Appendix A - Section 5(e)(6)(C) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008

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elect to provide a deduction for the amount of the payments.
(B) ORDER OF DETERMINING DEDUCTIONS.—A deduction
under this paragraph shall be determined before the computation of the excess shelter expense deduction under
paragraph (6).
(5) EXCESS MEDICAL EXPENSE DEDUCTION.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—A household containing an elderly or
disabled member shall be entitled, with respect to expenses other than expenses paid on behalf of the household by a third party, to an excess medical expense deduction for the portion of the actual costs of allowable medical
expenses, incurred by the elderly or disabled member, exclusive of special diets, that exceeds $35 per month.
(B) METHOD OF CLAIMING DEDUCTION.—
(i) IN GENERAL.—A State agency shall offer an eligible household under subparagraph (A) a method of
claiming a deduction for recurring medical expenses
that are initially verified under the excess medical expense deduction in lieu of submitting information on,
or verification of, actual expenses on a monthly basis.
(ii) METHOD.—The method described in clause (i)
shall—
(I) be designed to minimize the burden for the
eligible elderly or disabled household member
choosing to deduct the recurrent medical expenses
of the member pursuant to the method;
(II) rely on reasonable estimates of the expected medical expenses of the member for the
certification period (including changes that can be
reasonably anticipated based on available information about the medical condition of the member, public or private medical insurance coverage,
and the current verified medical expenses incurred by the member); and
(III) not require further reporting or
verification of a change in medical expenses if
such a change has been anticipated for the certification period.
(C) EXCLUSION OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA.—The Secretary shall promulgate rules to ensure that medical marijuana is not treated as a medical expense for purposes of
this paragraph.
(6) EXCESS SHELTER EXPENSE DEDUCTION.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—A household shall be entitled, with
respect to expenses other than expenses paid on behalf of
the household by a third party, to an excess shelter expense deduction to the extent that the monthly amount expended by a household for shelter exceeds an amount
equal to 50 percent of monthly household income after all
other applicable deductions have been allowed.
(B) MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF DEDUCTION.—In the case of
a household that does not contain an elderly or disabled
individual, in the 48 contiguous States and the District of
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Columbia, Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the Virgin Islands
of the United States, the excess shelter expense deduction
shall not exceed—
(i) for the period beginning on the date of enactment of this subparagraph øAugust 22, 1996¿ and
ending on December 31, 1996, $247, $429, $353, $300,
and $182 per month, respectively;
(ii) for the period beginning on January 1, 1997,
and ending on September 30, 1998, $250, $434, $357,
$304, and $184 per month, respectively;
(iii) for fiscal year 1999, $275, $478, $393, $334,
and $203 per month, respectively;
(iv) for fiscal year 2000, $280, $483, $398, $339,
and $208 per month, respectively;
(v) for fiscal year 2001, $340, $543, $458, $399,
and $268 per month, respectively; and
(vi) for fiscal year 2002 and each subsequent fiscal
year, the applicable amount during the preceding fiscal year, as adjusted to reflect changes for the 12month period ending the preceding November 30 in
the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers
published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor.
(C) STANDARD UTILITY ALLOWANCE.—
(i) IN GENERAL.—In computing the excess shelter
expense deduction, a State agency may use a standard
utility allowance in accordance with regulations promulgated by the Secretary, subject to clause (iv), except that a State agency may use an allowance that
does not fluctuate within a year to reflect seasonal
variations.
(ii) RESTRICTIONS ON HEATING AND COOLING EXPENSES.—An allowance for a heating or cooling expense may not be used in the case of a household
that—
(I) does not incur a heating or cooling expense, as the case may be;
(II) does incur a heating or cooling expense
but is located in a public housing unit that has
central utility meters and charges households,
with regard to the expense, only for excess utility
costs; or
(III) shares the expense with, and lives with,
another individual not participating in the supplemental nutrition assistance program, another
household participating in the supplemental nutrition assistance program, or both, unless the allowance is prorated between the household and the
other individual, household, or both.
