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(b) The value of benefits that may be provided under this Act, whether through coupons, access devices, or otherwise 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 Act.

(e) The State plan of operation required under subsection (d) of this section shall provide, among such other provisions as may be required by regulation—

(1) that the State agency shall (A) at the option of the State agency, inform low-income households about the availability, eligibility requirements, application procedures, and benefits of the food stamp program; and (B) use appropriate bilingual personnel and printed material in the administration of the program in those portions of political subdivisions in the State in which a substantial number of members of low-income households speak a language other than English;

(2)(A) that the State agency shall establish procedures governing the operation of food stamp offices that the State agency determines best serve households in the State, including households with special needs, such as households with elderly or disabled members, households in rural areas with low-income members, homeless individuals, households residing on reservations, and households in areas in which a substantial number of members of low-income households speak a language other than English.

(B) In carrying out subparagraph (A), a State agency

(i) shall provide timely, accurate, and fair service to applicants for, and participants in, the food stamp program;

(ii) shall develop an application containing the information necessary to comply with this Act;

(iii) shall permit an applicant household to apply to participate in the program on the same day that the household first contacts a food stamp office in person during office hours;

(iv) shall consider an application that contains the name, address, and signature of the applicant to be filed on the date the applicant submits the application;

(v) shall require that an adult representative of each applicant household certify in writing, under penalty of perjury, that

(I) the information contained in the application is true; and (II) all members of the household are citizens or are aliens eligible to receive food stamps under section 6(f);

(vi) shall provide a method of certifying and issuing coupons to eligible homeless individuals, to ensure that participation in the food stamp program is limited to eligible households; and

(vii) may establish operating procedures that vary for local food stamp offices to reflect regional and local differences within the State. (C) Nothing in this Act shall prohibit the use of signatures provided and maintained electronically, storage of records using automated retrieval systems only, or any other feature of a State agency's application system that does not rely exclusively on the collection and retention of paper applications or other records.

(D) The signature of any adult under this paragraph shall be considered sufficient to comply with any provision of Federal law requiring a household member to sign an application or statement;

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(3) that the State agency shall thereafter promptly determine the eligibility of each applicant household by way of verification of income other than that determined to be excluded by section 5(d) of this Act (in part through the use of the information, if any, obtained under section 16(e) of this Act), household size (in any case such size is questionable), and such other eligibility factors as the Secretary determines to be necessary to implement sections 5 and 6 of this Act, although the State agency may verify prior to certification, whether questionable or not, the size of any applicant household and such other eligibility factors as the State agency determines are necessary, so as to complete certification of and provide an allotment retroactive to the period of application to any eligible household not later than thirty days following its filing of an application, and that the State agency shall provide each applicant household, at the time of application, a clear written statement explaining what acts the household must perform to cooperate in obtaining verification and otherwise completing the application process;

(4) that the State agency shall insure that each participating household receive a notice of expiration of its certification prior to the start of the last month of its certification period advising the household that it must submit a new application in order to renew its eligibility for a new certification period and, further, that each such household which seeks to be certified another time or more times thereafter by filing an application for such recertification no later than fifteen days prior to the day upon which its existing certification period expires shall, if found to be still eligible, receive its allotment no later than one month after the receipt of the last allotment issued to it pursuant to its prior certification, but if such household is found to be ineligible or to be eligible for a smaller allotment during the new certification period it shall not continue to participate and receive benefits on the basis authorized for the preceding certification period even if it makes a timely request for a fair hearing pursuant to paragraph (10) of this subsection: Provided, That the timeliness standards for submitting the notice of expiration and filing an application for recertification may be modified by the Secretary in light of sections 5(f)(2) and 6(c) of this Act if administratively necessary;

(5) the specific standards to be used in determining the eligibility of applicant households which shall be in accordance with sections 5 and 6 of this Act and shall include no additional requirements imposed by the State agency;

(6) that

(A) the State agency shall undertake the certification of applicant households in accordance with the general procedures prescribed by the Secretary in the regulations issued pursuant to this Act; and

(B) the State agency personnel utilized in undertaking such certification shall be employed in accordance with the current standards for a Merit System of Personnel Administration or any standards later prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management pursuant to section 208 of the Intergovernmental Personnel Act of 1970 modifying or superseding such standards relating to the establishment and maintenance of personnel standards on a merit basis;

(7) that an applicant household may be represented in the certification process and that an eligible household may be represented in coupon issuance or food purchase by a person other than a member of the household so long as that person has been clearly designated as the representative of that household for that purpose by the head of the household or the spouse of the head, and, where the certification process is concerned, the representative is an adult who is sufficiently aware of relevant household circumstances, except that the Secretary may restrict the number of households which may be represented by an individual and otherwise establish criteria and verification standards for representation under this paragraph;

