Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 95.djvu/386

 95 STAT. 360

PUBLIC LAW 97-35—AUG. 13, 1981 EARNED INCOME DEDUCTION

7 USC 2014.

SEC. 106. Section 5(e) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 is amended by striking out "20 per centum" in the thini sentence and inserting in lieu thereof "18 per centum". RETROSPECTIVE ACCOUNTING

42 USC 1305. 42 USC 601.

SEC. 107. (a) Section 5(f) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 is amended to read as follows: "(fKlXA) Household income for those households that, by contract for other than an hourly or piecework basis or by self-employment, derive their annual income in a period of time shorter than one year shall be calculated by averaging such income over a twelve-month period. "(B) Household income for those households that receive nonexcluded income of the type described in subsection (d)(3) of this section shall be calculated by averaging such income over the period for which it is received. "(2)(A) Household income for migrant farmworker households shall be c^culated on a propsective basis, as provided in paragraph (3)(A). "(B) Household income for all other households shall be calculated either on a prospective basis as provided in paragraph (3)(A) or on a retrospective basis as provided in paragraph (3)(B), as elected by the State agency under regulations prescribed by the Secretary. "(3)(A) Calculation of household income on a prospective basis is the calculation of income on the basis of the income reasonably anticipated to be received by the household during the period for which eligibility or benefits are being determined. Such calculation shall be made in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary which shall provide for taking into account both the income reasonably anticipated to be received by the household during the period for which eligibility or benefits are being determined and the income received by the household during the preceding thirty days. "(B) Calculation of household income on a retrospective basis is the ceilculation of income for the period for which eligibility or benefits are being determined on the basis of income received in a previous period. Such calculation shall be made in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary which may provide for the determination of eligibility on a prospective basis in some or all cases in which benefits are calculated under this paragraph. Such regulations shall provide for supplementing the initisd sdlotments of newly applying households in those cases in which the determination of income under this paragraph causes serious hardship. "(4) In promulgating regulations under this subsection, the Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of Health and Human Services in order to assure that, to the extent feasible and consistent with the purposes of this Act and the Social Security Act, the income of households receiving benefits under this Act and title IV-A of the Social Security Act is calculated on a comparable basis under the two Acts. The Secretary is authorized, upon the request of a State agency, to waive any of the provisions of this subsection to the extent necessary to permit the State agency to calculate income for purposes of this Act on the same basis that income is calculated under title IV-A of the Social Security Act in that State.".

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