2001 Legislative Session Work and Results

MN-WRC and WRC Bills/ Senate Bills:
1. Time Limit: Stop/ extend time limit for 100%
    a. Repeal the time limit (never made it to conference cmtee)
    b. Exempt families from time limit clock if disabled or caring for disabled family member, if exempt from work requirements, if      working or going to school and working for 20 hours a week (single parent) for 40 hours (two-parent family). Extend time limit for everyone else who hits the time limit (county could challenge the extenstion if we had absolutely no barriers, or had no            barriers and were not working or going to school the amount agreed on in employment plan, or if we had never been denied education.)
2. Sanctions: Stop illegal sanctions/ reduce sanctions
    a. decrease sanctions to 5%, 10% (never made it to conference cmtee)
    b. stop illegal sanctions- must be a meeting before any sanction can be imposed.
3. $100 Cut: Stop $100 cut to families living in subsidized housing
    a. Repeal the law to cut $100 a month from the cash grant of families living in subsidized housing. This would've started on this      July 1, 2001.
4. Immigrant Cuts: Stop all cuts to immigrants.
    a. Repeal sunset law that would have stopped the state from making up food stamp and cash cuts to the immigrant families who lost federal $ for food and cash. The state make-up for cuts would've ended this July 1, 2001 and next July 1,    2002.
5. Education: Education as a first choice for up to 2-4 years.
    a. Education as a first choice for up to 4 years ( this did not make it to conference committee)
    b. Education as a first choice for up to 2 years. This wouuld've changed the law so that job counselors would have to allow us    education, if we showed it met the criteria.

House Republicans Bills:
1. Time Limit: Extend time limit for 0% to 3%
    a. Let everyone hit time limit in five years and don't extend limit for anyone (this was their real position that they threatened with all year.)
    b. Extend families that have sev ere disabilities, caring for family member with severe disability, or are unemployable. This would cover about 3 % of the families.
2. Sanctions: Increase sanctions to 100%!
    a. Increase sanctions to 100% across the state. This would've started this July 1, 2001. Aftern 4th sanction, entire family would be cut off welfare.
3. $100 Cut: Cut $100 starting July 1, 2001
    a. Start cutting $100 a month from cash grant of families in subsidized housing on July 1, 2001.
4. Immigrant cuts: cut state makeup for cuts to immigrants.
    a. Go through with cuts in state makeup for food stamps and cash for immigrant families who were cut at federal level. These would've started this July 1, 2001 and July 1, 2002. (this didn't go to conference committee)
    b. Before the bill went to conference committee, the House agreed to delay the food stamp and cash cut off one year, meaning both would have gone into effect next year on July 1, 2002.
5. Education: No increase in education in MFIP.
    a. House Republicans would basically like to eliminate the education we have in the bill now. They had no proposals regarding decreasing education this year. (We defeated their bill to decrease education last year).

What became Law:
1. Time Limit: Extend time limit for 50%
     a. Time extended for families who hit the 5 year limit and are either professionally certified ill or disabled, caring for professionally certified ill or disabled family member, are unemployable, are learning disabled, or are working 25 hours a week plus 5 hours job activity per week (single parent); or 45 hours a week plus 10 hours job activity a week.
     b. Must be out of sanction when time limit hits, and must not have been in sanction for 10 months of 12 months previous to time limit hitting.
     c. Extenstions expire 6-30-2004.
2. Sanctions: 100% Sanctions Stopped!
     a. No statewide 100% increase in sanctions.
     b. Counties can put a proposal in to the DHS to do pilot projects to increase sanctions in their county.
3. $100 cut delayed
   a. $100 cut is still in law but delayed from going into effect for two more years. This means we will have to fight it again in two years. We have delayed this cut now since 1998.
4. Immigrant Cuts delayed
   a. Sunset on food stamp and cash make-up by Minnesota were delayed for 2 years. This means we'll have to fight it again in two years.
5. Education: education increased to 2 years!
   a. Now we can get education for up to two years but the job counselor can still sayno. but they increased the $ to show more families would get education approved, so Sen. Berglin says the DHS is going to send a message to counties and employment agencies about allowing education.

FFI: Welfare Rights Committee or MN Welfare Rights Coalition 612-822-8020