HBA-NRS H.B. 475 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 475
By: Naishtat
Human Services
2/16/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Current law specifies that if a food stamp recipient owns a motor vehicle
valued at more than $5,000, the value of that vehicle over $5,000 is
counted against the maximum allowable resources under the Food Stamp
Program. This vehicle resource limit leaves many families and their
children ineligible to receive nutritional assistance. With welfare reform
work requirements, recipients need reliable transportation, and since many
recipients enter the workforce in minimum wage positions, they still need
food stamp assistance to help feed their families. House Bill 475 increases
the vehicle resource limit when determining eligibility for financial
assistance and service programs and directs the Texas Department of Human
Services to use the financial assistance program motor vehicle allowance
standards when determining whether a person is eligible for food stamps. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking
authority is expressly delegated to the Texas Department of Human Services
in SECTION 2 (Section 31.0061, Human Resources Code) of this bill. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 475 amends the Human Resources Code to require the Texas
Department of Human Services (department) to develop and implement services
or programs that are related to, and will be provided to eligible
recipients under the financial assistance program. The bill requires the
department, by rule, to define the related services or programs to be
provided and to prescribe eligibility criteria for the related services or
programs.  

In determining whether an applicant is eligible for assistance, the bill
requires the department to exclude from the applicant's available resources
the entire fair market value of the applicant's ownership interest in one
motor vehicle and the fair market value of the applicant's ownership
interest in any other motor vehicle, but not more than $5,000 per motor
vehicle plus or minus a specified amount to be determined annually. 

The bill requires the department to apply the motor vehicle allowance
standards used by the department in the financial assistance program
instead of the federal food stamp motor vehicle allowance standards for
purposes of determining whether a person meets resource requirements for
eligibility for food stamps. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.