General Assembly Raised Bill No. 106
February Session, 2014 LCO No. 1048
*01048_______HS_*
Referred to Committee on HUMAN SERVICES
Introduced by:
(HS)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 106
February Session, 2014
LCO No. 1048
*01048_______HS_*
Referred to Committee on HUMAN SERVICES
Introduced by:
(HS)
AN ACT CONCERNING IMPROVING EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH EDUCATION.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2014) (a) The Commissioner of Social Services and the Labor Commissioner shall permit a recipient of temporary family assistance to take education courses as part of the requirements of the recipient's employability plan, established pursuant to section 17b-689c of the general statutes, provided: (1) The state complies with federal work participation requirements for the employment services program established pursuant to section 17b-688c of the general statutes, and (2) the education courses are approved pursuant to subsection (b) of this section.
(b) To the extent permissible under federal law, the Labor Commissioner, in consultation with the Commissioner of Social Services, may approve education courses as required employment activities for a recipient of temporary family assistance. Education courses that may be approved include, but are not limited to: (1) Two-year or four-year college degree programs, and (2) high school graduate equivalency degree or basic education programs for recipients otherwise ineligible to enroll in such programs during their first twenty weekly hours of required employment activities.
(c) The Labor Commissioner, in consultation with the Commissioner of Social Services, shall implement policies and procedures to establish (1) which programs may qualify as an approved employment activity, and (2) enrollment and academic requirements for students who are recipients of temporary family assistance. The Labor Commissioner shall implement such policies and procedures while in the process of adopting such policies and procedures in regulation form, provided the Labor Commissioner provides notice of intent to adopt the regulations in accordance with section 4-168 of the general statutes not later than twenty days after implementing such policies and procedures. Policies and procedures implemented pursuant to this subsection shall be valid until the time final regulations are effective.
(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring the state to pay for the tuition of any recipient of temporary family assistance.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2014 New section
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
July 1, 2014
New section
Statement of Purpose:
To improve job prospects for recipients of temporary family assistance by allowing them to pursue education as part of approved work activities.
[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.]