The following rules were reviewed in accordance with Ohio Revised Code Section 119.032. Each state agency is required to review its rules a minimum of once every five years. The intent of the law is to ensure that rules are clearly written and that program requirements are accurate, up-to-date, and clearly expressed. To the extent possible, unnecessary paperwork will be eliminated and local agencies will be given increased flexibility. The purpose of a rule review is to determine whether a rule should be continued without amendment, be amended, or be rescinded, taking into consideration each rule's scope and purpose.

Rules reviewed include the following:

5101:4-4-31,5101:4-7-03,5101:4-7-11,5101:4-7-13

Implementation

These rules are proposed to be effective 09/01/2009. If no revisions are made to the proposed rules prior to the finalization by JCARR, they will become effective on a permanent basis on 09/01/2009. If changes are necessary, a copy of the revised rules will be forwarded to you at that time.

There will not be any changes to these rules that directly affect the eligibility of an applicant/recipient or how any county agency will administer the program. The following is a brief description of the changes to the rules.

In rules 5101:4-4-31, 5101:4-7-03, 5101:4-7-11 and 5101:4-7-13 the reference to 'stamps' was changed to 'assistance'. The references to acronyms were spelled out the first time they were used in the rule and the necessary grammatical revisions were made throughout. Redundant sentences were also removed for clarity. Specific substantive changes are highlighted below:

5101:4-4-31- Food assistance: anticipating income.

The reference to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 was updated to include reference to the amended version. Reference to actual utility costs and the payment requirement for utilities were revised to align with the recently implemented mandatory standard utility allowance.

5101:4-7-11- Food assistance: providing replacement issuance to assistance groups (AGs).

All references to paper coupons were removed from this rule because effective June 17, 2009 coupons were no longer legal tender.

5101:4-7-13- Food assistance: reducing, suspending, or canceling food assistance benefits.

The reference to the 'Food Stamps Act of 1977' was updated to 'Food and Nutrition Act of 2008'.

Instruction: