BILL NUMBER: SB 1158INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Senator Maldonado FEBRUARY 18, 2010 An act to amend Section 11320.31 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to CalWORKs. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 1158, as introduced, Maldonado. CalWORKs eligibility. Existing federal law provides for allocation of federal funds through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant program to eligible states. Existing law provides for the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program for the allocation of federal funds received through the TANF block grant program, under which each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families. Under the CalWORKs program, certain recipients are required to participate in specified welfare-to-work activities. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to the welfare-to-work requirement provisions. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 11320.31 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read: 11320.31. Sanctions shall not be applied for a failure or refusal to comply with program requirements for reasons related to employment, an offer of employment, an activity, or other training for employment including, but not limited to, the followingreasons: (a) The employment, offer of employment, activity, or other training for employment discriminates on any basis listed in subdivision (a) of Section 12940 of the Government Code, as those bases are defined in Sections 12926 and 12926.1 of the Government Code, except as otherwise provided in Section 12940 of the Government Code. (b) The employment or offer of employment exceeds the daily or weekly hours of work customary to the occupation. (c) The employment, offer of employment, activity, or other training for employment requires travel to and from the place of employment, activity, or other training and one's home that exceeds a total of two hours in round-trip time, exclusive of the time necessary to transport family members to a school or place providing care, or, when walking is the only available means of transportation, the round-trip is more than two miles, exclusive of the mileage necessary to accompany family members to a school or a place providing care. An individual who fails or refuses to comply with the program requirements based on this subdivision shall be required to participate in community service activities pursuant to Section 11322.9. (d) The employment, offer of employment, activity, or other training for employment involves conditions that are in violation of applicable health and safety standards. (e) The employment, offer of employment, or work activity does not provide for workers' compensation insurance. (f) Accepting the employment or work activity would cause an interruption in an approved education or job training program in progress that would otherwise lead to employment and sufficient income to be self-supporting, excluding work experience or community service employment , as described in subdivisions (d) and (j) of Section 11322.6 and Section 11322.9 , or other community work experience assignments, except that a recipient may be required to engage in welfare-to-work activities to the extent necessary to meet the hours of participation required by Section 11322.8. (g) Accepting the employment, offer of employment, or work activity would cause the individual to violate the terms of his or her union membership.