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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 2 / Tuesday, January 5, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
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commenters also acknowledged that the Department has no discretion in implementing the statutory change from 15 to 12 percent. The Department agrees that there is no discretion in implementing this change.
In conclusion, the Department finalizes the regulatory text as proposed without any changes.
Informing SNAP Participants About Their Work Requirements In the proposed rule, the Department noted that many of the changes made by section 4005 of the Act emphasized State agency responsibility to assist SNAP participants in finding and retaining employment. The Department believes that foundational to this increased accountability for both the State agency and SNAP participants is improved communication between the State agency and SNAP participants regarding the nature of any work requirement that the SNAP household may be subject to, consequences for not complying with work requirements, and how to find more information. The Department also noted in the proposed rule that a single individual may be subject to multiple work requirements, which may be confusing for the household to decipher to ensure compliance, especially if these requirements are communicated to the individual at different times via different mediums. In order to streamline and improve communication between the State agency and the household, and to improve the households customer service experience, the Department proposed to consolidate the State requirement to inform individuals of their applicable work requirements i.e., the general work requirements, including the mandatory E&T requirement, and the ABAWD work requirement. This consolidated work information requirement would take two forms: A
single written notice and a comprehensive oral explanation of all the work requirements that would pertain to a particular household. The consolidated work information requirement would merge two existing requirements to inform the household about their work requirements i.e., the general work requirement and mandatory E&T with a new more clearly delineated requirement to inform ABAWDs regarding their ABAWD work requirement and time limit. The consolidated work information requirement to inform households of all applicable work requirements would be added at new 7 CFR 273.7c1, 7 CFR
273.7c2 and 7 CFR 273.24b8. The Department proposed that the new
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written notice would need to include all pertinent information related to each of the applicable work requirements for individuals in the household, including:
An explanation of each applicable work requirement; exemptions from each applicable work requirement; the rights and responsibilities of each applicable work requirement for individuals subject to the work requirements; what is required to maintain eligibility under each applicable work requirement;
pertinent dates by which an individual must take any actions to remain in compliance with each of the applicable work requirements; the consequences for failure to comply with each applicable work requirement; and any other information the State agency believes would assist the household members with compliance. If the household were to contain an individual who is subject to mandatory E&T, the written notice would also need to explain the individuals right to receive participant reimbursements for allowable expenses related to participation in E&T, up to any applicable State cap, and the responsibility of the State agency to exempt the individual from the requirement to participate in E&T if the individuals allowable expenses exceed what the State agency would reimburse, as provided in paragraph 7 CFR
273.7d4.
The Department received 28
comments on this provision. Seventeen commenters supported the provision, ten commenters provided conditional support with suggestions for improvement, and two commenters opposed the provision. Supporters generally felt that the new consolidated requirement to provide information about the work requirements to households will help individuals understand their responsibilities and expectations, allow participants to share concerns or ask questions, and increase participant awareness of what they must do to prevent unexpected termination of SNAP benefits.
Several commenters in support of providing the consolidated work information to participants proposed adding to the written notice an explanation of the process for requesting good cause consideration, examples of good cause circumstances, and contact information to initiate a good cause request. The Department agrees, and has added an explanation of good cause to the list of pertinent information in 7
CFR 273.7c2iii.
In addition to including good cause information, a legal services agency and a not-for-profit agency also recommended that the written and oral
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information include: The full scope of ways that an individual can meet the work requirement; the list of exemptions on the notice itself so that the State agency does not direct individuals to a website they may not be able to access; how to claim exemptions; and the fact that an exemption can be claimed at any time if there is a change in circumstances.
Conversely, the Department also received a comment from a State agency arguing that including the full list of exemptions for each work requirement on the written statement would be unmanageable and confusing to participants. The Department is interested in balancing the need to provide pertinent information to participants with the readability of the document. As a result, the Department has revised the final regulation at 7 CFR
273.7c2iii to require that the written notice include information on how to claim an exemption and claim good cause, and provide contact information to initiate a request. However, the Department notes that it is the responsibility of the State agency to screen for exemptions from the general work requirement, mandatory E&T and the ABAWD work requirement, and not the responsibility of the participant to request an exemption. Similarly, it is the State agencys responsibility to establish good cause for failure to meet the general work requirements and not the responsibility of the participant to request good cause. That being said, participant circumstances can change after certification and the Department believes it would be helpful to the participant to know how to inform the State agency of this change in circumstance, if the participant believes they may qualify for an exemption or good cause. The Department also understands that providing the entire list of exemptions, particularly from mandatory E&T, could be quite extensive and confusing to participants.
Nonetheless, the State agency is required to screen for exemptions during the application process, and has an opportunity to explain the exemptions to the client at that time.
Providing the full list of exemptions is also a helpful reference for participants should their circumstances change. For these reasons, the Department believes it is important to include the full list of exemptions in the written notice. Lastly, with regard to the comment to include an explanation of ways the individual can meet the work requirement, the Department believes the requirement, as proposed, to include in the written notice what is required to maintain
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