In accordance with Ohio Revised Code (ORC) 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 The purpose of a rule review is to determine whether a rule should be continued without amendment, be amended or be rescinded, taking into consideration each rule's scope and purpose.

The following rule was recently reviewed: OAC 5101:4-1-03

Implementation

If no revisions are made to this rule prior to its finalization by the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review, it will become effective on a permanent basis on August 1, 2010. If changes are necessary, a copy of the revised rule will be forwarded to you at that time.

No changes were made affecting the eligibility of applicants or recipients, or to the way county agencies administer the Food Assistance Program. The following is a brief description of the changes made to the above-mentioned rule.

5101:4-1-03Food assistance: definitions.

Obsolete definitions were removed from this rule and acronyms were spelled out. The definitions were numbered and put into alphabetical order, and the definitions for "elderly or disabled member", "eligible foods", "homeless individual", "spouse", "and work program" were put into list form to provide further clarification.

Instructions:

The following chart identifies the material that should be removed from the Food Assistance Certification Handbook and the material that should be added.