[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 73 (Wednesday, April 16, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18578-18579]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-9858]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food and Consumer Service
RIN 0584-AC54
Food Stamp Program: Maximum Allotments for Alaska, Hawaii, Guam,
and the Virgin Islands
AGENCY: Food and Consumer Service, USDA.
ACTION: General notice.
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SUMMARY: By this notice, the Department of Agriculture is updating the
maximum food stamp allotments for participating households in Alaska,
Hawaii, Guam, and the Virgin Islands. These annual adjustments,
required by law, take into account changes in the cost of food and
statutory adjustments since the amounts were last calculated.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 1996.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Margaret Werts Batko, Assistant Branch
Chief, Certification Policy Branch, Program Development Division, Food
and Consumer Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 3101 Park Center
Drive, Alexandria, VA 22302, or telephone at (703) 305-2516.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Implementation
As required by Section 3(o) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (the
Act), 7 U.S.C. 2012(o), State agencies should have implemented this
action on October 1, 1996 based on advance notice of the new amounts.
As required by regulations published at 47 FR 46485 (October 19, 1982),
annual statutory adjustments to the maximum allotment levels, income
eligibility standards, and deductions are issued by General Notices
published in the Federal Register and not through rulemaking
proceedings.
Executive Order 12866
This notice 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 (OMB).
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 and related notice to 7 CFR Part 3015, Subpart V (48 FR 29916,
June 24, 1983), this program is excluded from the scope of Executive
Order No. 12372 which requires intergovernmental consultation with
State and local officials.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
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 increases in food stamp benefits.
However, this money will be distributed among all eligible food stamp
vendors, so the effect on any one vendor will not be significant.
Paperwork Reduction Act
This action does not contain reporting or record keeping
requirements subject to review by OMB pursuant to the provisions of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3507.
Background
Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) and Allotments
As provided for in Section 3(o) of the Act, the TFP is a plan for
the consumption of foods of different types (food groups) that families
might use to provide nutritious meals and snacks for family members.
The plan provides for a diet required to feed a family of four persons
consisting of a man and woman aged 20 to 50, a child 6 to 8 and a child
9 to 11. The cost of the TFP is adjusted monthly to reflect changes in
the costs of the food groups.
The TFPs for Alaska and Hawaii are based on an adjusted average for
the six-month period that ends with June 1996. Since the Bureau of
Labor Statistics (the source of food price data) no longer publishes
monthly information to compute Alaska and Hawaii TFPs, the adjusted
average provides a proxy for actual June 1996 TFP costs. The adjusted
average is equal to January-June 1996 TFP costs for Alaska and Hawaii
increased by the average percentage difference between the cost of the
TFP in Alaska and Hawaii in June
[[Page 18579]]
and the January-June average from 1976 through 1986 (a 1.53 percent
increase over January-June costs in Alaska and 1.82 percent increase in
Hawaii).
For the period January through June 1996, the average cost of the
TFP was $491.50 in Alaska, and $625.20 in Hawaii. The proxy in Alaska
for actual June 1996 TFP costs was $499.02. This proxy is multiplied by
three separate adjustment factors to create three TFPs for Urban
Alaska, Rural I Alaska, and Rural II Alaska. The proxy in Hawaii was
$636.57. The June 1996 cost of the TFP was $590.40 in Guam and $515.00
in the Virgin Islands.
The TFP is also the basis for establishing food stamp allotments.
``Allotment'' is defined in Section 3(a) of the Act as ``the total
value of coupons a household is authorized to receive during each
month.'' Food stamp allotments are adjusted periodically to reflect the
changes in food cost levels indicated in the changing amounts of the
TFP. Prior to the amendment of Section (3)(o) of the Act by Section 804
of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act
of 1996, Pub. Law 104-193, on August 22, 1996, allotment amounts were
established on each October 1 at 103 percent of the cost of the TFP in
the previous June. Amended Section 3(o)(4) of the Act now provides that
the TFP will be adjusted each October 1 to reflect the exact cost, or
100 percent, of the TFP for the previous June. This provision was
implemented by the Department as a requirement of the Food Stamp
Program on October 1, 1996, without prior notice and comment due to the
binding, non-discretionary nature of the statutory provision. In
accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B), the Department has determined
that good cause existed to justify such implementation. In a subsequent
rulemaking, the Department will issue a corresponding regulatory change
to 7 CFR 273.10(e)(4)(ii).
The maximum food stamp allotment is paid to households that have no
net income. For households with some type of income, their allotments
are determined by reducing the maximum allotment for their household
size by 30 percent of the household's net income in accordance with
Section 8(a) of the Act, 7 U.S.C. 2017(a). To obtain the maximum food
stamp allotment for each household size, the TFP costs are divided by
four, multiplied by the appropriate household size and economy of scale
factor, and the final result rounded down to the nearest dollar.
Section 804 of Pub. L. 104-193 also amended Section 3(o) of the Act
to prohibit reducing food stamp allotments for Fiscal Year (FY) 1997
below those in effect on September 30, 1996. In FY 1996, Alaska (Urban,
Rural I and II) and Hawaii maximum food stamp allotments for a four
person household were $510, $650, $791, and $663, respectively. Based
on the formula discussed above, FY 1997 allotments would have fallen
below FY 1996 levels to $502, $641, $780, and $636, respectively.
Consequently, in accordance with the law, the food stamp allotments for
Alaska and Hawaii published in this notice will remain the same as last
year's.
Pursuant to Section 3(o)(3) of the Act, maximum food stamp benefits
for Guam and the Virgin Islands cannot exceed those in the 50 States
and the District of Columbia, so they are based upon the lower of their
respective TFPs or the TFP for rural II Alaska.
Maximum Allotment Amounts \1\.--October 1996, as Adjusted
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Urban Rural I Rural II Virgin
Household size Alaska \2\ Alaska \2\ Alaska \2\ Hawaii \2\ Guam \3\ Islands
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\3\---
1....................................... $153 $195 $237 $198 $177 $154
2....................................... 280 357 435 364 324 283
3....................................... 401 512 623 522 464 405
4....................................... 510 650 791 663 590 515
5....................................... 605 772 939 787 701 611
6....................................... 726 926 1127 945 841 733
7....................................... 803 1024 1246 1044 929 811
8....................................... 918 1170 1424 1193 1062 927
Each additional member.................. +115 +146 +178 +149 +133 +116
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\1\ Adjusted to reflect the cost of food in June, adjustments for each household size, economies of scale, and
1.00 percent of the TFP and rounding.
\2\ Held at FY 1996 levels as a result of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996.
\3\ Adjusted to reflect changes in the cost of food in the 48 States and the District of Columbia, which
correlate with price changes in these areas. Maximum allotments in these areas cannot exceed those in Rural II
Alaska.
Maximum allotments for the 48 States and the District of Columbia
are published in a separate notice in the Federal Register. Adjustments
covered by this notice are announced for Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the
Virgin Islands only, reflecting revisions required by changes in the
cost of food and Pub. Law 104-193.
(7 U.S.C. 2011-2034)
Dated: April 4, 1997.
William E. Ludwig,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 97-9858 Filed 4-15-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-U
