80R5866 KFF-D

By: Naishtat H.B. No. 3759

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to providing monetary and other related support services through the TANF program and other state programs.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 31, Human Resources Code, is amended by adding Section 31.0011 to read as follows:

Sec. 31.0011. GENERAL DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:

(1) "Commission" means the Health and Human Services Commission.

(2) "Executive commissioner" means the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission.

SECTION 2. Sections 31.0032(a) and (c), Human Resources Code, are amended to read as follows:

(a) Except as provided by Section 231.115, Family Code, if after an investigation the commission [department] or the Title IV-D agency determines that a person is not cooperating with a requirement of the responsibility agreement required under Section 31.0031, the commission [department] shall:

(1) conduct a pre-sanction review under Section 31.00321 to determine whether the person had good cause for failing to cooperate with the agreement; and

(2) if the commission determines the person did not have good cause for failing to cooperate with the agreement, immediately apply a sanction terminating the total amount of financial assistance provided under this chapter to or for the person and the person's family.

(c) The commission [To the extent allowed by federal law, the Health and Human Services Commission] or any health and human services agency, as defined by Section 531.001, Government Code, may not deny medical assistance for a person who is eligible for financial assistance but to whom that assistance is not paid because of the person's failure to cooperate. Medical assistance to the person's family may not be denied for the person's failure to cooperate. [Medical assistance may not be denied to a person receiving assistance under this chapter who is under the age of 19, a pregnant adult, or any other person who may not be denied medical assistance under federal law.]

SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 31, Human Resources Code, is amended by adding Sections 31.00321 and 31.00322 to read as follows:

Sec. 31.00321. PRE-SANCTION REVIEW PROCESS. (a) The commission shall develop and implement a pre-sanction review process to be used before the commission or the Title IV-D agency applies a sanction terminating financial assistance under Section 31.0032. The process must require the commission to:

(1) make a good faith effort to contact the person determined to have failed to cooperate with a requirement of the responsibility agreement to determine whether that person had good cause, as determined using the criteria under Section 31.0033(d), for failing to cooperate with the requirement;

(2) ensure that the person understands the reason a sanction is being applied and the steps the person must take to remove the sanction; and

(3) document, on a form prescribed by the executive commissioner, that the actions required under Subdivisions (1) and (2) were taken by the commission before any sanction is applied.

(b) If the commission determines under Subsection (a)(1) that a person had good cause for failing to cooperate, the commission may not terminate financial assistance under Section 31.0032.

(c) The commission must develop and regularly provide training for commission employees on the pre-sanction review process, including the method and criteria employees must use for determining whether a person had good cause for failing to cooperate with a requirement of the responsibility agreement.

(d) The commission may not sanction a person or a person's family under Section 31.0032 unless the commission has conducted the pre-sanction review process required under this section.

Sec. 31.00322. PROGRAM TO ASSIST SANCTIONED PERSONS. (a) The commission, with the assistance of the Texas Workforce Commission and representatives of local workforce development boards, shall develop and implement a program to assist persons with respect to whom a sanction is applied under Section 31.0032. The program must assist those persons with taking the necessary action to demonstrate cooperation with the requirements of the responsibility agreement for purposes of removing the sanction and restoring financial assistance.

(b) The executive commissioner shall adopt rules necessary to implement the program developed under this section.

SECTION 4. Section 31.0033(a), Human Resources Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) If the commission [department] or Title IV-D agency determines that a person has failed to cooperate with the requirements of the responsibility agreement under Section 31.0031 and the commission conducted the pre-sanction review under Section 31.00321 and determined that the person did not have good cause for that failure to cooperate, the person determined to have failed to cooperate or, if different, the person receiving the financial assistance may request a hearing to show good cause for failure to cooperate not later than the 13th day after the date the notice of the imposition of a sanction is received [sent under Section 31.0032]. If the person determined to have failed to cooperate or, if different, the person receiving the financial assistance requests a hearing to show good cause not later than the 13th day after the date on which the notice of the imposition of a sanction is received [sent under Section 31.0032], the commission [department] may not withhold or reduce the payment of financial assistance until the commission [department] determines whether the person had good cause for the person's failure to cooperate. On a showing of good cause for failure to cooperate, the person may receive a financial assistance payment for the period in which the person failed to cooperate, but had good cause for that failure to cooperate.

