1 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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2 1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
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3 SENATE BILL 281 By: Coleman
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6 AS INTRODUCED
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7 An Act relating to the Temporary Assistance for Needy
7 Families (TANF) program; amending 56 O.S. 2021,
8 Section 230.52, which relates to minimum mandatory
8 requirements; modifying certain exemption from
9 resource determination criteria; deleting obsolete
9 reference; updating statutory language; amending 56
10 O.S. 2021, Section 230.53, which relates to exclusion
10 of automobile from determination of applicant’s
11 resources; modifying exclusion; providing an
11 effective date; and declaring an emergency.
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14 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
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15 SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 56 O.S. 2021, Section 230.52, is
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16 amended to read as follows:
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17 Section 230.52. A. Except for specific exceptions, conditions
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18 or restrictions authorized by the Statewide Temporary Assistance
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19 Responsibility System (STARS) and rules promulgated by the
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20 Commission for Director of the Department of Human Services pursuant
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21 thereto, the following are the minimum mandatory requirements for
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22 the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program:
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23 1. A recipient shall be eligible to receive assistance pursuant
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24 to the TANF program only for a lifetime total of five (5) years,
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 1 subject to the exemptions allowed by federal law. Child-only cases
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2 are not subject to the five-year limitation;
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3 2. Single parents receiving temporary assistance pursuant to
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4 the TANF program shall participate in work activities for a minimum
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5 of twenty (20) hours per week during the month. Two-parent families
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6 receiving temporary assistance pursuant to the TANF program shall
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7 participate in work activities for a minimum of thirty-five (35)
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8 hours per week during the month;
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9 3. A recipient must be engaged in one or more of the work
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10 activities set out in paragraph 4 of this subsection as soon as
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11 required by the Department of Human Services pursuant to the TANF
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12 program, but not later than twenty-four (24) months after
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13 certification of the application for assistance, unless the person
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14 is exempt from work requirements under rules promulgated by the
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15 Commission Director pursuant to the STARS;
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16 4. The Department shall develop and describe categories of
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17 approved work activities for the TANF program recipients in
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18 accordance with this paragraph. Work activities that qualify in
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19 meeting the requirements include, but are not limited to:
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20 a. (1) unsubsidized employment which is full-time
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21 employment or part-time employment that is not
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22 directly supplemented by federal or state funds,
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23 (2) subsidized private sector employment which is
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24 employment in a private for-profit enterprise or
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 1 a private not-for-profit enterprise that is
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2 directly supplemented by federal or state funds.
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3 Prior to receiving any subsidy or incentive, the
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4 employer shall enter into a written contract with
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5 the Department, and
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6 (3) subsidized public sector employment which is
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7 employment by an agency of a federal, state, or
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8 local governmental entity which is directly
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9 supplemented by federal or state funds. Prior to
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10 receiving any subsidy or incentive, the employer
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11 shall enter into a written contract with the
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12 Department.
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13 Subsidized hourly employment or unsubsidized hourly
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14 employment pursuant to this subparagraph shall only be
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15 approved by the Department as work activity if such
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16 employment is subject to:
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17 (a) the federal minimum wage requirements
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18 pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act of
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19 1938, as amended,
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20 (b) the federal Social Security tax and Medicare
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21 tax, and
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22 (c) regulations promulgated pursuant to the
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23 federal Occupational Safety and Health Act
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 1 of 1970 and rules promulgated by the State
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2 Department of Labor pursuant thereto,
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3 b. a program of work experience,
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4 c. on-the-job training,
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5 d. assisted job search which may include supervised or
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6 unsupervised job-seeking activities,
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7 e. job readiness assistance which may include, but is not
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8 limited to:
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9 (1) orientation in the work environment and basic
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10 job-seeking and job retention skills,
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11 (2) instruction in completing an application for
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12 employment and writing a resume, and
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13 (3) instruction in conducting oneself during a job
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14 interview, including appropriate dress,
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15 f. job skills training which is directly related to
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16 employment in a specific occupation for which there is
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17 a written commitment by an employer to offer
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18 employment to a recipient who successfully completes
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19 the training. Job skills training includes, but is
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20 not limited to, customized training designed to meet
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21 the needs of a specific employer or a specific
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22 industry,
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23 g. community service programs which are job-training
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24 activities provided in areas where sufficient public
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 1 or private sector employment is not available. Such
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2 activities are linked to both education or training
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3 and activities that substantially enhance a
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4 recipient’s employability,
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5 h. literacy and adult basic education programs,
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6 i. vocational-educational programs, not to exceed twelve
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7 (12) months for any individual, which are directed
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8 toward vocational-educational training and education
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9 directly related to employment,
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10 j. education programs which are directly related to
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11 specific employment opportunities, if a recipient has
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12 not received a high school diploma or General
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13 Equivalency Degree General Educational Development
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14 certificate, and
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15 k. child care for other STARS recipients. The recipient
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16 must meet training and licensing requirements for
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17 child care providers as required by the Oklahoma Child
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18 Care Facilities Licensing Act;
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19 5. Single, custodial parents with a child up to one (1) year of
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20 age may be exempt from work activities for a lifetime total
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21 exemption of twelve (12) months;
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22 6. In order to receive assistance, unmarried teen parents of a
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23 minor child at least twelve (12) weeks of age must participate in
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24 educational activities or work activities approved by the state;
