Committee Statement to Senate No. 2329 - Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee (May 7, 2020)

Summary

Statement to Senate, No. 2329, with committee amendments, dated May 7, 2020, in which the Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee of the State of New Jersey reports Senate Bill No. 2329 favorably. As amended, the bill would revise cash assistance requirements under the Work First New Jersey (WFNJ) program, providing that enrollment in an institution of higher education does not by itself make an otherwise eligible person ineligible and limiting alternative work experience assignments to six months in a 12-month period. The committee amendments reduce the appropriation under the bill from $25 million to $17 million and revise the effective date to July 1, 2020, with certain exceptions remaining inoperative until January 1, 2021.

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ASSEMBLY COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
                COMMITTEE

                           STATEMENT TO

                         SENATE, No. 2329
                          with committee amendments



       STATE OF NEW JERSEY
                              DATED: MAY 7, 2020

          The Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee
      reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No.
      2329.
          As amended by the committee, this bill would revise the
      requirements for cash assistance benefits under the Work First New
      Jersey (WFNJ) program.
          Specifically, the bill provides that an individual who is otherwise
      eligible for general assistance benefits under WFNJ will not be
      deemed ineligible for public assistance solely on the grounds that the
      individual is enrolled in an institution of higher education.
          The bill will allow recipients engaging in alternative work
      experience to engage in unpaid work and training with either a for-
      profit or nonprofit employer; current law only allows placement with
      nonprofit or charitable employer. An assignment to a for-profit
      employer may not exceed six months, and will be conditioned on the
      assignment likely leading to full-time employment with the employer.
      The bill limits the amount of time a recipient may be assigned to
      alternative work experience with any employer to no more than six
      months in a 12-month period. The bill similarly limits the amount of
      time a recipient may be assigned to community work experience to no
      more than six months in a 12-month period.
          The bill adds language clarifying that, when determining whether
      good cause exists to excuse noncompliance with program
      requirements, good cause is to be considered broadly in consideration
      of the recipient’s health, safety, family needs, financial considerations,
      and other factors as determined by the commissioner.
          The bill will expand the earned income disregard for the purposes
      of the program. Current law provides that, for recipients employed 20
      or more hours a week, and certain recipients with a disability who are
      unable to work more than 20 hours per week, 100 percent of earned
      income is disregarded for the first month in which it would be counted
      as earned income; the disregard drops to 75 percent for the next six
      consecutive months after that, and to 50 percent for each consecutive
      month of employment after that. In the case of recipients working less
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than 20 hours per month, the disregard is 100 percent for the first full
month of employment and 50 percent for each continuous month of
employment after that.
    The amended bill revises the earned income disregard to allow a
100 percent disregard for the first two full months of employment in
which the earned income would be counted. The disregard would then
drop to 75 percent for six cumulative months of employment, and to
50 percent for each month of employment thereafter. If a recipient
loses employment then becomes reemployed, the two months of 100
percent income disregard and the six months of 75 percent income
may be reapplied no more than once every 12-months; otherwise, the
50 percent income disregard will apply.
    The bill revises the eligibility criteria for aliens, which currently
makes various distinctions on who is eligible based on the individual’s
date of entry into the United States, country of origin, length of time in
the United States, whether the individual is a veteran, whether the
individuals is a victims of domestic violence, and whether the
individual has satisfied certain work requirements, among other
factors, to revise the term to refer to “eligible immigrants” and provide
that the term applies to all immigrants who otherwise meet program
requirements and are lawfully present in the United States. The term
will include individuals who are “qualified aliens” or “lawfully
present” for the purposes of federal law, individuals granted relief
from federal immigration laws under the federal Deferred Action for
Childhood Arrivals program, and any other non-citizen or non-national
of the United States who is otherwise authorized to live in the United
States.
    The bill revises the requirements to provide additional supportive
services to program recipients. Current law provides that assistance
may be provided as a last resort when no other source of support is
available. The bill would revise this standard to allow for the
provision of additional services in appropriate circumstances, as
determined by the commissioner.
    Currently, additional assistance is limited to child care services,
transportation assistance, an allowance for work-related expenses, and
extended Medicaid eligibility. The bill provides that recipients
receiving parenting support services are to be provided with
educational materials, referrals, and other support to identify, access,
and enroll in quality child care services for their dependent children.
    The bill requires that, when a recipient has reached 24 months of
benefits, welfare agencies are to offer additional case management and
supportive services to the recipient, based on an assessment of the
barriers to the recipient securing employment.
    The bill establishes a new joint reporting requirement for the
Commissioner of Human Services and the Commissioner of Labor and
Workforce Development concerning various aspects of the program.
The Commissioner of Human Services will be required to make
                                  3

