Sec. 4112. Improving State administration and quality control
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/bill/118/s/5335/is/section-4112·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Section 16 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 ( 7 U.S.C. 2025 ) is amended— in subsection (a), by striking
(a)Subject to subsection
(k)and inserting the following: Subject to subsections
(k)and
(l); in subsection (c)— in paragraph (1)(G)— by striking The Secretary and inserting the following: The Secretary ; in clause
(i)(as so designated), by inserting to improve the accuracy of eligibility and benefit determinations before to reduce payment errors ; and by adding at the end the following: Not later than the end of the second quarter of each fiscal year, the Secretary shall notify State agencies if a preliminary review of data from the most recent 6-month period conducted in accordance with the system established under subparagraph
(A)indicates that the payment error rate of the State agency for that fiscal year is trending higher than 6 percent. The Secretary, acting through the Office of Technical Assistance within the Food and Nutrition Service, shall provide 1-on-1 technical assistance to State agencies that receive a notification under subclause (I)— to identify the causes of the payment errors; and to develop a strategy to improve the accuracy of the eligibility and benefit determinations of the State agency to reduce payment errors. ; and in paragraph (2)— in each of subparagraphs
(A)through (C), by striking the term and inserting The term ; and by striking the paragraph designation and all that follows through section— and inserting the following: In this section: ; in subsection (d)— by striking paragraphs
(1)through (5); in paragraph (6), by striking the paragraph designation and heading and all that follows through each fiscal year thereafter in the matter preceding clause
(i)in subparagraph
(A)and inserting the following: With respect to each fiscal year ; in paragraph
(1)(as so redesignated), by striking subparagraph
(B)and inserting the following: For each fiscal year, the Secretary shall make publicly available on the website of the Department of Agriculture each of the performance criteria established under subparagraph
(A)for each State. ; and by adding at the end the following: Beginning in fiscal year 2027, each month, each State agency shall submit to the Secretary a report on the activities of the State agency carried out during the immediately preceding month relating to application processing and certifications for the supplemental nutrition assistance program, which shall include, with respect to the month covered by the report— the number and percentage of applications and recertifications completed within the applicable timeframe required under this Act; the number and percentage of households that were denied benefits, the cases of which were closed, or the certification periods of which expired due to missed interviews, missing verifications, unreturned recertification or interim reporting forms, and other similar reasons, as determined by the Secretary; the number of applications, periodic reports, and recertifications that remained pending past the date on which those documents were due; the number and percentage of cases due for recertification or periodic reporting that lost benefits and reapplied within the following 30 days, 60 days, and 90 days; the total call center volume, average wait time, and average answer rate, as determined by the Secretary, for— each call center of the State agency responsible for administering the supplemental nutrition assistance program; and any additional call center operated by a county in the State to support the operations of that program; and any other relevant information relating to the application or certification process of the supplemental nutrition assistance program, as determined by the Secretary. For fiscal year 2027 and each fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary shall establish standardized requirements for the monthly reporting required under subparagraph
(A)that shall be used to develop customer service metrics that track and assist State agencies with the administration of the supplemental nutrition assistance program. During fiscal year 2027, a State agency shall not be required to comply with the standardized requirements established under clause
(i)in carrying out the monthly reporting required under subparagraph (A). In establishing the reporting system under this paragraph, the Secretary shall— review existing State agency performance criteria and reporting requirements; and make necessary modifications to ensure that data collection for those existing performance criteria and reporting requirements are not duplicative of the requirements under subparagraph (A). If a State agency fails to act in good faith to meet the reporting requirements established under this paragraph, the Secretary may assess that State agency a civil penalty for each monthly report described in subparagraph
(A)that is not submitted by the date that is 60 days after the end of the month covered by the report. The amount of a civil penalty assessed under clause
(i)shall be $250,000 for each 30-day period during which the applicable monthly report described in subparagraph
(A)is overdue. The amount of the civil penalty assessed under this subparagraph shall be subject to administrative and judicial review under section 14. Using the information submitted by a State agency each month, the Secretary shall calculate annual customer service metrics of the State agency, in a manner to be determined by the Secretary. The Secretary shall notify a State agency of the annual customer service metrics of that State agency at the time of notification to the State agency of the payment error rate of the State agency. For each of fiscal years 2025 and 2026, the Secretary shall make publicly available on the website of the Department of Agriculture, not later than 60 days after receipt from each State agency, the quarterly data that each State agency reports to the Secretary relating to the total number of— initial applications that are approved, denied, or overdue, including applications that are subject to expedited service; and recertifications that are approved, denied, or overdue. For fiscal year 2027 and each fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary shall make publicly available on the website of the Department of Agriculture, not later than 60 days after receipt from each State agency, the monthly data that each State agency reports under paragraph (2)(A). ; in subsection (i)(1), by striking (as defined in subsection (d)(1)) ; and by adding at the end the following: Notwithstanding section 16(a), the Secretary shall pay to each State agency an amount equal to 90 percent of all administrative costs related to the implementation by the State agency of the reporting requirements under subsection (d)(2). .
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Sec. 4112
Improving State administration and quality control
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