The bill would amend Human Resources Code by adding Chapter 37, requiring the Comptroller, in collaboration with the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), to establish and administer the Texas Empowerment Account Pilot Program to provide up to 1,000 low income families with funding for eligible expenses through individual empowerment accounts. The program would operate for at least 12 months, but not more than 24 months.
The bill would require the Comptroller to establish and administer the Texas Empowerment Account Program Fund as a dedicated account in the General Revenue Fund. The Fund would consist of appropriations, credits, or transfers by the legislature or federal block grants, as well as gifts, grants, donations, and any other money available for the purposes of the pilot program. The Comptroller would be authorized to deduct from the fund an amount not to exceed 3% for the Comptroller, and 5% for participant organizations to cover program administration costs.
The bill lists certain eligibility requirements of families to participate in the pilot program. Annual program assistance amounts allocated to participants would be equal to the financial assistance and supplemental nutrition assistance benefits the participant would receive if they did not participate in the pilot program. Information on these amounts would be provided to the Comptroller by HHSC. The Comptroller would establish an account for each participant to receive program assistance money and provide access to a web-based application for participants to track financial activity in the account.
The bill would require the Comptroller to certify eligible organizations as family service organizations for participation in the pilot program. Certified organizations would facilitate an application process for interested families and enroll them in the pilot program if the families meet certain eligibility requirements and the organization has the capacity to provide services to the family.
The bill would authorize the Comptroller to contract with a private entity to randomly audit participating family service organizations to ensure compliance with program requirements. It would also require the Comptroller to suspend a participants program account if the participant fails to comply with program requirements, which could lead to a permanent closure of the account. Upon receipt of evidence of the fraudulent use of an account, the Comptroller may refer the case to the Attorney General for investigation and prosecution of an offense.
The bill would require the Comptroller, throughout the operation of the program, to collect certain financial, demographic, and socioeconomic information, as well as a cost benefit analysis on program effectiveness, and a statistical analysis of taxpayer revenue spent on the program and state money appropriated per program. This information would be posted on the Comptroller's website quarterly. Upon completion of the program, the Comptroller would use existing resources to conduct a study on the outcomes of the program.
The bill would require the Comptroller and the executive commissioner of HHSC to adopt rules and procedures necessary to implement, administer, and enforce the provisions in the bill.
This legislation would do one or more of the following: create or recreate a dedicated
account in the General Revenue Fund, create or recreate a special or trust fund either in, with, or
outside the Treasury, or create a dedicated revenue source. The fund, account, or revenue
dedication included in this bill would be subject to funds consolidation review by the current
Legislature.