changes to the program based on the data gathered in order to improve
the performance of the program.
     The amended bill requires, commencing September 1, 2020
through July 1, 2022, the temporary assistance for needy families
(TANF) benefit amount to be annually increased by any increase in the
consumer price index plus an amount equal to 33.3 percent of the
difference between the benefit amount in effect as of the effective date
of the bill and 50 percent of the federal poverty level in effect as of the
effective date of the bill. During this period, general assistance
benefits will be annually increased by a percentage amount equal to
the percentage increase in TANF benefits for that year. Commencing
July 1, 2023, the TANF benefit amount is to be annually increased by
any amount necessary to make the benefit amount equivalent to at
least 50 percent of the federal poverty level in effect on that July 1,
and the general assistance benefit is to be increased by any increase in
the consumer price index.
     In addition, commencing July 1, 2023, the commissioner is to
conduct an annual assessment of the real cost of living and actual
deprivation as reflected in the current standard of need established
pursuant to section 9 of P.L.1997, c.13 (C.44:10-42); the
commissioner will be required to transmit this assessment to the
Legislature for consideration when deciding on appropriations to fund
cash assistance benefits. In no case may benefit amounts be reduced.
     The bill provides that the full amount of child support provided to
the assistance unit for which federal reimbursement is waived is to
pass through to the unit. Child support that passes through to the unit
will not count as income.
     The bill revises language setting forth the general purposes and
goals of the WFNJ program to provide that the purpose of the program
is to provide recipients with the opportunities, training, and work skills
needed to help elevate them out of poverty. The bill removes certain
language concerning how the program interacts with young parents
and how the system can be disruptive to the family structure, as well as
language stating that the program is consistent with federal law by
including a time limit on benefits, work requirements, enhanced
measures to determine paternity, enhanced child support collection,
sanctions for noncompliance with program requirements, incentives
for teenage parents to complete school, and restrictions on eligibility
for aliens. The bill additionally removes language providing that
WFNJ benefits will only be available when other forms of support and
maintenance are unavailable.
     The bill expands the work requirements under the program to
promote the use of educational, training, work-study, internship, and
other opportunities that will lead to the recipient’s removal from, and
sustainable avoidance of, poverty. Recipients will be permitted to
forgo work opportunities for good cause or for other opportunities that
will better enable the recipient to emerge from, and sustainable avoid,
                                  4

poverty. The bill requires that good cause be considered broadly in
consideration of the recipient’s health, safety, family needs, financial
considerations, and other factors determined by the commissioner.
The bill removes a requirement that recipients continuously and
actively seek employment.
    The bill reduces the hourly requirement for work activity from 40
hours per week to 30 hours per week, and provides that the maximum
aggregate requirement is 20 hours per week for assistance units with a
child under six years of age. Current law provides for a deferral from
the work activity requirement for parents and relatives caring for a
child under 12 weeks of age; the bill extends this deferral to apply to
parents and relatives caring for a child under one year of age.
    The amended bill adds a provision to the section of law concerning
the sanctions that may be imposed for noncompliance with program
requirements to specify that any sanctions imposed are to be applied
only to the pro-rata share of an adult recipient who is noncompliant,
and will not apply to any other adult or child members of the
assistance unit who are compliant with program requirements, which
members will continue to be eligible for their full pro-rata share of
cash assistance benefits. If the cases of all the adult members of the
assistance unit are closed for noncompliance, the dependent child
members will still receive their pro-rata share of assistance benefits as
a dependent child-only unit.
    Ordinarily, recipients are allowed a lifetime total of 60 months of
benefits; however, current law provides for an extension in certain
cases, including up to 12 additional months of benefits in cases where:
a recipient would be subject to extreme hardship in the absence of
WFNJ assistance; the recipient is engaged in full-time employment but
remains eligible for benefits based on income disregards; the recipient
has not had an opportunity to engage in work activities; or the
recipient was engaged in full-time employment and was income-
ineligible, but the recipient was terminated from employment through
no fault of the recipient. The bill revises the exceptions involving
employment to provide that they will apply to any form of
employment, not just full-time employment. The bill further provides
that an exception will be provided for any parent of a minor child who
was in compliance with program requirements for the six months of
enrollment immediately preceding the date the recipient reached the
60-month limit.
    The bill provides that WFNJ benefits received while the individual
is under 18 years of age will not count against the 60-month lifetime
limit on benefits. The bill further provides that, in the event any adult
in an assistance unit loses eligibility on the grounds that the individual
reached the 60-month cap, that loss of eligibility will not affect the
eligibility of any other recipient in the assistance unit, including, but
not limited to, a minor child who is receiving assistance.
                                  5

