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AN ACT

RELATING TO PUBLIC BENEFITS; AMENDING SECTIONS OF THE NEW

MEXICO WORKS ACT AND THE EDUCATION WORKS ACT TO COMPLY WITH

CHANGES IN FEDERAL LAW; MODIFYING ELIGIBILITY FOR BENEFITS,

WORK REQUIREMENTS AND SUPERVISION FOR CLIENTS IN THE TEMPORARY

ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES PROGRAM AND OTHER RELATED

PROGRAMS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

Section 1. Section 27-2B-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1998,

Chapter 8, Section 3 and Laws 1998, Chapter 9, Section 3, as

amended by Laws 2003, Chapter 311, Section 2 and by Laws 2003,

Chapter 432, Section 2) is amended to read:

"27-2B-3. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the New Mexico Works

Act:

A. "applicant" means a person applying for cash

assistance on behalf of a benefit group;

B. "benefit group" means a pregnant woman or a

group of people that includes a dependent child, all of that

dependent child's full, half or adopted siblings or

stepsiblings living with the dependent child's parent or

relative within the fifth degree of consanguinity and the

parent with whom the children live;

C. "cash assistance" means cash payments funded by

the temporary assistance for needy families block grant

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pursuant to the federal act and by state funds;

D. "department" means the human services

department;

E. "dependent child" means a natural child,

adopted child, stepchild or ward who is:

(1) seventeen years of age or younger;

(2) eighteen years of age and is enrolled in

high school; or

(3) between eighteen and twenty-two years of

age and is receiving special education services regulated by

the public education department;

F. "director" means the director of the income

support division of the department;

G. "earned income" means cash or payment in kind

that is received as wages from employment or payment in lieu

of wages; and earnings from self-employment or earnings

acquired from the direct provision of services, goods or

property, production of goods, management of property or

supervision of services;

H. "federal act" means the federal Social Security

Act and rules promulgated pursuant to the Social Security Act;

I. "federal poverty guidelines" means the level of

income defining poverty by family size published annually in

the federal register by the United States department of health

and human services;

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J. "immigrant" means alien as defined in the

federal act;

K. "parent" means natural parent, adoptive parent,

stepparent or legal guardian;

L. "participant" means a recipient of cash

assistance or services or a member of a benefit group who has

reached the age of majority;

M. "person" means an individual;

N. "secretary" means the secretary of the

department;

O. "services" means child care assistance; payment

for employment-related transportation costs; job search

assistance; employment counseling; employment, education and

job training placement; one-time payment for necessary

employment-related costs; case management; or other activities

whose purpose is to assist transition into employment;

P. "unearned income" means old age, survivors and

disability insurance; railroad retirement benefits; veterans

administration compensation or pension; military retirement;

pensions, annuities and retirement benefits; lodge or

fraternal benefits; shared shelter payments; settlement

payments; individual Indian money; child support; unemployment

compensation benefits; union benefits paid in cash; gifts and

contributions; and real property income;

Q. "vehicle" means a conveyance for the

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transporting of individuals to or from employment, for the

activities of daily living or for the transportation of goods;

"vehicle" does not include any boat, trailer or mobile home

used as a principal place of residence; and

R. "vocational education" means an organized

educational program that is directly related to the

preparation of a person for employment in a current or

emerging occupation requiring training other than a

baccalaureate or advanced degree. Vocational education must

be provided by an educational or a training organization, such

as a vocational-technical school, community college, post-

secondary educational institution or proprietary school."

Section 2. Section 27-2B-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1998,

Chapter 8, Section 4 and Laws 1998, Chapter 9, Section 4, as

amended by Laws 2001, Chapter 295, Section 2 and by Laws 2001,

Chapter 326, Section 2) is amended to read:

"27-2B-4. APPLICATION--RESOURCE PLANNING SESSION--

INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY PLANS--PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT--

REVIEW PERIODS.--

A. Application for cash assistance or services

shall be made to the department. The application shall be in

writing or reduced to writing in the manner and on the form

prescribed by the department. The application shall be made

under oath by an applicant having custody of or residing with

a dependent child who is a benefit group member and shall

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contain a statement of the age of the child, residence, a

complete statement of the amount of property in which the

applicant has an interest, a statement of all income that the

applicant and other benefit group members have at the time of

the filing of the application and other information required

by the department.

