Except as provided in subsection (i), EBT cards shall be issued only to households which have been duly certified as eligible to participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance program.
Benefits issued to eligible households shall be used by them only to purchase food in retail food stores which have been approved for participation in the supplemental nutrition assistance program at prices prevailing in such stores: Provided, That nothing in this chapter shall be construed as authorizing the Secretary to specify the prices at which food may be sold by wholesale food concerns or retail food stores.
EBT cards issued to eligible households shall be simple in design and shall include only such words or illustrations as are required to explain their purpose.
The name of any public official shall not appear on any EBT card.
The Secretary shall prescribe appropriate procedures for the delivery of benefits to benefit issuers and for the subsequent controls to be placed over such benefits by benefit issuers in order to ensure adequate accountability.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the State agency shall be strictly liable to the Secretary for any financial losses involved in the acceptance, storage and issuance of benefits, except that in the case of losses resulting from the issuance and replacement of authorizations for benefits which are sent through the mail, the State agency shall be liable to the Secretary to the extent prescribed in the regulations promulgated by the Secretary.
If the Secretary determines, in consultation with the Inspector General of the Department of Agriculture, that it would improve the integrity of the supplemental nutrition assistance program, the Secretary shall require a State agency to issue or deliver benefits using alternative methods.
The cost of documents or systems that may be required by this subsection may not be imposed upon a retail food store participating in the supplemental nutrition assistance program.
Effective on the date of enactment of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, no State shall issue any coupon, stamp, certificate, or authorization card to a household that receives supplemental nutrition assistance under this chapter.
Effective beginning on the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, only an EBT card issued under subsection (i) shall be eligible for exchange at any retail food store.
Coupons not redeemed during the 1-year period beginning on the date of enactment of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 shall—
(i) no longer be an obligation of the Federal Government; and
(ii) not be redeemable.
(1) 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.
(2)
(A)
(i) not reduce the allotment of any household for any period; and
(ii) ensure that no household experiences an interval between issuances of more than 40 days.
(B)
(1)
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(i) commercial electronic funds transfer technology;
(ii) the need to permit interstate operation and law enforcement monitoring; and
(iii) the need to permit monitoring and investigations by authorized law enforcement agencies.
(2) The Secretary shall issue final regulations that establish standards for the approval of such a system. The standards shall include—
(A) defining the required level of recipient protection regarding privacy, ease of use, and access to and service in retail food stores;
(B) the terms and conditions of participation by retail food stores, financial institutions, and other appropriate parties;
(C)(i) 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
(ii) effective not later than 2 years after August 22, 1996, to the extent practicable, measures that permit a system to differentiate items of food that may be acquired with an allotment from items of food that may not be acquired with an allotment;
(D) system transaction interchange, reliability, and processing speeds;
(E) financial accountability;
(F) the required testing of system operations prior to implementation;
(G) the analysis of the results of system implementation in a limited project area prior to expansion; and
(H) procurement standards.
(3) 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) 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
(B) any special equipment necessary to allow households to purchase food with the benefits issued under this chapter is operational—
(i) 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
(ii) 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.
(4) 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.
(5) 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.
(6) 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.
(7)
(8)
(9)
(A)
(B)
(10)
(11)
(A)
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(I) issued from and stored in a central databank;
(II) electronically accessed by household members at the point of sale; and
(III) provided by a Federal or State government.
(iv)
(B)
(i) obtain some additional point-of-sale service from the company or an affiliate of the company; or
(ii) not obtain some additional point-of-sale service from a competitor of the company or competitor of any affiliate of the company.
(C)
(12) 1
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(i) send notice to a household the benefits of which are stored under subparagraph (B); and
(ii) not later than 48 hours after request by the household, make the stored benefits available to the household.
(12) 1
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a State agency may, with the approval of the Secretary, issue benefits under this chapter to an individual who is ineligible to participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance program solely as a result of section 2015(o)(2) of this title or section 1612 or 1613 of title 8.
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—
(i) the value of the benefits; and
(ii) the costs of issuing and redeeming benefits, and other Federal costs, incurred in providing the benefits, as determined by the Secretary.
Notwithstanding section 3302(b) of title 31, payments received under subparagraph (A) shall be credited to the supplemental nutrition assistance program appropriation account or the account from which the costs were drawn, as appropriate, for the fiscal year in which the payment is received.
To be eligible to issue benefits under this subsection, a State agency shall comply with reporting requirements established by the Secretary to carry out this subsection.
To be eligible to issue benefits under this subsection, a State agency shall—
(A) 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
(B) obtain the approval of the Secretary for the plan.
A sanction, disqualification, fine, or other penalty prescribed under Federal law (including sections 2021 and 2024 of this title) shall apply to a violation committed in connection with a benefit issued under this subsection.
Administrative and other costs incurred in issuing a benefit under this subsection shall not be eligible for Federal funding under this chapter.
Section 2025(c) of this title shall not apply to benefits issued under this subsection.
In this subsection:
The term "electronic benefit transfer card" means a card that provides benefits under this chapter through an electronic benefit transfer service (as defined in subsection (h)(11)(A) of this section).
The term "electronic benefit transfer contract" means a contract that provides for the issuance, use, or redemption of program benefits in the form of electronic benefit transfer cards.
The term "interoperability" means a system that enables program benefits in the form of an electronic benefit transfer card to be redeemed in any State.
The term "interstate transaction" means a transaction that is initiated in 1 State by the use of an electronic benefit transfer card that is issued in another State.
The term "portability" means a system that enables program benefits in the form of an electronic benefit transfer card to be used in any State by a household to purchase food at a retail food store or wholesale food concern approved under this chapter.
The term "settling" means movement, and reporting such movement, of funds from an electronic benefit transfer card issuer that is located in 1 State to a retail food store, or wholesale food concern, that is located in another State, to accomplish an interstate transaction.
The term "smart card" means an intelligent benefit card described in section 2026(f) of this title.
The term "switching" means the routing of an interstate transaction that consists of transmitting the details of a transaction electronically recorded through the use of an electronic benefit transfer card in 1 State to the issuer of the card that is in another State.
Not later than October 1, 2002, the Secretary shall ensure that systems that provide for the electronic issuance, use, and redemption of program benefits in the form of electronic benefit transfer cards are interoperable, and supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits are portable, among all States.
The cost of achieving the interoperability and portability required under paragraph (2) shall not be imposed on any retail store, or any wholesale food concern, approved to participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance program.
Not later than 210 days after February 11, 2000, the Secretary shall promulgate regulations that—
(A) 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
(B) 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.
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—
(i) is entered into before the date that is 30 days after the regulations are promulgated under paragraph (4); and
(ii) expires after October 1, 2002.
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—
(i) establishes to the satisfaction of the Secretary that the State agency faces unusual technological barriers to achieving by October 1, 2002, the interoperability and portability required under paragraph (2);
(ii) 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
(iii) specifies a date by which the State agency will achieve the interoperability and portability required under paragraph (2).
The Secretary shall allow a State agency that is using smart cards for the delivery of supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits to comply with the requirements of paragraph (2) at such time after October 1, 2002, as the Secretary determines that a practicable technological method is available for interoperability with electronic benefit transfer cards.
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—
(i) incurred after February 11, 2000, and before October 1, 2002, if the State agency uses the standard of interoperability and portability adopted by a majority of State agencies; and
(ii) incurred after September 30, 2002, if the State agency uses the uniform national standard of interoperability and portability adopted under paragraph (4)(A).
The total amount paid to State agencies for each fiscal year under subparagraph (A) shall not exceed $500,000.
(Pub. L. 88–525, §7, Aug. 31, 1964, 78 Stat. 705; Pub. L. 91–671, §5, Jan. 11, 1971, 84 Stat. 2050; Pub. L. 93–86, §3(m), Aug. 10, 1973, 87 Stat. 248; Pub. L. 93–125, §1(k), Oct. 18, 1973, 87 Stat. 450; Pub. L. 94–339, §2, July 5, 1976, 90 Stat. 799; Pub. L. 95–113, title XIII, §1301, Sept. 29, 1977, 91 Stat. 967; Pub. L. 97–98, title XIII, §1312, Dec. 22, 1981, 95 Stat. 1285; Pub. L. 97–253, title I, §§162, 190(c)(2), Sept. 8, 1982, 96 Stat. 778, 787; Pub. L. 99–198, title XV, §§1518, 1519, Dec. 23, 1985, 99 Stat. 1578; Pub. L. 100–435, title II, §203(b), Sept. 19, 1988, 102 Stat. 1657; Pub. L. 101–624, title XVII, §§1728, 1729(a), Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 3788, 3789; Pub. L. 103–225, title I, §102, Mar. 25, 1994, 108 Stat. 107; Pub. L. 104–193, title VIII, §825(a), Aug. 22, 1996, 110 Stat. 2324; Pub. L. 105–18, title VII, [(a)], June 12, 1997, 111 Stat. 216; Pub. L. 106–171, §3, Feb. 11, 2000, 114 Stat. 3; Pub. L. 107–171, title IV, §4110, May 13, 2002, 116 Stat. 309; Pub. L. 110–234, title IV, §§4001(b), 4002(a)(4), 4113–4115(a), May 22, 2008, 122 Stat. 1092, 1093, 1103; Pub. L. 110–246, §4(a), title IV, §§4001(b), 4002(a)(4), 4113–4115(a), June 18, 2008, 122 Stat. 1664, 1853, 1854, 1864, 1865; Pub. L. 111–203, title X, §1075(b), July 21, 2010, 124 Stat. 2074.)
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