Oklahoma 2023 Regular Session

Oklahoma Senate Bill SB400 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.
OldNewDifferences
11
22
33
44 Req. No. 1367 Page 1 1
55 2
66 3
77 4
88 5
99 6
1010 7
1111 8
1212 9
1313 10
1414 11
1515 12
1616 13
1717 14
1818 15
1919 16
2020 17
2121 18
2222 19
2323 20
2424 21
2525 22
2626 23
2727 24
2828 1
2929 2
3030 3
3131 4
3232 5
3333 6
3434 7
3535 8
3636 9
3737 10
3838 11
3939 12
4040 13
4141 14
4242 15
4343 16
4444 17
4545 18
4646 19
4747 20
4848 21
4949 22
5050 23
5151 24
5252
5353 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
5454
5555 1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
5656
5757 SENATE BILL 400 By: Dossett
5858
5959
6060
6161
6262
6363 AS INTRODUCED
6464
6565 An Act relating to the Temporary Assistance for Needy
6666 Families (TANF) program ; amending 56 O.S. 2021,
6767 Section 230.52, which relates to m inimum
6868 requirements; modifying and adding resources exempt
6969 from resource determination criteri a; updating term;
7070 updating statutory language; providing an effective
7171 date; and declaring an emergency.
7272
7373
7474
7575
7676
7777 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF O KLAHOMA:
7878 SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 56 O.S. 2021, Section 230.52, is
7979 amended to read as follows:
8080 Section 230.52. A. Except for specific exceptions, conditions
8181 or restrictions authorized by the Statewide Temporar y Assistance
8282 Responsibility System (STARS) and rules promulgated by the
8383 Commission for Director of Human Services pursuant t hereto, the
8484 following are the minimum mandatory req uirements for the Temporary
8585 Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program:
8686 1. A recipient shall be elig ible to receive assis tance pursuant
8787 to the TANF program only for a lifetime tota l of five (5) years,
8888
8989
9090 Req. No. 1367 Page 2 1
9191 2
9292 3
9393 4
9494 5
9595 6
9696 7
9797 8
9898 9
9999 10
100100 11
101101 12
102102 13
103103 14
104104 15
105105 16
106106 17
107107 18
108108 19
109109 20
110110 21
111111 22
112112 23
113113 24
114114 1
115115 2
116116 3
117117 4
118118 5
119119 6
120120 7
121121 8
122122 9
123123 10
124124 11
125125 12
126126 13
127127 14
128128 15
129129 16
130130 17
131131 18
132132 19
133133 20
134134 21
135135 22
136136 23
137137 24
138138
139139 subject to the exemptions allowed by federal law. C hild-only cases
140140 are not subject to the five -year limitation;
141141 2. Single parents r eceiving temporary ass istance pursuant to
142142 the TANF program shall participa te in work activities for a minimum
143143 of twenty (20) hours per week during the month. Two -parent families
144144 receiving temporary assistance pursuant to the TANF program shall
145145 participate in work activities fo r a minimum of thirty -five (35)
146146 hours per week durin g the month;
147147 3. A recipient must be engaged in on e or more of the work
148148 activities set out in paragra ph 4 of this subsection as soon as
149149 required by the Department of Human Services p ursuant to the TANF
150150 program, but not later than twenty-four (24) months after
151151 certification of the app lication for assistanc e, unless the person
152152 is exempt from work requiremen ts under rules promulgated by the
153153 Commission Director pursuant to the STARS;
154154 4. The Department shall d evelop and describe c ategories of
155155 approved work activities for the TANF program recipient s in
156156 accordance with this paragraph. Work activities that qualify in
157157 meeting the requirements include, but are not limited to:
158158 a. (1) unsubsidized employment which is full-time
159159 employment or part-time employment that i s not
160160 directly supplemented by federa l or state funds,
161161 (2) subsidized private sector employment which is
162162 employment in a private for -profit enterprise or
163163
164164
165165 Req. No. 1367 Page 3 1
166166 2
167167 3
168168 4
169169 5
170170 6
171171 7
172172 8
173173 9
174174 10
175175 11
176176 12
177177 13
178178 14
179179 15
180180 16
181181 17
182182 18
183183 19
184184 20
185185 21
186186 22
187187 23
188188 24
189189 1
190190 2
191191 3
192192 4
193193 5
194194 6
195195 7
196196 8
197197 9
198198 10
199199 11
200200 12
201201 13
202202 14
203203 15
204204 16
205205 17
206206 18
207207 19
208208 20
209209 21
210210 22
211211 23
212212 24
213213
214214 a private not-for-profit enterprise that is
215215 directly supplemented by fe deral or state funds.
