Library: Policy
340:50-7-6. Sponsored alien and non-categorically eligible resource requirements
Issued 5-22-20
(a) Resource consideration.Resources must be considered in determining Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food benefit eligibility for households that:
(1) contain one or more sponsored aliens whose sponsor's resources must be deemed to the sponsored alien, per Section 274.3(c) of Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations (7 C.F.R. § 273.4(c)) and Oklahoma Administrative Code (OAC) 340:50-5-49; and
(2) cannot be classified as a categorically eligible household, per 7 C.F.R. § 273.2(j)(2)(vii) and OAC 340:50-11-111(d).Non-categorically eligible households include households:
(A) that reapply for SNAP food benefits the first time following closure due to substantial lottery or gambling winnings, per OAC 340:50-7-1;
(B) that include a member who is disqualified for an intentional program violation, per 7 C.F.R. § 273.16 and OAC 340:50-15-25;
(C) that include a member who is ineligible for being a fleeing felon or probation violator, per 7 C.F.R. § 273.11(n) and OAC 340:50-5-10.1;
(D) that include a household member who is disqualified for being convicted of certain crimes as an adult after February 7, 2014, and is not in compliance with the terms of the sentence or the restrictions under 7 C.F.R. § 273.11(n), per 7 C.F.R. § 273.11(s); or
(E) whose head of household is disqualified for failing to comply with work requirements, per OAC 340:50-5-85 through 340:50-5-89.Refer to OAC 340:50-3-1(b)(2) for head of household information.
(b) Countable resources.When a household meets one of the criteria, per (a) of this Section, it must verify the value of non-excluded resources owned by a household member(s) and meet the appropriate non-categorically eligible resource standard, per Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) Appendix C-3, Maximum Food Benefit Allotments and Standards for Income and Deductions.Countable resources include liquid and non-liquid resources per (1) and (2) of this subsection.
(1) Liquid resources include, but are not limited to:
(A) cash on hand;
(B) money in checking or savings accounts;
(C) savings certificates;
(D) stocks or bonds; and
(E) lump sum payments, such as lottery or gambling winnings.
(2) The equity value of non-liquid resources is considered unless the resource is excluded per (c) of this Section or is a licensed vehicle excluded from the equity test per (E) of this paragraph.The equity value is the fair market value less encumbrances.Non-liquid resources include, but are not limited to:
(A) personal property;
(B) boats;
(C) buildings, land, or other property that are not excluded, per (c) of this Section;
(D) mobile homes other than home property; and
(E) licensed and unlicensed vehicles that are not excluded, per (c)(3) of this Section and 7 C.F.R. § 273.8(e)(3) and (f)(2).For non-excluded licensed vehicles, the fair market value over $4,650, regardless of any encumbrances on the vehicle, counts as a resource. • 1
(i) Vehicles excluded from the equity test but not the fair market value test include one licensed vehicle per adult household member, ineligible alien, or disqualified household member, and any other vehicle used by a household member younger than 18 years of age to drive to work, school, training, or to look for work.
(ii) The worker determines the equity value of non-excluded unlicensed and licensed vehicles, unless exempted from the equity test, per (i) of this paragraph.