B. The department shall assist an applicant in

completing the application for cash assistance or services and

shall evaluate an applicant to determine eligibility for all

department programs for which the applicant is eligible. The

department shall process all expedited food stamp applications

within two business days of submission, and the department

shall deliver expedited food stamps to an eligible applicant

within seven days of the application.

C. At the time of application for cash assistance

and services, an applicant and the department shall identify

everyone who is to be counted in the benefit group. Once an

application is approved, the participant shall advise the

department if there are any changes in the membership of the

benefit group.

D. No later than thirty days after an application

is filed, the department shall provide to an applicant a

resource planning session to ascertain the applicant's

immediate needs, assess financial and nonfinancial options,

make referrals and act on the application.

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E. No later than five days after an application is

approved, the department shall provide reimbursement for child

care.

F. Whenever the department receives an application

for assistance, a verification and record of the applicant's

circumstances shall promptly be made to ascertain the facts

supporting the application and to obtain other information

required by the department. The verification may include a

visit to the home of the applicant, as long as the department

gives adequate prior notice of the visit to the applicant.

G. No later than fifteen days after an application

is approved, the department shall assess the education,

skills, prior work experience and employability of the

participant.

H. After the initial assessment of skills, the

department shall work with the participant to develop an

individual responsibility plan that:

(1) sets forth an employment goal for the

participant and a plan for moving the participant into

employment;

(2) sets forth obligations of the

participant that may include a requirement that the

participant attend school, maintain certain grades and

attendance, keep the participant's school-age children in

school, immunize the participant's children or engage in other

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activities that will help the participant become and remain

employed;

(3) is designed to the greatest extent

possible to move the participant into whatever employment the

participant is capable of handling and to provide additional

services as necessary to increase the responsibility and

amount of work the participant will handle over time;

(4) describes the services the department

may provide so that the participant may obtain and keep

employment; and

(5) may require the participant to

participate in appropriate services, such as substance abuse,

domestic violence or mental health services.

I. The participant and the department shall sign

the participant's individual responsibility plan. The

department shall not allow a participant to decline to

participate in developing an individual responsibility plan.

The department shall not waive the requirement that a

participant develop an individual responsibility plan. The

department shall emphasize the importance of the individual

responsibility plan to the participant.

J. If a participant does not develop an individual

responsibility plan, refuses to sign an individual

responsibility plan or refuses to attend semiannual reviews of

an individual responsibility plan, the participant shall be

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required to enter into a conciliation process pursuant to

Subsection C of Section 27-2B-14 NMSA 1978. If the

participant persists in noncompliance with the individual

responsibility plan process after the conciliation process,

the participant shall be subject to sanctions pursuant to

Section 27-2B-14 NMSA 1978.

K. The participant shall also sign a participation

agreement that designates the number of hours that the

participant must participate in work activities to meet

participation standards.

L. The department shall review the current

financial eligibility of a benefit group when the department

reviews food stamp eligibility.

M. The department shall meet semiannually with a

participant to review and revise the participant's individual

responsibility plan.

N. The department shall develop a complaint

procedure to address issues pertinent to the delivery of

services and other issues relating to a participant's

individual responsibility plan."

Section 3. Section 27-2B-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1998,

Chapter 8, Section 5 and Laws 1998, Chapter 9, Section 5, as

amended) is amended to read:

"27-2B-5. WORK REQUIREMENTS--WORK PARTICIPATION

RATES.--

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A. The following qualify as work activities:

(1) unsubsidized employment, including self-

employment;

(2) subsidized private sector employment,

including self-employment;

(3) subsidized public sector employment;

(4) work experience;

(5) on-the-job training;

(6) job search and job readiness;

(7) community service programs;

(8) vocational education;

(9) job skills training activities directly

related to employment;

(10) education directly related to

employment;

(11) satisfactory attendance at a secondary

school or course of study leading to a certificate of general

equivalency in the case of a participant who has not completed

secondary school or received such a certificate; and

(12) the provision of child care services to

a participant who is participating in a community service

program.

