77R12673 KKA-D
By Naishtat H.B. No. 1006
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1006:
By Naishtat C.S.H.B. No. 1006
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to exemptions and exceptions from work or employment
1-3 activity requirements under the temporary assistance for needy
1-4 families program.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. Section 31.012, Human Resources Code, is amended
1-7 to read as follows:
1-8 Sec. 31.012. MANDATORY WORK OR PARTICIPATION IN EMPLOYMENT
1-9 ACTIVITIES THROUGH THE JOB OPPORTUNITIES AND BASIC SKILLS PROGRAM.
1-10 (a) Except as otherwise provided by this section, the [The]
1-11 department shall require that, during any one-month period in which
1-12 an adult is receiving financial assistance under this chapter, the
1-13 adult shall during that period:
1-14 (1) work not less than 30 hours a week; or
1-15 (2) participate for not less than 20 hours a week in
1-16 an activity established under the job opportunities and basic
1-17 skills (JOBS) training program under Part F, Subchapter IV, Social
1-18 Security Act (42 U.S.C. Section 682).
1-19 (b) For purposes of Subsection (a)(1), "work" includes
1-20 self-employment activities.
1-21 (c) Subsection (a) does not apply to a person who:
1-22 (1) is 60 years of age or older;
1-23 (2) is the caretaker of a child or adult who is ill or
1-24 has a physical or mental disability and who requires the
2-1 caretaker's presence;
2-2 (3) is permanently disabled, or is incapacitated for
2-3 longer than 180 days and is unable to work as confirmed by a
2-4 physician's statement;
2-5 (4) is pregnant and cannot work as a result of the
2-6 pregnancy; or
2-7 (5) is a single person who is the caretaker of a child
2-8 under the age of one, provided that the child was not born after
2-9 the person first became eligible for assistance.
2-10 (d) The department, the Texas Workforce Commission, and the
2-11 local workforce development boards shall develop plans for
2-12 providing outreach services to assist persons exempt under
2-13 Subsections (c)(1)-(4) from the requirements of this section in
2-14 becoming self-supporting. The plans must include procedures under
2-15 which the department provides relevant information regarding the
2-16 exempted persons, including contact information, to the commission
2-17 and the local workforce development boards. The outreach services
2-18 provided under the plans must include:
2-19 (1) making support services available, including
2-20 workforce services provided by local workforce development boards;
2-21 and
2-22 (2) providing referrals to other appropriate services,
2-23 including services provided by the Texas Rehabilitation Commission,
2-24 the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, or community
2-25 organizations.
2-26 (e) The department by rule shall establish criteria for good
2-27 cause noncompliance and for notification procedures regarding
3-1 participation in work or employment activities under this section.
3-2 In addition to any other criteria established by the department,
3-3 the criteria for good cause noncompliance must provide for:
3-4 (1) an exception from work or employment activities
3-5 under this section for a person who:
3-6 (A) is temporarily ill or incapacitated;
3-7 (B) is incarcerated or required to appear in
3-8 court;
3-9 (C) has a temporary medical condition related to
3-10 pregnancy, if the condition arises after certification of the
3-11 person for financial assistance;
3-12 (D) demonstrates to the department that
3-13 transportation is unavailable or that arrangements for
3-14 transportation have failed;
3-15 (E) demonstrates to the department that child
3-16 care is unavailable or that arrangements for child care have
3-17 failed;
3-18 (F) lacks other necessary support services and
3-19 the department considers participation to be impossible without
3-20 those services;
3-21 (G) receives an employment referral that results
3-22 in an offer of employment that pays less than the minimum wage,
3-23 except for work-related, on-the-job training activities identified
3-24 by the department;
3-25 (H) demonstrates to the department that the only
3-26 work or employment activity available to the person:
3-27 (i) requires a round-trip commuting time
4-1 of more than two hours to and from the person's residence; or
4-2 (ii) cannot be reached by walking, and
4-3 transportation is unavailable; or
4-4 (I) has a family crisis or other family
4-5 circumstance, including family violence, that precludes
4-6 participation; and
4-7 (2) a partial exception under which a caretaker of a
4-8 child under the age of six who is not exempt under Subsection (c)
4-9 and who personally provides care for that child is not required to
4-10 work or participate in employment activities for more than 20 hours
4-11 a week, provided that the caretaker is not:
4-12 (A) a custodial parent who has not completed
4-13 high school or its equivalent; or
4-14 (B) a member of a two-parent household in which
4-15 one parent is able to care for the child.
4-16 (f) The Texas Workforce Commission and local workforce
4-17 development boards shall work diligently with a person excepted for
4-18 good cause from work or employment activities under Subsection (e)
4-19 to remedy the circumstances that constitute good cause so that the
4-20 person can become self-supporting.
4-21 (g) [(c) A person who is the caretaker of a physically or
4-22 mentally disabled child who requires the caretaker's presence is
4-23 not required to participate in a program under this section.
