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1 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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2 1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025)
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3 SENATE BILL 113 By: Dossett
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6 AS INTRODUCED
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7 An Act relating to the Temporary Assistance for Needy
7 Families (TANF) program; amending 56 O.S. 2021,
8 Section 230.52, as last amended by Section 116,
8 Chapter 452, O.S.L. 2024 (56 O.S. Supp. 2024, Section
9 230.52), which relates to minimum requirements;
9 modifying and adding resources exempt from resource
10 determination criteria; updating statutory language;
10 providing an effective date; and declaring an
11 emergency.
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14 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
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15 SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 56 O.S. 2021, Section 230.52, as
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16 last amended by Section 116, Chapter 452, O.S.L. 2024 (56 O.S. Supp.
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17 2024, Section 230.52), is amended to read as follows:
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18 Section 230.52. A. Except for specific exceptions, conditions
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19 or restrictions authorized by the Statewide Temporary Assistance
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20 Responsibility System (STARS) and rules promulgated by the
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21 Commission for Director of Human Services pursuant thereto, the
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22 following are the minimum mandatory requirements for the Temporary
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23 Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program:
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Req. No. 724 Page 1
1 1. A recipient shall be eligible to receive assistance pursuant
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2 to the TANF program only for a lifetime total of five (5) years,
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3 subject to the exemptions allowed by federal law. Child-only cases
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4 are not subject to the five-year limitation;
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5 2. Single parents receiving temporary assistance pursuant to
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6 the TANF program shall participate in work activities for a minimum
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7 of twenty (20) hours per week during the month. Two-parent families
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8 receiving temporary assistance pursuant to the TANF program shall
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9 participate in work activities for a minimum of thirty-five (35)
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10 hours per week during the month;
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11 3. A recipient must be engaged in one or more of the work
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12 activities set out in paragraph 4 of this subsection as soon as
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13 required by the Department of Human Services pursuant to the TANF
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14 program, but not later than twenty-four (24) months after
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15 certification of the application for assistance, unless the person
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16 is exempt from work requirements under rules promulgated by the
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17 Department Director pursuant to the STARS;
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18 4. The Department shall develop and describe categories of
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19 approved work activities for the TANF program recipients in
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20 accordance with this paragraph. Work activities that qualify in
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21 meeting the requirements include, but are not limited to:
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22 a. (1) unsubsidized employment which is full-time
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23 employment or part-time employment that is not
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24 directly supplemented by federal or state funds,
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Req. No. 724 Page 2
1 (2) subsidized private sector employment which is
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2 employment in a private for-profit enterprise or
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3 a private not-for-profit enterprise that is
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4 directly supplemented by federal or state funds.
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5 Prior to receiving any subsidy or incentive, the
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6 employer shall enter into a written contract with
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7 the Department, and
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8 (3) subsidized public sector employment which is
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9 employment by an agency of a federal, state, or
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10 local governmental entity which is directly
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11 supplemented by federal or state funds. Prior to
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12 receiving any subsidy or incentive, the employer
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13 shall enter into a written contract with the
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14 Department.
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15 Subsidized hourly employment or unsubsidized hourly
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16 employment pursuant to this subparagraph shall only be
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17 approved by the Department as work activity if such
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18 employment is subject to:
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19 (a) the federal minimum wage requirements
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20 pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act of
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21 1938, as amended,
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22 (b) the federal Social Security tax and Medicare
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23 tax, and
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1 (c) regulations promulgated pursuant to the
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2 federal Occupational Safety and Health Act
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3 of 1970 and rules promulgated by the State
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4 Department of Labor pursuant thereto,
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5 b. a program of work experience,
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6 c. on-the-job training,
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7 d. assisted job search which may include supervised or
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8 unsupervised job-seeking activities,
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9 e. job readiness assistance which may include, but is not
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10 limited to:
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11 (1) orientation in the work environment and basic
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12 job-seeking and job retention skills,
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13 (2) instruction in completing an application for
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14 employment and writing a resume,
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15 (3) instruction in conducting oneself during a job
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16 interview, including appropriate dress, and
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17 (4) substance abuse treatment and mental health
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18 counseling,
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19 f. job skills training which is directly related to
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20 employment in a specific occupation for which there is
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21 a written commitment by an employer to offer
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22 employment to a recipient who successfully completes
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23 the training. Job skills training includes, but is
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24 not limited to, customized training designed to meet
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Req. No. 724 Page 4
1 the needs of a specific employer or a specific
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2 industry,
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3 g. community service programs which are job-training
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4 activities provided in areas where sufficient public
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5 or private sector employment is not available. Such
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6 activities are linked to both education or training
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7 and activities that substantially enhance a
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8 recipient's employability,
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9 h. literacy and adult basic education programs,
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10 i. vocational-educational programs, not to exceed twelve
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11 (12) months for any individual, which are directed
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12 toward vocational-educational training and education
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13 directly related to employment,
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14 j. education programs which are directly related to
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15 specific employment opportunities, if a recipient has
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16 not received a high school diploma or General
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17 Equivalency Degree General Educational Development
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18 certificate, and
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19 k. child care for other STARS recipients. The recipient
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20 must meet training and licensing requirements for
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21 child care providers as required by the Oklahoma Child
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22 Care Facilities Licensing Act;
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1 5. Single, custodial parents with a child up to one (1) year of
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2 age may be exempt from work activities for a lifetime total
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3 exemption of twelve (12) months;
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4 6. In order to receive assistance, unmarried teen parents of a
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5 minor child at least twelve (12) weeks of age must participate in
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6 educational activities or work activities approved by the state;
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7 7. For single-parent families, except for teen parents,
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8 educational activities, other than vocational-technical training, do
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9 not count toward meeting the required twenty (20) hours of work
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10 activity. For two-parent families, educational activities, except
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11 vocational-technical training, do not count toward meeting the