(8) safeguards which limit the use or disclosure of information obtained from applicant households to persons directly connected with the administration or enforcement of the provisions of this Act, regulations issued pursuant to this Act, Federal assistance programs, or federally assisted State programs, except that

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(A) the safeguards shall not prevent the use or disclosure of such information to the Comptroller General of the United States for audit and examination authorized by any other provision of law;

(B) notwithstanding any other provision of law, all information obtained under this Act from an applicant household shall be made available, upon request, to local, State or Federal law enforcement officials for the purpose of investigating an alleged violation of this Act or any regulation issued under this Act;

(C) the safeguards shall not prevent the use by, or disclosure of such information, to agencies of the Federal Government (including the United States Postal Service) for purposes of collecting the amount of an overissuance of coupons, as determined under section 13(b) of this Act, from Federal pay (including salaries and pensions) as authorized pursuant to section 5514 of title 5 of the United States Code or a Federal income tax refund as authorized by section 3720A of title 31, United States Code;

(D) notwithstanding any other provision of law, the address, social security number, and, if available, photograph of any member of a household shall be made available, on request, to any Federal, State, or local law enforcement officer if the officer furnishes the State agency with the name of the member and notifies the agency that

(i) the member

(I) is fleeing to avoid prosecution, or custody or confinement after conviction, for a crime (or attempt to commit a crime) that, under the law of the place the member is fleeing, is a felony (or, in the case of New Jersey, a high misdemeanor), or is violating a condition of probation or parole imposed under Federal or State law; or (II) has information that is necessary for the officer to conduct an official duty related to subclause (I);

(ii) locating or apprehending the member is an official duty; and (iii) the request is being made in the proper exercise of an official duty; and

(E) the safeguards shall not prevent compliance with paragraph (16) or (20)(B);

(9) that the State agency shall—

(A) provide coupons no later than 7 days after the date of application to any household which

(i)(I) has gross income that is less than $150 per month; or

(II) is a destitute migrant or a seasonal farmworker household in accordance with the regulations governing such households in effect July 1, 1982; and

(ii) has liquid resources that do not exceed $100;

(B) provide coupons no later than 7 days after the date of application to any household that has a combined gross income and liquid resources that is less than the monthly rent, or mortgage, and utilities of the household; and

(C) to the extent practicable, verify the income and liquid resources of a household referred to in subparagraph (A) or (B), prior to issuance of coupons to the household;

(10) for the granting of a fair hearing and a prompt determination thereafter to any household aggrieved by the action of the State agency under any provision of its plan of operation as it affects the participation of such household in the food stamp program or by a claim against the household for an overissuance: Provided, That any household which timely requests such a fair hearing after receiving individual notice of agency action reducing or terminating its benefis within the household's certification period shall continue to participate and receive benefits on the basis authorized immediately prior to the notice of adverse action until such time as the fair hearing is completed and an adverse decision rendered or until such time as the household's certification period terminates, whichever occurs earlier, except that in any case in which the State agency receives from the household a written statement containing information that clearly requires a reduction or termination of the household's benefits, the State agency may act immediately to reduce or terminate the household's benefits and may provide notice of its action to the household as

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late as the date on which the action becomes effective. At the option of a State, at any time prior to a fair hearing determination under this paragraph, a household may withdraw, orally or in writing, a request by the household for the fair hearing. If the withdrawal request is an oral request, the State agency shall provide a written notice to the household confirming the withdrawal request and providing the household with an opportunity to request a hearing.

(11) upon receipt of a request from a household, for the prompt restoration in the form of coupons to a household of any allotment or portion thereof which has been wrongfully denied or terminated, except that allotments shall not be restored for any period of time more than one year prior to the date the State agency receives a request for such restoration from a household or the State agency is notified or otherwise discovers that a loss to a household has occurred; (12) for the submission of such reports and other information as from time to time may be required by the Secretary;

(13) for indicators of expected performance in the administration of the program;

(14) that the State agency shall specify a plan of operation for providing food stamps for households that are victims of a disaster; that such plan shall include, but not be limited to, procedures for informing the public about the disaster program and how to apply for its benefits, coordination with Federal and private disaster relief agencies and local government officials, application procedures to reduce hardship and inconvenience and deter fraud, and instruction of caseworkers in procedures for implementing and operating the disaster program;

