By Zaffirini S.B. No. 184
77R3115 KKA-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to services and programs provided under and eligibility
1-3 for temporary assistance for needy families and for food stamps.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 11.001(5), Human Resources Code, is
1-6 amended to read as follows:
1-7 (5) "Financial assistance" means money payments or
1-8 related services or programs for needy persons authorized by
1-9 Chapter 31.
1-10 SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 31, Human Resources Code, is
1-11 amended by adding Section 31.0061 to read as follows:
1-12 Sec. 31.0061. SERVICES AND PROGRAMS RELATED TO FINANCIAL
1-13 ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. (a) The department shall develop and implement
1-14 services or programs that:
1-15 (1) are related to the financial assistance program;
1-16 and
1-17 (2) will be provided to eligible recipients under the
1-18 financial assistance program.
1-19 (b) The department by rule shall:
1-20 (1) prescribe eligibility criteria for the related
1-21 services or programs; and
1-22 (2) define the related services or programs to be
1-23 provided.
1-24 SECTION 3. Sections 31.032(d) and (e), Human Resources Code,
2-1 are amended to read as follows:
2-2 (d) In determining whether an applicant is eligible for
2-3 assistance, the department shall exclude from the applicant's
2-4 available resources:
2-5 (1) $2,000 for the applicant's household or $3,000 if
2-6 there is a person with a disability or a person who is at least 60
2-7 years of age in the applicant's household; [and]
2-8 (2) the entire fair market value of the applicant's
2-9 ownership interest in one [a] motor vehicle; and
2-10 (3) the fair market value of the applicant's ownership
2-11 interest in any other motor vehicle, the value of which is not
2-12 excluded under Subdivision (2), but not more than [the amount
2-13 determined according to the following schedule:]
2-14 [(A) $4,550 on or after September 1, 1995, but
2-15 before October 1, 1995;]
2-16 [(B) $4,600 on or after October 1, 1995, but
2-17 before October 1, 1996;]
2-18 [(C) $5,000 on or after October 1, 1996, but
2-19 before October 1, 1997; and]
2-20 [(D)] $5,000 per motor vehicle plus or minus an
2-21 amount to be determined annually [beginning on October 1, 1997,] to
2-22 reflect changes in the new car component of the Consumer Price
2-23 Index for All Urban Consumers published by the Bureau of Labor
2-24 Statistics.
2-25 (e) If the federal statute or regulations governing the
2-26 maximum allowable resources under the food stamp program, 7 U.S.C.
2-27 Section 2014(g) or 7 CFR Part 273, are revised, the department
3-1 shall adjust the standards that determine available resources under
3-2 Subsection (d)(1) [(d)] to reflect those revisions.
3-3 SECTION 4. Chapter 33, Human Resources Code, is amended by
3-4 adding Sections 33.014 and 33.015 to read as follows:
3-5 Sec. 33.014. DETERMINATION OF RESOURCES: MOTOR VEHICLE
3-6 ALLOWANCES. For purposes of determining whether a person meets
3-7 resource requirements for eligibility for food stamps, the
3-8 department shall apply the motor vehicle allowance standards used
3-9 by the department in the financial assistance program, as
3-10 authorized by 7 U.S.C. Section 2014(g)(2)(D), instead of the
3-11 federal food stamp motor vehicle allowance standards.
3-12 Sec. 33.015. RECERTIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR CERTAIN
3-13 RECIPIENTS. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the
3-14 department may allow a recipient of food stamps to comply with
3-15 periodic eligibility recertification requirements by telephone
3-16 instead of through a personal appearance at department offices if:
3-17 (1) the recipient and each member of the recipient's
3-18 household have no earned income and are elderly or disabled; or
3-19 (2) the recipient is subject to a hardship, as
3-20 determined by the department.
3-21 (b) For purposes of Subsection (a)(2), a hardship includes a
3-22 situation in which a recipient is:
3-23 (1) subject to a work or training schedule that
3-24 prevents the recipient from personally appearing at department
3-25 offices;
3-26 (2) subject to transportation difficulties;
3-27 (3) subject to other difficulties arising from the
4-1 recipient's residency in a rural area;
4-2 (4) subject to prolonged severe weather;
4-3 (5) ill; or
4-4 (6) needed to care for a member of the recipient's
4-5 household.
4-6 (c) In accordance with federal law, the department shall
4-7 require a recipient of food stamps described by Subsection (a) to
4-8 personally appear at department offices once each year to comply
4-9 with periodic eligibility recertification requirements.
4-10 SECTION 5. If before implementing any provision of this Act
4-11 a state agency determines that a waiver or authorization from a
4-12 federal agency is necessary for implementation of that provision,
4-13 the agency affected by the provision shall request the waiver or
4-14 authorization and may delay implementing that provision until the
4-15 waiver or authorization is granted.
4-16 SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001, and
4-17 applies to a person receiving financial assistance or food stamps
4-18 on or after that date, regardless of the date on which eligibility
4-19 for financial assistance or food stamps was determined.