SECTION 5. Section 31.0034, Human Resources Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 31.0034. ANNUAL REPORT. The commission [department] shall prepare and submit an annual report to the legislature that contains statistical information regarding persons who are applying for or receiving financial assistance or services under this chapter, including the number of persons receiving assistance, the type of assistance those persons are receiving, and the length of time those persons have been receiving the assistance. The report also must contain information on:

(1) the number of persons to whom time limits apply;

(2) the number of persons under each time limit category;

(3) the number of persons who are exempt from participation under Section 31.012(c);

(4) the number of persons who were receiving financial assistance under this chapter but are no longer eligible to receive that assistance because they failed to cooperate with the requirements prescribed by Section 31.0031;

(5) the number of persons who are no longer eligible to receive financial assistance or transitional benefits under this chapter because:

(A) the person's household income has increased due to employment; or

(B) the person has exhausted the person's benefits under this chapter;

(6) the number of persons receiving child care, job training, or other support services designed to assist the transition to self-sufficiency; [and]

(7) the number of persons who were eligible to receive financial assistance under this chapter for each one-month period but to whom that financial assistance was not paid because the person failed to cooperate with the requirements of the responsibility agreement under Section 31.0031;

(8) the number of persons who requested a good cause hearing under Section 31.0033 and, of the hearings conducted as a result of those requests, the number of those persons the commission found had good cause for the failure to cooperate with requirements of the responsibility agreement; and

(9) the number and the percentage of persons who, within six months after the imposition of a sanction under Section 31.0032, were able to demonstrate cooperation with the requirement for which the sanction was applied.

SECTION 6. Chapter 31, Human Resources Code, is amended by adding Subchapter E to read as follows: SUBCHAPTER E. WORK SUPPORT PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN ELIGIBLE PERSONS

Sec. 31.091. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:

(1) "Assistance" has the meaning assigned by 45 C.F.R. Section 260.31.

(2) "Program" means the work support program implemented under this section.

Sec. 31.092. WORK SUPPORT PROGRAM. (a) The commission shall develop and implement a program designed to provide assistance for a period of six months to eligible persons who are former recipients of financial assistance under this chapter and who are making the transition to self-sufficiency. The commission shall determine the amount and type of assistance to provide under the program.

(b) The executive commissioner shall adopt rules necessary to implement the program developed under this subchapter.

Sec. 31.093. ELIGIBILITY; PARTICIPATION. (a) A person is eligible to participate in the program implemented under this subchapter if the person is:

(1) no longer eligible for financial assistance under this chapter because of the expiration of the person's earned income disregard, provided that the person works the minimum number of hours required to be in compliance with the CHOICES program; or

(2) a recipient of financial assistance who is in compliance with the CHOICES program requirements and the requirements of the responsibility agreement but who, on redetermination of the person's eligibility for financial assistance, chooses to participate in the program instead of continuing to receive financial assistance.

(b) The commission shall automatically enroll a person who is eligible under Subsection (a)(1) in the program on the first day of the month immediately following the month in which the person's earned income disregard expires.

Sec. 31.094. TIME LIMITS NOT AFFECTED. The time during which a person participates in the program may not be counted towards time limits specified by Section 31.0065, except as provided by federal law.

Sec. 31.095. FUNDING. The program implemented under this subchapter must be funded using federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and state maintenance of effort funds.

SECTION 7. The heading to Section 34.002, Human Resources Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 34.002. DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF STATE PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN PERSONS WITH BARRIERS TO EMPLOYMENT; FUNDING.

SECTION 8. Section 34.002, Human Resources Code, is amended by amending Subsections (a), (b), and (c) and adding Subsection (d-1) to read as follows:

(a) The Health and Human Services Commission[, the department, and the Texas Workforce Commission, with the participation of local workforce development boards,] shall [jointly] develop and implement a state program of temporary assistance and related support services that is distinct from the financial assistance program authorized by Chapter 31 and that is designed to assist eligible persons with overcoming certain barriers to employment.

(b) Temporary assistance and related support services may be provided under the state program only to a person who would be eligible to receive financial assistance under Chapter 31 but who faces at least one of the following barriers to employment:

(1) the person has a disability that prevents the person from meeting the minimum number of hours required to be in compliance with the CHOICES program [two-parent families]; [or]

(2) the person cares for a child with a disability;

(3) in the month preceding the person's application to participate in the state program, the person was living in a county with an average rate of unemployment that is at least one percentage point higher than the statewide average rate of unemployment, as reported by the United States Department of Labor; or

(4) the person requires employment services that are not approved work activities for purposes of the financial assistance program under Chapter 31 [persons residing in minimum service counties, as defined by the Texas Workforce Commission].

(c) Temporary assistance and related support services provided under the state program may not be funded with federal money provided to the state or with money included as state maintenance of effort money for the financial assistance program authorized by Chapter 31.

(d-1) A person who would not be included in the state's work participation rate under federal law if the person were a recipient of financial assistance under Chapter 31 is not eligible for the state program.

SECTION 9. Section 34.003(a), Human Resources Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) The executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission[, the department, and the Texas Workforce Commission] shall adopt all rules necessary for implementation of the state program, including rules regarding eligibility, work requirements, work exemptions, time limits, and related support services, subject to the requirements specified by this chapter.

SECTION 10. Sections 34.002(d), 34.003(c), 34.004, 34.005, 34.006, and 34.007, Human Resources Code, are repealed.

SECTION 11. If before implementing any provision of this Act a state agency determines that a waiver or authorization from a federal agency is necessary for implementation of that provision, the agency affected by the provision shall request the waiver or authorization and may delay implementing that provision until the waiver or authorization is granted.

SECTION 12. This Act takes effect September 1, 2007.