Vermont § 2604 - Eligible beneficiaries; requirements

§ 2604. Eligible beneficiaries; requirements

• (a) The Secretary of Human Services or designee, by rule, shall establish household income
  eligibility requirements of beneficiaries in the Seasonal Fuel Assistance Program,
  including the income of all residents of the household. The income eligibility requirements
  shall require that households have a gross household income no greater than 185 percent
  of the federal poverty level nor in excess of income maximums established by LIHEAP
  in order to be potentially eligible for benefits. To the extent allowed by federal
  law, the Secretary of Human Services or designee shall establish by rule a calculation
  of gross income based on the same rules used in 3SquaresVT, except that the Secretary
  or designee shall include additional deductions or exclusions from income required
  by LIHEAP. (b) The Secretary of Human Services or designee shall by procedure establish a table that
  contains amounts that will function as a proxy for applicant households’ annual heating
  fuel cost for the previous year. The seasonal fuel expenditure estimates contained
  within the table shall closely approximate the actual home heating costs experienced
  by participants in the Home Heating Fuel Assistance Program. The table shall be revised
  not less frequently than every three years based on data supplied by certified fuel
  suppliers, the Department of Public Service, and other industry sources to the Office
  of Home Heating Fuel Assistance. The Secretary or designee shall provide a draft of
  the table to the Home Energy Assistance Task Force established pursuant to subsection 2602a(c) of this title and solicit input from the Task Force prior to finalizing the table. (c) In determining heating fuel costs of households: (1) Residents of housing units subsidized by the federal, State, or local government shall
  be deemed to have incurred no annual home heating fuel costs, except to the extent
  required by any federal law or regulation if federal funds are utilized for the Home
  Heating Fuel Assistance Program, and with the following additional exception. Housing
  unit residents who participate in Reach Up under chapter 11 of this title or who receive
  Supplemental Security Income/Aid to the Aged, Blind, and Disabled (SSI/AABD); Emergency
  Assistance; or General Assistance benefits that are used in whole or in part to pay
  for their housing or utility costs and do not receive other federal, State, or local
  government assistance targeted specifically to their housing or utility needs shall,
  with the exception of households for which the cost of heat is supplied by the landlord,
  be assumed to incur annual home heating fuel costs and their eligibility for annual
  heating fuel assistance shall not be limited by this subsection. (2) The annual heating fuel cost for a household unit shall be only for the cost of the
  primary heating fuel source of the unit, which may be for wood, electricity, or any
  other fuel source, but annual heating fuel costs shall be only for the cost of heat
  and not include the cost of the fuel for any other uses of the household. (Added 1995, No. 158 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 10, 1996; amended 1997, No. 2, § 68, eff. Feb. 12, 1997; 1997, No. 61, § 130a; 1999, No. 59, §§ 2, 3, eff. June 1, 1999; 1999, No. 66 (Adj. Sess.), § 56, eff. Feb. 8, 2000; 2007, No. 65, § 143; 2007, No. 172 (Adj. Sess.), § 14; 2009, No. 4, § 108, eff. July 1, 2008; 2009, No. 1 (Sp. Sess.), § E.324.3; 2009, No. 88 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. April 29, 2010; 2011, No. 75 (Adj. Sess.), § 112, retroactively eff. June 1, 2010; 2013, No. 50, § E.324.5; 2013, No. 89, § 18, eff. June 17, 2013; 2013, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 56, eff. May 20, 2014; 2017, No. 85, § F.1, eff. June 28, 2017; 2019, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 298.)