to taxation, welfare, and public assistance programs, and no participating State or political subdivision thereof shall decrease any assistance otherwise provided an individual or individuals because of the receipt of benefits under this chapter. (1) The value of the allotment issued to any eligible household for the initial month or other initial period for which an allotment is issued shall have a value which bears the same ratio to the value of the allotment for a full month or other initial period for which the allotment is issued as the number of days (from the date of application) remaining in the month or other initial period for which the allotment is issued bears to the total number of days in the month or other initial period for which the allotment is issued, except that no allotment may be issued to a household for the initial month or period if the value of the allotment which such household would otherwise be eligible to receive under this subsection is less than $10. Households shall receive full months’ allotments for all months within a certification period, except as provided in the first sentence of this paragraph with respect to an initial month. (2) As used in this subsection, the term “initial month” means (A) the first month for which an allotment is issued to a household, (B) the first month for which an allotment is issued to a household following any period in which such household was not participating in the supplemental nutrition assistance program under this chapter after the expiration of a certification period or after the termination of the certification of a household, during a certification period, when the household ceased to be eligible after notice and an opportunity for a hearing under section 2020(e)(10) of this title, and (C) in the case of a migrant or seasonal farmworker household, the first month for which allotment is issued to a household that applies following any period of more than 30 days in which such household was not participating in the supplemental nutrition assistance program after previous participation in such program. (3) A State agency may provide to an eligible household applying after the 15th day of a month, in lieu of the initial allotment of the household and the regular allotment of the household for the following month, an allotment that is equal to the total amount of the initial allotment and the first regular allotment. The allotment shall be provided in accordance with section 2020(e)(3) of this title in the case of a household that is not entitled to expedited service and in accordance with paragraphs (3) and (9) of section 2020(e) of this title in the case of a household that is entitled to expedited service. (1) If the benefits of a household are reduced under a Federal, State, or local law relating to a means-tested public assistance program for the failure of a member of the household to perform an action required under the law or program, for the duration of the reduction— (A) the household may not receive an increased allotment as the result of a decrease in the income of the household to the extent that the decrease is the result of the reduction; and (B) the State agency may reduce the allotment of the household by not more than 25 percent. (2) If the allotment of a household is reduced under this subsection for a failure to perform an action required under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), the State agency may use the rules and procedures that apply under part A of title IV of the Act to reduce the allotment under the supplemental nutrition assistance program. (1) In the case of an individual who resides in a center for the purpose of a drug or alcoholic treatment program described in section 2012(m)(5) of this title, a State agency may provide an allotment for the individual to— (A) the center as an authorized representative of the individual for a period that is less than 1 month; and (B) the individual, if the individual leaves the center. (2) A State agency may require an individual referred to in paragraph (1) to designate the center in which the individual resides as the authorized representative of the individual for the purpose of receiving an allotment. (i) Subject to clause (ii), at the option of the State agency, allotments for residents of any facility described in subparagraph (B), (C), (D), or (E) of section 2012(m)(5) of this title (referred to in this subsection as a “covered facility”) may be determined and issued under this paragraph in lieu of subsection (a). (ii) Unless the Secretary authorizes implementation of this paragraph in all States under paragraph (3), clause (i) shall apply only to residents of covered facilities participating in a pilot project under paragraph (2). (B) The allotment for each eligible resident described in subparagraph (A) shall be calculated in accordance with standardized procedures established by the Secretary that take into account the allotments typically received by residents of covered facilities. (i) The State agency shall issue an allotment determined under this paragraph to a covered facility as the authorized representative of the residents of the covered facility. (ii) The Secretary shall establish procedures to ensure that a covered facility does not receive a greater proportion of a resident’s monthly allotment than the proportion of the month during which the resident lived in the covered facility. (i) Any covered facility that receives an allotment for a resident under this paragraph shall— (I) notify the State agency promptly on the departure of the resident; and (II) notify the resident, before the departure of the resident, that the resident— (aa) is eligible for continued benefits under the supplemental nutrition assistance program; and (bb) should contact the State agency concerning continuation of the benefits. (ii) On receiving a notification under clause (i)(I) concerning the departure of a resident, the State agency— (I) shall promptly issue the departed resident an allotment for the days of the month after the departure of the resident (calculated in a manner prescribed by the Secretary) unless the departed resident reapplies to participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance program; and (II) may issue an allotment for the month following the month of the departure (but not any subsequent month) based on this paragraph unless the departed resident reapplies to participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance program. (iii) The State agency may elect not to issue an allotment under clause (ii)(I) if the State agency lacks sufficient information on the location of the departed resident to provide the allotment. (iv) If the departed resident reapplies to participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance program, the allotment of the departed resident shall be determined without regard to this paragraph. (A) Before the Secretary authorizes implementation of paragraph (1) in all States, the Secretary shall carry out, at the request of 1 or more State agencies and in 1 or more areas of the United States, such number of pilot projects as the Secretary determines to be sufficient to test the feasibility of determining and issuing allotments to residents of covered facilities under paragraph (1) in lieu of subsection (a). (B) To be eligible to participate in a pilot project under subparagraph (A), a State agency shall submit to the Secretary for approval a project plan that includes— (i) a specification of the covered facilities in the State that will participate in the pilot project; (ii) a schedule for reports to be submitted to the Secretary on the pilot project; (iii) procedures for standardizing allotment amounts that takes into account the allotments typically received by residents of covered facilities; and (iv) a commitment to carry out the pilot project in compliance with the requirements of this subsection other than paragraph (1)(B). (A) The Secretary shall— (i) determine whether to authorize implementation of paragraph (1) in all States; and (ii) notify the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate of the determination. (i) If the Secretary makes a finding described in clause (ii), the Secretary— (I) shall not authorize implementation of paragraph (1) in all States; and (II) shall terminate all pilot projects under paragraph (2) within a reasonable period of time (as determined by the Secretary). (ii) The finding referred to in clause (i) is that— (I) an insufficient number of project plans that the Secretary determines to be eligible for approval are submitted by State agencies under paragraph (2)(B); or (aa) a sufficient number of pilot projects have been carried out under paragraph (2)(A); and (bb) authorization of implementation of paragraph (1) in all States is not in the best interest of the supplemental nutrition assistance program.