Title 42 — The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-73
§629c Allotments to States
Title 42 › Chapter CHAPTER 7— - SOCIAL SECURITY › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER IV— - GRANTS TO STATES FOR AID AND SERVICES TO NEEDY FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN AND FOR CHILD-WELFARE SERVICES › Part Part B— - Child and Family Services › Subpart subpart 2— - promoting safe and stable families › § 629c
Summary
The Secretary must divide each year a set of reserved federal funds among Native American tribes, U.S. territories, and the States. Tribes with an approved plan get money based on how many children they have compared with all tribes with approved plans. If several tribes join together in a consortium, the consortium gets the combined share of those tribes. Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa get amounts calculated the same way their other federal allotments are usually worked out. After those steps, the rest of the money is split among the States (not tribes) using each State’s “SNAP benefits percentage,” which is the State’s average monthly number of children getting SNAP over the three most recent fiscal years expressed as a share of the same total for all States, using sample survey data. If a State tells the Secretary it will not use part of its allotment, that unused money can be re-shared using the same rules above. A separate reserved pot is handled this way: first $100,000 goes to each State (not tribes) that proves it met a required condition, then the remaining money goes to the listed territories by the usual territory method (ignoring a prior $70,000 initial allotment in that method), and any money left after that is split among the other States by the same SNAP-percentage method.
Full Legal Text
Title 42, §629c
The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)From the amount reserved pursuant to section 629f(b)(2) of this title for any fiscal year, the Secretary shall allot to each Indian tribe with a plan approved under this subpart an amount that bears the same ratio to such reserved amount as the number of children in the Indian tribe bears to the total number of children in all Indian tribes with State plans so approved, as determined by the Secretary on the basis of the most current and reliable information available to the Secretary. If a consortium of Indian tribes submits a plan approved under this subpart, the Secretary shall allot to the consortium an amount equal to the sum of the allotments determined for each Indian tribe that is part of the consortium.
(b)From the amount described in section 629f(a) of this title for any fiscal year that remains after applying section 629f(b) of this title for the fiscal year, the Secretary shall allot to each of the jurisdictions of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa an amount determined in the same manner as the allotment to each of such jurisdictions is determined under section 623 of this title.
(c)(1)From the amount described in section 629f(a) of this title for any fiscal year that remains after applying section 629f(b) of this title and subsection (b) of this section for the fiscal year, the Secretary shall allot to each State (other than an Indian tribe) which is not specified in subsection (b) of this section an amount equal to such remaining amount multiplied by the supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits percentage of the State for the fiscal year.
(2)(A)As used in paragraph (1) of this subsection, the term “supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits percentage” means, with respect to a State and a fiscal year, the average monthly number of children receiving supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits in the State for months in the 3 fiscal years referred to in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, as determined from sample surveys made under section 2025(c) of title 7, expressed as a percentage of the average monthly number of children receiving supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits in the States described in such paragraph (1) for months in such 3 fiscal years, as so determined.
(B)For purposes of the calculation pursuant to subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall use data for the 3 most recent fiscal years, preceding the fiscal year for which the State’s allotment is calculated under this subsection, for which such data are available to the Secretary.
(d)The amount of any allotment to a State under subsection (a), (b), or (c) of this section for any fiscal year that the State certifies to the Secretary will not be required for carrying out the State plan under section 629b of this title shall be available for reallotment using the allotment methodology specified in subsection (a), (b), or (c) of this section. Any amount so reallotted to a State is deemed part of the allotment of the State under the preceding provisions of this section.
(e)(1)From the amount reserved pursuant to section 629f(b)(3)(A) of this title for any fiscal year, the Secretary shall first allot to each State (other than an Indian tribe) that has provided to the Secretary such documentation as may be necessary to verify that the jurisdiction has complied with section 629f(b)(4)(B)(ii) 11 See References in Text note below. of this title during the fiscal year, a base allotment of $100,000, and shall then allot to each of those States an amount determined in paragraph (2) or (3) of this subsection, as applicable.
(2)From the amount reserved pursuant to section 629f(b)(3)(A) of this title for any fiscal year that remains after applying paragraph (1) of this subsection for the fiscal year, the Secretary shall allot to each jurisdiction specified in subsection (b) of this section to which a base allotment is made under such paragraph (1) an amount determined in the same manner as the allotment to each of such jurisdictions is determined under section 623 of this title (without regard to the initial allotment of $70,000 to each State).
