HOUSE  .   .   .   .   .   .   .  No. 3594

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
______________________________________

                              HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, March 13, 2019.                         

The committee on Ways and Means, to whom was referred the Bill to lift the cap on kids (House, No. 104), reports recommending that the same ought to pass with an amendment substituting therefor the accompanying bill (House, No. 3594).

For the committee,

AARON MICHELWITZ.

        FILED ON: 3/13/2019

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3594

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninety-First General Court
(2019-2020)

_______________

An Act to lift the cap on kids.

Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to provide forthwith aid to certain families with dependent children, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public convenience.
 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. The first paragraph of section 2 of chapter 118 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following sentence:- Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, aid shall be provided for each such child or children without regard to whether the child was conceived or born after the parent began receiving aid under this chapter.

SECTION 2. Subsection (a) of section 110 of chapter 5 of the acts of 1995 is hereby amended by striking out the definition of “Child of record”.

SECTION 3. Said section 110 of said chapter 5 is hereby further amended by striking out subsection (c).

SECTION 4. Clause (3) of subsection (e) of said section 110 of said chapter 5, as amended by section 25 of chapter 158 of the acts of 2014, is hereby further amended by striking out the words “of record under the age of two years or any child other than the child of record who is under the age of three months” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- under the age of 2 years.

SECTION 5. The first paragraph of subsection (j) of said section 110 of said chapter 5, as most recently amended by section 27 of chapter 158 of the acts of 2014, is hereby further amended by striking out the second sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- The program shall require that the head of household in each such family, or both parents in a 2-parent family, shall participate in work-related activities for: (i) 20 hours each week if the youngest child in the family is between the age of 2 and the age at which full-time schooling becomes mandatory; or (ii) 30 hours each week if the youngest child in the family has reached the age at which full-time schooling is mandatory.

SECTION 6. Said subsection (j) of said section 110 of said chapter 5, is hereby further amended by striking out the last paragraph, as appearing in section 528 of chapter 26 of the acts of 2003.

SECTION 7. Section 130 of said chapter 5 is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 5 and 6, the words “; the ineligibility of children born after the child of record for assistance”.

SECTION 8. Sections 1 to 7, inclusive, shall take effect as of January 1, 2019; provided, however, that the department of transitional assistance shall implement said sections 1 to 7, inclusive, not later than September 1, 2019, with aid retroactive to January 1, 2019.