Read first time 01/20/2004.   Referred to Committee on Children & Family Services & Corrections.

     AN ACT Relating to reducing hunger; amending RCW 74.08A.010 and 74.08.025; adding a new section to chapter 28A.235 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 74.04 RCW; and creating new sections.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature recognizes that hunger and food insecurity are serious problems in the state. Since the United States department of agriculture began to collect data on hunger and food insecurity in 1995, Washington has been ranked each year within the top five states with the highest levels of hunger. A significant number of these households classified as hungry are families with children.
     The legislature recognizes the correlation between adequate nutrition and a child's development and school performance. This problem can be greatly diminished through improved access to federal nutrition programs.
     The legislature also recognizes that improved access to federal nutrition and assistance programs, such as the federal food stamp program, can be a critical factor in enabling recipients to gain the ability to support themselves and their families. This is an important step towards self-sufficiency and decreased long-term reliance on governmental assistance and will serve to strengthen families in this state.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 28A.235 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) For the purposes of this section:
     (a) "Free or reduced-price lunch" means a lunch served by a school district participating in the national school lunch program to a student qualifying for national school lunch program benefits based on family size-income criteria.
     (b) "School lunch program" means a meal program meeting the requirements defined by the superintendent of public instruction under subsection (4) of this section.
     (c) "Summer food service program" means a meal or snack program meeting the requirements defined by the superintendent of public instruction under subsection (5) of this section.
     (2) School districts shall implement a school lunch program in each public school in the district in which educational services are provided to children in any of the grades kindergarten through four and in which twenty-five percent or more of the enrolled students qualify for a free or reduced-price lunch. In developing and implementing its school lunch program, each school district may consult with an advisory committee including school staff, community members, and others appointed by the board of directors of the district.
     (3) Applications to determine free or reduced-price lunch eligibility shall be distributed and collected for all households of children in schools containing any of the grades kindergarten through four and in which there are no United States department of agriculture child nutrition programs. The applications that are collected must be reviewed to determine eligibility for free or reduced-price lunches. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require completion or submission of the application by a parent or guardian.
     (4) Using the most current available school data on free and reduced-price lunch eligibility, the superintendent of public instruction shall adopt a schedule for implementation of school lunch programs at each school required to offer such a program under subsection (2) of this section as follows:
     (a) Schools not offering a school lunch program and in which twenty-five percent or more of the enrolled students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch shall implement a school lunch program not later than the second day of school in the 2005-06 school year and in each school year thereafter.
     (b) The superintendent shall establish minimum standards defining the lunch meals to be served, and such standards must be sufficient to qualify the meals for any available federal reimbursement.
     (c) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to prevent a school from implementing a school lunch program earlier than the school is required to do so.
     (5) Each school district shall implement a summer food service program in each public school in the district in which a summer program of academic, enrichment, or remedial services is provided and in which fifty percent or more of the children enrolled in the school qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. However, the superintendent of public instruction shall develop rules establishing criteria to permit an exemption for a school that can demonstrate availability of an adequate alternative summer feeding program. Sites providing meals should be open to all children in the area, unless a compelling case can be made to limit access to the program. The superintendent of public instruction shall adopt a definition of compelling case and a schedule for implementation as follows:
     (a) Beginning the summer of 2005 if the school currently offers a school breakfast or lunch program; or
     (b) Beginning the summer following the school year during which a school implements a school lunch program under subsection (4) of this section.
     (6) Schools not offering a breakfast or lunch program may meet the meal service requirements of subsections (4) and (5) of this section through any of the following:
     (a) Preparing the meals on-site;
     (b) Receiving the meals from another school that participates in a United States department of agriculture child nutrition program; or
     (c) Contracting with a nonschool entity that is a licensed food service establishment under RCW 69.07.010.
     (7) Requirements that school districts have a school lunch program under this section shall not create or imply any state funding obligation for these costs. The legislature does not intend to include these programs within the state's obligation for basic education funding under Article IX of the state Constitution.
     (8) The requirements in this section shall lapse if the federal reimbursement for any school breakfasts, lunches, or summer food service programs is eliminated.
     (9) School districts may be exempted from the requirements of this section by showing good cause why they cannot comply with the office of the superintendent of public instruction to the extent that such exemption is not in conflict with federal or state law.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 74.04 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) To the maximum extent allowable by federal law, the department shall implement simplified reporting for the food stamp program by October 31, 2004.
     (2) For the purposes of this section, "simplified reporting" means the only change in circumstance that a recipient of a benefit program must report between eligibility reviews is an increase of income that would result in ineligibility for the benefit program or a change of address. Every six months the assistance unit must either complete a semiannual report or participate in an eligibility review.