(iii) When the vehicle has a fair market value of over $4,650 and an equity value, the worker counts the greater of the two amounts as a resource. • 2
(c) Resource exclusions.Resource exclusions include:
(1) the home and surrounding property that is not separated from the home by intervening property owned by others;
(2) household goods, personal effects, the cash value of life insurance policies, one burial plot and the value of one funeral agreement per household member, and the cash value of pension or retirement plans or funds;
(3) licensed vehicles that: • 3
(A) are used for income-producing purposes, such as a taxi, fishing boat, or delivery vehicle or are required by the terms of employment; • 4
(B) annually produce income consistent with their fair market value;
(C) are needed for long-distance travel for work, other than daily commuting;
(D) are used as the household's home;
(E) are necessary to transport a physically disabled household member or disqualified member regardless of the transportation's purpose;
(F) are needed to carry most of the household's fuel for heating or water for home use; or
(G) would sell for less than $1,500;
(4) property that annually produces income consistent with its fair market value, such as rental homes or vacation homes;
(5) property that is essential to the employment or self-employment of a household member, such as farm land or work-related equipment;
(6) installment contracts for the sale of land or buildings when the contract or agreement produces income consistent with its fair market value;
(7) government payments designated to restore a home damaged in a disaster;
(8) resources with a cash value that is not accessible to the household, such as irrevocable trust funds, security deposits on rental property, property in probate, and real property that the household is making a good faith effort to sell;
(9) resources that are prorated as income, such as for self-employed persons;
(10) Indian lands held jointly by the tribe or land that can only be sold with the Bureau of Indian Affairs approval;
(11) resources excluded by federal statute;
(12) federal, state, or local earned income tax credits received by any household member are excluded for 12 months, provided the household received SNAP benefits at the time of receipt and continuously received SNAP food benefits during the 12-month period.When the household was not receiving SNAP benefits during the month the federal earned income tax credit was received, it is excluded for the month of receipt and the following month;
(13) where a resource exclusion applies for a household member, it also applies for an ineligible alien or disqualified person whose resources are counted as part of the household's resources;
(14) energy assistance payments or allowances excluded as income;
(15) non-liquid assets against which a lien is placed for a business loan when the household is prohibited from selling the assets;
(16) property, real or personal, to the extent it is directly related to the maintenance or use of a vehicle excluded per (C) of this subsection;
(17) resources of a household member who receives Supplemental Security Income, State Supplemental Payment, or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families; and
(d) Transfer of resources.At application, the worker asks the household if a household member, an ineligible alien, or a disqualified person whose resources are considered available to the household transferred non-exempt resources within the three-month period immediately preceding the application date.Households that transfer resources for the purpose of qualifying or attempting to qualify for SNAP food benefits are disqualified from SNAP participation for up to one year from the discovery of the transfer.This includes when the household transfers all or some of its substantial lottery or gambling winnings to a non-household member for this purpose. • 5The length of the disqualification period is determined based on the amount by which the transferred resources, when added to other countable resources, exceeds the allowable non-categorical resource standard per Appendix C-3.When the amount of transferred resources equals:
(1) $0 to 249.99, the disqualification period is one month;
(2) $250 to 999.99, the disqualification period is three months;
(3) $1,000 to 2999.99, the disqualification period is six months;
(4) $3,000 to 4,999.99, the disqualification period is nine months; or
(5) $5,000 or more, the disqualification period is 12 months.
(e) Substantial lottery and gambling winners.A household whose SNAP benefits closed due to substantial lottery or gambling winnings is only required to meet the resource requirements of this Section the first time it reapplies for SNAP and is certified.When the household reapplies, it must verify the substantial lottery or gambling winnings are spent down and its countable resources are below the appropriate resource standard, per OKDHS Appendix C-3. • 6Once the household meets non-categorical resource requirements and is certified, it regains categorical eligibility for future applications and renewals unless (a)(1) or (2)(B) through (E) of this Section applies. • 7
(f) Sponsored alien resources. When a sponsor's resources must be considered, the worker subtracts $1,500 from the sponsored alien's countable resources before determining if the countable resources exceed the resource standard for sponsored alien households, per Oklahoma Human Services Appendix C-3.
INSTRUCTIONS TO STAFF 340:50-7-6
Issued 5-22-20
1.(a) The average trade-in value listed in the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) books, other blue books, or one of the Internet websites that provide data on the market value of used vehicles at no cost to the user can be used.Available websites include:
(1) CarPrices www.carprices.com;
(2) Edmund'swww.edmunds.com;
(3) Kelley Blue Bookwww.kbb.com.; and
(4) NADAwww.nada.com.
(b) The value of a vehicle cannot be increased by adding the value of low mileage or optional equipment.The Kelley Blue Book requires users to include mileage prior to calculating a vehicle's value.Other online services with a mileage field assume average mileage when the mileage field is left blank.To ensure vehicles are not assigned a higher value based on unusually low mileage, the worker uses the greater of the vehicle's actual mileage or 12,000 miles per year.
(c) Family Assistance/Client Services must include sufficient documentation indicating the website or blue book used to determine the market value of the vehicle.
2.(a) Example:The household consists of two adults and two children.One adult works and the other adult takes care of the children.Neither adult is elderly or disabled.They own two licensed vehicles.One vehicle has a fair market value of $7,000 and an equity value of $3,000.The other vehicle has a fair market value of $6,000 and an equity value of $2,000.The vehicles cannot be excluded from resource consideration as they do not meet one of the exclusions per (c)(3) of this Section.
