[Code of Federal Regulations] [Title 7 Volume 4] [Revised as of January 1, 2001] From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access [CITE: 7CFR274.5] [Page 802-804] TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE CHAPTER II--FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE PART 274--ISSUANCE AND USE OF COUPONS--Table of Contents Sec. 274.5 Authorized representatives. (a) Household representation. The head of household, spouse or any other responsible member of the household may designate an authorized representative to act on behalf of the household in making application for the Program, in obtaining benefits and/or in using benefits at authorized firms. Rules pertaining to designating authorized representatives to apply for the Program on behalf of a household are in Sec. 273.1(f). Specified below are the rules pertaining to the use of authorized representatives to obtain household benefits or to use household benefits: (1) An authorized representative may be designated to obtain coupons. The designation shall be made at the time the application is completed and any authorized representative shall be named on the ID card. The authorlzed representative for coupon issuance may be the same individual designated to make application for the household or may be another individual. Even if a household member is able to make application and obtain benefits, the household should be encouraged to name an authorized representative for obtaining coupons in case of illness or other circumstances which might result in an inability to obtain benefits. (2) The State agency shall ensure that authorized representatives are properly designated. The name of the authorized representative shall be contained in the household's case file. Limits shall not be placed on the number of households an authorized representative may represent. In the event employers, such as those that employ migrant or seasonal farmworkers, are [[Page 803]] designated as authorized representatives or that a single authorized representative has access to a large number of authorization documents or coupons, the State agency should exercise caution to assure that each household has freely requested the assistance of the authorized representative, the household's circumstances are correctly represented, the household is receiving the correct amount of benefits and that the authorized representative is properly using the benefits. (3) State agency employees who are involved in the eligibility determination and/or issuance processes and employees of authorized food firms and meal services that are authorized to accept food coupons shall not be authorized representatives unless the State agency determines that no other representative is available. (4) An individual disqualified for fraud shall not be an authorized representative during the period of disqualification unless the individual is the only adult in the household and the State agency is unable to arrange for another authorized representative. State agencies shall separately determine whether these individuals are needed to apply on behalf of the household, to obtain coupons for the household, and to use the household's coupons to purchase food. (5) In the event the only adult living with a household is classified as a nonhousehold member as defined in Sec. 273.1(b), that individual may be the authorized representative for the minor household members. (6) Drug or alcohol treatment centers shall receive and spend the food stamp benefits for food prepared by and/or served to the residents of the center who are participating in the Food Stamp Program. (7) The head of a group living arrangement which acts as the authorized representative for the residents, may either receive and spend the residents' benefits for food prepared by and/or served to each eligible resident or allow each resident to spend all or any portion of the benefits on his/her own behalf. Meal providers for the homeless may not be authorized representatives, as specified in Sec. 273.1(f)(4)(iv). (b) Emergency representative for obtaining benefits. The State agency shall develop a system by which a household may designate an emergency authorized representative to obtain the household's benefits for a particular month. At a minimum, the method developed by the State agency shall require that a household member whose signature is on the household's ID card sign a designation authorizing the particular emergency representative to receive the household's benefits and attesting to the validity of the emergency representative's signature which must also be on the designation. Households shall not be required to travel to a food stamp office to execute the designation. Additional provisions pertaining to the use of identification cards by emergency authorized representatives are contained in Sec. 274.10(c). (c) Authorized representatives for using benefits. A household may enlist any household member or a nonmember to use its ID card and benefits to purchase food or meals for the household. However, individuals disqualified from the Program because of their commission of an intentional Program violation may only act as authorized representatives for households if no other representative can be found. (d) Disqualification. An authorized or emergency representative may be disqualified from representing a household in the Program for up to one year if the State agency has obtained evidence that the representative has misrepresented a household's circumstances and has knowingly provided false information pertaining to the household, or has made improper use of coupons. The State agency shall send written notification to the affected household and to the representative 30 days prior to the date of disqualification. The notification shall include the proposed action, the reason for the proposed action, the household's right to request a fair hearing, the telephone number of the office, and, if possible, the name of the person to contact for additional information. This provision is not applicable in the case of drug and alcohol treatment centers and to the heads of group living arrangements which act as authorized representatives for their residents. [[Page 804]] However, drug and alcohol treatment centers and the heads of group living arrangements that act as authorized representatives for their residents, and which intentionally misrepresent households' circumstances, may be prosecuted under applicable State fraud statutes for their acts. Effective Date Note: At 65 FR 70212, Nov. 21, 2000, Sec. 274.5 was removed and reserved, effective January 20, 2001.