By:  Zaffirini                                          S.B. No. 45
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to hardship exemptions from federal time limits under the
 1-3     temporary assistance for needy families program.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Subchapter A, Chapter 31, Human Resources Code,
 1-6     is amended by adding Section 31.0066 to read as follows:
 1-7           Sec. 31.0066.  HARDSHIP EXEMPTIONS FROM FEDERAL TIME LIMITS.
 1-8     (a)  The department, the Texas Workforce Commission, and the Health
 1-9     and Human Services Commission shall jointly adopt rules prescribing
1-10     circumstances that constitute a hardship for purposes of exempting
1-11     a recipient of financial assistance from the application of time
1-12     limits imposed by federal law on the receipt of benefits.
1-13           (b)  The rules must include a broad range of circumstances
1-14     that reasonably prevent recipients of financial assistance from
1-15     becoming self-supporting before expiration of the period specified
1-16     by federal law.
1-17           SECTION 2.  If before implementing any provision of this Act
1-18     a state agency determines that a waiver or authorization from a
1-19     federal agency is necessary for implementation of that provision,
1-20     the agency affected by the provision shall request the waiver or
1-21     authorization and may delay implementing that provision until the
1-22     waiver or authorization is granted.
1-23           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2001, and
1-24     applies to a person receiving financial assistance on or after that
1-25     date regardless of the date on which the person began receiving
 2-1     that financial assistance.