Z‑0468.1   _____________________________________________

 

HOUSE BILL 1356

 

           _____________________________________________

 

State of Washington      57th Legislature     2001 Regular Session

 

By Representatives Tokuda and Boldt; by request of Governor Locke

 

Read first time 01/24/2001.  Referred to Committee on Children & Family Services.

_1      AN ACT Relating to the simplification of public assistance

_2  asset tests; and amending RCW 74.04.005 and 74.13.0903.

     

_3  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

     

_4      Sec. 1.  RCW 74.04.005 and 2000 c 218 s 1 are each amended to read

_5  as follows:

_6      For the purposes of this title, unless the context indicates

_7  otherwise, the following definitions shall apply:

_8      (1) "Public assistance" or "assistance"‑-Public aid to persons

_9  in need thereof for any cause, including services, medical care,

10  assistance grants, disbursing orders, work relief, general

11  assistance and federal-aid assistance.

12      (2) "Department"‑-The department of social and health services.

13      (3) "County or local office"‑-The administrative office for one

14  or more counties or designated service areas.

15      (4) "Director" or "secretary" means the secretary of social and

16  health services.

17      (5) "Federal-aid assistance"‑-The specific categories of

18  assistance for which provision is made in any federal law existing

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_1  or hereafter passed by which payments are made from the federal

_2  government to the state in aid or in respect to payment by the

_3  state for public assistance rendered to any category of needy

_4  persons for which provision for federal funds or aid may from time

_5  to time be made, or a federally administered needs-based program.

_6      (6)(a) "General assistance"‑-Aid to persons in need who:

_7      (i) Are not eligible to receive federal-aid assistance, other

_8  than food stamps or food stamp benefits transferred electronically

_9  and medical assistance; however, an individual who refuses or

10  fails to cooperate in obtaining federal-aid assistance, without

11  good cause, is not eligible for general assistance;

12      (ii) Meet one of the following conditions:

13      (A) Pregnant:  PROVIDED, That need is based on the current

14  income and resource requirements of the federal temporary

15  assistance for needy families program; or

16      (B) Subject to chapter 165, Laws of 1992, incapacitated from

17  gainful employment by reason of bodily or mental infirmity that

18  will likely continue for a minimum of ninety days as determined by

19  the department.

20      (C) Persons who are unemployable due to alcohol or drug

21  addiction are not eligible for general assistance.  Persons

22  receiving general assistance on July 26, 1987, or becoming

23  eligible for such assistance thereafter, due to an alcohol or drug-

24    related incapacity, shall be referred to appropriate assessment,

25  treatment, shelter, or supplemental security income referral

26  services as authorized under chapter 74.50 RCW.  Referrals shall be

27  made at the time of application or at the time of eligibility

28  review.  Alcoholic and drug addicted clients who are receiving

29  general assistance on July 26, 1987, may remain on general

30  assistance if they otherwise retain their eligibility until they

31  are assessed for services under chapter 74.50 RCW.  Subsection

32  (6)(a)(ii)(B) of this section shall not be construed to prohibit

33  the department from granting general assistance benefits to

34  alcoholics and drug addicts who are incapacitated due to other

35  physical or mental conditions that meet the eligibility criteria

36  for the general assistance program;

37      (iii) Are citizens or aliens lawfully admitted for permanent

38  residence or otherwise residing in the United States under color

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_1  of law; and

_2      (iv) Have furnished the department their social security

_3  account number.  If the social security account number cannot be

_4  furnished because it has not been issued or is not known, an

_5  application for a number shall be made prior to authorization of

_6  assistance, and the social security number shall be provided to

_7  the department upon receipt.

_8      (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (6)(a)(i),

_9  (ii), and (c) of this section, general assistance shall be

10  provided to the following recipients of federal-aid assistance:

11      (i) Recipients of supplemental security income whose need, as

12  defined in this section, is not met by such supplemental security

13  income grant because of separation from a spouse; or

14      (ii) To the extent authorized by the legislature in the

15  biennial appropriations act, to recipients of temporary assistance

16  for needy families whose needs are not being met because of a

17  temporary reduction in monthly income below the entitled benefit

18  payment level caused by loss or reduction of wages or unemployment

19  compensation benefits or some other unforeseen circumstances.  The

20  amount of general assistance authorized shall not exceed the

21  difference between the entitled benefit payment level and the

22  amount of income actually received.

23      (c) General assistance shall be provided only to persons who

24  are not members of assistance units receiving federal aid

25  assistance, except as provided in subsection (6)(a)(ii)(A) and (b)

26  of this section, and will accept available services which can

27  reasonably be expected to enable the person to work or reduce the

28  need for assistance unless there is good cause to refuse.  Failure

29  to accept such services shall result in termination until the

30  person agrees to cooperate in accepting such services and subject

31  to the following maximum periods of ineligibility after

32  reapplication:

33      (i) First failure:  One week;

34      (ii) Second failure within six months:  One month;

35      (iii) Third and subsequent failure within one year:  Two

36  months.

