HBA-MPM C.S.H.B. 1006 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 1006 By: Naishtat Human Services 4/17/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE In 1995, the 74th Texas Legislature passed welfare reform. When Congress passed federal welfare reform regulations the next year, Texas was allowed to take advantage of a waiver option authorizing a delay in implementing some federal provisions. This waiver expires in March 2002, and there are some advisable conforming changes to state law in anticipation of that expiration. C.S.H.B. 1006 sets forth exemptions from work requirements for recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and directs the Texas Department of Human Services, the Texas Workforce Commission, and local workforce development boards to develop a plan to provide employment outreach services to those exempted. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 1006 amends the Human Resources Code to exempt certain recipients of financial assistance from the work requirements of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and specifies the persons to whom work requirements do not apply. The bill requires DHS, the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), and local workforce development boards to develop plans for providing outreach services to assist a person who is exempt from work requirements in becoming self-supporting. The bill provides that outreach services provided under the plans must include making support services available and providing referrals to appropriate services, including those provided by the Texas Rehabilitation Commission, the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, or community organizations. The bill sets forth additional good cause criteria in addition to any other criteria DHS establishes that provides for an exception or partial exception from work or employment activities. C.S.H.B. 1006 requires each local workforce development board to assess current resources available to provide services to persons exempt from work requirements, develop a plan for providing the services, and provide TWC with information regarding additional resources needed to fully implement the plans developed under the provisions of this bill regarding the provision of services to the persons addressed by those plans. The bill requires TWC no later than December 1, 2003 to report to the legislature regarding information and recommendations submitted by the local workforce development boards and TWC's evaluation of the information and recommendations. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 1006 differs from the original bill by removing the provision that a mandatory work requirement is satisfied regardless of the number of hours worked if the person's weekly earnings equal at least the amount that would be received by a person working 30 hours at an hourly rate equal to the federal minimum hourly wage (Sec. 31.012). The substitute removes the exemption from the mandatory work requirement for a person who: _is younger than 16 years of age; _is 16, 17, or 18 years of age and a full-time student in an elementary, secondary, vocational, or technical school; _is a full-time VISTA volunteer; and _has demonstrated to the Texas Department of Human Services (DHS) that the only work or employment activity available to the person requires a round-trip commuting time of more than two hours or cannot be reached by walking and transportation is unavailable. The substitute adds to the exemptions from mandatory work requirements a person who: _is incapacitated for more than 180 days and is unable to work, rather than a person who is temporarily disabled for not more than 90 days; and _is pregnant and cannot work because of the pregnancy. The substitute removes the provision in the original requiring DHS to the extent permitted by federal law to also consider exempted persons as exempt on the basis of hardship from mandatory work requirements imposed by federal law under certain circumstances. The substitute requires DHS, the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), and local development boards to develop plans for providing outreach services to assist persons exempt from work requirements whereas the original only required DHS and TWC to provide the outreach services. The substitute provides that in addition to other criteria established by DHS, the criteria for good cause noncompliance must provide for certain exceptions and partial exceptions from work or employment activities to individuals specified in the bill (Sec. 31.012). The substitute differs from the original by requiring each local workforce development board to assess available resources, develop a plan for providing services, and provide TWC with information needed to fully implement the provisions of this bill and policy recommendations. The substitute requires TWC to report to the legislature no later than December 1, 2003 regarding the information and recommendations (SECTION 5).