(iii) MANDATORY ALLOWANCE.—
(I) IN GENERAL.—A State agency may make
the use of a standard utility allowance mandatory
for all households with qualifying utility costs if—
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(aa) the State agency has developed 1 or
more standards that include the cost of heating and cooling and 1 or more standards that
do not include the cost of heating and cooling;
and
(bb) the Secretary finds (without regard
to subclause (III)) that the standards will not
result in an increased cost to the Secretary.
(II) HOUSEHOLD ELECTION.—A State agency
that has not made the use of a standard utility allowance mandatory under subclause (I) shall allow
a household to switch, at the end of a certification
period, between the standard utility allowance
and a deduction based on the actual utility costs
of the household.
(III) INAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS.—Clauses (ii)(II) and (ii)(III) shall not apply
in the case of a State agency that has made the
use of a standard utility allowance mandatory
under subclause (I).
(iv) AVAILABILITY OF ALLOWANCE TO RECIPIENTS OF
ENERGY ASSISTANCE.—
(I) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subclause (II), if a
State agency elects to use a standard utility allowance that reflects heating and cooling costs, the
standard utility allowance shall be made available
to households that received a payment, or on behalf of which a payment was made, under the
Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981
(42 U.S.C. 8621 et seq.) or other similar energy
assistance program, if in the current month or in
the immediately preceding 12 months, the household either received such a payment, or such a
payment was made on behalf of the household,
that was greater than $20 annually, as determined by the Secretary.
(II) SEPARATE ALLOWANCE.—A State agency
may use a separate standard utility allowance for
households on behalf of which a payment described in subclause (I) is made, but may not be
required to do so.
(III) STATES NOT ELECTING TO USE SEPARATE
ALLOWANCE.—A State agency that does not elect
to use a separate allowance but makes a single
standard utility allowance available to households
incurring heating or cooling expenses (other than
a household described in subclause (I) or (II) of
clause (ii)) may not be required to reduce the allowance due to the provision (directly or indirectly) of assistance under the Low-Income Home
Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8621 et
seq.).
(IV) PRORATION OF ASSISTANCE.—For the purpose of the supplemental nutrition assistance proJanuary 15, 2019

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gram, assistance provided under the Low-Income
Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C.
8621 et seq.) shall be considered to be prorated
over the entire heating or cooling season for which
the assistance was provided.
(D) HOMELESS HOUSEHOLDS.—
(i) ALTERNATIVE DEDUCTION.—The State agency
shall allow a deduction of $143 a month for households—
(I) in which all members are homeless individuals;
(II) that are not receiving free shelter
throughout the month; and
(III) that do not opt to claim an excess shelter
expense deduction under subparagraph (A).
(ii) ADJUSTMENT.—For fiscal year 2019 and each
subsequent fiscal year the amount of the homeless
shelter deduction specified in clause (i) shall be adjusted to reflect changes for the 12-month period ending the preceding November 30 in the Consumer Price
Index for All Urban Consumers published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor.
(iii) INELIGIBILITY.—The State agency may make a
household with extremely low shelter costs ineligible
for the alternative deduction under clause (i).
(f)(1)(A) 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. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence,
household income resulting from the self-employment of a member
in a farming operation, who derives income from such farming operation and who has irregular expenses to produce such income,
may, at the option of the household, be calculated by averaging
such income and expenses over a 12-month period. Notwithstanding the first sentence, if the averaged amount does not accurately reflect the household’s actual monthly circumstances because
the household has experienced a substantial increase or decrease
in business earnings, the State agency shall calculate the self-employment income based on anticipated earnings.
(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.
(C) SIMPLIFIED DETERMINATION OF DEDUCTIONS.—
(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in clause (ii),
for the purposes of subsection (e), a State agency may
elect to disregard until the next recertification of eligibility under section 11(e)(4) 1 or more types of changes
in the circumstances of a household that affect the
amount of deductions the household may claim under
subsection (e).
(ii) CHANGES THAT MAY NOT BE DISREGARDED.—
Under clause (i), a State agency may not disregard—
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