1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to welfare; providing cash bonuses to MFIP 
  1.3             participants who complete certain goals; amending 
  1.4             Minnesota Statutes 2000, sections 256J.21, subdivision 
  1.5             2; 256J.49, subdivision 12; and 256J.751; proposing 
  1.6             coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 256J.
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 256J.21, 
  1.9   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 2.  [INCOME EXCLUSIONS.] (a) The following must be 
  1.11  excluded in determining a family's available income: 
  1.12     (1) payments for basic care, difficulty of care, and 
  1.13  clothing allowances received for providing family foster care to 
  1.14  children or adults under Minnesota Rules, parts 9545.0010 to 
  1.15  9545.0260 and 9555.5050 to 9555.6265, and payments received and 
  1.16  used for care and maintenance of a third-party beneficiary who 
  1.17  is not a household member; 
  1.18     (2) reimbursements for employment training received through 
  1.19  the Job Training Partnership Act, United States Code, title 29, 
  1.20  chapter 19, sections 1501 to 1792b; 
  1.21     (3) reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses incurred while 
  1.22  performing volunteer services, jury duty, employment, or 
  1.23  informal carpooling arrangements directly related to employment; 
  1.24     (4) all educational assistance, except the county agency 
  1.25  must count graduate student teaching assistantships, 
  1.26  fellowships, and other similar paid work as earned income and, 
  2.1   after allowing deductions for any unmet and necessary 
  2.2   educational expenses, shall count scholarships or grants awarded 
  2.3   to graduate students that do not require teaching or research as 
  2.4   unearned income; 
  2.5      (5) loans, regardless of purpose, from public or private 
  2.6   lending institutions, governmental lending institutions, or 
  2.7   governmental agencies; 
  2.8      (6) loans from private individuals, regardless of purpose, 
  2.9   provided an applicant or participant documents that the lender 
  2.10  expects repayment; 
  2.11     (7)(i) state income tax refunds; and 
  2.12     (ii) federal income tax refunds; 
  2.13     (8)(i) federal earned income credits; 
  2.14     (ii) Minnesota working family credits; 
  2.15     (iii) state homeowners and renters credits under chapter 
  2.16  290A; and 
  2.17     (iv) federal or state tax rebates; 
  2.18     (9) funds received for reimbursement, replacement, or 
  2.19  rebate of personal or real property when these payments are made 
  2.20  by public agencies, awarded by a court, solicited through public 
  2.21  appeal, or made as a grant by a federal agency, state or local 
  2.22  government, or disaster assistance organizations, subsequent to 
  2.23  a presidential declaration of disaster; 
  2.24     (10) the portion of an insurance settlement that is used to 
  2.25  pay medical, funeral, and burial expenses, or to repair or 
  2.26  replace insured property; 
  2.27     (11) reimbursements for medical expenses that cannot be 
  2.28  paid by medical assistance; 
  2.29     (12) payments by a vocational rehabilitation program 
  2.30  administered by the state under chapter 268A, except those 
  2.31  payments that are for current living expenses; 
  2.32     (13) in-kind income, including any payments directly made 
  2.33  by a third party to a provider of goods and services; 
  2.34     (14) assistance payments to correct underpayments, but only 
  2.35  for the month in which the payment is received; 
  2.36     (15) emergency assistance payments; 
  3.1      (16) funeral and cemetery payments as provided by section 
  3.2   256.935; 
  3.3      (17) nonrecurring cash gifts of $30 or less, not exceeding 
  3.4   $30 per participant in a calendar month; 
  3.5      (18) any form of energy assistance payment made through 
  3.6   Public Law Number 97-35, Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act 
  3.7   of 1981, payments made directly to energy providers by other 
  3.8   public and private agencies, and any form of credit or rebate 
  3.9   payment issued by energy providers; 
  3.10     (19) Supplemental Security Income, including retroactive 
  3.11  payments; 
  3.12     (20) Minnesota supplemental aid, including retroactive 
  3.13  payments; 
  3.14     (21) proceeds from the sale of real or personal property; 