B. The department shall recognize community

service programs and job training programs that are operated

by an Indian nation, tribe or pueblo.

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C. The department may not require a participant to

work more than four hours per week over the work requirement

rate set pursuant to the federal act.

D. The department shall require a parent,

caretaker or other adult who is a member of a benefit group to

engage in a work activity.

E. Where best suited for the participant to

address barriers, the department may require the following

work activities:

(1) participating in parenting classes,

money management classes or life skills training;

(2) participating in a certified alcohol or

drug addiction program;

(3) in the case of a homeless benefit group,

finding a home;

(4) in the case of a participant who is a

victim of domestic violence residing in a domestic violence

shelter or receiving counseling or treatment or participating

in criminal justice activities directed at prosecuting the

domestic violence perpetrator for no longer than twenty-four

weeks; and

(5) in the case of a participant who does

not speak English, participating in a course in English as a

second language.

F. Subject to the availability of funds, the

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department in cooperation with the labor department, Indian

affairs department and other appropriate state agencies may

develop projects to provide for the placement of participants

in work activities, including the following:

(1) participating in unpaid internships with

private and government entities;

(2) refurbishing publicly assisted housing;

(3) volunteering at a head start program or

a school;

(4) weatherizing low-income housing; and

(5) restoring public sites and buildings,

including monuments, parks, fire stations, police buildings,

jails, libraries, museums, auditoriums, convention halls,

hospitals, buildings for administrative offices and city

halls.

G. If a participant is engaged in full-time

vocational education studies or an activity set out in

Paragraphs (9) through (11) of Subsection A of this section,

the participant shall engage in another work activity at the

same time. Additionally, for two-parent families that receive

federally funded child-care assistance, the participant's

spouse shall engage in a work activity set out in Paragraphs

(1) through (5) or (7) of Subsection A of this section unless

the participant suffers from a temporary or complete

disability that bars the participant from engaging in a work

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activity or the participant is barred from engaging in a work

activity because the participant provides sole care for a

disabled person.

H. A participant engaged in vocational education

studies shall make reasonable efforts to obtain a loan,

scholarship, grant or other assistance to pay for costs and

tuition, and the department shall disregard those amounts in

the eligibility determination.

I. For as long as the described conditions exist,

the following are exempt from the work requirement:

(1) a participant barred from engaging in a

work activity because the participant is temporarily or

completely disabled;

(2) a participant over age sixty;

(3) a participant barred from engaging in a

work activity because the participant provides the sole care

for a disabled person;

(4) a single custodial parent caring for a

child less than twelve months old for a lifetime total of

twelve months;

(5) a single custodial parent caring for a

child under six years of age if the parent is unable to obtain

child care for one or more of the following reasons:

(a) unavailability of appropriate child

care within a reasonable distance from the parent's home or

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work as defined by the children, youth and families

department;

(b) unavailability or unsuitability of

informal child care by a relative under other arrangements as

defined by the children, youth and families department; or

(c) unavailability of appropriate and

affordable formal child-care arrangements as defined by the

children, youth and families department;

(6) a pregnant woman during her last

trimester of pregnancy;

(7) a participant prevented from working by

a temporary emergency or a situation that precludes work

participation for thirty days or less;

(8) a participant who demonstrates by

reliable medical, psychological or mental reports, court

orders or police reports that family violence or threat of

family violence effectively bars the participant from

employment; and

(9) a participant who demonstrates good

cause of the need for the exemption.

J. As a condition of the exemptions identified in

Subsection I of this section, the department may establish

participation requirements specific to the participant's

condition or circumstances, such as substance abuse services,

mental health services, domestic violence services, pursuit of

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disability benefits, job readiness or education directly

related to employment. The activities are established to

improve the participant's capacity to improve income and

strengthen family support."

