HBA-NRS H.B. 475 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 475 By: Naishtat Human Services 2/16/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Current law specifies that if a food stamp recipient owns a motor vehicle valued at more than $5,000, the value of that vehicle over $5,000 is counted against the maximum allowable resources under the Food Stamp Program. This vehicle resource limit leaves many families and their children ineligible to receive nutritional assistance. With welfare reform work requirements, recipients need reliable transportation, and since many recipients enter the workforce in minimum wage positions, they still need food stamp assistance to help feed their families. House Bill 475 increases the vehicle resource limit when determining eligibility for financial assistance and service programs and directs the Texas Department of Human Services to use the financial assistance program motor vehicle allowance standards when determining whether a person is eligible for food stamps. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the Texas Department of Human Services in SECTION 2 (Section 31.0061, Human Resources Code) of this bill. ANALYSIS House Bill 475 amends the Human Resources Code to require the Texas Department of Human Services (department) to develop and implement services or programs that are related to, and will be provided to eligible recipients under the financial assistance program. The bill requires the department, by rule, to define the related services or programs to be provided and to prescribe eligibility criteria for the related services or programs. In determining whether an applicant is eligible for assistance, the bill requires the department to exclude from the applicant's available resources the entire fair market value of the applicant's ownership interest in one motor vehicle and the fair market value of the applicant's ownership interest in any other motor vehicle, but not more than $5,000 per motor vehicle plus or minus a specified amount to be determined annually. The bill requires the department to apply the motor vehicle allowance standards used by the department in the financial assistance program instead of the federal food stamp motor vehicle allowance standards for purposes of determining whether a person meets resource requirements for eligibility for food stamps. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.