MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2019 Regular Session
To: Public Health and Welfare; Accountability, Efficiency, Transparency
By: Senator(s) Doty
AN ACT TO BE KNOWN AS THE "MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES GEN+ ACT," WHICH IS A MULTIGENERATIONAL APPROACH TO PROACTIVELY ADDRESS POVERTY AND REMOVE INSTITUTIONAL BARRIERS TO SELF-SUFFICIENCY; TO ENACT PROVISIONS RELATING TO CHILD SUPPORT AND THE SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (SNAP); AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Mississippi Department of Human Services GEN+ Act."
SECTION 2. GEN+ framework. (1) The Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS) shall develop and implement a multigenerational approach that addresses poverty and associated barriers to self-sufficiency with an intentional focus on working with the whole family. This approach shall address the following components:
(a) Education;
(b) Economic supports through workforce development;
(c) Health and well-being; and
(d) Social capital education.
(2) The goal of this approach shall be to create a framework within the Department to identify resources and services, along with program support, to build upon the successes of the family as a whole and move the family to self-sufficiency.
(3) MDHS shall utilize partnerships with state and community organizations to fill in service gaps and guarantee that quality services are not being unnecessarily duplicated.
(4) MDHS shall develop performance measures that shall be used to inform the implementation of this approach and shall make recommendations to the Legislature on the removal of barriers that prevent families from moving to self-sufficiency.
SECTION 3. The following shall be codified as Section 43-1-29.2, Mississippi Code of 1972:
43-1-29.2. (1) The Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS) may exercise the option pursuant to 21 USC Section 862(d)(1)(A) to exempt certain individuals from the permanent federal ban on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for individuals convicted of a drug-related felony as established by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996.
(2) SNAP benefits may be accessed by individuals convicted of a drug-related felony if the individual meets all SNAP eligibility requirements, including work registration requirements and one (1) of the following conditions are met:
(a) The individual is an active participant in a certified Mississippi Drug Court; or
(b) The individual is a graduate of a certified Mississippi Drug Court, with no convictions subsequent to drug court graduation; or
(c) The individual has no more than one (1) drug-related felony conviction.
SECTION 4. The following shall be codified as Section 43-19-36, Mississippi Code of 1972:
43-19-36. (1) Child support obligations shall be suspended, by operation of law, for any period exceeding one hundred eighty (180) consecutive days in which the person ordered to pay support is incarcerated or involuntarily institutionalized, unless either of the following conditions exist:
(a) The person owing support has the means to pay support in accordance with the guidelines established in Sections 43-19-101 and 43-19-103 while incarcerated or involuntarily institutionalized; or
(b) The person owing support was incarcerated or involuntarily institutionalized for an offense constituting domestic violence, as defined in Section 97-3-7, child abuse as defined in Section 97-5-39, or criminal nonpayment of child support as defined in Section 97-5-3.
(2) The child support obligation will resume the first day of the month following the expiration of sixty (60) days after the date the noncustodial parent is released from incarceration, and the noncustodial parent's child support order and obligation will become enforceable on that date. This section does not preclude a person owing support from seeking a modification of the child support order based on a change in circumstances or other appropriate reason.
(3) The Department of Human Services enforcing a child support order under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act (42 USC Section 651 et seq.) may, upon written notice of the proposed adjustment to the obligor and the obligee, administratively adjust the arrears balance for an order for child support suspended pursuant to subsection (1) of this section if all of the following occurs:
(a) The department verifies that arrears were accrued in violation of this section;
(b) The department verifies that neither of the conditions set forth in paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (1) of this section exist; and
(c) Neither the support obligor nor obligee objects in writing within thirty (30) days of receipt of the notice of proposed adjustment by the department.
(d) If either the support obligor or obligee objects to the administrative adjustment set forth in this subsection, the department shall file a petition with the court for a determination of the arrears balance.
(e) The department may perform this adjustment without regard to whether it was enforcing the child support order at the time the parent owing support qualified for relief under this section.
(4) This section does not prohibit the Department of Human Services or a party from petitioning a court for a determination of child support or arrears amounts.
(5) For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(a) "Incarcerated or involuntarily institutionalized" includes, but is not limited to, involuntary confinement to a federal or state prison or correctional facility, a county jail, a juvenile detention center, or a mental health facility. Incarceration or involuntarily institutionalized does not include probation or work release, and the one hundred eighty (180) consecutive days excludes credit for time served before sentencing.
(b) "Child support obligation" is defined as the payment due on the current child support order, an arrears payment on a preexisting arrears balance, or interest on arrears.
(c) "Suspension" is defined as a child support obligation being administratively set to Zero Dollars ($0) for the period in which the person owing support is incarcerated or involuntarily institutionalized, and prevents the accrual of arrears during said period of incarceration.
(6) This section applies to every child support obligation in which the person who is ordered to pay is incarcerated for one hundred eighty (180) days after the enactment of this section.
SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2019.