HB 1708-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2006 SESSION
05/04
HOUSE BILL 1708-FN
AN ACT relative to Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) eligibility for 2-parent families.
SPONSORS: Rep. Dalrymple, Rock 4
COMMITTEE: Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs
This bill removes the additional eligibility requirements for 2-parent families to be eligible for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF).
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
06-2289
05/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Six
AN ACT relative to Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) eligibility for 2-parent families.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 TANF Eligibility; Additional Eligibility Requirement for 2-Parent Family Deleted. Amend RSA 167:6, V to read as follows:
V. For purposes hereof, a person shall be eligible for aid to families with dependent children who is a needy child 17 years of age or under or 18 years of age, a full-time student in a secondary school as defined by the commissioner of the department of health and human services, and reasonably expected to complete the program before reaching 19 years of age; [who has been deprived of parental support or care by reason of death, continued absence from the home, or physical or mental incapacity of a parent, or the unemployment of his or her parent who is the principal wage-earner;] and who is living with his father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, brother, sister, stepfather, stepmother, stepbrother, stepsister, first cousin, nephew or niece, uncle, or aunt (including relatives of half-blood, relatives of preceding generations as denoted by the prefixes of grand, great, or great-great, adoptive parents and their relatives to the same degree as blood relatives and spouses of the above relatives even after the marriage is terminated by death or divorce) in a place of residence in the state maintained by one or more of such relatives as his or their home; or who is an otherwise eligible parent or needy caretaker relative with whom such child lives. For purposes of this section, a child who meets the above requirements shall be eligible, even if the child was removed from the home of a relative as a result of a judicial determination and was placed in a foster home and care, when the care and placement of the child are the responsibility of the department of health and human services or another public agency which meets federal requirements and the state plan, and when the child received or would have been eligible to receive aid to families with dependent children in the month in which court proceedings were initiated except that such a child need not have lived with a specified relative. No person shall be eligible to receive such aid while receiving old age assistance, aid to the needy blind, or aid to the permanently and totally disabled.
2 Public Assistance; Employment Program; Eligibility. Amend RSA 167:79, I to read as follows:
I. For purposes of this subdivision, a person shall be eligible for financial assistance under the employment program who is a needy child [deprived of parental support or care by reason of death, continued absence from the home, physical or mental incapacity, or the unemployment or underemployment of a parent, and] who lives with either parent or both parents or an able-bodied specified relative, and otherwise meets the eligibility requirements of the department. If the child is living with a parent, at least one parent shall be able-bodied. The parent or parents of the dependent child or the able-bodied caretaker relative may also be eligible for assistance.
3 New Paragraph; Public Assistance; Employment Program; Eligibility. Amend RSA 167:79 by inserting after paragraph VI the following new paragraph:
VII. A needy child may be eligible for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) regardless of whether the child is part of a single-parent or 2-parent household. The department shall not establish additional eligibility requirements for a 2-parent household as opposed to a single-parent household.
4 Family Assistance Program; Additional Deprivation Requirement Deleted. Amend RSA 167:84, I to read as follows:
I. The family assistance program shall provide financial assistance for dependent children who[:
(a) Are deprived of parental support or care by reason of death, continued absence from the home, physical or mental incapacity, or the unemployment or underemployment of a parent; and
(b)] Reside with either their nonable-bodied specified relative or a caretaker relative who is not included in the assistance group. Financial assistance shall be provided to the parents of the dependent child. Financial assistance may be provided to the nonable-bodied caretaker relative.
5 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
LBAO
06-2289
Revised 12/27/05
HB 1708 FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to TANF eligibility for 2-parent families.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Health and Human Services states this bill will increase state expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2007 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on state revenue and county and local revenue or expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department indicated this bill expands Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF) to households with two able-bodied parents effective on July 1, 2006. The Department assumed the following:
• There would be no change to the Standard of Need for TANF cash assistance.
• Utilization by 2-parent households will be the same percentage as single-parent households.
• TANF funding will remain constant at $70.6 million per year. ($38.5 million federal block grant and $32.1 million in state general fund maintenance of effort.)
• Increasing eligibility to two-parent families is estimated to add 805 additional TANF cases.
• The average TANF grant of $575.26 per month for FY 2005 will remain stable for the period projected.
• The increase in caseload will require an additional 11 full-time Employment Counselor Specialists, Labor Grade 19, each at an annual cost of $30,342 in salary and $13,360 in benefits at 44%. Each counselor will be assigned a maximum of 75 cases.
• Two-parent households will be held to the same work participation requirement and utilize employment and training support services at the same percentage as single-parent households.
• Two-parent families are intact so there is no child support due or owing.
• Child care needs will be satisfied within the existing budget.
• Eligible two-parent households would be known to the public assistance programs funded through food stamps and Medicaid, and therefore no additional eligibility staff would be required.
• All two-parent families would become eligible for cash assistance within the 12-month period following the effective date of this bill.
• The average two-parent family would receive cash assistance for 24 months.
• Caseloads will remain constant because as cases close an equal number of cases will become eligible.
• One-time costs estimated at $250,000 will include reprogramming the New HEIGHTS eligibility computer system, printing, training and administrative rulemaking.
• There will be savings to local welfare programs that have been assisting 2-parent families if these families are now eligible for TANF.
• The Department may see a small decrease in costs for special investigations involving the unreported presence of a second parent.
• Existing cases containing two unmarried wage earning adults would close due to the inclusion of the additional adults in the assistance group and counting that person’s income.
Based on these assumptions, the Department estimated the additional known state costs for cash assistance, support services and staffing requirements to be $4,343,181 in FY 2007 and $7,392,171 in each year thereafter.