(1) Since one vehicle per adult can be excluded from the equity test, the worker determines the resource value of the vehicles based on the fair market value.
(2) The countable resource value of the first vehicle is $2,350 ($7,000 - $4,650 = $2,350).The countable resource value of the second vehicle is $1,350 ($6,000 - $4,650 = $1,350).The total countable resource value of the vehicles is $3,700 ($2,350 + $1,350).
(3) The worker must deny the food benefit application as $3,700 is over the $2,250 resource standard for the household, per Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) Appendix C-3, Maximum Food Benefit Allotments and Standards for Income and Deductions.
(b) Example:The household consists of a couple.The husband works and owns a licensed vehicle with a fair market value of $8,000 and an equity value of $3,000. The wife receives Social Security disability benefits and owns a licensed vehicle with a fair market value of $10,000 and an equity value of $5,000.Both vehicles are exempt from the equity test.
(1) The worker considers the fair market value over $4,650 as a countable resource ($8,000 - $4,650 = $3,350) for the husband's vehicle.
(2) The wife's vehicle is excluded from resource consideration as it is used to transport a physically disabled household member.
(3) The total countable resource value of the vehicles is $3,350.Since the couple's maximum resource standard, per OKDHS Appendix C-3 is $3,500 as the wife is disabled, their vehicles are within this resource standard.
(c) Example:The household consists of a couple and their two children.One of the children is a teenage driver.No one is elderly or disabled. They own three licensed vehicles and one unlicensed vehicle.
(1) The husband uses his car to commute to his work location each day.His vehicle has a fair market value of $6,000 and is exempt from the equity test.The countable fair market value of his vehicle is $1,350 ($6,000 - $4,650).
(2) The wife is an Uber drive and must have a car to perform her job.Her car has a fair market value of $8,000 and an equity value of $2,000.The wife's vehicle is excluded from resource consideration as it is required in order for her to perform her job.
(3) The couple's teenage son uses his car to attend high school.His car has a fair market value of $5,000 and an equity value of $3,000.His vehicle is exempt from the equity test as he uses it to attend school.The countable fair market value of his vehicle is $350 ($5,000 - $4,650).
(4) The household's unlicensed vehicle has a fair market value and an equity value of $2,000.The vehicle's countable fair market value is zero since it is worth less than $4,650.The vehicle is not exempt from the equity test since it is a extra vehicle.The countable equity value of the vehicle is $2,000.The worker must use the equity value since it is more than the countable fair market value.
(5) The total countable resource value of the four vehicles is $3,700 ($1,350 + 0 + $350 + $2,000).Since the household's maximum resource standard is $2,250, they are over the resource standard and must be denied.
3.(a) When Indian reservations do not require vehicles driven by tribal members to be licensed, such vehicles are treated as licensed vehicles for the purpose of this exclusion.
(b) Employment-based exclusions apply when the vehicle is not in use because of temporary unemployment, such as when a taxi driver is ill and cannot work or when a fishing boat is frozen in and cannot be used.
4.Terms of employment means the person is required to have a vehicle to work for the business.An example would be a person who is an in-home health care provider who must have a vehicle to go to his or her clients' homes.
5.The worker contacts Adult and Family Services Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) staff for guidance prior to denying the application or implementing a disqualification period.
6.(a) When a household member wins $3,500 or more in lottery or gambling winnings, per Oklahoma Administrative Code 340:50-7-1(a)(3), the worker closes the household's SNAP food benefits.The household must reapply, verify how the winnings were spent down, and any remaining winnings plus the value of countable resources per (b) of this Section must be at or below the appropriate resource standard, per Appendix C-3, Maximum Food Benefit Allotments and Standards for Income and Deductions, before the household can regain food benefit eligibility and categorical eligibility.Per Appendix C-3, households that:
(1) do not contain an elderly or disabled person, cannot exceed $2,250 in liquid and non-liquid resources; and
(2) contain an elderly or disabled household member, cannot exceed $3,500 in liquid and non-liquid resources.
(b) Refer to (c)(3) of this Section for transfer of resources rules when the worker determines that a household transferred all or some of its lottery or gambling winnings to another person in order to qualify or attempt to qualify for SNAP food benefits again.The worker contacts Adult and Family Services SNAP staff for guidance prior to denying the application or implementing a disqualification period.
7.When the household is denied because it is still over resources or for any other reason, it must meet resource requirements at the next application and be certified before it can regain categorical eligibility.
