SB194 By Senator Orr RFD Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development Rd 1 16-FEB-17

SYNOPSIS: This bill would further provide for procedures and limitations for various public assistance programs administered by the Department of Human Resources.

This bill would limit the resource limit standard for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to the federal asset limits, would further provide disqualification periods for violations of SNAP requirements, including a one-year disqualification period for the third instance of noncompliance with any SNAP requirement, would preclude the department from seeking, applying for, accepting, or renewing any waiver of work requirements for SNAP benefits, and would preclude the department from granting categorical eligibility for SNAP benefits.

This bill would require the Department of Human Resources to terminate benefits for any recipient of SNAP benefits upon a determination that the recipient has failed to cooperate with child support enforcement requirements or the Child Support Enforcement Division of the department without good cause, or is delinquent on any court-ordered support payments, including arrears.

This bill would provide a lifetime limit of 36 months for temporary cash payments under the state Family Assistance Program administering the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program (TANF) and would provide sanctions for violations of TANF requirements, including termination of benefits for the second instance of noncompliance with any TANF requirement.

This bill would require the Department of Human Resources to utilize best efforts to identify purchases at points of sale outside this state using cash benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program (TANF) and to establish a benchmark number of out-of-state transactions using TANF benefits that will automatically generate review of the recipient's residency status by the department, as well as review of frequent or large even-dollar purchases by recipients.

This bill would require the Department of Human Resources to monitor all requests for replacement EBT cards, and upon the fourth request, send a notice to the recipient alerting the recipient that the recipient's account would be monitored for potential suspicious activity.

This bill would also provide for the suspension of cash payments under the TANF program when a recipient fails to cooperate with an ongoing fraud investigation and would require the department to maintain sufficient fraud investigative staff.

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT

Relating to public assistance; to limit the resource limit standard for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to the federal asset limit; to preclude the department from seeking, applying for, accepting, or renewing any waiver of work requirements for SNAP benefits; to preclude the department from granting categorical eligibility for SNAP benefits; to further provide for sanctions for violations of SNAP requirements; to require the Department of Human Resources to terminate SNAP benefits upon a recipient's failure to comply with certain child support obligations; to provide a lifetime limit of 36 months for temporary cash payments under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program (TANF); to provide full sanctions for violations of TANF requirements; to require the department to utilize best efforts to identify purchases using TANF benefits at points of sale outside this state; to require the department to establish a benchmark number of out-of-state transactions using TANF benefits that will automatically generate review of the recipient's residency status; to require review of frequent, large, even-dollar purchases using EBT cards; to require review of multiple requests for replacement EBT cards and investigation for suspicious activity under certain conditions; to provide for the suspension of cash payments under TANF when a recipient fails to comply with a fraud investigation; to require the department to maintain sufficient fraud investigative staff; and to provide rulemaking authority.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:

Section 1. (a) Unless expressly required by federal law, the resource limit standards of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) may not exceed the standards specified in 7 U.S.C. § 2014(g)(1).

(b) Unless expressly required by federal law, categorical eligibility exempting households from the required resource limits provided in subsection (a) may not be granted for any non-cash, in-kind, or other benefit.

Section 2. Unless expressly required by federal law, the Department of Human Resources may not do either of the following:

(1) Seek, apply for, accept, or renew any waiver of work requirements for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits established under 7 U.S.C. § 2015(o).

(2) Grant categorical eligibility under 7 U.S.C. § 2014(a) or 7 C.F.R § 273.2(j)(2)(iii) for any non-cash, in-kind, or other Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit.