     The bill provides that organizations that receive State or local
economic incentives will be required to partner with local community
organizations to provide work activity opportunities and other
appropriate services to WFNJ recipients, including training, work-
study opportunities, internships, and job retention and advancement
services.
     The bill removes outdated language in the definition of “dependent
child” that required a child in school or vocational training to
reasonably be expected to complete the school or training.
     The bill provides that, for the duration of the state of emergency or
public health emergency declared in response to the coronavirus
disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, whichever is longer, an applicant
who appears to be eligible for benefits under WFNJ based on the
applicant’s certification of income, resources, and family composition,
and based on other information immediately available to the agency at
the time of application, will be deemed presumptively eligible for
WFNJ assistance and immediate need assistance. Additionally, any
months in which a recipient is unable to comply with work activity
requirements because of the COVID-19 state of emergency or public
health emergency will not count against the 60-month lifetime cap on
benefits.
     The bill repeals section 3 of P.L.1997, c.14 (C.44:10-46), which
concerned benefits for recipients in the State less than 12 months, and
which was invalidated by court ruling and currently has no force or
effect.
     As amended, the bill appropriates $17 million from the General
fund to the Division of Family Development in the Department of
Human Services for the purposes of implementing the provisions of
the bill.
     As amended, the bill will take effect July 1, 2020, but with the
exception of the provisions of the bill concerning presumptive
eligibility during the COVID-19 pandemic, the repeal of C.44:10-46,
the $25 million appropriation, and the increase in benefits amounts
that takes effect September 1, 2020, the provisions of the bill will
remain inoperative until January 1, 2021, to allow the Department of
Human Services adequate time to make the administrative, systemic,
and organizational changes that will be necessary to implement the
bill. The section concerning presumptive eligibility during the
COVID-19 pandemic will take effect immediately.
     As reported by the committee with amendments, Senate Bill No.
2329 is identical to Assembly Bill No. 3905, which the committee also
reported on this date with amendments.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:
    The committee amendments revise the law concerning the income
disregards that are available to recipients who are employed, to include
language partially codifying a regulation that provides that the higher
                                  6

levels of income disregard may be reapplied to a recipient who loses
employment and is subsequently reemployed.
    The committee amendments revise the increases in benefits
amounts that would have taken effect July 1, 2020 to provide that they
will instead take effect September 1, 2020.
    The committee amendments add a provision to the sections
concerning the sanctions that may be imposed for noncompliance with
program requirements, to specify that the sanctions only apply to the
pro-rata share of an adult member of the assistance unit who is
noncompliant; the other adult and child members of the assistance unit
will continue to receive their full pro-rata share of the total household
benefit amount. The amendments further specify that, if the cases of
all the adult members of the assistance unit are closed for
noncompliance, the dependent child members will still receive their
pro-rata share of assistance benefits as a dependent child-only unit.
    The committee amendments reduce the appropriation under the bill
from $25 million to $17 million.
    The committee amendments revise the effective date of the bill to
provide that the bill will take effect July 1, 2020, but that, with certain
exceptions, it will remain inoperative until January 1, 2021. The
revised effective date does not affect the section of the bill providing
for presumptive eligibility for benefits during the COVID-19
pandemic, which section will take effect immediately.


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