Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB436 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R425 EES-D
2	2	By: King of Hemphill H.B. No. 436
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the drug testing of certain persons seeking benefits
8	8	under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 31, Human Resources Code,
11	11	is amended by adding Section 31.0321 to read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 31.0321. DRUG SCREENING AND TESTING; ELIGIBILITY. (a)
13	13	In this section, "controlled substance" and "marihuana" have the
14	14	meanings assigned by Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code.
15	15	(b) Except as provided in Subsections (h) and (i):
16	16	(1) each adult applicant for financial assistance
17	17	benefits, including an applicant applying solely on behalf of a
18	18	child, who initially applies for those benefits or who applies for
19	19	the continuation of those benefits must submit to a marihuana and
20	20	controlled substance use screening assessment; and
21	21	(2) each minor parent who is the head of household must
22	22	submit to a marihuana and controlled substance use screening
23	23	assessment on the initial application for financial assistance
24	24	benefits and on any application for the continuation of those
25	25	benefits.
26	26	(c) A person whose marihuana and controlled substance use
27	27	screening assessment conducted under this section indicates good
28	28	cause to suspect the person of marihuana or controlled substance
29	29	use shall submit to a drug test.
30	30	(d) Except as provided in Subsections (f) and (g), a person
31	31	whose drug test conducted under this section indicates the presence
32	32	in the person's body of a controlled substance not prescribed for
33	33	the person by a health care practitioner or marihuana is ineligible
34	34	for financial assistance benefits, and is ineligible to receive
35	35	those benefits on behalf of the person's family, for a period of 12
36	36	months beginning on the first day of the month after the month in
37	37	which the drug test was administered.
38	38	(e) Except as provided in Subsections (f) and (g), if,
39	39	following a 12-month period of ineligibility under Subsection (d),
40	40	a person reapplies for financial assistance benefits and the
41	41	results of a drug test required by Subsection (h) indicate the
42	42	presence in the person's body of a controlled substance not
43	43	prescribed for the person by a health care practitioner or
44	44	marihuana, the person is ineligible for financial assistance
45	45	benefits, and is ineligible to receive those benefits on behalf of
46	46	the person's family, for a period of 36 months beginning on the
47	47	first day of the month after the month in which the drug test was
48	48	administered.
49	49	(f) A person who is denied financial assistance benefits
50	50	because of the results of a drug test conducted under this section
51	51	may reapply for financial assistance benefits six months after the
52	52	first day of the month after the month in which the drug test was
53	53	administered if the person provides proof of the person's
54	54	successful completion of or current enrollment in a substance abuse
55	55	treatment program. A person reapplying for financial assistance
56	56	benefits must submit to a drug test as required by Subsection (h),
57	57	regardless of whether the person is continuing to receive substance
58	58	abuse treatment.
59	59	(g) A person's eligibility for financial assistance
60	60	benefits is not affected by the results of a drug test conducted
61	61	under Subsection (c) indicating the presence in the person's body
62	62	of a controlled substance not prescribed for the person by a health
63	63	care practitioner or marihuana if, not later than the 10th day after
64	64	the date the person is notified of the results of the drug test, the
65	65	person enrolls in a substance abuse treatment program. In adopting
66	66	rules for the implementation of this section, the executive
67	67	commissioner shall include rules that require a person who is
68	68	subject to this subsection to submit proof of continued enrollment
69	69	in or successful completion of a substance abuse treatment program
70	70	in order to maintain the person's eligibility for financial
71	71	assistance benefits.
72	72	(h) A person who is denied financial assistance benefits
73	73	because of the results of a drug test conducted under this section
74	74	must submit to a drug test, without first submitting to a marihuana
75	75	and controlled substance use screening assessment, at the time of
76	76	any reapplication for financial assistance benefits and on any
77	77	application for the continuation of those benefits.
78	78	(i) A person who has been convicted of a felony drug offense
79	79	must submit to a drug test, without first submitting to a marihuana
80	80	and controlled substance use screening assessment, at the time of
81	81	an initial application for financial assistance benefits and on any
82	82	application for the continuation of those benefits.
83	83	(j) If a person is denied eligibility for financial
84	84	assistance benefits three times because of the results of a drug
85	85	test conducted under this section, the person is permanently
86	86	ineligible for those benefits and is permanently ineligible to
87	87	receive those benefits on behalf of the person's family.
88	88	(k) Before denying financial assistance benefits under this
89	89	section, the commission must:
90	90	(1) notify the person who submitted to a drug test of
91	91	the results of the test and the commission's proposed determination
92	92	of ineligibility; and
93	93	(2) confirm the results of the drug test through a
94	94	second drug test or other appropriate method.