216216 Prior to receiving any subsidy or incentive, the
217217 employer shall enter into a written contract with
218218 the Department, and
219219 (3) subsidized public sector emplo yment which is
220220 employment by an agenc y of a federal, state , or
221221 local governmental entity which is directly
222222 supplemented by federal or state funds. Prior to
223223 receiving any subsidy or incentive, the employer
224224 shall enter into a written contract with the
225225 Department.
226226 Subsidized hourly employment o r unsubsidized hourly
227227 employment pursuant t o this subparagraph shall only be
228228 approved by the Department as work activity if such
229229 employment is subject to:
230230 (a) the federal minimum wage requirements
231231 pursuant to the Fair L abor Standards Act of
232232 1938, as amended,
233233 (b) the federal Social Security tax and Medicare
234234 tax, and
235235 (c) regulations promulgated pursuant to the
236236 federal Occupational Safety and Health Act
237237
238238
239239 Req. No. 1367 Page 4 1
240240 2
241241 3
242242 4
243243 5
244244 6
245245 7
246246 8
247247 9
248248 10
249249 11
250250 12
251251 13
252252 14
253253 15
254254 16
255255 17
256256 18
257257 19
258258 20
259259 21
260260 22
261261 23
262262 24
263263 1
264264 2
265265 3
266266 4
267267 5
268268 6
269269 7
270270 8
271271 9
272272 10
273273 11
274274 12
275275 13
276276 14
277277 15
278278 16
279279 17
280280 18
281281 19
282282 20
283283 21
284284 22
285285 23
286286 24
287287
288288 of 1970 and rules promulgated by the State
289289 Department of Labor pursuant thereto,
290290 b. a program of work experi ence,
291291 c. on-the-job training,
292292 d. assisted job search which may include sup ervised or
293293 unsupervised job-seeking activities,
294294 e. job readiness assistance which may include, but is not
295295 limited to:
296296 (1) orientation in the work environment and basic
297297 job-seeking and job retention skills ,
298298 (2) instruction in completing an application for
299299 employment and writing a resume, and
300300 (3) instruction in conducting oneself during a job
301301 interview, including appropriate dress,
302302 f. job skills training which is directly related to
303303 employment in a specific occupation for which there is
304304 a written commitment b y an employer to offer
305305 employment to a recipient who successfully completes
306306 the training. Job skills training includes, but is
307307 not limited to, customized training designed to meet
308308 the needs of a specific employer or a specif ic
309309 industry,
310310 g. community service programs which are job -training
311311 activities provided in areas where sufficient public
312312
313313
314314 Req. No. 1367 Page 5 1
315315 2
316316 3
317317 4
318318 5
319319 6
320320 7
321321 8
322322 9
323323 10
324324 11
325325 12
326326 13
327327 14
328328 15
329329 16
330330 17
331331 18
332332 19
333333 20
334334 21
335335 22
336336 23
337337 24
338338 1
339339 2
340340 3
341341 4
342342 5
343343 6
344344 7
345345 8
346346 9
347347 10
348348 11
349349 12
350350 13
351351 14
352352 15
353353 16
354354 17
355355 18
356356 19
357357 20
358358 21
359359 22
360360 23
361361 24
362362
363363 or private sector empl oyment is not available. Such
364364 activities are linked to both education o r training
365365 and activities that substantiall y enhance a
366366 recipient’s employability,
367367 h. literacy and adult basic e ducation programs,
368368 i. vocational-educational programs, not to exceed twelve
369369 (12) months for any individual, which are directed
370370 toward vocational-educational training a nd education
371371 directly related to employment,
372372 j. education programs which are directly related to
373373 specific employment opportunities, if a recipient has
374374 not received a high school diploma or General
375375 Equivalency Degree, and
376376 k. child care for other STARS recip ients. The recipient
377377 must meet training and licensing requirements for
378378 child care providers as requir ed by the Oklahoma Child
379379 Care Facilities Licensing Act;
380380 5. Single, custodial parents with a ch ild up to one (1) year of
381381 age may be exempt from work activ ities for a lifetime total
382382 exemption of twelve (12) months;
383383 6. In order to receive assistance, unmarr ied teen parents of a
384384 minor child at least twelve (12) weeks of age must participate in
385385 educational activities or work activities ap proved by the state;
386386
387387
388388 Req. No. 1367 Page 6 1
389389 2
390390 3
391391 4
392392 5
393393 6
394394 7
395395 8
396396 9
397397 10
398398 11
399399 12
400400 13
401401 14
402402 15
403403 16
404404 17
405405 18
406406 19
407407 20
408408 21
409409 22
410410 23
411411 24
412412 1
413413 2
414414 3
415415 4
416416 5
417417 6
418418 7
419419 8
420420 9
421421 10
422422 11
423423 12
424424 13
425425 14
426426 15
427427 16
428428 17
429429 18