Section 4. Section 27-2B-6 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1998,

Chapter 8, Section 6 and Laws 1998, Chapter 9, Section 6, as

amended by Laws 2003, Chapter 311, Section 3 and Laws 2003,

Chapter 432, Section 3) is amended to read:

"27-2B-6. DURATIONAL LIMITS.--

A. Pursuant to the federal act, on or after

July 1, 1997 a participant may receive federally funded cash

assistance or state-funded cash assistance and services

pursuant to the New Mexico Works Act for up to sixty months.

B. During a participant's semi-annual review, the

department shall examine the participant's progress to

determine if the participant has successfully completed an

educational or training program or increased the number of

hours the participant is working as required by the federal

act. The department may refer the participant to alternative

work activities or provide additional services to address

barriers to employment facing the participant.

C. Up to twenty percent of the population of

participants may be exempted from the sixty-month durational

limit set out in Subsection A of this section because of

hardship or because those participants are battered or subject

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to extreme cruelty.

D. For the purposes of this section, a participant

has been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty if the

participant can demonstrate by reliable medical, psychological

or mental reports, court orders or police reports that the

participant has been subjected to and currently is affected

by:

(1) physical acts that result in physical

injury;

(2) sexual abuse;

(3) being forced to engage in nonconsensual

sexual acts or activities;

(4) threats or attempts at physical or

sexual abuse;

(5) mental abuse; or

(6) neglect or deprivation of medical care

except when the deprivation is based by mutual consent on

religious grounds.

E. For the purposes of this section, a hardship

exception applies to a person who demonstrates through

reliable medical, psychological or mental reports, social

security administration records, court orders, police reports

or department records that the person is a person:

(1) who is barred from engaging in a work

activity because the person is temporarily or completely

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disabled;

(2) who is the sole provider of home care to

an ill or disabled family member;

(3) whose ability to be gainfully employed

is affected by domestic violence;

(4) whose application for supplemental

security income is pending in the application or appeals

process and who:

(a) meets the criteria of Paragraph (1)

of this subsection; or

(b) was granted a waiver from the work

requirement or was granted a limited participation requirement

pursuant to Paragraph (1) of Subsection I of Section 27-2B-5

NMSA 1978 in the last twenty-four months; or

(5) who otherwise qualifies for a hardship

exception as defined by the department.

F. Pursuant to the federal act, the department

shall not count a month of receipt of cash assistance or

services toward the sixty-month durational limit if during the

time of receipt the participant:

(1) was a minor and was not the head of a

household or married to the head of a household; or

(2) lived in Indian country, as defined in

the federal act, if the most reliable data available with

respect to the month indicate that at least fifty percent of

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the adults living in Indian country or in the village were not

employed."

Section 5. Section 27-2B-7 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1998,

Chapter 8, Section 7 and Laws 1998, Chapter 9, Section 7, as

amended) is amended to read:

"27-2B-7. FINANCIAL STANDARD OF NEED.--

A. The secretary shall adopt a financial standard

of need based upon the availability of federal and state funds

and based upon appropriations by the legislature of the

available federal temporary assistance for needy families

grant made pursuant to the federal act in the following

categories:

(1) cash assistance;

(2) child care services;

(3) other services; and

(4) administrative costs.

The legislature shall determine the actual percentage of

each category to be used annually of the federal temporary

assistance for needy families grant made pursuant to the

federal act. Within the New Mexico works program, the

department may provide cash assistance or services to specific

categories of benefit groups from general funds appropriated

to cash assistance or services. The department may exclude

these funds from temporary assistance for needy families

maintenance of effort. The department shall identify

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alternative state spending to claim as maintenance of effort

and make necessary arrangements to allow reporting of that

spending.

