EXPEDITED CLAIM COLLECTION; ADJUSTMENTS TO ERROR RATE CALCULATIONS.

SEC. 13061. EXPEDITED CLAIM COLLECTION; ADJUSTMENTS TO ERROR RATE CALCULATIONS. (a) Collection and Disposition of Claims.— Section 13(a)(1) of the Act (7 U.S.C. 2022(a)(1)) is amended— (1) in the fifth sentence by striking “(after a determination on any request for a waiver for good cause related to the claim has been made by the Secretary)”; and (2) in the sixth sentence by striking “2 years” and inserting “1 year”. 107 STAT. 678 (b) Administrative and Judicial Review.— Section 14(a) of the Act (7 U.S.C. 2023(a)) is amended— (1) in the sixth sentence by inserting after “pursuant to section 16(c)” the following: “(including determinations as to whether there is good cause for not imposing all or a portion of the penalty)”; and (2) by striking the last sentence. (c) Quality Control System.— Section 16(c) of the Act (7 U.S.C. 2025(c)) is amended— (1) in paragraph (1)(C)— (A) by striking “payment error tolerance level” and inserting “national performance measure”; and (B) by striking “equal to” and all that follows through the first period and inserting the following: “equal to— “(i) the product of— “(I) the value of all allotments issued by the State agency in the fiscal year; times “(II) the lesser of— “(aa) the ratio of— “(aaa) the amount by which the payment error rate of the State agency for the fiscal year exceeds the national performance measure for the fiscal year, to “(bbb) the national performance measure for the fiscal year, or “(bb) 1; times “(III) the amount by which the payment error rate of the State agency for the fiscal year exceeds the national performance measure for the fiscal year.”; (2) in paragraph (3)(A) by striking “60 days (or 90 days at the discretion of the Secretary)” and inserting “120 days”; (3) in paragraph (6) by striking “shall be used to establish” and all that follows through “level” the last place it appears; and (4) by adding at the end the following: “(8) (A) This paragraph applies to the determination of whether a payment is due by a State agency for a fiscal year under paragraph (1)(C). “(B) Not later than 180 days after the end of the fiscal year, the case review and all arbitrations of State-Federal difference cases shall be completed. “(C) Not later than 30 days thereafter, the Secretary shall— “(i) determine final error rates, the national average payment error rate, and the amounts of payment claimed against State agencies; and “(ii) notify State agencies of the payment claims. “(D) A State agency desiring to appeal a payment claim determined under subparagraph (C) shall submit to an administrative law judge— “(i) a notice of appeal, not later than 10 days after receiving a notice of the claim; and “(ii) evidence in support of the appeal of the State agency, not later than 60 days after receiving a notice of the claim. “(E) Not later than 60 days after a State agency submits evidence in support of the appeal, the Secretary shall submit responsive evidence to the administrative law judge to the extent such evidence exists. 107 STAT. 679 “(F) Not later than 30 days after the Secretary submits responsive evidence, the State agency shall submit rebuttal evidence to the administrative law judge to the extent such evidence exists. “(G) The administrative law judge, after an evidentiary hearing, shall decide the appeal— “(i) not later than 60 days after receipt of rebuttal evidence submitted by the State agency; or “(ii) if the State agency does not submit rebuttal evidence, not later than 90 days after the State agency submits the notice of appeal and evidence in support of the appeal. “(H) In considering a claim under this paragraph, the administrative law judge shall consider all grounds for denying the claim, in whole or in part, including the contention of a State agency that the claim should be waived, in whole or in part, for good cause. “(I) The deadlines in subparagraphs (D), (E), (F), and (G) shall be extended by the administrative law judge for cause shown. “(9) As used in this subsection, the term ‘good cause’ includes— “(A) a natural disaster or civil disorder that adversely affects food stamp program operations; “(B) a strike by employees of a State agency who are necessary for the determination of eligibility and processing of case changes under the food stamp program; “(C) a significant growth in food stamp caseload in a State prior to or during a fiscal year, such as a 15 percent growth in caseload; “(D) a change in the food stamp program or other Federal or State program that has a substantial adverse impact on the management of the food stamp program of a State; and “(E) a significant circumstance beyond the control of the State agency.”.