Effective September 26, 1996, Substitute House Bill (Sub. H.B. 473) required each state agency 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 The purpose of a rule review is to determine whether a rule should be continued without amendment, be amended, or be rescinded, taking into consideration each rule's purpose and scope.

Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) rules 5101:4-2-01, 4-2-02, 4-2-03, 4-2-034, 4-2-035, 4-2-036, 4-2-05, 4-2-051, 4-2-07, and 4-2-11, the rules for Chapter 2000 of the Food Stamp Certification Handbook (FSCH), were sent out for review and comment. The comments have been evaluated and, where appropriate, incorporated in the rule. There are no changes to Chapter 2000 which directly impact on the eligibility of applicants/recipients or how any county agency is to administer the program.

Rule 5101:4-2-01 is replacing Sections 2000 through 2180.

Rule 5101:4-2-02 is replacing Sections 2190 through 2195.3.

Rules 5101:4-2-03, 4-2-034, 4-2-035, and 4-2-036 have been rescinded. A new rule 5101:4-2-03 has been created which consolidates all of these rules into one rule. This rule replaces Sections 2220 through 2222, 2230 through 2231.3, Sections 2232 through 2232.8 listed in the left- hand margin of rule 4-2-035 dated September 3, 1997, and 2240 through 2243.

Rule 5101:4-2-05 replaces Sections 2250 through 2259.1.

Rule 5101:4-2-051 replaces Sections 2260 through 2266.

Rule 5101:4-2-07 replaces Sections 2300 through 2350.2.

Rule 5101:4-2-11 replaces Sections 2500 through 2542.2.

In the left-hand margin the former FSCH section number that corresponds to the new OAC language format will be entered. The primary reason for this dual numbering is that for the time being CRIS-E will continue to use the FSCH numbering system; this allows caseworkers to locate specific language in the manual.

In the text of the rule, an FSCH section number is cited immediately after a reference to an OAC rule only if the section has not been converted to the OAC format in this manual.

Implementation

These changes are effective May 2, 1998. No desk review is required.