HBA-SEP S.B. 42 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 42
By: Zaffirini
Human Services
4/23/2001
Engrossed



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

A recipient of financial assistance is required to sign a personal
responsibility agreement and may be sanctioned for not complying with the
agreement.  Imposition of a sanction for not complying with family related
requirements may suggest that a caretaker of a child is facing some root
problem that contributes to the noncompliance.  Senate Bill 42 directs the
Department of Human Services to identify and address the needs of
recipients of financial assistance before imposing a penalty or sanction
for not meeting certain requirements.  

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 31.00331, Human Resources Code) and SECTION 3
(Section 31.011, Human Resources Code) of this bill.   

ANALYSIS

Senate Bill 42 amends the Human Resources Code to require the Texas
Department of Human Services (DHS), before applying a sanction or penalty
to a recipient of financial assistance for noncompliance with certain
requirements of the responsibility agreement, to conduct a case review to
determine the reasons for the noncompliance and whether the provisions of
local support services will enable the person to comply with that
requirement or prevent future noncompliance.  If DHS determines that local
support services are necessary, DHS is required to promptly refer the
person to appropriate support services.  DHS, by rule, is required to adopt
criteria for determining when to apply a sanction or penalty to a person
for whom DHS conducts a case review.  DHS is also required to develop and
implement no later than January 1, 2002 a needs assessment program to
identify the needs of dependant children of recipients of financial
assistance that, if addressed, would promote the welfare of the children.
After identifying the needs of a dependent child, DHS is required to adopt
criteria for determining when a needs assessment should be conducted.  
EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.