Sponsored by:
Senator NELLIE POU
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
Senator M. TERESA RUIZ
District 29 (Essex)
SYNOPSIS
Requires standard certification period of 12 and 24 months, under certain circumstances, within SNAP.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the New Jersey Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program certification period and supplementing Title 44 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Commissioner of Human Services shall establish a standard certification period of 12 months within SNAP, except that the certification period shall be 24 months if all adult household members are elderly or disabled provided that all certified households shall have contact with a State SNAP administering agency at least once every 12 months. Telephone contact shall be sufficient to comply with the provisions of this subsection.
b. The Commissioner shall apply to the Food and Nutrition Service within the United States Department of Agriculture for any necessary waivers or approvals to implement the provisions of this section.
c. As used in this section:
“Certification period” means the period for which households shall be eligible to receive SNAP benefits.
“Elderly or disabled” means the same as defined in section 3 of the federal “Food and Nutrition Act of 2008,” Pub.L.110-246 (7 U.S.C. s.2012).
“SNAP” means the New Jersey Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, established pursuant to the federal “Food and Nutrition Act of 2008,” Pub.L.110-246 (7 U.S.C. s.2011 et seq.).
2. The Commissioner of Human Services shall adopt rules and regulations, pursuant to the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this act.
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires a standard certification period of 12 and 24 months, under certain circumstances, within the New Jersey Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). In doing so, this bill provides for the longest certification periods allowed under federal regulation. SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is a nutrition assistance program that serves as a safety net for low-income households. The certification period is the period for which households are eligible to receive SNAP benefits. Households may receive benefits beyond the certification period; however, the SNAP recipient must first submit certain documentation to a State administering agency to demonstrate eligibility. It is the sponsor’s goal that standardizing the certification period to the maximum length allowed will ease some of the administrative burden on SNAP recipients imposed by the certification process.
Currently, pursuant to N.J.A.C.10:87-6.20, county welfare agencies (CWAs), the administering agencies for SNAP, are required to certify each eligible household for a definite period of time that cannot exceed 12 month, except for households in which all adult members are elderly or disabled, which are to be certified for up to 24 months with at least one CWA contact every 12 months. As such, New Jersey CWAs issue four, six, 12, and 24-month certification periods.
Under the bill, the Commissioner of Human Services is directed to establish a standard certification period of 12 months within SNAP, except that the certification period shall be 24 months if all adult household members are elderly or disabled provided that all certified households shall have contact with a State SNAP administering agency at least once every 12 months. The bill clarifies that telephone contact is sufficient to comply with this provision. As defined under the bill, elderly or disabled means the same as defined in the “Food and Nutrition Act of 2008,” Pub.L.110-246 (7 U.S.C. s.2011 et seq.), the enabling federal legislation for SNAP. Generally, elderly and disabled includes an individual who is 60 years of age or older; receives supplemental security income benefits or some other federally or State administered supplemental assistance; or receives Social Security disability insurance benefits.