Sec. 4   RCW 74.08A.010 and 1997 c 58 s 103 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) A family that includes an adult who has received temporary assistance for needy families for sixty months after July 27, 1997, shall be ineligible for further temporary assistance for needy families assistance.
     (2) For the purposes of applying the rules of this section, the department shall count any month in which an adult family member received a temporary assistance for needy families cash assistance grant unless the assistance was provided when the family member was a minor child and not the head of the household or married to the head of the household.
     (3) The department shall refer recipients who require specialized assistance to appropriate department programs, crime victims' programs through the department of community, trade, and economic development, or the crime victims' compensation program of the department of labor and industries.
     (4) The department may exempt a recipient and the recipient's family from the application of subsection (1) of this section by reason of hardship or if the recipient meets the family violence options of section 402(A)(7) of Title IVA of the federal social security act as amended by P.L. 104-193. The number of recipients and their families exempted from subsection (1) of this section for a fiscal year shall not exceed twenty percent of the average monthly number of recipients and their families to which assistance is provided under the temporary assistance for needy families program.
     (5) The department shall not exempt a recipient and his or her family from the application of subsection (1) of this section until after the recipient has received fifty-two months of assistance under this chapter.
     (6) Beginning on October 31, 2005, the department shall provide transitional food stamp assistance for a period of five months to a household that ceases to receive temporary assistance for needy families assistance and is not in sanction status. If necessary, the department shall extend the household's food stamp certification until the end of the transition period.

Sec. 5   RCW 74.08.025 and 1997 c 58 s 101 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Public assistance may be awarded to any applicant:
     (a) Who is in need and otherwise meets the eligibility requirements of department assistance programs; and
     (b) Who has not made a voluntary assignment of property or cash for the purpose of qualifying for an assistance grant; and
     (c) Who is not an inmate of a public institution except as a patient in a medical institution or except as an inmate in a public institution who could qualify for federal aid assistance: PROVIDED, That the assistance paid by the department to recipients in nursing homes, or receiving nursing home care, may cover the cost of clothing and incidentals and general maintenance exclusive of medical care and health services. The department may pay a grant to cover the cost of clothing and personal incidentals in public or private medical institutions and institutions for tuberculosis. The department shall allow recipients in nursing homes to retain, in addition to the grant to cover the cost of clothing and incidentals, wages received for work as a part of a training or rehabilitative program designed to prepare the recipient for less restrictive placement to the extent permitted under Title XIX of the federal social security act.
     (2) Any person otherwise qualified for temporary assistance for needy families under this title who has resided in the state of Washington for fewer than twelve consecutive months immediately preceding application for assistance is limited to the benefit level in the state in which the person resided immediately before Washington, using the eligibility rules and other definitions established under this chapter, that was obtainable on the date of application in Washington state, if the benefit level of the prior state is lower than the level provided to similarly situated applicants in Washington state. The benefit level under this subsection shall be in effect for the first twelve months a recipient is on temporary assistance for needy families in Washington state.
     (3) Any person otherwise qualified for temporary assistance for needy families who is assessed through the state alcohol and substance abuse program as drug or alcohol-dependent and requiring treatment to become employable shall be required by the department to participate in a drug or alcohol treatment program as a condition of benefit receipt.
     (4) In order to be eligible for temporary assistance for needy families ((and food stamp program)) benefits, any applicant with a felony conviction after August 21, 1996, involving drug use or possession, must: (a) Have been assessed as chemically dependent by a chemical dependency program approved under chapter 70.96A RCW and be participating in or have completed a coordinated rehabilitation plan consisting of chemical dependency treatment and vocational services; and (b) have not been convicted of a felony involving drug use or possession in the three years prior to the most current conviction.
     (5) Pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 862a(d)(1), the department shall exempt individuals from the eligibility restrictions of 21 U.S.C. 862a(a)(2) to ensure eligibility for federal food assistance.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   If any part of this act is found to be in conflict with federal requirements that are a prescribed condition to the allocation of federal funds to the state, the conflicting part of this act is inoperative solely to the extent of the conflict and with respect to the agencies directly affected, and this finding does not affect the operation of the remainder of this act in its application to the agencies concerned. Rules adopted under this act must meet federal requirements that are a necessary condition to the receipt of federal funds by the state.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   If specific funding for the purposes of section 2 of this act, referencing this act by bill or chapter number, is not provided by June 30, 2004, in the omnibus appropriations act, section 2 of this act is null and void.