37      (d) Persons found eligible for general assistance based on

38  incapacity from gainful employment may, if otherwise eligible,

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_1  receive general assistance pending application for federal

_2  supplemental security income benefits.  Any general assistance that

_3  is subsequently duplicated by the person's receipt of supplemental

_4  security income for the same period shall be considered a debt due

_5  the state and shall by operation of law be subject to recovery

_6  through all available legal remedies.

_7      (e) The department shall adopt by rule medical criteria for

_8  general assistance eligibility to ensure that eligibility

_9  decisions are consistent with statutory requirements and are based

10  on clear, objective medical information.

11      (f) The process implementing the medical criteria shall involve

12  consideration of opinions of the treating or consulting physicians

13  or health care professionals regarding incapacity, and any

14  eligibility decision which rejects uncontroverted medical opinion

15  must set forth clear and convincing reasons for doing so.

16      (g) Recipients of general assistance based upon a finding of

17  incapacity from gainful employment who remain otherwise eligible

18  shall not have their benefits terminated absent a clear showing of

19  material improvement in their medical or mental condition or

20  specific error in the prior determination that found the recipient

21  eligible by reason of incapacitation.  Recipients of general

22  assistance based upon pregnancy who relinquish their child for

23  adoption, remain otherwise eligible, and are not eligible to

24  receive benefits under the federal temporary assistance for needy

25  families program shall not have their benefits terminated until

26  the end of the month in which the period of six weeks following

27  the birth of the recipient's child falls.  Recipients of the federal

28  temporary assistance for needy families program who lose their

29  eligibility solely because of the birth and relinquishment of the

30  qualifying child may receive general assistance through the end of

31  the month in which the period of six weeks following the birth of

32  the child falls.

33      (h) No person may be considered an eligible individual for

34  general assistance with respect to any month if during that month

35  the person:

36      (i) Is fleeing to avoid prosecution of, or to avoid custody or

37  confinement for conviction of, a felony, or an attempt to commit a

38  felony, under the laws of the state of Washington or the place

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_1  from which the person flees; or

_2      (ii) Is violating a condition of probation, community

_3  supervision, or parole imposed under federal or state law for a

_4  felony or gross misdemeanor conviction.

_5      (7) "Applicant"‑-Any person who has made a request, or on

_6  behalf of whom a request has been made, to any county or local

_7  office for assistance.

_8      (8) "Recipient"‑-Any person receiving assistance and in

_9  addition those dependents whose needs are included in the

10  recipient's assistance.

11      (9) "Standards of assistance"‑-The level of income required by

12  an applicant or recipient to maintain a level of living specified

13  by the department.

14      (10) "Resource"‑-Any cash or other asset((, tangible or

15  intangible,)) readily convertible to cash owned by or available to

16  the applicant ((at the time of application)), which can be applied

17  toward meeting the applicant's need((, either directly or by

18  conversion into money or its equivalent)).  The department ((may))

19  shall by rule designate maximum resources that an applicant may

20  retain and ((not)) be ((ineligible)) eligible for public

21  assistance ((because of such resources. Exempt resources shall

22  include, but are not limited to:

23      (a) A home that an applicant, recipient, or their dependents is

24  living in, including the surrounding property;

25      (b) Household furnishings and personal effects;

26      (c) A motor vehicle, other than a motor home, used and useful

27  having an equity value not to exceed five thousand dollars;

28      (d) A motor vehicle necessary to transport a physically

29  disabled household member.  This exclusion is limited to one vehicle

30  per physically disabled person;

31      (e) All other resources, including any excess of values

32  exempted, not to exceed one thousand dollars or other limit as set

33  by the department, to be consistent with limitations on resources

34  and exemptions necessary for federal aid assistance.  The department

35  shall also allow recipients of temporary assistance for needy

36  families to exempt savings accounts with combined balances of up

37  to an additional three thousand dollars;

38      (f) Applicants for or recipients of general assistance shall

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_1  have their eligibility based on resource limitations consistent

_2  with the temporary assistance for needy families program rules

_3  adopted by the department; and

_4      (g) If an applicant for or recipient of public assistance

_5  possesses property and belongings in excess of the ceiling value,

_6  such value shall be used in determining the need of the applicant

_7  or recipient, except that:  (i) The department may exempt

_8  resources or income when the income and resources are determined

_9  necessary to the applicant's or recipient's restoration to

10  independence, to decrease the need for public assistance, or to

11  aid in rehabilitating the applicant or recipient or a dependent of

12  the applicant or recipient; and (ii) the department may provide

13  grant assistance for a period not to exceed nine months from the

14  date the agreement is signed pursuant to this section to persons

15  who are otherwise ineligible because of excess real property owned

16  by such persons when they are making a good faith effort to

17  dispose of that property:  PROVIDED, That:

18      (A) The applicant or recipient signs an agreement to repay the

19  lesser of the amount of aid received or the net proceeds of such

20  sale;

21      (B) If the owner of the excess property ceases to make good

22  faith efforts to sell the property, the entire amount of

23  assistance may become an overpayment and a debt due the state and

24  may be recovered pursuant to RCW 43.20B.630;

25      (C) Applicants and recipients are advised of their right to a

26  fair hearing and afforded the opportunity to challenge a decision

27  that good faith efforts to sell have ceased, prior to assessment

28  of an overpayment under this section; and

29      (D) At the time assistance is authorized, the department files

30  a lien without a sum certain on the specific property)).