  3.15     (22) adoption assistance payments under section 259.67; 
  3.16     (23) state-funded family subsidy program payments made 
  3.17  under section 252.32 to help families care for children with 
  3.18  mental retardation or related conditions, consumer support grant 
  3.19  funds under section 256.476, and resources and services for a 
  3.20  disabled household member under one of the home and 
  3.21  community-based waiver services programs under chapter 256B; 
  3.22     (24) interest payments and dividends from property that is 
  3.23  not excluded from and that does not exceed the asset limit; 
  3.24     (25) rent rebates; 
  3.25     (26) income earned by a minor caregiver, minor child 
  3.26  through age 6, or a minor child who is at least a half-time 
  3.27  student in an approved elementary or secondary education 
  3.28  program; 
  3.29     (27) income earned by a caregiver under age 20 who is at 
  3.30  least a half-time student in an approved elementary or secondary 
  3.31  education program; 
  3.32     (28) MFIP child care payments under section 119B.05; 
  3.33     (29) all other payments made through MFIP to support a 
  3.34  caregiver's pursuit of greater self-support; 
  3.35     (30) income a participant receives related to shared living 
  3.36  expenses; 
  4.1      (31) reverse mortgages; 
  4.2      (32) benefits provided by the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, 
  4.3   United States Code, title 42, chapter 13A, sections 1771 to 
  4.4   1790; 
  4.5      (33) benefits provided by the women, infants, and children 
  4.6   (WIC) nutrition program, United States Code, title 42, chapter 
  4.7   13A, section 1786; 
  4.8      (34) benefits from the National School Lunch Act, United 
  4.9   States Code, title 42, chapter 13, sections 1751 to 1769e; 
  4.10     (35) relocation assistance for displaced persons under the 
  4.11  Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition 
  4.12  Policies Act of 1970, United States Code, title 42, chapter 61, 
  4.13  subchapter II, section 4636, or the National Housing Act, United 
  4.14  States Code, title 12, chapter 13, sections 1701 to 1750jj; 
  4.15     (36) benefits from the Trade Act of 1974, United States 
  4.16  Code, title 19, chapter 12, part 2, sections 2271 to 2322; 
  4.17     (37) war reparations payments to Japanese Americans and 
  4.18  Aleuts under United States Code, title 50, sections 1989 to 
  4.19  1989d; 
  4.20     (38) payments to veterans or their dependents as a result 
  4.21  of legal settlements regarding Agent Orange or other chemical 
  4.22  exposure under Public Law Number 101-239, section 10405, 
  4.23  paragraph (a)(2)(E); 
  4.24     (39) income that is otherwise specifically excluded from 
  4.25  MFIP consideration in federal law, state law, or federal 
  4.26  regulation; 
  4.27     (40) security and utility deposit refunds; 
  4.28     (41) American Indian tribal land settlements excluded under 
  4.29  Public Law Numbers 98-123, 98-124, and 99-377 to the Mississippi 
  4.30  Band Chippewa Indians of White Earth, Leech Lake, and Mille Lacs 
  4.31  reservations and payments to members of the White Earth Band, 
  4.32  under United States Code, title 25, chapter 9, section 331, and 
  4.33  chapter 16, section 1407; 
  4.34     (42) all income of the minor parent's parents and 
  4.35  stepparents when determining the grant for the minor parent in 
  4.36  households that include a minor parent living with parents or 
  5.1   stepparents on MFIP with other children; and 
  5.2      (43) income of the minor parent's parents and stepparents 
  5.3   equal to 200 percent of the federal poverty guideline for a 
  5.4   family size not including the minor parent and the minor 
  5.5   parent's child in households that include a minor parent living 
  5.6   with parents or stepparents not on MFIP when determining the 
  5.7   grant for the minor parent.  The remainder of income is deemed 
  5.8   as specified in section 256J.37, subdivision 1b; 
  5.9      (44) payments made to children eligible for relative 
  5.10  custody assistance under section 257.85; 
  5.11     (45) vendor payments for goods and services made on behalf 
  5.12  of a client unless the client has the option of receiving the 
  5.13  payment in cash; and 
  5.14     (46) the principal portion of a contract for deed payment; 
  5.15  and 
  5.16     (47) participant performance bonuses under section 256J.555.