430430 19
431431 20
432432 21
433433 22
434434 23
435435 24
436436
437437 7. For single-parent families, except for teen parents,
438438 educational activities, other than vocational -technical training, do
439439 not count toward meeting the required twenty (20) hours of work
440440 activity. For two-parent families, education al activities, except
441441 vocational-technical training, do not count toward meeting the
442442 required thirty-five (35) hours of work activity;
443443 8. A teen parent must live at home or in an appr oved, adult-
444444 supervised setting as s pecified in Section 230.55 of this ti tle to
445445 receive TANF assistance;
446446 9. A recipient must comply with immunization requirements
447447 established pursuant to the TANF program;
448448 10. A recipient shall be subject to the increment in benefits
449449 for additional children established by Section 230.58 of thi s title;
450450 11. The following recipient resou rces are exempt from resource
451451 determination criteri a:
452452 a. an automobile with an eq uity allowance of not more
453453 than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,00 0.00) pursuant to
454454 Section 230.53 of this title,
455455 b. individual developmen t accounts established pursuant
456456 to the Family Savings Initiative Act, or individual
457457 development accounts established prior t o November 1,
458458 1998, pursuant to the provisions of Section 23 0.54 of
459459 this title in an amount not to exceed Two Thousand
460460 Dollars ($2,000.00),
461461
462462
463463 Req. No. 1367 Page 7 1
464464 2
465465 3
466466 4
467467 5
468468 6
469469 7
470470 8
471471 9
472472 10
473473 11
474474 12
475475 13
476476 14
477477 15
478478 16
479479 17
480480 18
481481 19
482482 20
483483 21
484484 22
485485 23
486486 24
487487 1
488488 2
489489 3
490490 4
491491 5
492492 6
493493 7
494494 8
495495 9
496496 10
497497 11
498498 12
499499 13
500500 14
501501 15
502502 16
503503 17
504504 18
505505 19
506506 20
507507 21
508508 22
509509 23
510510 24
511511
512512 c. the equity value of funeral arra ngements owned by a
513513 recipient that does not exceed the limitation
514514 specified by Section 165 of this title, and
515515 d. earned income disregards not to exceed One Hundred
516516 Twenty Dollars ($120.00) and one-half (1/2) seventy-
517517 five percent (75%) of the remainder of t he earned
518518 income, and
519519 e. monthly child support payments not to exceed One
520520 Hundred Dollars ($100.00) per month for one child or
521521 Two Hundred Dollars ( $200.00) per month for two or
522522 more children;
523523 12. An applicant wh o applies and is otherwise eligible to
524524 receive TANF benefits but who has r esided in this state less than
525525 twelve (12) months shall be subject to Section 230.57 of this title;
526526 13. The recipient shall enter into a persona l responsibility
527527 agreement with the D epartment for receipt of assistance pursuant to
528528 Section 230.65 of this tit le;
529529 14. The Department shall, beginning November 1, 2012, screen
530530 all adult applicants for TANF to determine if they are engaged in
531531 the illegal use of a controlled substance or subst ances. If the
532532 Department has made a determination that the applicant is e ngaged in
533533 the illegal use of a controlled substanc e or substances, the
534534 applicant’s request for TANF cash benefits shall be denied. The
535535 Commission for Human Services Director shall adopt rules to
536536
537537
538538 Req. No. 1367 Page 8 1
539539 2
540540 3
541541 4
542542 5
543543 6
544544 7
545545 8
546546 9
547547 10
548548 11
549549 12
550550 13
551551 14
552552 15
553553 16
554554 17
555555 18
556556 19
557557 20
558558 21
559559 22
560560 23
561561 24
562562 1
563563 2
564564 3
565565 4
566566 5
567567 6
568568 7
569569 8
570570 9
571571 10
572572 11
573573 12
574574 13
575575 14
576576 15
577577 16
578578 17
579579 18
580580 19
581581 20
582582 21
583583 22
584584 23
585585 24
586586
587587 implement the requirements of this paragraph consistent with the
588588 following:
589589 a. the Department shall create a c ontrolled substance
590590 screening process to be administered at the time of
591591 application. The proce ss shall, at a minimum, include
592592 a Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SA SSI)
593593 or other similar screening methods. If necessary to
594594 establish a reasonable expectation of certainty, the
595595 Department is authorized to use further screening
596596 methods, which may include, but are not limited to, a
597597 clinical interview, consideration of the Department’s
598598 history with the applicant, and an Addictions Severity
599599 Index (ASI). If the Department has reasonable cause
600600 to believe that the applicant is engaged in the
601601 illegal use of a controlled substance or sub stances,
602602 the Department is authorized, thou gh not required, to