31      (11) "Income"‑-(a) All appreciable gains in real or personal

32  property (((cash or kind))) or other assets, which are received by

33  or become available for use and enjoyment by an applicant or

34  recipient during the month of application or after applying for or

35  receiving public assistance.  The department may by rule ((and

36  regulation)) exempt income received by an applicant for or

37  recipient of public assistance which can be used by him or her to

38  decrease his or her need for public assistance or to aid in

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_1  rehabilitating him or her or his or her dependents((, but such

_2  exemption shall not, unless otherwise provided in this title,

_3  exceed the exemptions of resources granted under this chapter to

_4  an applicant for public assistance)).  In addition, for cash

_5  assistance the department may disregard income pursuant to RCW

_6  74.08A.230 and 74.12.350.

_7      (b) If, under applicable federal requirements, the state has

_8  the option of considering property in the form of lump sum

_9  compensatory awards or related settlements received by an

10  applicant or recipient as income or as a resource, the department

11  shall consider such property to be a resource.

12      (12) "Need"‑-The difference between the applicant's or

13  recipient's standards of assistance for himself or herself and the

14  dependent members of his or her family, as measured by the

15  standards of the department, and value of all nonexempt resources

16  and nonexempt income received by or available to the applicant or

17  recipient and the dependent members of his or her family.

18      (13) For purposes of determining eligibility for public

19  assistance and participation levels in the cost of medical care,

20  the department shall exempt restitution payments made to people of

21  Japanese and Aleut ancestry pursuant to the Civil Liberties Act of

22  1988 and the Aleutian and Pribilof Island Restitution Act passed

23  by congress, P.L. 100‑383, including all income and resources

24  derived therefrom.

25      (14) In the construction of words and phrases used in this

26  title, the singular number shall include the plural, the masculine

27  gender shall include both the feminine and neuter genders and the

28  present tense shall include the past and future tenses, unless the

29  context thereof shall clearly indicate to the contrary.

     

30      Sec. 2.  RCW 74.13.0903 and 1997 c 58 s 404 are each amended to

31  read as follows:

32      The office of child care policy is established to operate under

33  the authority of the department of social and health services. The

34  duties and responsibilities of the office include, but are not

35  limited to, the following, within appropriated funds:

36      (1) Staff and assist the child care coordinating committee in

37  the implementation of its duties under RCW 74.13.090;

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_1      (2) Work in conjunction with the statewide child care resource

_2  and referral network as well as local governments, nonprofit

_3  organizations, businesses, and community child care advocates to

_4  create local child care resource and referral organizations. These

_5  organizations may carry out needs assessments, resource

_6  development, provider training, technical assistance, and parent

_7  information and training;

_8      (3) Actively seek public and private money for distribution as

_9  grants to the statewide child care resource and referral network

10  and to existing or potential local child care resource and

11  referral organizations;

12      (4) Adopt rules regarding the application for and distribution

13  of grants to local child care resource and referral

14  organizations.  The rules shall, at a minimum, require an applicant

15  to submit a plan for achieving the following objectives:

16      (a) Provide parents with information about child care

17  resources, including location of services and subsidies;

18      (b) Carry out child care provider recruitment and training

19  programs, including training under RCW 74.25.040;

20      (c) Offer support services, such as parent and provider

21  seminars, toy-lending libraries, and substitute banks;

22      (d) Provide information for businesses regarding child care

23  supply and demand;

24      (e) Advocate for increased public and private sector resources

25  devoted to child care;

26      (f) Provide technical assistance to employers regarding

27  employee child care services; and

28      (g) Serve recipients of temporary assistance for needy families

29  and low-income working parents ((with incomes at or below

30  household incomes of one hundred seventy-five percent of the

31  federal poverty line));

32      (5) Provide staff support and technical assistance to the

33  statewide child care resource and referral network and local child

34  care resource and referral organizations;

35      (6) Maintain a statewide child care licensing data bank and

36  work with department of social and health services licensors to

37  provide information to local child care resource and referral

38  organizations about licensed child care providers in the state;

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_1      (7) Through the statewide child care resource and referral

_2  network and local resource and referral organizations, compile

_3  data about local child care needs and availability for future

_4  planning and development;

_5      (8) Coordinate with the statewide child care resource and

_6  referral network and local child care resource and referral

_7  organizations for the provision of training and technical

_8  assistance to child care providers; and

_9      (9) Collect and assemble information regarding the availability

10  of insurance and of federal and other child care funding to assist

11  state and local agencies, businesses, and other child care

12  providers in offering child care services.

 

‑‑‑ END ‑‑‑

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