B. The following income sources are exempt from

the gross income test, the net income test and the cash

payment calculation:

(1) medicaid;

(2) food stamps;

(3) government-subsidized foster care

payments if the child for whom the payment is received is also

excluded from the benefit group;

(4) supplemental security income;

(5) government-subsidized housing or housing

payments;

(6) federally excluded income;

(7) educational payments made directly to an

educational institution;

(8) government-subsidized child care;

(9) earned income that belongs to a person

seventeen years of age or younger who is not the head of

household;

(10) child support passed through to the

participant by the child support enforcement division of the

department in the following amounts:

(a) fifty dollars ($50.00) per month

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through December 31, 2008; and

(b) no later than January 1, 2009, a

minimum of one hundred dollars ($100) for one child and two

hundred dollars ($200) for two or more children as based on

the availability of state or federal funds;

(11) earned income deposited in a family

opportunity account by a member of the benefit group or money

received as matching funds for allowable uses by the owner of

the family opportunity account pursuant to the Family

Opportunity Accounts Act; and

(12) other income sources as determined by

the department.

C. The total countable gross earned and unearned

income of the benefit group cannot exceed eighty-five percent

of the federal poverty guidelines for the size of the benefit

group.

D. For a benefit group to be eligible to

participate:

(1) gross countable income that belongs to

the benefit group must not exceed eighty-five percent of the

federal poverty guidelines for the size of the benefit group;

and

(2) net countable income that belongs to the

benefit group must not equal or exceed the financial standard

of need after applying the disregards set out in Paragraphs

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(1) through (4) of Subsection E of this section.

E. Subject to the availability of state and

federal funds, the department shall determine the cash payment

of the benefit group by applying the following disregards to

the benefit group's earned income and then subtracting that

amount from the benefit group's financial standard of need:

(1) one hundred twenty-five dollars ($125)

of monthly earned income and one-half of the remainder, or for

a two-parent family, two hundred twenty-five dollars ($225) of

monthly earned income and one-half of the remainder for each

parent;

(2) monthly payments made for child care at

a maximum of two hundred dollars ($200) for a child under two

years of age and at a maximum of one hundred seventy-five

dollars ($175) for a child two years of age or older;

(3) costs of self-employment income; and

(4) business expenses.

F. In addition to the disregards specified in

Subsection E of this section, and between the effective date

of this 2007 act and June 30, 2008, or until implementation of

the employment retention and advancement bonus program

described in Subsection G of this section, the department

shall apply the following income disregards to the benefit

group's earned income and then subtract that amount from the

benefit group's financial standard of need:

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(1) for the first two years of receiving

cash assistance or services, if a participant works over the

work requirement rate set by the department pursuant to the

New Mexico Works Act, one hundred percent of the income earned

by the participant beyond that rate; and

(2) for the first two years of receiving

cash assistance or services, for a two-parent benefit group in

which one parent works over thirty-five hours per week and the

other works over twenty-four hours per week, one hundred

percent of income earned by each participant beyond the work

requirement rate set by the department.

G. No later than July 1, 2008, New Mexico

employment incentives shall be as follows:

(1) the department shall implement an

employment retention and advancement bonus program based on

availability of state or federal funds that includes financial

incentives to encourage a participant to:

(a) leave the New Mexico works program

and move into an employment retention and advancement bonus

incentive program;

(b) maintain a minimum of thirty hours

per week employment; and

(c) leave the employment retention and

advancement bonus incentive program due to increased earnings

above the income eligibility standard and continue

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employment;

(2) the employment retention and advancement

bonus incentive program shall provide a cash bonus and

employment services to a former participant who, upon

application:

(a) is currently engaged in paid work

for a minimum of thirty hours per week;

(b) has received cash assistance for at

least three months and one of the last three months;

(c) has had a gross income of less than

one hundred fifty percent of the federal poverty guidelines;

and

(d) has participated in the employment

retention and advancement bonus incentive program for no

longer than eighteen months;

(3) for continued eligibility in the

employment retention and advancement bonus incentive program,

a participant shall:

(a) be engaged in paid work for thirty

hours per week for at least one of the past three months;

(b) be engaged in paid work for thirty

hours per week for at least four of the past six months;

(c) have had gross income less than one

hundred fifty percent of the federal poverty guidelines; and

(d) have participated in the program no

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more than eighteen months;

(4) the department shall provide employment

services to assist participants to access available work

supports, maintain employment and advance to higher-paying

employment; and

(5) the department shall:

(a) establish the amount of bonus to be

paid to participants in the employment retention and

advancement bonus program based on availability of state and

federal funds;

(b) propose rules to implement the

employment retention and advancement bonus incentive program

of this subsection no later than January 1, 2008; and

(c) begin implementation of the

employment retention and advancement bonus incentive program

of this subsection no later than July 1, 2008.

