This rule proposes to codify a new framework for determining distinct staple food varieties and accessory foods for purposes of meeting the staple food requirements for retailer participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
This notice sets forth the interpretation that the U.S. Department of Agriculture uses for the term “Federal public benefit” as used in Title IV of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. In doing so, this notice supersedes any prior interpretation in any notice or other document issued by any USDA agency. This notice also describes and preliminarily identifies the USDA programs that provide “Federal public benefits” within the scope of PRWORA.
This is a revision of a currently approved collection and existing burden in use in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. This information collection captures the burden associated with the requirement that states make ineligible SNAP participants with substantial lottery or gambling winnings and establish cooperative agreements with gaming entities within their states to identify SNAP participants with substantial winnings. Individuals and households are required to report substantial winnings.
This final rule amends the SNAP regulations to ensure that retail food stores can no longer use the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process to delay FNS' administrative actions to sanction a retail food store for SNAP violations. Under this rule, FNS will process FOIA requests and FOIA appeals separately from the administrative action for all SNAP violations, as originally proposed. The processing of FOIA requests and appeals during the administrative and judicial review process will have no impact on when the agency can take administrative action.
FNS proposes to make changes to SNAP regulations pertaining to the eligibility of certain SNAP retail food stores. These proposed changes are in response to the Consolidated Appropriations Acts of 2017 and 2018, which prohibited the USDA from implementing two retailer stocking provisions (the “Breadth of Stock” provision and the “Definition of `Variety' ” provision) of the 2016 final rule titled, “Enhancing Retailer Standards in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)”, until such a time as regulatory modifications to the definition of “variety” are made that would increase the number of food items that count as acceptable staple food varieties for purposes of SNAP retailer eligibility.
The Food and Nutrition Service seeks to prevent firms authorized to participate in SNAP from delaying administrative actions, such as disqualification or civil money penalties, through submission of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests or appeals. As such, FNS is proposing that FOIA requests and FOIA appeals be processed separately from administrative actions FNS takes against retail food stores. This proposed rule would ensure that retail food stores can no longer use the FOIA process to delay FNS' administrative actions to sanction a retail food store for SNAP violations.
The final rule, titled “Enhancing Retailer Standards in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program,” made several changes to requirements for stores that want to accept SNAP benefits as a form of payment. These changes support healthy lifestyles for SNAP recipients while maintaining recipients’ access to food.
FNS proposes to make changes to the SNAP regulations pertaining to the eligibility of SNAP retail food stores.
FNS is issuing this affirmation of a final rule, without change, of an interim rule that amended SNAP regulations, to require state agencies to monitor electronic benefit transfer card replacement requests and send notices to those clients who have requested four cards within a 12-month period.
FNS is issuing a final rule to amend Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program regulations to allow state agencies to deny a request for a replacement card until contact is made by the household with the state agency, if the requests for replacement cards are determined to be excessive.