603603 request administration of a chemical drug test, such
604604 as urinalysis. The cost of all such initial
605605 screenings shall not be borne by the applicant,
606606 b. if at any time during the controlled substan ce
607607 screening process, the applicant refuses to
608608 participate, that refusal s hall lead to a denial of
609609 TANF benefits,
610610
611611
612612 Req. No. 1367 Page 9 1
613613 2
614614 3
615615 4
616616 5
617617 6
618618 7
619619 8
620620 9
621621 10
622622 11
623623 12
624624 13
625625 14
626626 15
627627 16
628628 17
629629 18
630630 19
631631 20
632632 21
633633 22
634634 23
635635 24
636636 1
637637 2
638638 3
639639 4
640640 5
641641 6
642642 7
643643 8
644644 9
645645 10
646646 11
647647 12
648648 13
649649 14
650650 15
651651 16
652652 17
653653 18
654654 19
655655 20
656656 21
657657 22
658658 23
659659 24
660660
661661 c. if the Department, as the result of a controlled
662662 substance screening process, has determined that the
663663 applicant is engaged in the illegal u se of a
664664 controlled substance or substances, the applicant’s
665665 request for TANF cash benefits shall be denied,
666666 subject to the following:
667667 (1) if there has not already been a chemical drug
668668 test administered as part of the co ntrolled
669669 substance screening process, the applicant may
670670 submit proof of a negati ve chemical drug test
671671 from a state certified laboratory to challenge
672672 the Department’s finding that the applicant is
673673 engaged in the illegal use of a controlled
674674 substance or substances. Proof of the chemical
675675 drug test must be submitted to the Department no
676676 later than the tenth calendar d ay following
677677 denial. If denial is communicated by mail, the
678678 ten (10) day ten-day window begins on the day
679679 after the date of mailing of the denial notice to
680680 the applicant’s last-known address. The denial
681681 notice is considered to be m ailed on the date
682682 that appears on the notice, unless otherwise
683683 indicated by the facts,
684684
685685
686686 Req. No. 1367 Page 10 1
687687 2
688688 3
689689 4
690690 5
691691 6
692692 7
693693 8
694694 9
695695 10
696696 11
697697 12
698698 13
699699 14
700700 15
701701 16
702702 17
703703 18
704704 19
705705 20
706706 21
707707 22
708708 23
709709 24
710710 1
711711 2
712712 3
713713 4
714714 5
715715 6
716716 7
717717 8
718718 9
719719 10
720720 11
721721 12
722722 13
723723 14
724724 15
725725 16
726726 17
727727 18
728728 19
729729 20
730730 21
731731 22
732732 23
733733 24
734734
735735 (2) if denied due to the provisions of this
736736 subparagraph, an applicant shall not be appro ved
737737 until one (1) year has passed sin ce the date of
738738 denial,
739739 (a) if the applicant is denied due to the
740740 provisions of this paragraph, the Department
741741 shall provide a list of substance abuse
742742 treatment programs to the denied applicant,
743743 (b) if an applicant has s uccessfully complied
744744 with a recommended substance abuse treatment
745745 program after the date of denial, the
746746 applicant may be approved for cash benefits
747747 after six (6) months have passed since the
748748 date of denial, rather than the required one
749749 (1) year, and
750750 (3) if an applicant has been denied TANF ca sh
751751 benefits two times due to the provisions of this
752752 subparagraph, the appl icant shall be ineligible
753753 for TANF benefits for a period of three (3) years
754754 from the date of the second denial,
755755 d. child-only cases and minor par ents under eighteen (18)
756756 years of age are not subject to the provisions of this
757757 paragraph, and
758758
759759
760760 Req. No. 1367 Page 11 1
761761 2
762762 3
763763 4
764764 5
765765 6
766766 7
767767 8
768768 9
769769 10
770770 11
771771 12
772772 13
773773 14
774774 15
775775 16
776776 17
777777 18
778778 19
779779 20
780780 21
781781 22
782782 23
783783 24
784784 1
785785 2
786786 3
787787 4
788788 5
789789 6
790790 7
791791 8
792792 9
793793 10
794794 11
795795 12
796796 13
797797 14
798798 15
799799 16
800800 17
801801 18
802802 19
803803 20
804804 21
805805 22
806806 23
807807 24
808808
809809 e. in cases where the application for TANF benefits is
810810 not for child-only benefits, but there is not a parent
811811 who has been deemed eligible for cash benefits unde r
812812 the provisions of this paragraph, a ny cash benefits
813813 for which the dependent ch ildren of the family are
814814 still eligible shall not be affected and may be
815815 received and administered by an appropriate third
816816 party approved by the Department for the benefit of
817817 the members of the household;
818818 15. a. As a condition of participating in the STAR S, all
819819 recipients are deemed to have given authorization for
820820 the release of any a nd all information necessary to
821821 allow all state and federal agencies to meet the
822822 program needs of the recipient.