4-24 Effective January 1, 2000, a single person who is the caretaker of
4-25 a child is not required to participate in a program under this
4-26 section until the caretaker's youngest child at the time the
4-27 caretaker first became eligible for assistance reaches the age of
5-1 three. Effective September 1, 2000, a single person who is the
5-2 caretaker of a child is exempt until the caretaker's youngest child
5-3 at the time the caretaker first became eligible for assistance
5-4 reaches the age of two. Effective September 1, 2001, a single
5-5 person who is the caretaker of a child is exempt until the
5-6 caretaker's youngest child at the time the caretaker first became
5-7 eligible for assistance reaches the age of one.] Notwithstanding
5-8 Sections 31.0035(b) and 32.0255(b), the department shall provide to
5-9 a person who is exempt under Subsection (c)(2) or (5) [this
5-10 subsection] and who voluntarily participates in a program under
5-11 Subsection (a)(2) six months of transitional benefits in addition
5-12 to the applicable limit prescribed by Section 31.0065.
5-13 (h) [(d)] A state program operated under this section shall
5-14 be administered by the division of workforce development of the
5-15 Texas Workforce Commission when the program is transferred to that
5-16 commission.
5-17 (i) [(e)] The department shall allow a person who is
5-18 participating in work or employment activities under this section
5-19 to complete those activities if the person becomes ineligible to
5-20 receive financial assistance under this chapter because the person
5-21 receives child support in an amount that makes the person
5-22 ineligible for that assistance. The department shall provide to
5-23 the person necessary child care services until the date on which
5-24 the person completes work or employment activities under this
5-25 section.
5-26 (j) [(f)] In this section, "caretaker of a child" means the
5-27 parent or relative of a dependent child with whom the child
6-1 primarily resides, including a parent or relative who has been
6-2 appointed under a court order as sole managing conservator or joint
6-3 managing conservator of the child.
6-4 SECTION 2. Section 31.0035(b), Human Resources Code, is
6-5 amended to read as follows:
6-6 (b) Except as provided by Section 31.012(g) [31.012(c)], the
6-7 department may provide the child-care services only until the
6-8 earlier of:
6-9 (1) the end of the applicable period prescribed by
6-10 Section 31.0065 for the provision of transitional benefits; or
6-11 (2) the first anniversary of the date on which the
6-12 person becomes ineligible for financial assistance because of
6-13 increased household income.
6-14 SECTION 3. Section 31.0065(d), Human Resources Code, is
6-15 amended to read as follows:
6-16 (d) The computation of time limits under Subsection (b)
6-17 begins when the adult or teen parent recipient receives
6-18 notification under Section 31.012(e) [31.012(b)] of the
6-19 availability of an opening in and eligibility for the job
6-20 opportunity and basic skills (JOBS) program Part F, Subchapter IV,
6-21 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Section 682).
6-22 SECTION 4. Section 32.0255(b), Human Resources Code, is
6-23 amended to read as follows:
6-24 (b) Except as provided by Section 31.012(g) [31.012(c)], the
6-25 state may provide the medical assistance only until the earlier of:
6-26 (1) the end of the applicable period prescribed by
6-27 Section 31.0065 for the provision of transitional benefits; or
7-1 (2) the first anniversary of the date on which the
7-2 person becomes ineligible for financial assistance because of
7-3 increased household income.
7-4 SECTION 5. (a) Each local workforce development board
7-5 shall:
7-6 (1) assess current resources available to provide
7-7 services to each group of persons described by Sections
7-8 31.012(c)(1)-(4), Human Resources Code, as amended by this Act;
7-9 (2) develop a plan for providing services to each of
7-10 those groups of persons to meet the needs of those persons and
7-11 assist those persons in becoming self-sufficient; and
7-12 (3) not later than a date specified by the Texas
7-13 Workforce Commission, provide the commission with:
7-14 (A) information regarding additional resources
7-15 necessary to fully implement the plans developed under Subdivision
7-16 (2) of this subsection; and
7-17 (B) policy recommendations regarding the
7-18 provision of services to the persons addressed by those plans, such
7-19 as alternate work activities, alternate program requirements, or
7-20 modifications to the composition of local workforce development
7-21 boards to ensure that the boards include persons with appropriate
7-22 expertise regarding necessary services.
7-23 (b) Not later than December 1, 2003, the Texas Workforce
7-24 Commission shall submit a report to the legislature that contains:
7-25 (1) the information and policy recommendations
7-26 provided to the commission under Subsection (a)(3) of this section;
7-27 and
8-1 (2) the commission's evaluation of that information
8-2 and those policy recommendations.
8-3 SECTION 6. If before implementing any provision of this Act
8-4 a state agency determines that a waiver or authorization from a
8-5 federal agency is necessary for implementation of that provision,
8-6 the agency affected by the provision shall request the waiver or
8-7 authorization and may delay implementing that provision until the
8-8 waiver or authorization is granted.
8-9 SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001, and
8-10 applies to a person receiving financial assistance on or after that
8-11 date, regardless of the date on which eligibility for financial
8-12 assistance was determined.