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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 1320b-7. Income and eligibility verification system
(a) Requirements of State eligibility systems
In order to meet the requirements of this section, a State must
have in effect an income and eligibility verification system which
meets the requirements of subsection (d) of this section and under
which -
(1) the State shall require, as a condition of eligibility for
benefits under any program listed in subsection (b) of this
section, that each applicant for or recipient of benefits under
that program furnish to the State his social security account
number (or numbers, if he has more than one such number), and the
State shall utilize such account numbers in the administration of
that program so as to enable the association of the records
pertaining to the applicant or recipient with his account number;
(2) wage information from agencies administering State
unemployment compensation laws available pursuant to section
3304(a)(16) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, wage
information reported pursuant to paragraph (3) of this
subsection, and wage, income, and other information from the
Social Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service
available pursuant to section 6103(l)(7) of such Code, shall be
requested and utilized to the extent that such information may be
useful in verifying eligibility for, and the amount of, benefits
available under any program listed in subsection (b) of this
section, as determined by the Secretary of Health and Human
Services (or, in the case of the unemployment compensation
program, by the Secretary of Labor, or, in the case of the food
stamp program, by the Secretary of Agriculture);
(3) employers (as defined in section 653a(a)(2)(B) of this
title) (including State and local governmental entities and labor
organizations) in such State are required, effective September
30, 1988, to make quarterly wage reports to a State agency (which
may be the agency administering the State's unemployment
compensation law) except that the Secretary of Labor (in
consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and
the Secretary of Agriculture) may waive the provisions of this
paragraph if he determines that the State has in effect an
alternative system which is as effective and timely for purposes
of providing employment related income and eligibility data for
the purposes described in paragraph (2), and except that no
report shall be filed with respect to an employee of a State or
local agency performing intelligence or counterintelligence
functions, if the head of such agency has determined that filing
such a report could endanger the safety of the employee or
compromise an ongoing investigation or intelligence mission, and
except that in the case of wage reports with respect to domestic
service employment, a State may permit employers (as so defined)
that make returns with respect to such employment on a calendar
year basis pursuant to section 3510 of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986 to make such reports on an annual basis;
(4) the State agencies administering the programs listed in
subsection (b) of this section adhere to standardized formats and
procedures established by the Secretary of Health and Human
Services (in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture)
under which -
(A) the agencies will exchange with each other information in
their possession which may be of use in establishing or
verifying eligibility or benefit amounts under any other such
program;
(B) such information shall be made available to assist in the
child support program under part D of subchapter IV of this
chapter, and to assist the Secretary of Health and Human
Services in establishing or verifying eligibility or benefit
amounts under subchapters II and XVI of this chapter, but
subject to the safeguards and restrictions established by the
Secretary of the Treasury with respect to information released
pursuant to section 6103(l) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986; and
(C) the use of such information shall be targeted to those
uses which are most likely to be productive in identifying and
preventing ineligibility and incorrect payments, and no State
shall be required to use such information to verify the
eligibility of all recipients;
(5) adequate safeguards are in effect so as to assure that -
(A) the information exchanged by the State agencies is made
available only to the extent necessary to assist in the valid
administrative needs of the program receiving such information,
and the information released pursuant to section 6103(l) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is only exchanged with agencies
authorized to receive such information under such section
6103(l); and
(B) the information is adequately protected against
unauthorized disclosure for other purposes, as provided in
regulations established by the Secretary of Health and Human
Services, or, in the case of the unemployment compensation
program, the Secretary of Labor, or, in the case of the food
stamp program, the Secretary of Agriculture, or (!1) in the
case of information released pursuant to section 6103(l) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, the Secretary of the Treasury;
(6) all applicants for and recipients of benefits under any
such program shall be notified at the time of application, and
periodically thereafter, that information available through the
system will be requested and utilized; and
(7) accounting systems are utilized which assure that programs
providing data receive appropriate reimbursement from the
programs utilizing the data for the costs incurred in providing
the data.
(b) Applicable programs
The programs which must participate in the income and eligibility
verification system are -
(1) any State program funded under part A of subchapter IV of
this chapter;
(2) the medicaid program under subchapter XIX of this chapter;
(3) the unemployment compensation program under section 3304 of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
(4) the food stamp program under the Food Stamp Act of 1977 [7
U.S.C. 2011 et seq.]; and
(5) any State program under a plan approved under subchapter I,
X, XIV, or XVI of this chapter.
(c) Protection of applicants from improper use of information
(1) In order to protect applicants for and recipients of benefits
under the programs identified in subsection (b) of this section, or
under the supplemental security income program under subchapter XVI
of this chapter, from the improper use of information obtained from
the Secretary of the Treasury under section 6103(l)(7)(B) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, no Federal, State, or local agency
receiving such information may terminate, deny, suspend, or reduce
any benefits of an individual until such agency has taken
appropriate steps to independently verify information relating to -
(A) the amount of the asset or income involved,
(B) whether such individual actually has (or had) access to
such asset or income for his own use, and
(C) the period or periods when the individual actually had such
asset or income.
