Text: HSB00151 Text: HSB00153 Text: HSB00100 - HSB00199 Text: HSB Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
PAG LIN 1 1 Section 1. Section 239B.2, subsection 4, Code 1999, is 1 2 amended to read as follows: 1 3 4. WRITTEN STATEMENT FAMILY INVESTMENT AGREEMENT. 1 4 a. The department may require an applicant family to 1 5 commit to the initial actions the applicant family will take 1 6 to achieve self-sufficiency as contained in a signed, written 1 7 statement. An applicant family which fails to commit to the 1 8 actions as contained in the written statement shall be denied 1 9 eligibility for the family investment program. If the 1 10 applicant family becomes a participant family, the family's 1 11 written statement may be replaced by, incorporated within, or 1 12 become the family investment agreement for that family. 1 13 b. Unless exempt as provided in section 239B.8, a 1 14 participant family which is eligible for the program shall 1 15 continue to comply with the provisions of a written statement 1 16 which contains actions committed to by the family under 1 17 paragraph "a" or shall enter into a family investment 1 18 agreement with the department. A participant family must 1 19 comply with the provisions of the written statement or the 1 20 conditions in the agreement in order to retain eligibility. A 1 21 participant family which does not comply shall be deemed to 1 22 have chosen a limited benefit plan. 1 23 Sec. 2. Section 239B.3, subsection 1, paragraph b, Code 1 24 1999, is amended to read as follows: 1 25 b. For an eligibility decision involving an applicant 1 26 family with a specified relative, within thirty days of the 1 27 date of an application, the department shallissue aauthorize 1 28 issuance of notice of the department's decision to the 1 29 specified relative. 1 30 Sec. 3. Section 239B.9, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code 1 31 1999, is amended to read as follows: 1 32 a. If a participant responsible for signing and fulfilling 1 33 the terms of a family investment agreement, as defined by the 1 34 director of human services in accordance with section 239B.8, 1 35 chooses not to sign or fulfill the terms of the agreement, the 2 1 participant's family, or the individual participant shall 2 2 enter into a limited benefit plan. Initial actions in a 2 3 written statement under section 239B.2, subsection 4, which 2 4 were committed to by a participant during the application 2 5 period and which commitment remains in effect, shall be 2 6 considered to be a term of the participant's family investment 2 7 agreement. A limited benefit plan shall apply for the period 2 8 of time specified in this section. The first month of the 2 9 limited benefit plan is the first month after the month in 2 10 which timely and adequate notice of the limited benefit plan 2 11 is given to the participant as defined by the director of 2 12 human services. A participant who is exempt from the JOBS 2 13 program but who volunteers for the program is not subject to 2 14 imposition of a limited benefit plan. The elements of a 2 15 limited benefit plan shall be specified in the department's 2 16 rules. 2 17 Sec. 4. NEW SECTION. 541A.6 COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL 2 18 REQUIREMENTS. 2 19 The administrator shall adopt rules for compliance with 2 20 federal individual development account requirements under the 2 21 federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity 2 22 Reconciliation Act of 1996, } 103, as codified in 42 U.S.C. } 2 23 604(h), under the federal Assets for Independence Act, Pub. L. 2 24 No. 105-285, Title IV, or with any other federal individual 2 25 development account program requirements, as necessary for the 2 26 state to qualify to use federal temporary assistance for needy 2 27 families block grant funding or other available federal 2 28 funding for allocation to operating organizations. Any rules 2 29 adopted under this section shall not apply the federal 2 30 individual development account program requirements to an 2 31 operating organization which does not utilize federal funding 2 32 for the accounts with which it is connected or to an account 2 33 holder who does not receive temporary assistance for needy 2 34 families block grant or other federal funding. 2 35 EXPLANATION 3 1 This bill relates to welfare reform provisions involving 3 2 the family investment program (FIP) and individual development 3 3 accounts. 3 4 The amendments to the family investment program in Code 3 5 section 239B.2 authorize the department of human services to 3 6 require, as a condition of eligibility, a FIP applicant to 3 7 commit to initial steps the applicant will take to achieve 3 8 self-sufficiency in a signed, written statement. Failure to 3 9 commit to the initial steps results in denial of eligibility. 3 10 The statement may be required in addition to being 3 11 incorporated within, or becoming part of, the family 3 12 investment agreement. A FIP participant is required to comply 3 13 with the provisions of the written statement. 3 14 Code section 239B.3, relating to issuance of cash 3 15 assistance to FIP-eligible families with a specified relative, 3 16 is amended. Under current law, notice of the department's 3 17 eligibility decision must be issued within 30 days. Under the 3 18 bill, authorization for the notice must be issued within 30 3 19 days. 3 20 According to limited benefit plan provisions in Code 3 21 section 239B.9, a participant who does not sign or fulfill the 3 22 terms of a family investment agreement is subject to a limited 3 23 benefit plan. Under the bill, the provisions of the written 3 24 statement committed to during the application period and which 3 25 remain in effect, are to be considered to be a term of a 3 26 participant's family investment agreement. 3 27 New Code section 541A.6 requires the department of human 3 28 services to adopt rules for compliance with federal 3 29 requirements for individual development account programs as 3 30 necessary to qualify to utilize federal funding for allocation 3 31 to Iowa's individual development account operating 3 32 organizations. The bill refers to specific federal temporary 3 33 assistance for needy families (TANF) block grant provisions 3 34 for individual development accounts, and to the federal Assets 3 35 for Independence Act, and to general federal provisions for 4 1 these accounts. The rules are not to apply the federal 4 2 requirements to operating organizations which do not utilize 4 3 federal funding for their accounts or to account holders who 4 4 do not receive TANF or other federal funding. 4 5 LSB 1260DP 78 4 6 jp/jw/5
Text: HSB00151 Text: HSB00153 Text: HSB00100 - HSB00199 Text: HSB Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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