Monday, March 9, 2015

Food stamps and Registered Sex Offenders: What you need to know

This morning I received an email from a Registered Citizen who recently applied for food stamps and was denied due to his status as a Registered Citizen. After getting some background information, I'm pretty sure this man was wrongfully denied food stamps and I told him to appeal it. I believe his appeal will be successful.

I'm sure some of you heard by now that "sex offenders can't get food stamps" because of a provision of last year's "Farm Bill" (H.R.2642 — 113th Congress [2013-2014], officially called the Agricultural Act of 2014.) Well, what you might have heard is only partly true. 

Last year's farm bill did contain a section  that denied food stamp eligibility to "certain convicted felons." This amendment was known as the "Vitter Amendment," for the diaper-fetishist Louisiana Senator David Vitter. However, this provision is actually pretty limited. Below is the so-called "Vitter Amendment" added to last year's farm bill.

(Note: eAdvocate pointed out that part (c), which prevents the amendment from being applied retroactively, is NOT a part of the original Vitter Amendment; the Senate version of the Farm Bill (S954) which failed to pass in the House; instead the House copied the Vitter amendment into their version of the Farm bill with the added section (c) to their version, which became law.  Vitter's idea was source of Registered Citizens denials.)


SEC. 4008. ELIGIBILITY DISQUALIFICATIONS FOR CERTAIN CONVICTED FELONS.

(a) In General.--Section 6 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015) is amended by adding at the end the following"

``(r) Disqualification for Certain Convicted Felons.--

``(1) In general.--An individual shall not be eligible for benefits under this Act if--

``(A) the individual is convicted of--

``(i) aggravated sexual abuse under section 2241 of title 18, United States Code;
``(ii) murder under section 1111 of title 18, United States Code;
``(iii) an offense under chapter 110 of title 18, United States Code;
``(iv) a Federal or State offense involving sexual assault, as defined in 40002(a) of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13925(a)); or
``(v) an offense under State law determined by the Attorney General to be substantially similar to an offense described in clause (i), (ii), or (iii); and

``(B) the individual is not in compliance with the terms of the sentence of the individual or the restrictions under subsection (k).

``(2) Effects on assistance and benefits for others.--The amount of benefits otherwise required to be provided to an eligible household under this Act shall be determined by considering the individual to whom paragraph (1) applies not to be a member of the household, except that the income and resources of the individual shall be considered to be income and resources of the household.

``(3) Enforcement.--Each State shall require each individual applying for benefits under this Act to attest to whether the individual, or any member of the household of the individual, has been convicted of a crime described in paragraph (1).''.

(b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 5(a) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2014(a)) is amended in the second sentence by striking ``sections 6(b), 6(d)(2), and 6(g)'' and inserting 
``subsections (b), (d)(2), (g), and (r) of section 6''.

(c) Inapplicability to Convictions Occurring on or Before Enactment.--The amendments made by this section shall not apply to a conviction if the conviction is for conduct occurring on or before the date of enactment of this Act.

Sections (B) and (c) are in emphasized in bold and underline because the criteria for food stamp ineligibility is specific to certain conditions. It is NOT a blanket provision. First, the food stamp ban does NOT apply to anyone convicted for a crime that was committed on or before the bill passed (it was officially signed into law or "enrolled" as Public Law No: 113-79 on February 7, 2014.). Second, this provision" prohibits anyone convicted of aggravated sexual abuse, murder, sexual exploitation and abuse of children, sexual assault as defined in the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, or a similar State law, and who is also not in compliance with the terms of their sentence or a fleeing felon from receiving SNAP benefits." In other words, if you are not registering or obeying the conditions of your sentence, or if you are a fleeing felon, you are ineligible for food stamps. 

If you were not convicted for a crime that took place on or before February 7, 2014, you are still eligible for food stamps. If you were convicted for a crime that took place after February 7, 2014, you are STILL eligible for food stamps so long as you abide by registration laws and don't have any active warrants out for your arrest. If you are denied simply based upon sex offender status, you can successfully appeal for eligibility.

You may, however, have to present a copy of Section 4008 of the Farm Bill as evidence, as 7 USC 2015 (r) does not mention the fact the farm bill, as signed, was not intended to apply to anyone convicted before or on February 7, 2014. You can also provide a copy of this USDA memo as further proof of the interpretation of the law as non-retroactive and only applicable to absconded registrants (See page 6, "Section 4008" of the memo). 

Law professor Corey Yung believes it is unlikely this bill will ever be applied retroactively, but when it comes to the rights of  Registered Citizens, I've learned to never say never. But for now, you are eligible for food stamps as a Registered Citizen for the most part. 

One last note, if the Vitter Amendment does apply to you and you are disqualified from food stamp eligibility, whatever income you bring into the household is still counted against the rest of your household for determining eligibility. (See the italicized portion of the Vitter Amendment above.)

17 comments:

  1. ok, i am totally at a complete loss to read and understand this.... for whatever reason, 'legalese' and my brain are not and pretty much never have been in sync

    what if someone was convicted after feb 7 2014 of CP???

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  2. If you were convicted after Feb. 7, 2014, you're still eligible as long as you don't fail to register or have warrants out against you.

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    Replies
    1. Doesn't that sound backward? If it is Convicted before that would be the retroactive dates. If it would be after that would be moving ahead in time.

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  3. I believe they should be able to get more than just food stamps after they have wrecked their lives in these online sex stings manufacturing crime with their trickery of bait and switch tactics. Some have lost their homes, their cars, families and scarred for a lifetime all for the money for the counties.

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  4. They are still eligible of social security, for now. But in the future that could be attacked, I fear.

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    Replies
    1. It's a matter of time before they take all of the rights away for S.Os

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  5. So if someone was convicted in 2003 can they apply for food stamps

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  6. I was convicted of a drug felony in 2005, I have been told I can never get food stamps! Why is that?!

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    Replies
    1. Because Clinton signed a law which gave states the option to ban drug offenders from obtaining food stamps. Keep in mind each state decided whether or not to adopt the law.

      https://www.themarshallproject.org/2016/02/04/six-states-where-felons-can-t-get-food-stamps

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  7. So my bf was convicted of sexual battery in 2003. Mind you when the actual act happened he was only 14 years old and was " handled within the home" till someone had mentioned it to someone else after he had became an adult and was expecting a child. Then the step mother had to save face and denied knowing anything about it and had the other siblings lie to the officers, the other siblings have told me this themselves, and stepmother pushed for charges. Does this mean he can get food stamps in the state of ga?

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  8. In the state of Tennessee I was convicted of statutory rape and I did not have to register it was not required I moved here to Virginia and it is required for me to register what do I have to do to find a way to not have to register because they're making me register as a violent sex offender and how can I get food stamps

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    Replies
    1. on the registry issue, you need to take it to court. I mention this on my FAQ page on onceFallen.com

      You apply for food stamps like everyone else.

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  9. Replies
    1. Some churches do help the disadvantaged but some do not. St Vinnie's is an example of one church charity that helps the poor. Many mega churches have their own charities that feed those within the community.

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