8. a. The department shall submit a revised State Employment and Training Plan to the Food and Nutrition Service in the United States Department of Agriculture, in accordance with section 273.7 (c) of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations, in order to expand NJ SNAP ETP to include project partnerships with qualifying agencies. The revised State Employment and Training Plan shall define the services to be provided under NJ SNAP ETP, including, but not limited to, the project services provided pursuant to P.L.2013, c.45 (C. 44:10-95 et seq.) and shall ensure that under no circumstances shall a recipient of SNAP benefits be disqualified from SNAP participation solely due to nonparticipation in a SNAP ETP activity. The department shall submit the revised State Employment and Training Plan to the Food and Nutrition Service as soon as practicable but no later than the first day of the seventh month next following the effective date of P.L.2022, c.27 (C. 44:10-97.1 et al.).

b. The commissioner shall take such additional steps as may be necessary to secure approval from the Food and Nutrition Service in the United States Department of Agriculture for this project and to ensure that the State and partnering providers are in compliance with all applicable provisions of federal and State laws and regulations.

c. The department may reserve up to five percent of the federal SNAP ETP reimbursements generated as a direct result of the activities of the partnering providers and received by the State pursuant to P.L.2013, c.45 (C. 44:10-95 et seq.) for operating expenses and staff directly related to the administration, oversight, and evaluation of this project. The remaining federal SNAP ETP reimbursements generated as a direct result of the activities of the partnering providers and received by the State pursuant to P.L.2013, c.45 (C. 44:10-95 et seq.) shall be distributed to the partnering providers whose expenditures generated the federal SNAP ETP reimbursements on a pro-rata basis and in accordance with the performance-based system for distributing federal SNAP ETP reimbursements established pursuant to section 4 of P.L.2013, c.45 (C. 44:10-98). Within the request for proposals issued pursuant to P.L.2013, c.45 (C. 44:10-95 et seq.), the department shall describe the performance-based system for distributing federal SNAP ETP reimbursements and indicate the net percentage of federal SNAP ETP reimbursements that shall be distributed to partnering providers.

d. The department shall apply for any additional federal funds which may be available to implement the provisions of P.L.2013, c.45 (C. 44:10-95 et seq.), including, but not limited to, any unobligated, unexpended federal SNAP ETP funds originally allocated to other state agencies and available for reallocation pursuant to section 273.7 (d) of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations.

e. The Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development may solicit, receive, and accept grants, funds, or anything of value from any public or private entity and receive and accept contributions of money, property, labor, or any other thing of value from any legitimate source to support the project, provided that the commissioner does not have reason to believe that the entity may have a vested interest in the decisions of the commissioner or the department concerning the selection of specific partnering providers.

L.2013, c.45, s.8; amended 2019, c.253, s.8; 2022, c.27, s.6.