PERMANENT RULES
SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES
(Economic Services Administration)
Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.
Purpose: The department is amending WAC 388-450-0015 and 388-470-0055 to eliminate reference to general assistance or the disability lifeline and include reference to aged, blind, or disabled assistance program and pregnant women program established November 1, 2011, through an emergency rule filed February 9, 2012 (WSR 12-05-033) extending emergency rule filed October 12, 2011, under WSR 11-21-049.
These amendments are necessary to comply with the changes outlined in ESHB 2082, Laws of 2011.
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 388-450-0015 and 388-470-0055.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 74.04.005, 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057, 74.04.510, 74.08.090, 74.08A.100, 74.04.770, 74.04.0052, 74.04.655, 74.04.770, 74.08.043, 74.08.335.
Other Authority: ESHB 2082, chapter 36, Laws of 2011 1st sp. sess.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 12-02-083 on January 4, 2012.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 2, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 2, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: March 16, 2012.
Katherine I. Vasquez
Rules Coordinator
4347.2(1) There are some types of income we do not count to figure out if you can get benefits and the amount you can get. Some examples of income we do not count are:
(a) Bona fide loans as defined in WAC 388-470-0045, except certain student loans as specified under WAC 388-450-0035;
(b) Federal income tax refunds and earned income tax credit (EITC) payments in the month received;
(c) Federal economic stimulus payments that are excluded for federal and federally assisted state programs;
(d) Federal twenty-five dollar supplemental weekly unemployment compensation payment authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009;
(e) Title IV-E and state foster care maintenance payments if you choose not to include the foster child in your assistance unit;
(f) Energy assistance payments;
(g) Educational assistance we do not count under WAC 388-450-0035;
(h) Native American benefits and payments we do not count under WAC 388-450-0040;
(i) Income from employment and training programs we do not count under WAC 388-450-0045;
(j) Money withheld from a benefit to repay an overpayment
from the same income source. For Basic Food, we do not
exclude money that is withheld because you were overpaid for
purposely not meeting requirements of a federal, state, or
local means tested program such as TANF/SFA, ((GA)) aged,
blind, or disabled (ABD) cash assistance, pregnant women
assistance (PWA), and SSI;
(k) Legally obligated child support payments received by someone who gets TANF/SFA benefits;
(l) One-time payments issued under the Department of State or Department of Justice Reception and Replacement Programs, such as Voluntary Agency (VOLAG) payments; and
(m) Payments we are directly told to exclude as income under state or federal law.
(n) For cash and Basic Food: Payments made to someone outside of the household for the benefits of the assistance unit using funds that are not owed to the household;
(o) For Basic Food only: The total monthly amount of all legally obligated current or back child support payments paid by the assistance unit to someone outside of the assistance unit for:
(i) A person who is not in the assistance unit; or
(ii) A person who is in the assistance unit to cover a period of time when they were not living with the member of the assistance unit responsible for paying the child support on their behalf.
(p) For medical assistance: Only the portion of income used to repay the cost of obtaining that income source.
(2) For children's, family, or pregnancy medical, we also do not count any insurance proceeds or other income you have recovered as a result of being a Holocaust survivor.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057, 74.08.090, chapter 74.12 RCW, and The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010. 11-21-025, § 388-450-0015, filed 10/11/11, effective 10/29/11. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.005, 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057, 74.04.510, 74.08.090, and Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009. 10-17-103, § 388-450-0015, filed 8/17/10, effective 8/19/10. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.005, 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057, 74.04.510, 74.08.090, and P.L. 107-171, section 4101. 09-15-085 and 09-16-095, § 388-450-0015, filed 7/14/09 and 8/4/09, effective 11/15/09. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.005, 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057, 74.04.510 and 74.08.090. 09-09-103, § 388-450-0015, filed 4/20/09, effective 4/21/09; 06-07-078, § 388-450-0015, filed 3/13/06, effective 5/1/06. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057, 74.04.510, 74.08.090 and Public Law 106-419. 05-03-078, § 388-450-0015, filed 1/17/05, effective 2/17/05. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.08.090 and 74.04.510. 02-14-022, § 388-450-0015, filed 6/21/02, effective 6/22/02. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.057, 74.08.090, 74.09.530 and 2000 2nd sp.s. c 1 § 210(12). 01-18-006, § 388-450-0015, filed 8/22/01, effective 9/22/01. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.08.090 and 74.04.510. 99-17-025, § 388-450-0015, filed 8/10/99, effective 10/1/99. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057 and 74.08.090. 98-16-044, § 388-450-0015, filed 7/31/98, effective 9/1/98. Formerly WAC 388-505-0590.]