823823 b. The recipient shall be provided a release form to sign
824824 in order to obtain the required inf ormation. Failure
825825 to sign the release form may re sult in case closure;
826826 and
827827 16. The recipient shall comply with all other conditions and
828828 requirements of the STARS, and rules of the Commission Director
829829 promulgated pursuant th ereto.
830830 B. 1. Agencies of this state involved in providing services to
831831 recipients pursuant to the STARS shall exchange information as
832832 necessary for each agency to accomplish o bjectives and fulfill
833833
834834
835835 Req. No. 1367 Page 12 1
836836 2
837837 3
838838 4
839839 5
840840 6
841841 7
842842 8
843843 9
844844 10
845845 11
846846 12
847847 13
848848 14
849849 15
850850 16
851851 17
852852 18
853853 19
854854 20
855855 21
856856 22
857857 23
858858 24
859859 1
860860 2
861861 3
862862 4
863863 5
864864 6
865865 7
866866 8
867867 9
868868 10
869869 11
870870 12
871871 13
872872 14
873873 15
874874 16
875875 17
876876 18
877877 19
878878 20
879879 21
880880 22
881881 23
882882 24
883883
884884 obligations created or imposed by the STARS and rules prom ulgated
885885 pursuant thereto.
886886 2. Information received pursuant to the STARS shall be
887887 maintained by the appli cable agency and, except as otherwise
888888 provided by this subsection, shal l be disclosed only in accordance
889889 with any confidentiality provisions applicable to the agency
890890 originating the information.
891891 3. The various agencies of the state shall execute operating
892892 agreements to facilitate information exchanges pursuant to the
893893 STARS.
894894 C. In implementing the TANF program, the Department shall:
895895 1. Provide assistan ce to aliens pursuant to Section 230.73 of
896896 this title;
897897 2. Provide for the closur e of the TANF case when the adult
898898 recipient refuses to cooperate with agreed upon work activiti es or
899899 other case requirements pursuan t to the TANF program;
900900 3. Provide for the sanctioning of parents who do not require
901901 their minor children to attend school; and
902902 4. Deny temporary a ssistance to fugitive felons.
903903 D. In order to ensure that the needy cit izens of this state are
904904 receiving necessary benefits, the Department shall maint ain a
905905 listing of all recipients receiving public assistance. The listing
906906 shall reflect each recipient ’s income, social security number, and
907907 the programs in which the recipient is participating including, but
908908
909909
910910 Req. No. 1367 Page 13 1
911911 2
912912 3
913913 4
914914 5
915915 6
916916 7
917917 8
918918 9
919919 10
920920 11
921921 12
922922 13
923923 14
924924 15
925925 16
926926 17
927927 18
928928 19
929929 20
930930 21
931931 22
932932 23
933933 24
934934 1
935935 2
936936 3
937937 4
938938 5
939939 6
940940 7
941941 8
942942 9
943943 10
944944 11
945945 12
946946 13
947947 14
948948 15
949949 16
950950 17
951951 18
952952 19
953953 20
954954 21
955955 22
956956 23
957957 24
958958
959959 not limited to, TANF, food stamps, child care , and medical
960960 assistance.
961961 E. The Department is hereby authorized to establish a gr ant
962962 diversion program an d emergency assistance services.
963963 SECTION 2. This act shall become effective July 1, 202 3.
964964 SECTION 3. It being immediately necessary for the preserva tion
965965 of the public peace, health or safety, an eme rgency is hereby
966966 declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and
967967 be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
968968
969969 59-1-1367 DC 1/16/2023 12:04:41 PM