General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6218
January Session, 2011 LCO No. 2479
*02479_______HS_*
Referred to Committee on Human Services
Introduced by:
(HS)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 6218
January Session, 2011
LCO No. 2479
*02479_______HS_*
Referred to Committee on Human Services
Introduced by:
(HS)
AN ACT ESTABLISHING A TASK FORCE ON SAFETY NET SERVICES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (Effective from passage) (a) There is established a task force to study safety net services. The task force shall develop proposals to (1) improve mechanisms for accessing basic safety net services, including services provided under programs related to public health, food assistance, child care, income support and housing assistance, and (2) improve family welfare programs, including the temporary family assistance program and the Jobs First program, to ensure that the basic needs of families are met and to ensure participants in the temporary family assistance program have adequate access to employment opportunities.
(b) The task force shall consist of the following members:
(1) The Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, or the secretary's designee;
(2) The Commissioner of Social Services, or the commissioner's designee;
(3) The Labor Commissioner, or the commissioner's designee;
(4) The Senate chairperson of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to appropriations and the budgets of state agencies, or the chairperson's designee;
(5) The House chairperson of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to appropriations and the budgets of state agencies, or the chairperson's designee;
(6) The Senate chairperson of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to human services, or the chairperson's designee;
(7) The House chairperson of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to human services, or the chairperson's designee;
(8) The Senate chairperson of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to labor and public employees, or the chairperson's designee; and
(9) The House chairperson of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to labor and public employees, or the chairperson's designee.
(c) All appointments to the task force shall be made not later than thirty days after the effective date of this section. Any vacancy shall be filled by the appointing authority, except a vacancy unfilled for more than sixty days may be filled by joint appointment of the speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro tempore of the Senate.
(d) The Governor, the speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro tempore of the Senate shall select the chairpersons of the task force, from among the members of the task force. Such chairpersons shall schedule the first meeting of the task force, which shall be held not later than sixty days after the effective date of this section.
(e) The administrative staff of the Office of Policy and Management shall serve as administrative staff of the task force.
(f) Not later than January 1, 2012, the task force shall submit a report on its findings and recommendations to the Governor and to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to human services and appropriations and the budgets of state agencies. Such report shall include, but not be limited to, recommendations for budget, policy and statutory changes to simplify access to state safety net services and to meet the basic needs of families while improving access to employment leading to self-sufficiency for participants in the temporary family assistance program. The task force shall terminate on the date that it submits such report or January 1, 2012, whichever is later.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
from passage
New section
Statement of Purpose:
To establish a task force to develop proposals to improve safety net services.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]