By Zaffirini                                          S.B. No. 1008
         77R8278 KKA-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to resource requirements under the temporary assistance
 1-3     for needy families program and the food stamp program.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1. Sections 31.032(d) and (e), Human Resources Code,
 1-6     are amended to read as follows:
 1-7           (d)  In determining whether an applicant is eligible for
 1-8     assistance, the department shall exclude from the applicant's
 1-9     available resources:
1-10                 (1)  $2,000 for the applicant's household or $3,000 if
1-11     there is a person with a disability or a person who is at least 60
1-12     years of age in the applicant's household; [and]
1-13                 (2)  the entire fair market value of the applicant's
1-14     ownership interest in one [a] motor vehicle; and
1-15                 (3)  the fair market value of the applicant's ownership
1-16     interest in any other motor vehicle, the value of which is not
1-17     excluded under Subdivision (2), but not more than [the amount
1-18     determined according to the following schedule:]
1-19                       [(A)  $4,550 on or after September 1, 1995, but
1-20     before October 1, 1995;]
1-21                       [(B)  $4,600 on or after October 1, 1995, but
1-22     before October 1, 1996;]
1-23                       [(C)  $5,000 on or after October 1, 1996, but
1-24     before October 1, 1997; and]
 2-1                       [(D)]  $5,000 per motor vehicle plus or minus an
 2-2     amount to be determined annually [beginning on October 1, 1997,] to
 2-3     reflect changes in the new car component of the Consumer Price
 2-4     Index for All Urban Consumers published by the Bureau of Labor
 2-5     Statistics.
 2-6           (e)  If the federal statute or regulations governing the
 2-7     maximum allowable resources under the food stamp program, 7 U.S.C.
 2-8     Section 2014(g) or 7 CFR Part 273, are revised, the department
 2-9     shall adjust the standards that determine available resources under
2-10     Subsection (d)(1) [(d)] to reflect those revisions.
2-11           SECTION 2. Chapter 33, Human Resources Code, is amended by
2-12     adding Section 33.014 to read as follows:
2-13           Sec. 33.014.  DETERMINATION OF RESOURCES: MOTOR VEHICLE
2-14     ALLOWANCES.  For purposes of determining whether a person meets
2-15     resource requirements for eligibility for food stamps, the
2-16     department shall apply the motor vehicle allowance standards used
2-17     by the department in the financial assistance program, as
2-18     authorized by 7 U.S.C. Section 2014(g)(2)(D), instead of the
2-19     federal food stamp motor vehicle allowance standards.
2-20           SECTION 3. If before implementing any provision of this Act a
2-21     state agency determines that a waiver or authorization from a
2-22     federal agency is necessary for implementation of that provision,
2-23     the agency affected by the provision shall request the waiver or
2-24     authorization and may delay implementing that provision until the
2-25     waiver or authorization is granted.
2-26           SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001, and
2-27     applies to a person receiving financial assistance or food stamps
 3-1     on or after that date, regardless of the date on which eligibility
 3-2     for financial assistance or food stamps was determined.