(a) Liquid resources. These are resources that are easily changed into cash. Some examples of liquid resources are:
(i) Cash on hand;
(ii) Money in checking or savings accounts;
(iii) Money market accounts or certificates of deposit (CDs) less any withdrawal penalty;
(iv) Stocks, bonds, annuities, or mutual funds less any early withdrawal penalty;
(v) Available trusts or trust accounts; or
(vi) Lump sum payments. A lump sum payment is money owed to you from a past period of time that you get but do not expect to get on a continuing basis.
(b) Nonliquid resources, personal property, and real property not specifically excluded in subsection (2) below.
(c) Vehicles as described in WAC 388-470-0075.
(d) The resources of a sponsor as described in WAC 388-470-0060.
(2) The following resources do not count toward your resource limit:
(a) Your home and the surrounding property that you, your spouse, or your dependents live in;
(b) A house you do not live in, if you plan on returning to the home and you are out of the home because of:
(i) Employment;
(ii) Training for future employment;
(iii) Illness; or
(iv) Natural disaster or casualty.
(c) Property that:
(i) You are making a good faith effort to sell;
(ii) You intend to build a home on, if you do not already own a home;
(iii) Produces income consistent with its fair market value, even if used only on a seasonal basis;
(iv) Is essential to the employment or self-employment of a household member. Property excluded under this section and used by a self-employed farmer or fisher retains its exclusion for one year after the household member stops farming or fishing; or
(v) Is essential for the maintenance or use of an income-producing vehicle; or
(vi) Has an equity value equal to or less than half of the resource limit as described in WAC 388-470-0005.
(d) Household goods
(e) Personal effects;
(f) Life insurance policies, including policies with cash surrender value (CSV);
(g) One burial plot per household member;
(h) One funeral agreement per household member, up to fifteen hundred dollars;
(i) Pension plans or retirement funds not specifically counted in subsection (1) above;
(j) Sales contracts, if the contract is producing income consistent with its fair market value;
(k) Government payments issued for the restoration of a home damaged in a disaster;
(l) Indian lands held jointly with the Tribe, or land that can be sold only with the approval of the Bureau of Indian Affairs;
(m) Nonliquid resources that have a lien placed against them;
(n) Earned Income Tax Credits (EITC):
(i) For twelve months, if you were a Basic Food recipient when you got the EITC and you remain on Basic Food for all twelve months; or
(ii) The month you get it and the month after, if you were not getting Basic Food when you got the EITC.
(o) Energy assistance payments or allowances;
(p) The resources of a household member who gets SSI,
TANF/SFA, ABD assistance, or ((GA)) PWA benefits;
(q) Retirement funds or accounts that are tax exempt under the Internal Revenue Code;
(r) Education funds or accounts in a tuition program under section 529 or 530 of the Internal Revenue Code;
(s) Resources specifically excluded by federal law; and
(t) Federal income tax refunds for twelve months whether or not you were receiving Basic Food assistance at the time you got the refund.
(3) If you deposit excluded liquid resources into a bank account with countable liquid resources, we do not count the excluded liquid resources for six months from the date of deposit. Exception: Federal tax refunds are not counted for twelve months even when mixed with countable resources.
(4) If you sell your home, you have ninety days to reinvest the proceeds from the sale of a home into an exempt resource.
(a) If you do not reinvest within ninety days, we will determine whether there is good cause to allow more time. Some examples of good cause are:
(i) Closing on your new home is taking longer than anticipated;
(ii) You are unable to find a new home that you can afford;
(iii) Someone in your household is receiving emergent medical care; or
(iv) Your children are in school and moving would require them to change schools.
(b) If you have good cause, we will give you more time based on your circumstances.
(c) If you do not have good cause, we count the money you got from the sale as a resource.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057, 74.08.090, chapter 74.12 RCW, and The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010. 11-21-025, § 388-470-0055, filed 10/11/11, effective 10/29/11. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057, 74.08.090, and Public Law 110-234. 08-18-043, § 388-470-0055, filed 8/29/08, effective 10/1/08. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.08.090 and 74.04.510. 03-05-015, § 388-470-0055, filed 2/7/03, effective 3/1/03; 99-16-024, § 388-470-0055, filed 7/26/99, effective 9/1/99. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057 and 74.08.090. 98-16-044, § 388-470-0055, filed 7/31/98, effective 9/1/98.]