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| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
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| HOUSE BILL |
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| INTRODUCED BY SONNEY, SAYLOR, DENLINGER, FARRY, PEIFER, S. H. SMITH, TURZAI, BAKER, BARRAR, BEAR, BOYD, BRADFORD, CALTAGIRONE, CLYMER, CREIGHTON, CUTLER, ELLIS, GABLER, GEIST, GINGRICH, GOODMAN, GRELL, GROVE, HENNESSEY, HESS, HICKERNELL, HORNAMAN, HUTCHINSON, KAUFFMAN, M. KELLER, KILLION, KNOWLES, KRIEGER, MAJOR, MARSHALL, MARSICO, METZGAR, MICOZZIE, MILLARD, MILLER, MILNE, MOUL, MURT, OBERLANDER, O'NEILL, PALLONE, PAYTON, PHILLIPS, PICKETT, PYLE, RAPP, REICHLEY, SCAVELLO, SIPTROTH, SWANGER, TALLMAN, THOMAS AND VULAKOVICH, APRIL 29, 2010 |
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| REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, APRIL 29, 2010 |
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| AN ACT |
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1 | Amending the act of June 13, 1967 (P.L.31, No.21), entitled "An |
2 | act to consolidate, editorially revise, and codify the public |
3 | welfare laws of the Commonwealth," further providing for |
4 | workfare program. |
5 | The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
6 | hereby enacts as follows: |
7 | Section 1. Section 405.2 of the act of June 13, 1967 |
8 | (P.L.31, No.21), known as the Public Welfare Code, amended or |
9 | added April 8, 1982 (P.L.231, No.75), June 16, 1994 (P.L.319, |
10 | No.49) and June 30, 1995 (P.L.129, No.20), is amended to read: |
11 | Section 405.2. Workfare Program.--(a) The department shall |
12 | enter into cooperative agreements to establish workfare projects |
13 | with [departments, agencies or institutions of the Commonwealth |
14 | or any political subdivision located within the Commonwealth or |
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1 | any agency of the Federal Government or department-approved |
2 | nonprofit organizations or established for-profit temporary help |
3 | organizations for temporary placement with] private, nonprofit |
4 | or for-profit employers. Participating for-profit temporary help |
5 | organizations shall recover their costs and profit from fees |
6 | charged to employers on a voluntary basis. The department shall |
7 | assign to these [work] workfare projects cash assistance |
8 | recipients who are able to work but have been unable to secure |
9 | employment. In instances when workfare projects are not |
10 | available for all recipients, priority shall be given to general |
11 | assistance recipients for referral to available projects. The |
12 | department shall structure the workfare program to permit a |
13 | claimant to be matched with a business participating in the |
14 | program. The business shall provide recipients participating in |
15 | the program with workplace training that provides skill |
16 | enhancement from participating employers for up to twenty-four |
17 | hours per week for up to six weeks. Upon completion of the |
18 | training, recipients must be considered for employment by the |
19 | participating employer. |
20 | (a.1) In order to participate in the program, a business |
21 | shall certify all of the following to the department: |
22 | (1) that it has open employment positions available; |
23 | (2) that it intends to hire for a position that a claimant |
24 | may fill through the program; and |
25 | (3) that it will follow up a claimant's participation in the |
26 | program with a performance evaluation of the claimant, |
27 | regardless of whether or not the claimant is hired for |
28 | employment. |
29 | (b) Every individual who has not received a bona fide offer |
30 | of training or employment under section 405.1 shall, as a |
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1 | condition of continuing eligibility for cash assistance, report |
2 | to and work in an available workfare project established under |
3 | this section unless such individual is exempt from the |
4 | registration requirements of section 405.1. Such individual |
5 | shall be required to work that number of hours which when |
6 | multiplied by the applicable minimum wage equals the amount of |
7 | cash assistance such person receives: Provided, however, That: |
8 | (1) such work shall not exceed forty hours per week; and |
9 | (2) the parent or other caretaker of a child between the |
10 | ages of six and fourteen who is personally providing care for |
11 | the child with only very brief and infrequent absences from the |
12 | child shall not be required to participate in workfare projects |
13 | except on days and at times when the child is in school or when |
14 | there are adequate day-care arrangements available for the child |
15 | at no cost to the recipient. |
16 | (c) Workfare projects established under this section must be |
17 | approved by the department. To qualify for approval, a work site |
18 | must conform to appropriate health and safety standards. Cash |
19 | assistance recipients shall not be assigned to work |
20 | opportunities available due to a labor dispute, strike, or |
21 | lockout and shall not be assigned to perform work so as to cause |
22 | the layoff, downgrading or prevention of return to work of an |
23 | available competent employe. Cash assistance recipients shall be |
24 | assigned to workfare projects within twenty-five miles of their |
25 | place of residence unless the department determines that a |
26 | greater distance is not a hardship. |
27 | (d) [A person who without good cause fails or refuses to |
28 | accept assignment to and participate in a workfare project shall |
29 | be terminated from assistance pursuant to section 432.3] |
30 | (Reserved). |
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1 | (e) The department shall propose initial rules and |
2 | regulations for the administration of this section prior to the |
3 | effective date of this section. Neither initial rules and |
4 | regulations nor any promulgated thereafter with regard to this |
5 | section shall take effect without the approval of the General |
6 | Assembly. The department's proposed initial rules and |
7 | regulations shall be submitted to, and approved or disapproved |
8 | by, the Senate and the House of Representatives in the same |
9 | manner as provided for the consideration of reorganization plans |
10 | provided for by the act of April 7, 1955 (P.L.23, No.8), known |
11 | as the "Reorganization Act of 1955." In the event that the |
12 | General Assembly disapproves the proposed rules and regulations, |
13 | then the department shall submit new rules and regulations |
14 | within thirty days. |
15 | (f) Workmen's compensation insurance premiums shall be the |
16 | responsibility of the entity which provides the employment |
17 | opportunity. |
18 | (g) An [independent] annual performance evaluation shall be |
19 | performed by the department on the [community work experience] |
20 | workfare program. A report [on the evaluation] shall be |
21 | submitted to the Governor and the General Assembly no later than |
22 | [March 31, 1995] July 1 of each year, and shall include, but not |
23 | be limited to, the following information: |
24 | (1) The number of persons eligible for and actively |
25 | participating in the program. |
26 | (2) A review of the program implementation process, |
27 | including the number and type of [community work] workfare |
28 | projects approved by the department, designated by county. |
29 | (3) Problems with achieving broader participation in the |
30 | program. |
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1 | (4) Program adjustments and resulting program activity. |
2 | (5) An examination of the extent to which public assistance |
3 | recipients become employed, especially at the point of program |
4 | enrollment and during program participation. |
5 | (6) An examination of the extent to which the existence of a |
6 | program requirement appears to discourage employables from |
7 | remaining on public assistance. |
8 | (7) [The number of persons who have been disqualified from |
9 | cash assistance for noncompliance with the program] (Reserved). |
10 | (h) Within ninety days of the effective date of this |
11 | section, the department shall submit to the appropriate Federal |
12 | agency a request for any and all waivers of Federal law and |
13 | regulations and for other approvals by the Federal Government |
14 | necessary for the implementation of the programs established |
15 | under this section. It shall be the obligation of the department |
16 | to enter into good faith negotiations with the appropriate |
17 | Federal authorities and to make every effort to obtain the |
18 | necessary Federal waivers and approvals. |
19 | Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days. |
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