H. The department may recover overpayments of cash

assistance on a monthly basis not to exceed fifteen percent of

the financial standard of need applicable to the benefit

group.

I. Based upon the availability of funds and in

accordance with the federal act, the secretary may establish a

separate temporary assistance for needy families cash

assistance program that may waive certain New Mexico Works Act

requirements due to a specific situation."

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Section 6. Section 27-2B-11 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1998,

Chapter 8, Section 11 and Laws 1998, Chapter 9, Section 11, as

amended by Laws 2002, Chapter 5, Section 1 and by Laws 2002,

Chapter 6, Section 1) is amended to read:

"27-2B-11. INELIGIBILITY.--

A. The following are ineligible to be members of a

benefit group:

(1) an inmate or patient of a nonmedical

institution;

(2) a person who, in the two years preceding

application, assigned or transferred real property unless the

person:

(a) received or receives a reasonable

return;

(b) attempted to or attempts to receive

a reasonable return; or

(c) attempted to or attempts to regain

title to the real property;

(3) a minor unmarried parent who has not

successfully completed a high school education and who has a

child at least twelve weeks of age in the minor unmarried

parent's care unless the minor unmarried parent:

(a) participates in educational

activities directed toward the attainment of a high school

diploma or its equivalent; or

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(b) participates in an alternative

educational or training program that has been approved by the

department;

(4) a minor unmarried parent who is not

residing in a place of residence maintained by a parent, legal

guardian or other adult relative unless the department:

(a) refers or locates the minor

unmarried parent to a second-chance home, maternity home or

other appropriate adult-supervised supportive living

arrangement, and takes into account the needs and concerns of

the minor unmarried parent;

(b) determines that the minor unmarried

parent has no parent, legal guardian or other appropriate

adult relative who is living or whose whereabouts are known;

(c) determines that a minor unmarried

parent is not allowed to live in the home of a living parent,

legal guardian or other appropriate adult relative;

(d) determines that the minor unmarried

parent is or has been subjected to serious physical or

emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation in the home of

the parent, legal guardian or other appropriate adult

relative;

(e) finds that substantial evidence

exists of an act or a failure to act that presents an imminent

or serious harm to the minor unmarried parent and the child of

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the minor unmarried parent if they live in the same residence

with the parent, legal guardian or other appropriate adult

relative; or

(f) determines that it is in the best

interest of the unmarried minor parent to waive this

requirement;

(5) a minor child who has been absent or is

expected to be absent from the home for forty-five days;

(6) a person who does not provide a social

security number or who refuses to apply for one;

(7) a person who is not a resident of

New Mexico;

(8) a person who fraudulently misrepresented

residency to receive assistance in two or more states

simultaneously, except that the person shall be ineligible

only for ten years;

(9) a person who is a fleeing felon or a

probation and parole violator; and

(10) a person concurrently receiving

supplemental security income, tribal temporary assistance for

needy families or bureau of Indian affairs general assistance.

B. For the purposes of this section, "second-

chance home" means an entity that provides a supportive and

supervised living arrangement to a minor unmarried parent

where the minor unmarried parent is required to learn

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parenting skills, including child development, family

budgeting, health and nutrition, and other skills to promote

long-term economic independence and the well-being of

children.

C. Pursuant to the authorization provided to the

states in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity

Reconciliation Act of 1996, 21 U.S.C. Section 862a(d)(1)(A),

New Mexico elects to exempt all persons domiciled in the state

from application of 21 U.S.C. Section 862a(d)(1)(A) concerning

the restriction of eligibility for benefits on the basis of a

conviction for distribution of a controlled substance."

Section 7. Section 27-2B-19 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1998,

Chapter 8, Section 19 and Laws 1998, Chapter 9, Section 19) is

amended to read:

"27-2B-19. SUBSIDIZED EMPLOYMENT.--

A. The department may administer a wage subsidy

program based on availability of federal and state funds.