Section 3. Unless expressly prohibited by federal law, the Department of Human Resources shall do all of the following with regard to benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP):

(1)a. Set the following disqualification periods for all instances of noncompliance with any SNAP requirement:

1. Institute a three-month disqualification period for the first instance of noncompliance with any SNAP requirement.

2. Institute a six-month disqualification period for the second instance of noncompliance with any SNAP requirement.

3. Institute a one-year disqualification period for the third or subsequent instance of noncompliance with any SNAP requirement.

b. In its discretion, and upon consideration of the specific facts relating to the instance of noncompliance, the department may institute a full-household disqualification for the periods provided in paragraph a. for a second, third, or subsequent instance of noncompliance.

c. In its discretion, and upon consideration of the specific facts relating to the instance of noncompliance, a caseworker, with approval from a supervisor, may determine that a first instance of noncompliance by a recipient was not intentional and is not subject to the disqualification period provided in subparagraph a.1. Upon a determination that a first instance of noncompliance was not intentional as provided in this paragraph, the next instance of noncompliance by the recipient shall be considered a first instance of noncompliance for disqualification purposes under paragraph a.

(2) Unless expressly prohibited by federal law, recipients of benefits under SNAP shall be subject to disqualification for failure to perform actions required by other federal, state, or local means-tested public assistance programs.

Section 4. (a) Unless expressly prohibited by federal law, the Department of Human Resources shall terminate benefits for any recipient of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits upon a determination that the recipient has failed to cooperate with child support enforcement requirements or the Child Support Enforcement Division of the department without good cause, or is delinquent on any court-ordered support payments, including arrears.

(b) The period of disqualification for recipients terminated under subsection (a) shall end once the Child Support Enforcement Division of the department determines that the individual is cooperating with child support requirements and is no longer delinquent on any court-ordered child support payments, including arrears.

Section 5. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b) and beginning on the effective date of this act, the lifetime limit temporary cash payments under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program (TANF) shall be 36 months.

(b) The lifetime limit in subsection (a) does not apply to the exceptions set forth in 42 U.S.C. § 608(a)(7).

Section 6. (a) The Department of Human Resources shall only grant benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program (TANF) when an approved applicant has signed a written agreement clearly enumerating continued eligibility requirements, circumstances in which sanctions may be imposed, and any potential penalties for noncompliance.

(b) The department shall do all of the following:

(1) Require all enrollees to be compliant with all program requirements, including work requirements, before granting benefits.

(2) Unless expressly prohibited by federal law, require a three-month sanction for the first instance of noncompliance with any TANF requirement.

(3) Unless expressly prohibited by federal law, terminate benefits for the second instance of noncompliance with any TANF requirement.

(4) Deny benefits to any adult member of a household where another adult member of the household has been found to have committed public assistance fraud under TANF or any other public assistance program administered by the department.

(c) An individual sanctioned under subsection (b) may not have benefits reinstated without reviewing the agreement required under subsection (a).

Section 7. The Department of Human Resources shall do all of the following:

(1) Utilize best efforts to identify purchases using cash benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program (TANF) at points of sale outside this state.

(2) Establish a benchmark number of out-of-state transactions using TANF benefits that will generate automatic review of the recipient's residency status by the department.

(3) Use best efforts to identify frequent or large even-dollar purchases by recipients using EBT cards and establish a benchmark that will generate automatic review of the recipient's use of the cash benefits under TANF to identify fraudulent use of benefits.

(4) Monitor all requests for replacement electronic benefits transfer cards (EBT) and, upon the fourth request in a 12-month period, send a notice alerting the recipient that the recipient's account is being monitored for suspicious activity. If a recipient makes an additional request for replacement EBT cards subsequent to the notice required in this subdivision, the department shall automatically review the recipient's use of the card to identify fraudulent purchases or use.

(5) Adopt rules relating to cash benefits under TANF to provide that any individual who has failed to cooperate with a fraud investigation is ineligible to participate in the TANF program until the department determines that the person is reasonably cooperating with the fraud investigation.

(6) Maintain a sufficient level of fraud investigative staff to enable the department to conduct fraud investigations in a timely manner and in full compliance with state law and rules of the department.

Section 8. The Department of Human Resources may adopt rules for the implementation and administration of this act.

Section 9. This act shall become effective on the first day of the third month following its passage and approval by the Governor, or its otherwise becoming law.

Public Assistance

Human Resources Department

Fraud

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)

Food Stamps