1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to welfare; amending MFIP sanctions; 
  1.3             requiring a report by the legislative auditor; 
  1.4             amending Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 256J.46, 
  1.5             subdivision 1. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 256J.46, 
  1.8   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.9      Subdivision 1.  [SANCTIONS FOR PARTICIPANTS NOT COMPLYING 
  1.10  WITH PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.] (a) A participant who fails without 
  1.11  good cause to comply with the requirements of this chapter, and 
  1.12  who is not subject to a sanction under subdivision 2, shall be 
  1.13  subject to a sanction as provided in this subdivision. 
  1.14     A sanction under this subdivision becomes effective the 
  1.15  month following the month in which a required notice is given.  
  1.16  A sanction must not be imposed when a participant comes into 
  1.17  compliance with the requirements for orientation under section 
  1.18  256J.45 or third-party liability for medical services under 
  1.19  section 256J.30, subdivision 10, prior to the effective date of 
  1.20  the sanction.  A sanction must not be imposed when a participant 
  1.21  comes into compliance with the requirements for employment and 
  1.22  training services under sections 256J.49 to 256J.72 ten days 
  1.23  prior to the effective date of the sanction.  For purposes of 
  1.24  this subdivision, each month that a participant fails to comply 
  1.25  with a requirement of this chapter shall be considered a 
  2.1   separate occurrence of noncompliance.  A participant who has had 
  2.2   one or more sanctions imposed must remain in compliance with the 
  2.3   provisions of this chapter for six months in order for a 
  2.4   subsequent occurrence of noncompliance to be considered a first 
  2.5   occurrence.  
  2.6      (b) Sanctions for noncompliance shall be imposed as follows:
  2.7      (1) For the first occurrence of noncompliance by a 
  2.8   participant in a single-parent household or by one participant 
  2.9   in a two-parent household, the job counselor must initiate 
  2.10  personal contact with the participant by either having a 
  2.11  personal meeting with the participant or a telephone 
  2.12  conversation with the participant, and thoroughly review the 
  2.13  exemption and good cause categories with the participant to 
  2.14  determine if the participant falls under one or more of the 
  2.15  categories.  If the participant does not fall under an exemption 
  2.16  or good cause category, the assistance unit's grant shall be 
  2.17  reduced by ten five percent of the MFIP standard of need for an 
  2.18  assistance unit of the same size with the residual grant paid to 
  2.19  the participant.  The reduction in the grant amount must be in 
  2.20  effect for a minimum of one month and shall be removed in the 
  2.21  month following the month that the participant returns to 
  2.22  compliance.  
  2.23     (2) For a second or subsequent occurrence of noncompliance, 
  2.24  or when both participants in a two-parent household are out of 
  2.25  compliance at the same time, the assistance unit's shelter costs 
  2.26  shall be vendor paid up to the amount of the cash portion of the 
  2.27  MFIP grant for which the participant's assistance unit is 
  2.28  eligible.  At county option, the assistance unit's utilities may 
  2.29  also be vendor paid up to the amount of the cash portion of the 
  2.30  MFIP grant remaining after vendor payment of the assistance 
  2.31  unit's shelter costs.  The residual amount of the grant after 
  2.32  vendor payment, if any, must be reduced by an amount equal to 30 
  2.33  ten percent of the MFIP standard of need for an assistance unit 
  2.34  of the same size before the residual grant is paid to the 
  2.35  assistance unit.  The reduction in the grant amount must be in 
  2.36  effect for a minimum of one month and shall be removed in the 
  3.1   month following the month that a participant in a one-parent 
  3.2   household returns to compliance.  In a two-parent household, the 
  3.3   grant reduction must be in effect for a minimum of one month and 
  3.4   shall be removed in the month following the month both 
  3.5   participants return to compliance.  The vendor payment of 
  3.6   shelter costs and, if applicable, utilities shall be removed six 
  3.7   months after the month in which the participant or participants 
  3.8   return to compliance. 
  3.9      (3) The food portion of the MFIP grant must not be 
  3.10  sanctioned. 
  3.11     (c) No later than during the second month that a sanction 
  3.12  under paragraph (b), clause (2), is in effect due to 
  3.13  noncompliance with employment services, the participant's case 
  3.14  file must be reviewed to determine if: 
  3.15     (i) the continued noncompliance can be explained and 
  3.16  mitigated by providing a needed preemployment activity, as 
  3.17  defined in section 256J.49, subdivision 13, clause (16); 
  3.18     (ii) the participant qualifies for a good cause exception 
  3.19  under section 256J.57; or 
  3.20     (iii) the participant qualifies for an exemption under 
  3.21  section 256J.56. 
  3.22     If the lack of an identified activity can explain the 
  3.23  noncompliance, the county must work with the participant to 
  3.24  provide the identified activity, and the county must restore the 
  3.25  participant's grant amount to the full amount for which the 
  3.26  assistance unit is eligible.  The grant must be restored 
  3.27  retroactively to the first day of the month in which the 
  3.28  participant was found to lack preemployment activities or to 
  3.29  qualify for an exemption or good cause exception. 
  3.30     If the participant is found to qualify for a good cause 
  3.31  exception or an exemption, the county must restore the 
  3.32  participant's grant to the full amount for which the assistance 
  3.33  unit is eligible. 
  3.34     Sec. 2.  [SANCTION REPORT.] 
  3.35     The legislative auditor, with input from previous and 
  3.36  current MFIP participants, shall investigate inconsistent or 
  4.1   illegal sanctions that were imposed on MFIP participants from 
  4.2   January of 1998 to the present.  The legislative auditor shall 
  4.3   report the sanction activity, provide recommendations to 
  4.4   reconcile past illegal or inconsistent sanctions, and recommend 
  4.5   solutions that will ensure that MFIP sanctions are imposed 
  4.6   fairly and consistently in the future.