ANALYSIS AND DECISION:
In this case, the Appellant appealed the Department’s decision to reduce the household’s SNAP benefits from $161.00 to $50.00, after the processing of a LIHEAP application and considering updated income information.
Regulations found at 7 C.F.R. § 273.9 indicate a household’s income must be used to compute an eligible households SNAP monthly allotment. In this case, the Department based the calculation on the household’s monthly gross income from Social Security benefits and earned income from employment at Sky Chefs Incorporated. Both the Department’s Representative and the Appellant agreed that the unearned income received in the household was $289.96 with an SSP payment of $22.10. There was no dispute that the …show more content…
§ 273.9(d)(6)(ii) state that the allowable shelter expenses include rent or mortgage payments, property taxes, homeowner’s insurance and utility expenses. Regulations found at 7 U.S.C. § 2014(e)(7)(C)(iii) state, in pertinent part, that the state of Pennsylvania elected to use mandatory Standard Utility Allowances (SUA) instead of using the actual expenses incurred. This means that the Department is required to use a set amount based on the type of utility expenses incurred in the household, even if it is less or more than what the Appellant actually pays. In this case, the Department used the highest allowable SUA of $580.00 when determining the Appellant’s total expenses, net income and SNAP eligibility. The ALJ finds that the Department correctly applied the …show more content…
At the time of the administrative hearing the Department’s Representative testified to changing the shelter expenses from $300.00 to $311.00 while restoring benefits during the pendency of the hearing; as a result the benefit allotment was reinstated at $164.00 instead of $161.00. The ALJ finds that the Department correctly calculated the Appellant’s shelter expenses, however, the correction of the shelter expenses to $311.00 changed the household’s net income. As a result, after allowable expenses, the household’s net income decreased from $1,004.00 to $993.00. Per 55 Pa Code § 275.5, the question on appeal, is not whether the Department “acted properly based upon the information then available, but whether the Appellant was eligible for the period of time at issue based upon evidence of eligibility the client is able to provide at or before the hearing”. During the pre-hearing conference with the Department, it was discovered that the Appellant had a shelter expense of $311.00, which differed from what the Department was using in their eligibility calculation. The increased shelter expense caused a decreased household net income of
In this case, the Appellant appealed the Department’s decision to reduce the household’s SNAP benefits from $161.00 to $50.00, after the processing of a LIHEAP application and considering updated income information.
Regulations found at 7 C.F.R. § 273.9 indicate a household’s income must be used to compute an eligible households SNAP monthly allotment. In this case, the Department based the calculation on the household’s monthly gross income from Social Security benefits and earned income from employment at Sky Chefs Incorporated. Both the Department’s Representative and the Appellant agreed that the unearned income received in the household was $289.96 with an SSP payment of $22.10. There was no dispute that the …show more content…
§ 273.9(d)(6)(ii) state that the allowable shelter expenses include rent or mortgage payments, property taxes, homeowner’s insurance and utility expenses. Regulations found at 7 U.S.C. § 2014(e)(7)(C)(iii) state, in pertinent part, that the state of Pennsylvania elected to use mandatory Standard Utility Allowances (SUA) instead of using the actual expenses incurred. This means that the Department is required to use a set amount based on the type of utility expenses incurred in the household, even if it is less or more than what the Appellant actually pays. In this case, the Department used the highest allowable SUA of $580.00 when determining the Appellant’s total expenses, net income and SNAP eligibility. The ALJ finds that the Department correctly applied the …show more content…
At the time of the administrative hearing the Department’s Representative testified to changing the shelter expenses from $300.00 to $311.00 while restoring benefits during the pendency of the hearing; as a result the benefit allotment was reinstated at $164.00 instead of $161.00. The ALJ finds that the Department correctly calculated the Appellant’s shelter expenses, however, the correction of the shelter expenses to $311.00 changed the household’s net income. As a result, after allowable expenses, the household’s net income decreased from $1,004.00 to $993.00. Per 55 Pa Code § 275.5, the question on appeal, is not whether the Department “acted properly based upon the information then available, but whether the Appellant was eligible for the period of time at issue based upon evidence of eligibility the client is able to provide at or before the hearing”. During the pre-hearing conference with the Department, it was discovered that the Appellant had a shelter expense of $311.00, which differed from what the Department was using in their eligibility calculation. The increased shelter expense caused a decreased household net income of