(3)From the amount reserved pursuant to section 629f(b)(3)(A) of this title for any fiscal year that remains after applying paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection for the fiscal year, the Secretary shall allot to each State (other than an Indian tribe) not specified in subsection (b) of this section to which a base allotment was made under paragraph (1) of this subsection an amount equal to such remaining amount multiplied by the supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits percentage of the State (as defined in subsection (c)(2) of this section) for the fiscal year, except that in applying subsection (c)(2)(A) of this section, “subsection (e)(3)” shall be substituted for “such paragraph (1)”.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
References in Text
section 629f(b)(4)(B)(ii) of this title, referred to in subsec. (e)(1), was redesignated section 629f(b)(3)(B)(ii) of this title by Pub. L. 118–258, title I, § 115(b)(1), Jan. 4, 2025, 138 Stat. 2968. Codification Pub. L. 110–234 and Pub. L. 110–246 made identical
Amendments
to this section. The
Amendments
by Pub. L. 110–234 were repealed by section 4(a) of Pub. L. 110–246.
Prior Provisions
A prior section 433 of act Aug. 14, 1935, was classified to section 633 of this title prior to repeal by Pub. L. 100–485.
Amendments
2025—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 118–258, § 115(b)(2)(A), substituted “629f(b)(2) of this title” for “629f(b)(3) of this title”. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 118–258, § 115(b)(2)(B), substituted “629f(b)(3)(A) of this title” for “629f(b)(4)(A) of this title” wherever appearing. Pub. L. 118–258, § 112(b), added pars. (1) to (3) and struck out former pars. (1) and (2) which related to the allotment of funds reserved to support monthly caseworker visits for territories and other States, respectively. 2011—Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 112–34, § 102(g)(2)(A), substituted “Supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits” for “Food stamp” in heading. Subsec. (c)(2)(A). Pub. L. 112–34, § 102(g)(2)(B), substituted “receiving supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits” for “receiving supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits benefits” in two places. 2008—Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 110–246, § 4002(b)(1)(D), (2)(V), substituted “supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits” for “food stamp”. Subsec. (c)(2)(A). Pub. L. 110–246, § 4002(b)(1)(D), (2)(V), substituted “supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits” for “food stamp” wherever appearing. Pub. L. 110–246, § 4002(b)(1)(B), (2)(V), made technical amendment to reference in original act which appears in text as reference to section 2025(c) of title 7. Subsec. (e)(2). Pub. L. 110–246, § 4002(b)(1)(D), (2)(V), substituted “supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits” for “food stamp”. 2006—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 109–288, § 5(b)(1)(A), inserted “or tribal consortia” after “tribes” in heading and inserted at end of text “If a consortium of Indian tribes submits a plan approved under this subpart, the Secretary shall allot to the consortium an amount equal to the sum of the allotments determined for each Indian tribe that is part of the consortium.” Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 109–288, § 6(f)(4), substituted “section 623” for “section 621”. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 109–288, § 4(a)(2)(A), inserted “subsection (a), (b), or (c) of” after “to a State under” and “specified in”. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 109–288, § 4(a)(2)(B), added subsec. (e). 2002—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 107–133, § 106(a)(2)(A), substituted “section 629f(b)(3)” for “section 629(d)(3)”. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 107–133, § 106(a)(2)(B), substituted “section 629f(a)” for “section 629(b)” and “section 629f(b)” for “section 629(d)”. Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 107–133, § 106(a)(2)(C), substituted “section 629f(a)” for “section 629(b)” and “section 629f(b)” for “section 629(d)”. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 107–133, § 103, added subsec. (d).
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 2025 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 118–258 effective Oct. 1, 2025, and applicable to payments under this part for calendar quarters beginning on or after such date, with delay permitted if either State legislation or tribal action is required to meet additional requirements, see section 117 of Pub. L. 118–258, set out as a note under section 622 of this title.
Effective Date
of 2011 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 112–34 effective Oct. 1, 2011, and applicable to payments under this part and part E of this subchapter for calendar quarters beginning on or after such date, without regard to whether implementing
Regulations
have been promulgated, and with delay permitted if State legislation is required to meet additional requirements, see section 107 of Pub. L. 112–34, set out as a note under section 622 of this title.
Effective Date
of 2008 AmendmentAmendment of this section and repeal of Pub. L. 110–234 by Pub. L. 110–246 effective May 22, 2008, the date of enactment of Pub. L. 110–234, except as otherwise provided, see section 4 of Pub. L. 110–246, set out as an
Effective Date
note under section 8701 of Title 7, Agriculture. Amendment by section 4002(b)(1)(B), (D), (2)(V) of Pub. L. 110–246 effective Oct. 1, 2008, see section 4407 of Pub. L. 110–246, set out as a note under section 1161 of Title 2, The Congress.
Effective Date
of 2006 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 109–288 effective Oct. 1, 2006, and applicable to payments under this part and part E of this subchapter for calendar quarters beginning on or after such date, without regard to whether implementing
Regulations
have been promulgated, and with delay permitted if State legislation is required to meet additional requirements, see section 12(a), (b) of Pub. L. 109–288, set out as a note under section 621 of this title.
Effective Date
of 2002 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 107–133 effective Jan. 17, 2002, with delay permitted if State legislation is required, see section 301 of Pub. L. 107–133, set out as a note under section 629 of this title.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
42 U.S.C. § 629c
Title 42 — The Public Health and Welfare
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73