Issuance and use of program benefits
In general
Use
Design
In general
Prohibition
Delivery and control procedures
State issuance liability
Alternative benefit delivery
In general
No imposition of costs
Devaluation and termination of issuance of paper coupons
Coupon issuance
EBT cards
De-obligation of coupons
Coupons not redeemed during the 1-year period beginning on the date of enactment of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 shall—
no longer be an obligation of the Federal Government; and
not be redeemable.
Staggered issuance procedures
The State agency may establish a procedure for staggering the issuance of benefits to eligible households throughout the month. Upon the request of the tribal organization that exercises governmental jurisdiction over the reservation, the State agency shall stagger the issuance of benefits for eligible households located on reservations for at least 15 days of a month.
Requirements.—
In general.—
Any procedure established under paragraph (1) shall—
not reduce the allotment of any household for any period; and
ensure that no household experiences an interval between issuances of more than 40 days.
Multiple issuances.—
The procedure may include issuing benefits to a household in more than 1 issuance during a month only when a benefit correction is necessary.
Electronic benefit transfers
In general.—
Implementation.—
Not later than
Timely implementation.—
Each State agency is encouraged to implement an electronic benefit transfer system under subparagraph (A) as soon as practicable.
State flexibility.—
Subject to paragraph (2), a State agency may procure and implement an electronic benefit transfer system under the terms, conditions, and design that the State agency considers appropriate.
Operation.—
An electronic benefit transfer system should take into account generally accepted standard operating rules based on—
commercial electronic funds transfer technology;
the need to permit interstate operation and law enforcement monitoring; and
the need to permit monitoring and investigations by authorized law enforcement agencies.
The Secretary shall issue final regulations that establish standards for the approval of such a system. The standards shall include—
defining the required level of recipient protection regarding privacy, ease of use, and access to and service in retail food stores;
the terms and conditions of participation by retail food stores, financial institutions, and other appropriate parties;
measures to maximize the security of a system using the most recent technology available that the State agency considers appropriate and cost effective and which may include personal identification numbers, photographic identification on electronic benefit transfer cards, and other measures to protect against fraud and abuse; and
effective not later than 2 years after
system transaction interchange, reliability, and processing speeds;
financial accountability;
the required testing of system operations prior to implementation;
the analysis of the results of system implementation in a limited project area prior to expansion; and
procurement standards.
In the case of a system described in paragraph (1) in which participation is not optional for households, the Secretary shall not approve such a system unless—
a sufficient number of eligible retail food stores, including those stores able to serve minority language populations, have agreed to participate in the system throughout the area in which it will operate to ensure that eligible households will not suffer a significant reduction in their choice of retail food stores or a significant increase in the cost of food or transportation to participating food stores; and
any special equipment necessary to allow households to purchase food with the benefits issued under this chapter is operational—
in the case of a participating retail food store in which coupons are used to purchase 15 percent or more of the total dollar amount of food sold by the store (as determined by the Secretary), at all registers in the store; and
in the case of other participating stores, at a sufficient number of registers to provide service that is comparable to service provided individuals who are not members of households receiving supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits, as determined by the Secretary.
Administrative costs incurred in connection with activities under this subsection shall be eligible for reimbursement in accordance with section 2025 of this title, subject to the limitations in section 2025(g) of this title.
The Secretary shall periodically inform State agencies of the advantages of using electronic benefit systems to issue benefits in accordance with this subsection in lieu of issuing coupons to households.
This subsection shall not diminish the authority of the Secretary to conduct projects to test automated or electronic benefit delivery systems under section 2026(f) of this title.
Replacement of benefits.—
Regulations issued by the Secretary regarding the replacement of benefits and liability for replacement of benefits under an electronic benefit transfer system shall be similar to the regulations in effect for a paper-based supplemental nutrition assistance issuance system.
Replacement card fee.—
A State agency may collect a charge for replacement of an electronic benefit transfer card by reducing the monthly allotment of the household receiving the replacement card.
Optional photographic identification.—
In general.—
A State agency may require that an electronic benefit card contain a photograph of 1 or more members of a household.
Other authorized users.—
If a State agency requires a photograph on an electronic benefit card under subparagraph (A), the State agency shall establish procedures to ensure that any other appropriate member of the household or any authorized representative of the household may utilize the card.
Federal law not applicable.—
Section 1693o–2 of title 15 shall not apply to electronic benefit transfer or reimbursement systems under this chapter.
Application of anti-tying restrictions to electronic benefit transfer systems.—
Definitions.—
In this paragraph:
Affiliate.—
The term “affiliate” has the meaning provided the term in section 1841(k) of title 12.
Company.—
The term “company” has the meaning provided the term in section 1971 of title 12, but shall not include a bank, a bank holding company, or any subsidiary of a bank holding company.
Electronic benefit transfer service.—
The term “electronic benefit transfer service” means the processing of electronic transfers of household benefits, determined under section 2017(a) or 2035 of this title, if the benefits are—
issued from and stored in a central databank;
electronically accessed by household members at the point of sale; and
provided by a Federal or State government.
Point-of-sale service.—
The term “point-of-sale service” means any product or service related to the electronic authorization and processing of payments for merchandise at a retail food store, including credit or debit card services, automated teller machines, point-of-sale terminals, or access to on-line systems.
Restrictions.—
A company may not sell or provide electronic benefit transfer services, or fix or vary the consideration for electronic benefit transfer services, on the condition or requirement that the customer—
obtain some additional point-of-sale service from the company or an affiliate of the company; or
not obtain some additional point-of-sale service from a competitor of the company or competitor of any affiliate of the company.
