HOUSE BILL No. 4195


     January 30, 1997, Introduced by Reps. Scott, DeHart, LaForge, Varga, Murphy, Schermesser, Hale, Parks and Vaughn and referred to the Committee on Human Services and Children.


        A bill to amend 1939 PA 280, entitled

   "The social welfare act,"

   by amending section 57a (MCL 400.57a), as added by 1995 PA 223.

               THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 1         Sec. 57a.  (1) The family independence agency shall estab-

 2    lish and administer the family independence program to provide

 3    assistance to families who are making efforts to achieve

 4    independence.

 5         (2) The family independence agency shall administer the

 6    family independence program to accomplish all of the following:

 7         (a) Provide financial support to eligible families while

 8    they pursue self-improvement activities and engage in efforts to

 9    become financially independent.






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 1         (b) Ensure that recipients who are minor parents live in

 2    adult-supervised households in order to reduce long-term

 3    dependency on financial assistance.

 4         (c) Assist families in determining and overcoming the barri-

 5    ers preventing them from achieving financial independence.

 6         (d) Ensure that families pursue other sources of support

 7    available to them.

 8         (3) The family independence agency shall establish income

 9    and asset levels for eligibility, types of income and assets to

10    be considered in making eligibility determinations, payment stan-

11    dards, composition of the program group and the family indepen-

12    dence assistance group, program budgeting and accounting methods,

13    and client reporting requirements to meet the following goals:

14         (a) Efficient, fair, cost-effective administration of the

15    family independence program.

16         (b) Provision of family independence assistance to families

17    willing to work toward eventual self-sufficiency.

18         (4) POLICIES REGARDING TYPES OF INCOME AND ASSETS TO BE CON-

19    SIDERED FOR ELIGIBILITY SHALL INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:

20         (A) A RECIPIENT'S BUSINESS ASSETS USED IN A SELF-EMPLOYMENT

21    ENTERPRISE SHALL BE EVALUATED AND SEPARATED FROM THE RECIPIENT'S

22    PERSONAL ASSETS.  UP TO $5,000.00 IN SELF-EMPLOYMENT BUSINESS

23    ASSETS SHALL BE DISREGARDED, FOR A PERIOD OF NOT MORE THAN 2

24    YEARS, IN THE DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR FAMILY INDEPEN-

25    DENCE ASSISTANCE.

26         (B) IF A RECIPIENT'S INCOME OR RETURN ON CAPITAL FROM A

27    SELF-EMPLOYMENT ENTERPRISE IS REINVESTED IN THE ENTERPRISE, THAT



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 1    INCOME OR RETURN ON CAPITAL SHALL BE DISREGARDED IN THE

 2    DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR FAMILY INDEPENDENCE ASSISTANCE.




















































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