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 1 7. For single-parent families, except for teen parents,
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2 educational activities, other than vocational-technical training, do
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3 not count toward meeting the required twenty (20) hours of work
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4 activity. For two-parent families, educational activities, except
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5 vocational-technical training, do not count toward meeting the
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6 required thirty-five (35) hours of work activity;
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7 8. A teen parent must live at home or in an approved, adult-
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8 supervised setting as specified in Section 230.55 of this title to
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9 receive TANF assistance;
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10 9. A recipient must comply with immunization requirements
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11 established pursuant to the TANF program;
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12 10. A recipient shall be subject to the increment in benefits
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13 for additional children established by Section 230.58 of this title;
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14 11. The following recipient resources are exempt from resource
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15 determination criteria:
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16 a. an one automobile with an equity allowance of not more
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17 than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) per household
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18 pursuant to Section 230.53 of this title,
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19 b. individual development accounts established pursuant
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20 to the Family Savings Initiative Act, or individual
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21 development accounts established prior to November 1,
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22 1998, pursuant to the provisions of Section 230.54 of
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23 this title in an amount not to exceed Two Thousand
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24 Dollars ($2,000.00),
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 1 c. the equity value of funeral arrangements owned by a
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2 recipient that does not exceed the limitation
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3 specified by Section 165 of this title, and
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4 d. earned income disregards not to exceed One Hundred
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5 Twenty Dollars ($120.00) and one-half (1/2) of the
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6 remainder of the earned income;
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7 12. 11. An applicant who applies and is otherwise eligible to
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8 receive TANF benefits but who has resided in this state less than
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9 twelve (12) months shall be subject to Section 230.57 of this title;
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10 13. 12. The recipient shall enter into a personal
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11 responsibility agreement with the Department for receipt of
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12 assistance pursuant to Section 230.65 of this title;
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13 14. 13. The Department shall, beginning November 1, 2012,
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14 screen all adult applicants for TANF to determine if they are
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15 engaged in the illegal use of a controlled substance or substances.
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16 If the Department has made a determination that the applicant is
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17 engaged in the illegal use of a controlled substance or substances,
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18 the applicant’s request for TANF cash benefits shall be denied. The
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19 Commission for Human Services Director shall adopt rules to
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20 implement the requirements of this paragraph consistent with the
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21 following:
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22 a. the Department shall create a controlled substance
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23 screening process to be administered at the time of
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24 application. The process shall, at a minimum, include
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 1 a Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SASSI)
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2 or other similar screening methods. If necessary to
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3 establish a reasonable expectation of certainty, the
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4 Department is authorized to use further screening
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5 methods, which may include, but are not limited to, a
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6 clinical interview, consideration of the Department’s
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7 history with the applicant, and an Addictions
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8 Addiction Severity Index (ASI). If the Department has
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9 reasonable cause to believe that the applicant is
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10 engaged in the illegal use of a controlled substance
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11 or substances, the Department is authorized, though
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12 not required, to request administration of a chemical
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13 drug test, such as urinalysis. The cost of all such
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14 initial screenings shall not be borne by the
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15 applicant,
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16 b. if at any time during the controlled substance
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17 screening process, the applicant refuses to
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18 participate, that refusal shall lead to a denial of
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19 TANF benefits,
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20 c. if the Department, as the result of a controlled
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21 substance screening process, has determined that the
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22 applicant is engaged in the illegal use of a
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23 controlled substance or substances, the applicant’s
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 1 request for TANF cash benefits shall be denied,
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2 subject to the following:
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3 (1) if there has not already been a chemical drug
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4 test administered as part of the controlled
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5 substance screening process, the applicant may
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6 submit proof of a negative chemical drug test
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7 from a state certified laboratory to challenge
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8 the Department’s finding that the applicant is
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9 engaged in the illegal use of a controlled
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10 substance or substances. Proof of the chemical
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11 drug test must be submitted to the Department no
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12 later than the tenth calendar day following
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13 denial. If denial is communicated by mail, the
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14 ten (10) day ten-day window begins on the day
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15 after the date of mailing of the denial notice to
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16 the applicant’s last-known address. The denial
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17 notice is considered to be mailed on the date
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18 that appears on the notice, unless otherwise
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19 indicated by the facts,
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20 (2) if denied due to the provisions of this
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21 subparagraph, an applicant shall not be approved
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22 until one (1) year has passed since the date of
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23 denial,
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 1 (a) if the applicant is denied due to the
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2 provisions of this paragraph, the Department
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3 shall provide a list of substance abuse
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4 treatment programs to the denied applicant,
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5 and
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6 (b) if an applicant has successfully complied
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7 with a recommended substance abuse treatment
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8 program after the date of denial, the
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9 applicant may be approved for cash benefits
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10 after six (6) months have passed since the
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11 date of denial, rather than the required one
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12 (1) year, and
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13 (3) if an applicant has been denied TANF cash
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14 benefits two times due to the provisions of this
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15 subparagraph, the applicant shall be ineligible
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16 for TANF benefits for a period of three (3) years
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17 from the date of the second denial,
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18 d. child-only cases and minor parents under eighteen (18)
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19 years of age are not subject to the provisions of this
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20 paragraph, and
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21 e. in cases where the application for TANF benefits is
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22 not for child-only benefits, but there is not a parent