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12 required thirty-five (35) hours of work activity;
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13 8. A teen parent must live at home or in an approved, adult-
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14 supervised setting as specified in Section 230.55 of this title to
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15 receive TANF assistance;
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16 9. An applicant or recipient with an unborn child and who does
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17 not have children living in the home qualifies for TANF to the same
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18 extent as a parent with minor children living in the home;
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19 10. A recipient must comply with immunization requirements
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20 established pursuant to the TANF program;
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21 11. The following recipient resources are exempt from resource
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22 determination criteria:
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1 a. an automobile with an equity allowance of not more
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2 than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) pursuant to
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3 Section 230.53 of this title,
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4 b. individual development accounts established pursuant
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5 to the Family Savings Initiative Act, or individual
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6 development accounts established prior to November 1,
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7 1998, pursuant to the provisions of Section 230.54 of
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8 this title in an amount not to exceed Two Thousand
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9 Dollars ($2,000.00),
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10 c. the equity value of funeral arrangements owned by a
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11 recipient that does not exceed the limitation
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12 specified by Section 165 of this title, and
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13 d. monthly child support payments not to exceed One
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14 Hundred Dollars ($100.00) per month for one child or
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15 Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) per month for two or
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16 more children, and
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17 e. earned income disregards not to exceed One Hundred
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18 Twenty Dollars ($120.00) and one-half (1/2) seventy-
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19 five percent (75%) of the remainder of the earned
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20 income;
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21 12. An applicant who applies and is otherwise eligible to
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22 receive TANF benefits but who has resided in this state less than
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23 twelve (12) months shall be subject to Section 230.57 of this title;
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1 13. The recipient shall enter into a personal responsibility
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2 agreement with the Department for receipt of assistance pursuant to
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3 Section 230.65 of this title;
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4 14. The Department shall, beginning November 1, 2023, screen
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5 all adult TANF recipients as part of the required TANF employability
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6 plan to determine if they are engaged in the illegal use of a
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7 controlled substance or substances. If the Department has made a
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8 determination that the recipient is engaged in the illegal use of a
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9 controlled substance or substances, the recipient's TANF
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10 employability plan will include substance abuse treatment and/or
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11 mental health counseling as a part of the assigned work activities
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12 as set out in paragraph 4 of this subsection. The Department of
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13 Human Services Director shall adopt rules to implement the
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14 requirements of this paragraph consistent with the following:
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15 a. the Department shall create a controlled substance
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16 screening process to be administered during the
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17 assessment process that determines the TANF
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18 employability plan. The process shall, at a minimum,
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19 include a Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory
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20 (SASSI) or other similar screening methods. If
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21 necessary to establish a reasonable expectation of
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22 certainty, the Department is authorized to use further
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23 screening methods, which may include, but are not
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24 limited to, a clinical interview and consideration of
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Req. No. 724 Page 8
1 the Department's history with the applicant. If the
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2 Department has reasonable cause to believe that the
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3 recipient is engaged in the illegal use of a
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4 controlled substance or substances, the Department is
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5 authorized, though not required, to request
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6 administration of a chemical drug test. The cost of
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7 all such initial screenings shall not be borne by the
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8 recipient,
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9 b. if at any time during the controlled substance
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10 screening process, the recipient refuses to
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11 participate without good cause, that refusal shall
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12 lead to a closure of TANF benefits;
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13 15. a. As a condition of participating in the STARS, all
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14 recipients are deemed to have given authorization for
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15 the release of any and all information necessary to
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16 allow all state and federal agencies to meet the
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17 program needs of the recipient.
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18 b. The recipient shall be provided a release form to sign
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19 in order to obtain the required information. Failure
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20 to sign the release form may result in case closure;
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21 and
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22 16. The recipient shall comply with all other conditions and
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23 requirements of the STARS, and rules of the Commission Director
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24 promulgated pursuant thereto.
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1 B. 1. Agencies of this state involved in providing services to
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2 recipients pursuant to the STARS shall exchange information as
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3 necessary for each agency to accomplish objectives and fulfill
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4 obligations created or imposed by the STARS and rules promulgated
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5 pursuant thereto.
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6 2. Information received pursuant to the STARS shall be
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7 maintained by the applicable agency and, except as otherwise
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8 provided by this subsection, shall be disclosed only in accordance
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9 with any confidentiality provisions applicable to the agency
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10 originating the information.
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11 3. The various agencies of the state shall execute operating
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12 agreements to facilitate information exchanges pursuant to the
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13 STARS.
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14 C. In implementing the TANF program, the Department shall:
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15 1. Provide assistance to aliens pursuant to Section 230.73 of
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16 this title;
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17 2. Provide for the closure of the TANF case when the adult
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18 recipient refuses to cooperate with agreed upon work activities or
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19 other case requirements pursuant to the TANF program;
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20 3. Provide for the sanctioning of parents who do not require
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21 their minor children to attend school; and
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22 4. Deny temporary assistance to fugitive felons.
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23 D. In order to ensure that the needy citizens of this state are
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24 receiving necessary benefits, the Department shall maintain a
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1 listing of all recipients receiving public assistance. The listing
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2 shall reflect each recipient's income, social security Social
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3 Security number, and the programs in which the recipient is
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4 participating including, but not limited to, TANF, food stamps,
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5 child care, and medical assistance.
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6 E. The Department is hereby authorized to establish a grant
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7 diversion program and emergency assistance services.
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8 SECTION 2. This act shall become effective July 1, 2025.
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9 SECTION 3. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
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10 of the public peace, health or safety, an emergency is hereby
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11 declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and
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12 be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
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Req. No. 724 Page 11Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.