Supplemental Security Income For the Aged, Blind, and Disabled; Income and Resources; Victims' Compensation Payments and Relocation Assistance Exclusions

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Social Security Administration

20 CFR Part 416

[Regulations No. 16]

RIN 0960-AD36

Supplemental Security Income For the Aged, Blind, and Disabled;

Income and Resources; Victims' Compensation Payments and Relocation

Assistance Exclusions

AGENCY: Social Security Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Proposed rules.

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SUMMARY: These proposed regulations will exclude from income and

resources under the supplemental security income (SSI) program,

payments received by an individual (or spouse) from a fund established

by a State to aid victims of crime and certain relocation assistance

received from a State or local government. These amendments are being

proposed in order to reflect sections 5031 and 5035 of the Social

Security Act.

DATES: To be sure that your comments are considered, we must receive

them no later than October 25, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be submitted in writing to the Commissioner

of Social Security, Department of Health and Human Services, P.O. Box

1585, Baltimore, MD 21235, sent by telefax to (410) 966-0869, or

delivered to the Office of Regulations, Social Security Administration,

3-B-1 Operations Building, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD

21235, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on regular business days.

Comments received may be inspected during these same hours by making

arrangements with the contact person shown below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Harry J. Short, Legal Assistant, 3-B-1

Operations Building, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235,

(410) 965-6243.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 1612(b) of the Social Security Act

(the Act), as amended by sections 5031 and 5035 of Pub. L. 101-508,

effective May 1, 1991, excludes from income under the SSI program

payments received by an individual (or spouse) from a fund established

by a State to aid victims of crime, and relocation assistance provided

by a State or local government which is comparable to assistance

provided under title II of the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real

Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970. Sections 5031 and 5035 also

amended section 1613(a) of the Act to exclude these payments and

assistance from resources for a period of 9 months beginning with the

month following the month in which they are received. However, with

respect to victims' compensation payments under section 5031, the

resource exclusion applies to the extent that the payments were made as

compensation for expenses incurred or losses suffered as a result of a

crime. In addition, section 5031 amended section 1631(a) of the Act to

provide that benefits under title XVI shall not be denied to any

individual solely by reason of the refusal of the individual to accept

an amount offered as compensation for a crime of which the individual

was a victim. Section 13732 of Public Law 103-66 (the Omnibus Budget

Reconciliation Act of 1993) amended section 5035 of Pub. L. 101- 508 by

making permanent the exclusion of relocation assistance which

originally was set to expire on April 30, 1994.

These proposed regulations would amend Secs. 416.210(b), 416.1124,

and 416.1210 and create new Secs. 416.1229 and 416.1239 to reflect

these statutory changes. These proposed rules would also amend

Sec. 416.1161 to apply these same income exclusions when victims'

compensation payments and State and local government relocation

assistance are received by the ineligible spouse or ineligible parent

of an eligible individual or child in order that the deeming rules not

reduce the SSI payment of, or render ineligible, the individual or

child. The proposed amendments to Sec. 416.1210 would result in the

application of the resource exclusions to these deemors. Not to apply

the exclusions in such cases could thwart the Congressional intent

underlying sections 5031 and 5035 that State victims' compensation

payments and relocation assistance not be treated as income and

resources and thus not adversely affect SSI eligibility. For this same

reason, the proposed resource exclusions would apply to victims'

compensation payments and relocation assistance received by an alien's

sponsor whose resources are deemed to an eligible alien. Under section

1621(b)(1) of the Act, income exclusions are not applicable in

determining the amount of a sponsor's income that will be deemed to an

alien. Therefore, the proposed income exclusions for victims'

compensation payments and relocation assistance would not apply to such

payments received by a sponsor whose income is deemed to an alien.

Section 416.1204 would be updated to reflect the inclusion of the

resource exclusion for victims' compensation payments and relocation

assistance as well as the other resource exclusions applicable to the

resources of a sponsor.

Regulatory Procedures

Executive Order 12866

We have consulted with the Office of Management and Budget and

determined that these rules do not meet the criteria for a significant

regulatory action under Executive Order 12866.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

We certify that these proposed rules will not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial number of small entities since these

rules affect only individuals. Therefore, a regulatory flexibility

analysis as provided in Pub. L. 96-354, the Regulatory Flexibility Act,

is not required.

Paperwork Reduction Act

These proposed regulations, if promulgated, will impose no

additional reporting and recordkeeping requirements subject to Office

of Management and Budget clearance.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance: Program No. 93.807--

Supplemental Security Income)

List of Subjects in 20 CFR Part 416

Administrative practice and procedure, Aged, Blind, Disability

benefits, Public assistance programs, Supplemental Security Income

(SSI), Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements.

Dated: June 27, 1994.

Shirley Chater,

Commissioner of Social Security.

Approved: August 11, 1994.

Donna E. Shalala,

Secretary of Health and Human Services.

For the reasons set out in the preamble, Part 416 of Chapter III of

Title 20 of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended as follows:

PART 416--[AMENDED]

1. The authority citation for Subpart B of Part 416 continues to

read as follows:

Authority: Secs. 1102, 1110(b), 1602, 1611, 1614, 1615(c),

1619(a), 1631, and 1634 of the Social Security Act; 42 U.S.C. 1302,

1310(b), 1381a, 1382, 1382c, 1382d(c), 1382h(a), 1383, and 1383c;

secs. 211 and 212 of Pub. L. 93-66, 87 Stat. 154 and 155; sec.

