393.5 Decision, appeal and fair hearing.
(a) Determinations of eligibility on applications for regular benefits
must be made within 30 business days after the filing of such application. Determinations
of eligibility for emergency benefits must be made expeditiously so as to protect the
health and safety of the applicant household. Some form of assistance to resolve the
energy crisis must be provided to an eligible household in a life-threatening situation no
later than 18 hours after thefiling of a completed application or within 48 hours if the
household is not in a life threatening situation. The date of filing an application is
the date of receipt by a designated county certifier of a signed, completed application on
the State- prescribed form. The applicant must be promptly notified of the determination
in writing.
(b) If during the designated period of time for accepting applications,
a district exhausts its allocation of Federal funds, the following actions shall be taken:
(1) Denial notices shall be issued to those
applicants who fail to meet the eligibility requirements of the program.
(2) Notices of determination must be issued to
those applicants eligible for the program but for whom Federal funds are unavailable. Such
notice must be adequate as defined in Part 358 of this Title.
(3) Should additional Federal funds become
available to the district, those applicants in receipt of a notice of determination shall
receive priority processing based upon the initial date of receipt of their completed
application by a designated county certifier.
(c) An applicant or recipient of HEAP must be informed of the right to
request a fair hearing when the application has not been acted upon within 30 business
days or the application is denied or the grant is deemed inadequate.
(d) Whenever an application has been denied, the department's written
notice of final action must be adequate as defined in Part 358 of this Title.
(e) Hearings provided for under this section must be requested no later
than 60 days after the sending of appropriate notice. In no event shall a hearing request
made more than 105 days after the district terminates the receipt of applications for the
program year be accepted.
(f) The hearing must comply with the requirements of Part 358 of this Title.