  5.17     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 256J.49, 
  5.18  subdivision 12, is amended to read: 
  5.19     Subd. 12.  [SUITABLE EMPLOYMENT.] "Suitable employment" 
  5.20  means employment that: 
  5.21     (1) is within the participant's physical and mental 
  5.22  abilities; 
  5.23     (2) pays hourly gross wages of not less than the applicable 
  5.24  state or federal minimum wage and can be expected to lead to 
  5.25  wages sufficient to enable the participant to transition off of 
  5.26  MFIP; 
  5.27     (3) meets health and safety standards set by federal, state 
  5.28  and county agencies; and 
  5.29     (4) complies with federal, state, and local 
  5.30  antidiscrimination laws. 
  5.31     Sec. 3.  [256J.555] [PARTICIPANT PERFORMANCE BONUSES.] 
  5.32     A participant enrolled in employment and training services 
  5.33  is eligible to receive cash bonuses if the participant has been 
  5.34  in compliance with all the requirements of the participant's job 
  5.35  search support plan or employment plan for the previous six 
  5.36  months.  A participant may receive each bonus only once.  Income 
  6.1   received from the cash bonuses is excluded in determining MFIP 
  6.2   eligibility and benefits.  Bonuses are available for the 
  6.3   completion of the following goals: 
  6.4      (1) for continuous employment of at least 20 hours per week 
  6.5   for six months, the bonus is $200.  The caregiver is eligible to 
  6.6   receive this bonus if the participant remains on MFIP while 
  6.7   employed or if the participant has exited MFIP as the result of 
  6.8   employment; 
  6.9      (2) for continuous employment of at least 20 hours per week 
  6.10  for 12 months, the bonus is $300.  The caregiver is eligible to 
  6.11  receive this bonus if the participant remains on MFIP while 
  6.12  employed or if the participant has exited MFIP as the result of 
  6.13  employment; 
  6.14     (3) for employment that leads to earnings sufficient for a 
  6.15  caregiver to transition off of MFIP and stay off for six months, 
  6.16  the bonus is $300; 
  6.17     (4) for completion of an English as a second language 
  6.18  program, the bonus is $300; 
  6.19     (5) for completion of a high school diploma or GED, the 
  6.20  bonus is $300; and 
  6.21     (6) for completion of a job skills training program from a 
  6.22  certified provider, the bonus is $300. 
  6.23     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 256J.751, is 
  6.24  amended to read: 
  6.25     256J.751 [COUNTY PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT.] 
  6.26     (a) The commissioner shall report quarterly to all counties 
  6.27  each county's performance on the following measures: 
  6.28     (1) percent of MFIP caseload working in paid employment; 
  6.29     (2) percent of MFIP caseload receiving only the food 
  6.30  portion of assistance; 
  6.31     (3) number of MFIP cases that have left assistance; 
  6.32     (4) federal participation requirements as specified in 
  6.33  title 1 of Public Law Number 104-193; and 
  6.34     (5) median placement wage rate; and 
  6.35     (6) number of MFIP cases that have been placed in jobs 
  6.36  based on attainment of a recognized credential from an 
  7.1   accredited institution. 
  7.2      (b) The commissioner shall, in consultation with counties, 
  7.3   develop measures for county performance in addition to those in 
  7.4   paragraph (a).  In developing these measures, the commissioner 
  7.5   must consider: 
  7.6      (1) a measure for MFIP cases that leave assistance due to 
  7.7   employment; 
  7.8      (2) job retention after participants leave MFIP; and 
  7.9      (3) participant's earnings at a follow-up point after the 
  7.10  participant has left MFIP. 
  7.11     (c) If sanctions occur for failure to meet the performance 
  7.12  standards specified in title 1 of Public Law Number 104-193 of 
  7.13  the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996, 
  7.14  the state shall pay 88 percent of the sanction.  The remaining 
  7.15  12 percent of the sanction will be paid by the counties.  The 
  7.16  county portion of the sanction will be distributed across all 
  7.17  counties in proportion to each county's percentage of the MFIP 
  7.18  average monthly caseload during the period for which the 
  7.19  sanction was applied. 
  7.20     (d) If a county fails to meet the performance standards 
  7.21  specified in title 1 of Public Law Number 104-193 of the 
  7.22  Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 for any 
  7.23  year, the commissioner shall work with counties to organize a 
  7.24  joint state-county technical assistance team to work with the 
  7.25  county.  The commissioner shall coordinate any technical 
  7.26  assistance with other departments and agencies including the 
  7.27  departments of economic security and children, families, and 
  7.28  learning as necessary to achieve the purpose of this paragraph.