Food Stamp Program: Maximum Allotments for Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the Virgin Islands

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

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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