123STA T . 12 0PUBLIC LA W 111 –5—FE B.1 7, 200 9GEN E RALP R OVIS IONS —TH IS TITLE S EC.10 1. TE MPORA R Y I N CREA S E I N B ENE F I T S U N D ERT H E S U PP L EMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PRO G RAM. (a)M A X IMUM BENEFIT INCREASE.— (1) IN GENERAL.—B egin ning th e f i rs t mo nth that b egins not l ess than 25d a y s after the date of ena c tment of this Act , the v al u e of benefits determined under section 8 (a) of the F ood and Nutrition Act of 2008 and consolidated bloc k grants for Puerto Rico and American Samoa determined under section 1 9 (a) of such Act shall be calculated using 11 3 . 6p ercent of the J une 2008 value of the thrifty food plan as specified under section 3(o) of such Act. (2) TERMINATION.— (A) The authority provided by this subsection shall terminate after September 30, 2009. (B) Not w ithstanding subparagraph (A), the Secretary of Agriculture may not reduce the value of the ma x imum allotments, minimum allotments or consolidated block grants for Puerto Rico and American Samoa below the level in effect for fiscal year 2009 as a result of paragraph (1). (b) RE Q UIREMENTS FOR THE SECRETARY.—In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall— (1) consider the benefit increases described in subsection (a)tobea ‘ ‘mass change ’ ’
(2) re q uire a simple process for States to notify households of the increase in benefits; (3) consider section 16(c)(3)(A) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 ( 7 U.S. C . 2025(c)(3)(A)) to apply to any errors in the implementation of this section, without regard to the 120 - day limit described in that section; ( 4 ) disregard the additional amount of benefits that a household receives as a result of this section in determining the amount of overissuances under section 13 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2022); and (5) set the tolerance level for excluding small errors for the purposes of section 16(c) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2025(c)) at $ 50 through September 30, 2009. (c) ADMINISTRATI V E EXPENSES.— (1) IN GENERAL.—For the costs of State administrative expenses associated with carrying out this section and admin- istering the supplemental nutrition assistance program estab- lished under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), the Secretary shall make available $145,000,000 in fiscal year 2009 and $150,000,000 in fiscal year 2010, of which $4,500,000 is for necessary expenses of the Food and Nutrition Service for management and oversight of the program and for monitoring the integrity and evaluating the effects of the payments made under this section. (2) TIMING FOR FISCAL YEAR 20 0 9 .—Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall make available to States amounts for fiscal year 2009 under paragraph (1). (3) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—Except as provided for manage- ment and oversight, funds described in paragraph (1) shall Grants.De a dli ne. Ef fe c ti v e date. Pu ert oR ico. Am erican S amoa.
