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 The purpose of a rule review is to determine whether a rule should be continued without amendment, be amended or be rescinded, taking into consideration each rule's scope and purpose.

If no revisions are made to these rules prior to finalization by the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review, they will become effective on a permanent basis on 09/01/2013. If changes are necessary, a copy of the revised rules will be forwarded to you at that time.

The following Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) rules were recently reviewed. No changes were made affecting the eligibility of applicants or recipients, or to the way county agencies administer the program.

5101:4-4-01, "Food assistance: Resource Eligibility Standards."

This rule is being rescinded and filed as new. The rule was put into plain language and question-and-answer format to improve clarity. No substantive changes have been made.

5101:4-4-03, "Food assistance: Exempt Resources"

This rule has been rescinded and filed as new. The rule was put into plain language and question-and-answer format to improve clarity. The paragraph regarding pensions and retirement accounts has been removed because it was duplicative of paragraph (A)(21) of rule 5101:4-3-03.3. Examples that were previously included in this rule have also been removed.

5101:4-4-03.3, "Food assistance: Resources Excluded by Law"

This rule has been amended. The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 requires all federal tax returns to be exempt from food assistance resource provisions for twelve months from the date of receipt. As a result, the paragraphs that previously excluded earned income tax credits (EITC) have been removed and a new paragraph has been added. Also, paragraph (B) has been amended to remove each instance of payments to American Indians or Alaskan Natives that are excluded from resources. The link to the list of payments to American Indians or Alaskan Natives exclusions compiled by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) will be added to the rule. This list can be found by accessing the following web page: http://www.fns.usda.gov/fdd/programs/fdpir/Excluded_Native_American_Funds_2011.pdf

5101:4-4-07, "Food assistance: Special Resource Situations"

This rule has been rescinded and filed as new as a result of a five year rule review. The acronym "AG" has been spelled out within the rule and the rule has been put into question and answer format. Paragraphs (C) and (D) have been removed because they were duplicative of provisions in rule 5101:4-3-03.

5101:4-4-13, "Food assistance: Types of Excluded Income"

This rule has been rescinded and filed as new. Certain language has been removed to eliminate duplication within the rule and to improve clarity. The federal statutes listed in paragraph (D) have been reviewed for accuracy and the public law numbers have been added. Paragraph (C)(2) has been amended to remove each instance of payments to American Indians or Alaskan Natives that are excluded as income. The list of payments to American Indians or Alaskan Natives exclusions compiled by the USDA FNS will be added to the rule. This list can be found by accessing the following web page: http://www.fns.usda.gov/fdd/programs/fdpir/Excluded_Native_American_Funds_2011.pdf

Finally, this rule has been updated to include information about health profession opportunity grants and medical loss ratio rebates, which were both included in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010.

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