2001 Senate Bill 817 ↩

House Roll Call 791: Passed

To require the Family Independence Agency (FIA) to adopt an electronic system for the distribution of food stamps, and to tie eligibility for welfare payments to a person’s compliance with the “social contract” work and training requirements imposed by welfare reform. Among other things the bill authorizes FIA to stop benefits immediately if a person fails to comply with the requirements, rather than phasing out benefits over a four-month period, and replaces a minimum 20-hour a week work and training requirement with authorization for FIA to require up to 40 hours a week. A person whose benefits have been stopped for noncompliance would be unable to collect benefits for at least a month. The bill also gives FIA discretion to determine on a case-by-case basis whether to exempt disabled persons or parents of disabled children from work and training requirements, rather than granting an automatic exemption.