Consultation with the federal reserve board.—
Before promulgating regulations or interpretations of regulations to carry out this paragraph, the Secretary shall consult with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
11 So in original. Two pars. (12) have been enacted. Recovering electronic benefits.—
In general.—
A State agency shall establish a procedure for recovering electronic benefits from the account of a household due to inactivity.
Benefit storage.—
A State agency may store recovered electronic benefits off-line in accordance with subparagraph (D), if the household has not accessed the account after 6 months.
Benefit expunging.—
A State agency shall expunge benefits that have not been accessed by a household after a period of 12 months.
Notice.—
A State agency shall—
send notice to a household the benefits of which are stored under subparagraph (B); and
not later than 48 hours after request by the household, make the stored benefits available to the household.
1 Interchange fees.—
No interchange fees shall apply to electronic benefit transfer transactions under this subsection.
State option to issue benefits to certain individuals made ineligible by welfare reform
In general
State payments to Secretary
In general
Not later than the date the State agency issues benefits to individuals under this subsection, the State agency shall pay the Secretary, in accordance with procedures established by the Secretary, an amount that is equal to—
the value of the benefits; and
the costs of issuing and redeeming benefits, and other Federal costs, incurred in providing the benefits, as determined by the Secretary.
Crediting
Reporting
Plan
To be eligible to issue benefits under this subsection, a State agency shall—
submit a plan to the Secretary that describes the conditions and procedures under which the benefits will be issued, including eligibility standards, benefit levels, and the methodology the State agency will use to determine amounts due the Secretary under paragraph (2); and
obtain the approval of the Secretary for the plan.
Violations
Ineligibility for administrative reimbursement
Exclusion from enhanced payment accuracy systems
Interoperability and portability of electronic benefit transfer transactions
Definitions
In this subsection:
Electronic benefit transfer card
Electronic benefit transfer contract
Interoperability
Interstate transaction
Portability
Settling
Smart card
Switching
Requirement
Cost
Standards
Not later than 210 days after
adopt a uniform national standard of interoperability and portability required under paragraph (2) that is based on the standard of interoperability and portability used by a majority of State agencies; and
require that any electronic benefit transfer contract that is entered into 30 days or more after the regulations are promulgated, by or on behalf of a State agency, provide for the interoperability and portability required under paragraph (2) in accordance with the national standard.
Exemptions
Contracts
The requirements of paragraph (2) shall not apply to the transfer of benefits under an electronic benefit transfer contract before the expiration of the term of the contract if the contract—
is entered into before the date that is 30 days after the regulations are promulgated under paragraph (4); and
expires after
Waiver
At the request of a State agency, the Secretary may provide 1 waiver to temporarily exempt, for a period ending on or before the date specified under clause (iii), the State agency from complying with the requirements of paragraph (2), if the State agency—
establishes to the satisfaction of the Secretary that the State agency faces unusual technological barriers to achieving by
demonstrates that the best interest of the supplemental nutrition assistance program would be served by granting the waiver with respect to the electronic benefit transfer system used by the State agency to administer the supplemental nutrition assistance program; and
specifies a date by which the State agency will achieve the interoperability and portability required under paragraph (2).
Smart card systems
Funding
In general
In accordance with regulations promulgated by the Secretary, the Secretary shall pay 100 percent of the costs incurred by a State agency under this chapter for switching and settling interstate transactions—
incurred after
incurred after
Limitation
Source
(Pub. L. 88–525, § 7,Notes
References in Text
Codification
Amendments
Change of Name
Effective Date of 2010 Amendment
Effective Date of 2008 Amendment
Effective Date of 2002 Amendment
Effective Date of 1990 Amendment
Effective Date of 1988 Amendment
Effective Date of 1982 Amendment
Effective Date of 1981 Amendment
Effective Date of 1977 Amendment
Report on Electronic Benefit Transfer Systems
Definition of EBT System.—
In this section, the term ‘EBT system’ means an electronic benefit transfer system used in issuance of benefits under the supplemental nutrition assistance program under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.).
Report.—
Not later than
describes the status of use by each State agency of EBT systems;
specifies the number of vendors that have entered into a contract for an EBT system with a State agency;
specifies the number of State agencies that have entered into an EBT-system contract with multiple EBT-system vendors; and
describes, for each State agency described in subparagraph (A), how responsibilities are divided among the various vendors;
with respect to any State in which an EBT system is not operational throughout the State as of
provides an explanation of the reasons why an EBT system is not operational throughout the State;
describes how the reasons are being addressed; and
specifies the expected date of operation of an EBT system throughout the State;
provides a description of—
the issues faced by any State agency that has awarded a second EBT-system contract in the 2-year period preceding the date of the report; and
the steps that the State agency has taken to address those issues;
provides a description of—
the issues faced by any State agency that will award a second EBT-system contract within the 2-year period beginning on the date of the report; and
strategies that the State agency is considering to address those issues;
describes initiatives being considered or taken by the Department of Agriculture, food retailers, EBT-system vendors, and client advocates to address any outstanding issues with respect to EBT systems; and
examines areas of potential advances in electronic benefit delivery in the 5- to 10-year period beginning on the date of the report, including—
access to EBT systems at farmers’ markets;
increased use of transaction data from EBT systems to identify and prosecute fraud; and
fostering of increased competition among EBT-system vendors to ensure cost containment and optimal service.”
Congressional Statement of Purpose
to protect the integrity of the supplemental nutrition assistance program;
to ensure cost-effective portability of supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits benefits [sic] across State borders without imposing additional administrative expenses for special equipment to address problems relating to the portability;
to enhance the flow of interstate commerce involving electronic transactions involving supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits benefits [sic] under a uniform national standard of interoperability and portability; and
to eliminate the inefficiencies resulting from a patchwork of State-administered systems and regulations established to carry out the supplemental nutrition assistance program.”