WSR 98-21-076

EMERGENCY RULES

DEPARTMENT OF

SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES

(Economic Services Administration)

[Filed October 21, 1998, 10:27 a.m., effective November 1, 1998]



Date of Adoption: October 21, 1998.

Purpose: Authorizes federal food stamp benefits for certain noncitizens, if otherwise eligible.

Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 388-424-0020.

Statutory Authority for Adoption: S.1150, The Agricultural Research, Extension and Education Reform Act of 1998.

Other Authority: RCW 74.04.510.

Under RCW 34.05.350 the agency for good cause finds that state or federal law or federal rule or a federal deadline for state receipt of federal funds requires immediate adoption of a rule.

Reasons for this Finding: S.1150 mandates November 1, 1998, as the effective date.

Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, amended 1, repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0.

Effective Date of Rule: November 1, 1998.

October 21, 1998

Marie Myerchin-Redifer, Manager

Rules and Policies Assistance Unit

SHS-2489.2

AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 98-16-044, filed 7/31/98, effective 9/1/98)



WAC 388-424-0020  ((Citizenship and)) Alien status((--)) and eligibility requirements for the federal food stamp program. (1) ((Qualified aliens cannot receive federal food stamps unless they are:

(a) On active duty in the U.S. military, other than active duty for training;

(b) Honorably discharged U.S. veterans;

(c) Veterans of the military forces of the Philippines who served prior to July 1, 1946, as described in Title 38, section 107 of the U.S. code;

(d) The spouse or unmarried dependent children of a person described in sections (a) through (c) above)) For federal food stamps, an alien must meet one of the conditions in column 1 and one of the conditions in column 2.



Column 1 Column 2
Refugee

Asylee

Deportation withheld

Cuban or Haitian entrant

Aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence

(immigrants)

Parolee for at least one year

Conditional Entrant

Battered spouse, battered child, or parent or child of a

battered person as defined in WAC 388-424-0005

The following noncitizens are only eligible for seven years after admitted or granted status:

Refugee/Amerasian/Asylee

Deportation withheld/Cuban or Haitian entrant

(The above noncitizens may be eligible even if they become immigrants within the seven-year period.)



There is no time limit for the following noncitizens:



1. Permanent resident aliens with forty Social Security Administration (SSA) work quarters.

2. Honorably discharged veterans, active duty military (other than training), spouse, and unmarried dependent children.

3. Lawfully in U.S. on August 22, 1996 and:

a. Now under eighteen, or

b. Disabled or blind, or

c. Sixty-five or older on August 22, 1996.

(2) ((Lawful permanent residents who have earned enough money to qualify for forty quarters of coverage under Title II of the Social Security Act can receive)) In addition to the above noncitizens, the following are eligible for federal food stamps.

(a) ((For purposes of this rule, an alien can receive credit for each qualifying quarter of coverage earned by a:

(i) Parent while the alien was under eighteen years of age; or

(ii) Step-parent while the alien was under eighteen years of age and residing in the same household as the step-parent; or

(iii) Spouse during their marriage if the alien remains married to the spouse or the spouse is deceased)) Hmong or Highland Laotian tribe members (and spouse and dependent children) when tribe rendered assistance to the U.S. during Vietnam era.

(b) ((Any quarter of coverage earned after January 1, 1997 in which an alien receives the following benefits does not count as a qualifying quarter:

(i) Food Stamps;

(ii) Temporary assistance for needy families (TANF); or

(iii) Medicaid, except for coverage provided under the alien emergency medical program)) Canadian born American Indians who are fifty percent American Indian blood.

(c) American Indians who are noncitizens and members of an Indian tribe as defined in section 4(e) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act.

(3) ((Aliens admitted to the U.S. as refugees under section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) can receive federal food stamps during the five-year period after their date of entry)) Lawful permanent residents can receive credit for SSA work quarters by:

(a) Earning enough money to qualify for work quarters; or

(b) Getting credit for quarters earned by a parent or step-parent while the alien is under eighteen; or

(c) Getting credit for quarters earned by a spouse during their marriage if the alien remains married to the spouse or the spouse is deceased.

(4) ((The following aliens can receive federal food stamps during the five-year period after the date they are granted their immigration status:

(a) Aliens granted asylum under section 208 of the INA;

(b) Aliens whose deportation is withheld under section 243(h) or 241 (b)(3) of the INA;

(c) Cuban and Haitian entrants, as defined in section 501(e) of the Refugee Education Act of 1980; and

(d) Amerasians admitted to the U.S. under section 584 of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1988 (as amended))) Lawful permanent residents cannot receive credit for a SSA work quarter after January 1, 1997 if receiving TANF, nonemergency Medicaid, or food stamp benefits during that quarter.



[Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057 and 74.08.090. 98-16-044, § 388-424-0020, filed 7/31/98, effective 9/1/98. Formerly WAC 388-518-1805.]