WSR 15-23-096 PERMANENT RULES DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES (Economic Services Administration) [Filed November 17, 2015, 1:42 p.m., effective December 18, 2015] Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.
Purpose: The department is amending WAC 388-400-0050 to implement changes authorized by the Washington state legislature. RCW 74.08A.120 authorizes the food assistance program for legal immigrants (FAP). Subsection (3) states "The benefit under the state food assistance program shall be established by the legislature in the biennial operating budget." The 2016-2017 biennial budget (ESSB 6052), which passed the legislature and was signed by the governor, increased funding for FAP from seventy-five percent of the federal benefit level and set benefits at one hundred percent of the federal food benefit level beginning July 1, 2015.
The amendments were made via emergency rule making under WSR 15-21-059, filed on October 19, 2015.
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 388-400-0050.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057, 74.04.510, 74.08.090, and 74.08A.120.
Other Authority: ESSB 6052.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 15-19-026 on September 8, 2015.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: November 13, 2015.
Katherine I. Vasquez
Rules Coordinator
AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 14-02-037, filed 12/23/13, effective 1/23/14)
WAC 388-400-0050 If I am not eligible for federal benefits through Washington Basic Food program because of my alien status, can I receive benefits through the state-funded food assistance program?
(1) If you are not eligible for federally funded Basic Food benefits solely because you do not meet the alien status requirements under WAC 388-424-0020, you may be eligible for the state-funded food assistance program (FAP) if you meet both of the following requirements:
(a) You are a Washington state resident; and
(b) You meet the alien status requirements under WAC 388-424-0030.
(2) FAP follows the same eligibility rules as federally funded Basic Food except for rules related to alien status. A summary of the rules for Basic Food is found in WAC 388-400-0040.
(3) Benefits for FAP are set by the biennial state operating budget as described in RCW 74.08A.120(3). These benefits are calculated as described in subsections (4) and (5) of this section.
(4) If your assistance unit (AU) includes both people who are eligible for federally funded Basic Food benefits and people who are eligible for state-funded FAP benefits, we determine the amount of your federal and state food benefits by applying the following process:
(a) We calculate your AU's monthly benefits under WAC 388-450-0162 as if all the eligible persons in your AU could receive federally funded Basic Food benefits; and
(b) We then calculate your AU's monthly benefits under WAC 388-450-0162 for only the people in your AU who are eligible for federally funded benefits.
(5) If your AU only includes persons eligible for FAP, we determine the amount of your state-funded FAP benefits by:
(a) Applying the calculation for Basic Food under WAC 388-450-0162 as if all the persons in your AU were eligible to receive Basic Food; and
(b) Issuing FAP benefits to your AU equal to ((three fourths)) the amount calculated in subsection (5)(a), rounded down to the next whole dollar.
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