502(a) of Pub. L. 94-241, 90 Stat. 268; and sec. 2 of Pub. L. 99-

643, 100 Stat. 3574.

2. Section 416.210 is amended by revising paragraph (b) to read as

follows:

Sec. 416.210 You do not apply for other benefits.

* * * * *

(b) What other benefits includes. Other benefits includes any

payments for which you can apply that are available to you on an

ongoing or one-time basis of a type that includes annuities, pensions,

retirement benefits, or disability benefits. For example, other

benefits includes veterans' compensation and pensions, workers'

compensation payments, Social Security insurance benefits and

unemployment insurance benefits. Other benefits for which you are

required to apply do not include payments that you may be eligible to

receive from a fund established by a State to aid victims of crime.

(See Sec. 416.1124(c)(16) of this part.)

* * * * *

3. The authority citation for Subpart K of Part 416 continues to

read as follows:

Authority: Secs. 1102, 1602, 1611, 1612, 1613, 1614(f), 1621,

and 1631 of the Social Security Act; 42 U.S.C. 1302, 1381a, 1382,

1382a, 1382b, 1382c(f), 1382j, and 1383; sec. 211 of Pub. L. 93-66,

87 Stat 154.

4. Section 416.1124 is amended by replacing the periods after

paragraphs (c)(9), (c)(14)(v), and (c)(15) with a semicolon, by

removing the word ``and'' at the end of paragraph (c)(15), and by

adding new paragraphs (c)(17) and (c)(18) to read as follows:

Sec. 416.1124 Unearned income we do not count.

* * * * *

(c) * * *

(17) Payments received by you from a fund established by a State to

aid victims of crime; and

(18) Relocation assistance provided you by a State or local

government that is comparable to assistance provided under title II of

the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition

Policies Act of 1970 that is subject to the treatment required by

section 216 of that Act.

5. Section 416.1161 is amended by removing the ``or'' following

paragraph (a)(14), replacing the periods after paragraphs (a)(17),

(a)(18), (a)(19), and (a)(20) with semicolons, and by adding new

paragraphs (a)(21) and (a)(22) to read as follows:

Sec. 416.1161 Income of an ineligible spouse, ineligible parent, and

essential person for deeming purposes.

* * * * *

(a) * * *

(21) Payments from a fund established by a State to aid victims of

crime (see Sec. 416.1124(c)(17)); and

(22) Relocation assistance, as described in Sec. 416.1124(c)(18).

6. The authority citation for Subpart L of Part 416 continues to

read as follows:

Authority: Secs. 1102, 1602, 1611, 1612, 1613, 1614(f), 1621,

and 1631 of the Social Security Act; 42 U.S.C. 1302, 1381a, 1382,

1382a, 1382b, 1382c(f), 1382j, and 1383; sec. 211 of Pub. L. 93-66,

87 Stat. 154.

7. Section 416.1204 is amended by revising paragraph (a) to read as

follows:

Sec. 416.1204 Deeming of resources of the sponsor of an alien.

* * * * *

(a) Exclusions from the sponsor's resources. Before we deem a

sponsor's resources to an alien, we exclude the same kinds of resources

that are excluded from the resources of an individual eligible for SSI

benefits. The applicable exclusions from resources are explained in

Sec. 416.1210 (paragraphs (a) through (i), (k), and (m) through (q))

through Sec. 416.1239. For resources excluded by Federal statutes other

than the Social Security Act, as applicable to the resources of

sponsors deemed to aliens, see the appendix to subpart K, Income. We

next allocate for the sponsor or for the sponsor and spouse (if living

together). (The amount of the allocation is the applicable resource

limit described in Sec. 416.1205 for an eligible individual and an

individual and spouse.)

* * * * *

8. Section 416.1210 is amended by removing ``and'' from the end of

paragraph (h), by removing the periods from the end of paragraphs (1),

(m), (n), and (o) and inserting semicolons in their places, and by

adding new paragraphs (p) and (q) to read as follows:

Sec. 416.1210 Exclusions from resources; general.

* * * * *

(p) Payments received as compensation for expenses incurred or

losses suffered as a result of a crime as provided in Sec. 416.1229;

and

(q) Relocation assistance from a State or local government as

provided in Sec. 416.1239.

9. A new Sec. 416.1229 is added to read as follows:

Sec. 416.1229 Exclusion of payments received as compensation for

expenses incurred or loss suffered as a result of a crime.

(a) In determining the resources of an individual (and spouse, if

any), any amount received from a fund established by a State to aid

victims of crime is excluded from resources for a period of 9 months

beginning with the month following the month of receipt.

(b) To be excluded from resources under this section, the

individual (or spouse) must demonstrate that any amount received was

compensation for expenses incurred or losses suffered as the result of

a crime.

10. A new Sec. 416.1239 is added to read as follows:

Sec. 416.1239 Exclusion of State or local relocation assistance

payments.

In determining the resources of an individual (or spouse, if any),

relocation assistance provided by a State or local government (as

described in Sec. 416.1124(c)(18)) is excluded from resources for a

period of 9 months beginning with the month following the month of

receipt.

[FR Doc. 94-20634 Filed 8-25-94; 8:45 am]

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