HBA-CCH C.S.H.B. 2251 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 2251 By: Naishtat Human Services 3/28/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, many low-income families are ineligible for food stamps because of the value of their motor vehicle. If a person owns a motor vehicle valued at more than $5,000, the value over that amount is counted against the allowable resource limit under the Food Stamp Program. Recent welfare-to-work requirements make it especially important for low-income families to have reliable transportation. However, many individuals who make the transition from welfare to work earn low wages and still need assistance to buy food for their families. C.S.H.B. 2251 increases the vehicle resource limit when determining eligibility for TANF and directs the Texas Department of Human Services to use the TANF 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 this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 2251 amends the Human Resources Code to require the Texas Department of Human Services (DHS), in determining whether an applicant is eligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), to exclude from the applicant's available resources the fair market value of the applicant's ownership in one motor vehicle, but not more than $13,000, and the fair market value of the applicant's ownership interest in any other motor vehicle, but not more than $5,000. The bill requires DHS to incorporate an amount determined annually to reflect changes in the used car component of the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers. The bill requires DHS to apply the TANF motor vehicle allowance standards instead of the federal food stamp motor vehicle allowance standards for purposes of determining a person's eligibility for food stamps. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 2251 modifies the original to require the Texas Department of Human Services (DHS) to exclude from the applicant's available resources the fair market value, rather than the entire fair market value, of the applicant's ownership in one motor vehicle, but not more than $13,000 plus or minus an amount to be determined annually to reflect changes in the used car component of the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPIAUC). In setting the limit of an applicant's ownership in another vehicle at $5,000, the substitute specifies that DHS is required to incorporate changes in the used car, rather than the new car, component of the CPIAUC.