STANDARD UTILITY ALLOWANCES BASED ON THE RECEIPT OF ENERGY ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS.

SEC. 4006. STANDARD UTILITY ALLOWANCES BASED ON THE RECEIPT OF ENERGY ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS. (a) Standard Utility Allowances in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.—Section 5(e)(6)(C) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2014(e)(6)(C)) is amended— (1) in clause (i), by inserting “, subject to clause (iv)” after “Secretary”; and (2) in clause (iv), by striking subclause (I) and inserting the following: “(I) In general. Subject to subclause (II), if a State agency elects to use a standard utility allowance that reflects heating and cooling costs, the standard utility allowance shall be made available to households that received a payment, or on behalf of which a payment was made, under the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8621 et seq.) or other similar energy assistance program, if in the current month or in the immediately preceding 12 months, the household either received such a payment, or such a payment was made on behalf of the household, that was greater than $20 annually, as determined by the Secretary.” . (b) Conforming Amendment.—Section 2605(f)(2)(A) of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8624(f)(2)(A)) is amended by inserting before the semicolon the following: “, except that, for purposes of the supplemental nutrition assistance program established under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), such payments or allowances were greater than $20 annually, consistent with section 5(e)(6)(C)(iv)(I) of that Act (7 U.S.C. 2014(e)(6)(C)(iv)(I)), as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture”. (c) [7 U.S.C. 2014 note] Application and Implementation.— (1) In general.—Except as provided in paragraph (2), this section and the amendments made by this section shall— (A) take effect 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act; and (B) apply with respect to certification periods that begin after that date. (2) State option to delay implementation for current recipients.—A State may, at the option of the State, implement a policy that eliminates or reduces the effect of the amendments made by this section on households that received a standard utility allowance as of the date of enactment of this Act, for not more than a 5-month period beginning on the date on which the amendments would otherwise apply to the respective household.