S‑0526.1 _____________________________________________
SENATE BILL 5031
_____________________________________________
State of Washington 57th Legislature 2001 Regular Session
By Senator Franklin
Read first time 01/08/2001. Referred to Committee on Human Services & Corrections.
_1 AN ACT Relating to transportation for recipients of temporary
_2 assistance for needy families; adding a new section to chapter
_3 74.08A RCW; creating new sections; and declaring an emergency.
_4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
_5 NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that families
_6 receiving temporary assistance for needy families face many
_7 barriers to economic success. According to recent studies, lack
_8 of reliable transportation to work and to school and child care
_9 sites is one of the primary barriers to consistent
10 employment. Families without reliable transportation are faced with
11 the struggle to get children to school and child care sites, and
12 parents to work, in situations where public transportation is
13 lacking or impractical. Families that own cars are sometimes unable
14 to pay for adequate maintenance. The result can be losing a job
15 because of poor attendance, another setback in a life of struggle.
16 Unlike some of the other, less tangible, primary barriers to
17 employment such as mental health conditions or alcohol or
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_1 substance abuse problems, the lack of a reliable means of
_2 transportation can be solved in some cases, by providing the
_3 family with access to its own vehicle.
_4 The legislature finds that other states have created programs
_5 called "wheels to work," to provide qualifying adults receiving
_6 temporary assistance for needy families with a method of acquiring
_7 a vehicle in order to stabilize their employment. These programs
_8 have met with some success.
_9 The legislature intends that Washington establish a wheels to
10 work program, as a public-private partnership, to provide
11 qualified families on temporary assistance for needy families with
12 the ability to own a vehicle. The legislature intends to study the
13 costs and benefits of the wheels to work program.
14 NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 74.08A
15 RCW to read as follows:
16 (1) The wheels to work program is established in the
17 department. The program will accept donated vehicles and provide
18 them to qualified adults receiving temporary assistance for needy
19 families. For the first year of the program, the department shall
20 contract with a private nonprofit entity to operate the program in
21 three locations, one in Pierce county, one in Yakima county, and
22 one in Spokane county. The program shall be expanded statewide one
23 year after implementation.
24 (2) The entity under contract with the department shall
25 determine the acceptability of donated vehicles, based upon the
26 needs of the program and the budget constraints of the entity. The
27 entity shall only accept driveable vehicles, and shall not accept
28 vehicles for parts or scrap, but may accept charitable donations
29 of funds to use in the repair or maintenance of the donated
30 vehicles. The entity shall assume title on acceptance of the
31 donated vehicle, and shall provide a receipt for tax purposes to
32 the vehicle donor.
33 (3) In addition to obtaining donated vehicles for the wheels to
34 work program, the department may, at its election, choose to make
35 interagency arrangements with state and local government motor
36 pools in order to acquire government surplus vehicles for use in
37 the program. The department may also purchase vehicles from the
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_1 commercial market for use in the program, if the vehicles meet
_2 recipient asset and resource considerations and are inspected and
_3 certified by an independent mechanic before their use by
_4 recipients.
_5 (4) Upon donation of a vehicle and transfer of title, the donor
_6 is not liable for any damage, repair, emissions compliance,
_7 vehicle insurance, or determination of vehicle safety.
_8 (5) Donated vehicles shall be available for a six-month lease
_9 for thirty dollars per month to qualified adult recipients of
10 temporary assistance for needy families who have a verifiable job
11 for which the vehicle is essential transportation. Qualified
12 recipients must possess a valid Washington driver's license and be
13 insurable. The department shall certify to the entity that the
14 applicant for a vehicle is a qualified recipient. For the first six
15 months of the lease term, the department shall cover the cost of
16 the recipient's car insurance premium. At the end of six months,
17 the qualified recipient shall provide insurance for the vehicle,
18 and continue paying thirty dollars per month for an additional six-
19 month lease term. During the twelve months of the total lease term,
20 the entity shall provide all necessary repairs to the vehicle and
21 ensure emissions compliance, except that the recipient shall be
22 responsible for normal vehicle maintenance. At the end of the
23 twelve-month lease term, title to the vehicle shall be transferred
24 to the recipient.
25 (6) If the recipient leaves employment without good cause, the
26 recipient has thirty days to find new employment or the vehicle
27 shall be returned to the entity and the lease canceled.
28 (7) If the recipient leasing the vehicle is convicted of any
29 felony in violation of Title 9 or 9A RCW, including driving under
30 the influence of alcohol or drugs, after the inception of the
31 lease, the leased vehicle shall be returned to the entity and the
32 lease canceled.
33 NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The department of social and health
34 services shall contract with the Washington state institute for
35 public policy to perform a study of the wheels for work program,
36 including at the minimum a cost-benefit analysis, and an
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_1 evaluation of the extent to which access to a personal vehicle
_2 enabled the family on assistance to progress toward economic
_3 independence.
_4 The institute for public policy shall, as part of the pilot
_5 project design, develop protocols for selection from the pool of
_6 WorkFirst clients eligible for wheels to work transportation
_7 assistance, in order to assure random assignment of clients and
_8 enable clear identification of the costs and benefits attributable
_9 to the pilot program.
10 The institute for public policy shall report to the legislature
11 one year after the implementation of the program, on the progress
12 of the study. The report shall include, without limitation, a
13 comparison of program administration expenditures versus
14 reductions, if any, in the use of welfare grants, food stamps,
15 medical assistance, and WorkFirst support services, such as child
16 care subsidies, clothing expenses, and other types of
17 transportation assistance. Any participant benefits, such as
18 increased earnings, shall also be included.
19 NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. If any part of this act is found to be in
20 conflict with federal requirements that are a prescribed condition
21 to the allocation of federal funds to the state, the conflicting
22 part of this act is inoperative solely to the extent of the
23 conflict and with respect to the agencies directly affected, and
24 this finding does not affect the operation of the remainder of
25 this act in its application to the agencies concerned. Rules
26 adopted under this act must meet federal requirements that are a
27 necessary condition to the receipt of federal funds by the state.
28 NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. This act is necessary for the immediate
29 preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of
30 the state government and its existing public institutions, and
31 takes effect immediately.
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