95	95	(l) The results of a drug test administered as provided by
96	96	Subsection (k)(2) to confirm the results of a previous drug test are
97	97	not considered for purposes of Subsection (e), (g), or (j).
98	98	(m) The denial of financial assistance benefits to an
99	99	applicant because of the results of a drug test conducted under this
100	100	section does not affect the eligibility of the person's child or
101	101	family members for those benefits.
102	102	(n) If a parent or caretaker relative of a dependent child
103	103	is ineligible to receive financial assistance benefits on behalf of
104	104	the child because of the results of a drug test conducted under this
105	105	section, the parent or caretaker relative, as applicable, shall
106	106	select a protective payee to receive financial assistance benefits
107	107	on behalf of the child. The parent or caretaker relative, as
108	108	applicable, may choose an immediate family member to serve as the
109	109	protective payee or, if an immediate family member is not available
110	110	or declines to serve as the protective payee, the person may choose
111	111	another person approved by the commission. A person must submit to
112	112	a marihuana and controlled substance use screening assessment to
113	113	establish the person's eligibility to serve as a protective payee.
114	114	A person whose marihuana and controlled substance use screening
115	115	assessment indicates good cause to suspect the person of marihuana
116	116	or controlled substance use shall submit to a drug test to establish
117	117	the eligibility of the person to serve as a protective payee. A
118	118	person whose drug test conducted under this section indicates the
119	119	presence in the person's body of a controlled substance not
120	120	prescribed for the person by a health care practitioner or
121	121	marihuana is ineligible to serve as a protective payee.
122	122	(o) The commission shall:
123	123	(1) use the most efficient and cost-effective
124	124	marihuana and controlled substance use screening assessment tool
125	125	that the commission and the Department of State Health Services can
126	126	develop based on validated marihuana and controlled substance use
127	127	screening assessment tools; and
128	128	(2) pay the cost of any marihuana and controlled
129	129	substance use screening assessment or drug test administered under
130	130	this section out of the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy
131	131	Families block grant funds.
132	132	(p) The commission shall report to the Department of Family
133	133	and Protective Services for use in an investigation conducted under
134	134	Chapter 261, Family Code, if applicable, a person whose drug test
135	135	conducted under this section indicates the presence in the person's
136	136	body of a controlled substance not prescribed for the person by a
137	137	health care practitioner or marihuana.
138	138	(q) The commission shall provide each person who is denied
139	139	financial assistance benefits as a result of a drug test conducted
140	140	under this section with a list of substance abuse treatment
141	141	providers located in the area where the person resides.
142	142	(r) Nothing in this section requires the commission or the
143	143	state to provide or pay for substance abuse treatment for a person
144	144	whose drug test conducted under this section indicates the presence
145	145	in the person's body of a controlled substance not prescribed for
146	146	the person by a health care practitioner or marihuana.
147	147	(s) The executive commissioner shall adopt rules
148	148	implementing this section.
149	149	SECTION 2. (a) Section 31.0321, Human Resources Code, as
150	150	added by this Act, applies to:
151	151	(1) an adult applicant, including an applicant
152	152	applying solely on behalf of a child, who initially applies for
153	153	financial assistance benefits under Chapter 31, Human Resources
154	154	Code, on or after the effective date of this Act;
155	155	(2) a minor parent who is the head of household who
156	156	initially applies for financial assistance benefits under Chapter
157	157	31, Human Resources Code, on or after the effective date of this
158	158	Act;
159	159	(3) an adult applicant, including an applicant
160	160	applying solely on behalf of a child, who applies for the
161	161	continuation of financial assistance benefits under Chapter 31,
162	162	Human Resources Code, on or after the effective date of this Act;
163	163	and
164	164	(4) a minor parent who is the head of household who
165	165	applies for the continuation of financial assistance benefits under
166	166	Chapter 31, Human Resources Code, on or after the effective date of
167	167	this Act.
168	168	(b) Except as provided by Subsections (a)(3) and (4) of this
169	169	section, an adult applicant, including an applicant applying solely
170	170	on behalf of a child, or a minor parent who is the head of household
171	171	who applied for financial assistance benefits under Chapter 31,
172	172	Human Resources Code, before the effective date of this Act is
173	173	governed by the law in effect when the person applied for financial
174	174	assistance benefits, and that law is continued in effect for that
175	175	purpose.
176	176	SECTION 3. If before implementing any provision of this Act
177	177	a state agency determines that a waiver or authorization from a
178	178	federal agency is necessary for implementation of that provision,
179	179	the agency affected by the provision shall request the waiver or
180	180	authorization and may delay implementing that provision until the
181	181	waiver or authorization is granted.
182	182	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.