PREPROPOSAL STATEMENT OF INQUIRY
SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES
(Economic Services Administration)
Subject of Possible Rule Making: The department plans to amend WAC 388-450-0015 What types of income does the department not use to figure out my benefits?
Statutes Authorizing the Agency to Adopt Rules on this Subject: RCW 74.04.005, 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.510, and 74.08.090.
Reasons Why Rules on this Subject may be Needed and What They Might Accomplish: The department is proposing changes to WAC 388-450-0015 to exclude the federal $25 supplemental weekly unemployment compensation payment authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for cash programs. This proposed amendment will exclude the payments for cash programs in order to provide consistent treatment of the payment across program lines. The department is going through the permanent rule-making process to adopt the amendment made to this WAC by an emergency rule filed as WSR 10-02-038, effective January 1, 2010.
Other Federal and State Agencies that Regulate this Subject and the Process Coordinating the Rule with These Agencies: November 6, 2009, the president signed the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009. Section 8 of the act requires that the $25 federal supplemental unemployment compensation benefit be excluded as income or a resource when determining eligibility and benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP. SNAP is administered under the Washington Basic Food program in Washington.
As federal regulations require these funds to be excluded for medicaid and SNAP, the department will exclude the payments for cash in order to provide consistent treatment of the payment across program lines.
Process for Developing New Rule: DSHS welcomes the public to take part in developing the rules. Anyone interested should contact the staff person identified below. At a later date, DSHS will file a proposal with the office of the code reviser with a notice of proposed rule making. A copy of the proposal will be sent to everyone on the mailing list and to anyone who requests a copy.
Interested parties can participate in the decision to adopt the new rule and formulation of the proposed rule before publication by contacting Aurea Figueroa-Rogers, Program Manager, Community Services Division, P.O. Box 45470, Olympia, WA 98504-5470, phone (360) 725-4623, fax (360) 725-4905, e-mail aurea.figueroa-rogers@dshs.wa.gov.
March 15, 2010
Katherine I. Vasquez
Rules Coordinator