(15) that the State agency shall require each household certified as eligible to participate by methods other than the out-of-office methods specified in the fourth sentence of paragraph (2) of this subsection in those project areas or parts of project areas in which the Secretary, in consultation with the Department's Inspector General, finds that it would be useful to protect the program's integrity and would be cost effective, to present a photographic identification card when using its authorization card in order to receive its coupons. The State agency may permit a member of a household to comply with this paragraph by presenting a photographic identification card used to receive assistance under a welfare or public assistance program;

(16) notwithstanding paragraph (8) of this subsection, for the immediate reporting to the Immigration and Naturalization Service by the State agency of a determination by personnel responsible for the certification or recertification of households that any member of a household is ineligible to receive food stamps because that member is present in the United States in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act;

(17) at the option of the State agency, for the establishment and operation of an automatic data processing and information retrieval system that meets such conditions as the Secretary may prescribe and that is designed to provide efficient and effective administration of the food stamp program;

(18) at the option of the State agency, that information may be requested and exchanged for purposes of income and eligibility verification in accordance with a State system which meets the requirements of section 1137 of the Social Security Act and that any additional information available from agencies administering State unemployment compensation laws under the provisions of section 303(d) of the Social Security Act may be requested and utilized by the State agency (described in section 3(n)(1) of this Act) to the extent permitted under the provisions of section 303(d) of the Social Security Act;

(19) that, in project areas or parts thereof where authorization cards are used, and eligible households are required to present photographic identification cards in order to receive their coupons, the State agency shall include, in any agreement or contract with a coupon issuer, a provision that (A) the issuer shall (i) require the presenter to furnish a photographic identification card at the time the authorization card is presented, and (ii) record on the authorization card the identification number shown on the photographic identification card; and (B) if the State agency determines that the authorization card has been stolen or otherwise was not received by a household certified as eligible, the issuer shall be liable to the State agency for the face value of any coupons issued in the trans

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action in which such card is used and the issuer fails to comply with the requirements of clause (A) of this paragraph;

(20) that the State agency shall establish a system and take action on a periodic basis

(A) to verify and otherwise ensure that an individual does not receive coupons in more than 1 jurisdiction within the State; and

(B) to verify and otherwise ensure that an individual who is placed under detention in a Federal, State, or local penal, correctional, or other detention facility for more than 30 days shall not be eligible to participate in the food stamp program as a member of any household, except that

(i) the Secretary may determine that extraordinary circumstances make it impracticable for the State agency to obtain information necessary to discontinue inclusion of the individual; and

(ii) a State agency that obtains information collected under section 1611(eX1XIX(i)(I) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1382(e)(1)(I)(i)(I)) pursuant to section 1611(e)(1)(I)(ii)(II) of that Act (42 U.S.C. 1382(e)1XIX(ii)(II)), or under another program determined by the Secretary to be comparable to the program carried out under that section, shall be considered in compliance with this subparagraph

(21) the plans of the State agency for carrying out employment and training programs under section 6(d)(4), including the nature and extent of such programs, the geographic areas and households to be covered under such program, and the basis, including any cost information, for exemptions of categories and individuals and for the choice of employment and training program components reflected in the plans;

(22) in a project area in which 5,000 or more households participate in the food stamp program, for the establishment and operation of a unit for the detection of fraud in the food stamp program, including the investigation, and assistance in the prosecution, of such fraud;

(23) at the option of the State, for procedures necessary to obtain payment of uncollected overissuance of coupons from unemployment compensation pursuant to section 13(c);

(24) the guidelines the State agency uses in carrying out section 6(i); and (25) if a State elects to carry out a Simplified Food Stamp Program under section 26, the plans of the State agency for operating the program, including— (A) the rules and procedures to be followed by the State agency to determine food stamp benefits;

(B) how the State agency will address the needs of households that experience high shelter costs in relation to the incomes of the households; and (C) a description of the method by which the State agency will carry out a quality control system under section 16(c).

(26) the guidelines the State agency uses in carrying out section 6(i); and

(i) APPLICATION AND DENIAL PROCEDURES.

(1) APPLICATION PROCEDURES.-Notwithstanding any other provision of law, households in which all members are applicants for or recipients of supplemental security income shall be informed of the availability of benefits under the food stamp program and be assisted in making a simple application to participate in such program at the social security office and be certified for eligibility utilizing information contained in files of the Social Security Administration;

(2) DENIAL AND TERMINATION.-Except in a case of disqualification as a penalty for failure to comply with a public assistance program rule or regulation, no household shall have it application to participate in the food stamp program denied nor its benefits under the food stamp program terminated solely on the basis that its application to participate has been denied or its benefits have been terminated under any of the programs carried out under the statutes specified in the second sentence of section 5(a) and without a separate determination by the State agency that the household fails to satisfy the eligibility requirements for participation in the food stamp program.