(2) Such individual shall be informed by the agency of the
findings made by the agency on the basis of such verified
information, and shall be given an opportunity to contest such
findings, in the same manner as applies to other information and
findings relating to eligibility factors under the program.
(d) Citizenship or immigration status requirements; documentation;
verification by Immigration and Naturalization Service; denial of
benefits; hearing
The requirements of this subsection, with respect to an income
and eligibility verification system of a State, are as follows:
(1)(A) The State shall require, as a condition of an
individual's eligibility for benefits under a program listed in
subsection (b) of this section, a declaration in writing, under
penalty of perjury -
(i) by the individual,
(ii) in the case in which eligibility for program benefits is
determined on a family or household basis, by any adult member
of such individual's family or household (as applicable), or
(iii) in the case of an individual born into a family or
household receiving benefits under such program, by any adult
member of such family or household no later than the next
redetermination of eligibility of such family or household
following the birth of such individual,
stating whether the individual is a citizen or national of the
United States, and, if that individual is not a citizen or
national of the United States, that the individual is in a
satisfactory immigration status.
(B) In this subsection, in the case of the program described in
subsection (b)(4) of this section -
(i) any reference to the State shall be considered a
reference to the State agency, and
(ii) any reference to an individual's eligibility for
benefits under the program shall be considered a reference to
the individual's eligibility to participate in the program as a
member of a household, and
(iii) the term "satisfactory immigration status" means an
immigration status which does not make the individual
ineligible for benefits under the applicable program.
(2) If such an individual is not a citizen or national of the
United States, there must be presented either -
(A) alien registration documentation or other proof of
immigration registration from the Immigration and
Naturalization Service that contains the individual's alien
admission number or alien file number (or numbers if the
individual has more than one number), or
(B) such other documents as the State determines constitutes
reasonable evidence indicating a satisfactory immigration
status.
(3) If the documentation described in paragraph (2)(A) is
presented, the State shall utilize the individual's alien file or
alien admission number to verify with the Immigration and
Naturalization Service the individual's immigration status
through an automated or other system (designated by the Service
for use with States) that -
(A) utilizes the individual's name, file number, admission
number, or other means permitting efficient verification, and
(B) protects the individual's privacy to the maximum degree
possible.
(4) In the case of such an individual who is not a citizen or
national of the United States, if, at the time of application for
benefits, the statement described in paragraph (1) is submitted
but the documentation required under paragraph (2) is not
presented or if the documentation required under paragraph (2)(A)
is presented but such documentation is not verified under
paragraph (3) -
(A) the State -
(i) shall provide a reasonable opportunity to submit to the
State evidence indicating a satisfactory immigration status,
and
(ii) may not delay, deny, reduce, or terminate the
individual's eligibility for benefits under the program on
the basis of the individual's immigration status until such a
reasonable opportunity has been provided; and
(B) if there are submitted documents which the State
determines constitutes reasonable evidence indicating such
status -
(i) the State shall transmit to the Immigration and
Naturalization Service either photostatic or other similar
copies of such documents, or information from such documents,
as specified by the Immigration and Naturalization Service,
for official verification,
(ii) pending such verification, the State may not delay,
deny, reduce, or terminate the individual's eligibility for
benefits under the program on the basis of the individual's
immigration status, and
(iii) the State shall not be liable for the consequences of
any action, delay, or failure of the Service to conduct such
verification.
(5) If the State determines, after complying with the
requirements of paragraph (4), that such an individual is not in
a satisfactory immigration status under the applicable program -
(A) the State shall deny or terminate the individual's
eligibility for benefits under the program, and
(B) the applicable fair hearing process shall be made
available with respect to the individual.
(e) Erroneous State citizenship or immigration status
determinations; penalties not required
Each Federal agency responsible for administration of a program
described in subsection (b) of this section shall not take any
compliance, disallowance, penalty, or other regulatory action
against a State with respect to any error in the State's
determination to make an individual eligible for benefits based on
citizenship or immigration status -
(1) if the State has provided such eligibility based on a
verification of satisfactory immigration status by the
Immigration and Naturalization Service,
(2) because the State, under subsection (d)(4)(A)(ii) of this
section, was required to provide a reasonable opportunity to
submit documentation,
(3) because the State, under subsection (d)(4)(B)(ii) of this
section, was required to wait for the response of the Immigration
and Naturalization Service to the State's request for official
verification of the immigration status of the individual, or
(4) because of a fair hearing process described in subsection
(d)(5)(B) of this section.
(f) Medical assistance to aliens for treatment of emergency
conditions
Subsections (a)(1) and (d) of this section shall not apply with
respect to aliens seeking medical assistance for the treatment of
an emergency medical condition under section 1396b(v)(2) of this
title.
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