B. The wage subsidy program shall include the

following requirements:

(1) participating employers shall hire

participants who receive cash assistance for subsidized job

slots that are full time and that offer a reasonable

possibility of unsubsidized employment after the subsidy

period;

(2) participating employers shall receive a

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subsidy for up to twelve months;

(3) subsidized employees shall not be

required to work in excess of forty hours per week;

(4) subsidized employees shall be paid a

wage that is substantially like the wage paid for similar jobs

with the employer with appropriate adjustments for experience

and training but not less than the federal minimum hourly

wage;

(5) subsidized employment does not impair an

existing contract or collective bargaining agreement;

(6) subsidized employment does not displace

currently employed workers or fill positions that are vacant

due to a layoff;

(7) wage subsidy employers shall:

(a) maintain health, safety and working

conditions at or above levels generally acceptable in the

industry and not less than those of comparable jobs offered by

the employer;

(b) provide on-the-job training

necessary for subsidized employees to perform their duties;

(c) sign an agreement for each

placement outlining the specific job offered to a subsidized

employee and agree to abide by all of the requirements of the

program;

(d) provide workers' compensation

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coverage for each subsidized employee; and

(e) provide the subsidized employee

with benefits equal to those for new employees or as required

by state and federal law, whichever is greater;

(8) the department shall determine whether a

participant is eligible to be a subsidized employee by

establishing:

(a) that the participant has sufficient

work experience to obtain unsubsidized employment;

(b) that the participant has completed

an employment preparation program; or

(c) that the department or participant

may benefit from this employment strategy;

(9) a disregard of income earned by the

subsidized employee in the subsidized job shall be applied in

the eligibility determination for services;

(10) the department shall suspend regular

payments of cash assistance to the benefit group for the

calendar month in which an employer makes the first subsidized

wage payment to a subsidized employee who is otherwise

eligible for cash assistance and food stamps;

(11) the department shall pay employers each

month, from cash assistance;

(12) a subsidized employee shall be eligible

for supplemental payments if the net monthly full-time wage

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paid to the subsidized employee is less than the monthly total

of the cash assistance the participant is eligible to receive.

The department shall authorize issuance of a supplemental cash

payment to compensate for the deficit. To determine if a

deficit exists, the department shall adopt an equivalency

scale that is adjustable to household size and other factors;

and

(13) the department shall determine monthly

and pay in advance supplemental payments to eligible

subsidized employees. In calculating the payment, the

department shall assume that the subsidized employee will work

forty hours per week during the month unless an employer

provides information that the number of hours to be worked by

the subsidized employee will be reduced.

C. For the purposes of this section, "benefits"

includes health care coverage, paid sick leave and holiday and

vacation pay.

D. For the purposes of this section, "subsidized

employee" means a participant engaged in a subsidized

employment activity.

E. For the purposes of this section, "net monthly

full-time wage" means a subsidized employee's wages after the

required payroll deductions."

Section 8. Section 27-2D-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2003,

Chapter 317, Section 2) is amended to read:

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"27-2D-2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Education Works

Act:

A. "applicant" means a person applying for cash

assistance on behalf of a benefit group;

B. "benefit group" means a pregnant woman or a

group of people that includes a dependent child, all of that

dependent child's full, half, step- or adopted siblings living

with the dependent child's parent or relative within the fifth

degree of consanguinity and the parent with whom the children

live;

C. "cash assistance" means cash payments

distributed by the department pursuant to the Education Works

Act;

D. "department" means the human services

department;

E. "dependent child" means a natural, adopted

step-child or ward who is:

(1) seventeen years of age or younger;

(2) eighteen years of age and is enrolled in

high school; or

(3) between eighteen and twenty-two years of

age and is receiving special education services regulated by

the public education department;

F. "director" means the director of the income

support division of the department;

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G. "earned income" means cash or payment in kind

that is received as wages from employment or payment in lieu

of wages; and earnings from self-employment or earnings

acquired from the direct provision of services, goods or

property, production of goods, management of property or

supervision of services;

H. "education works program" means the cash

assistance, activities and services available to a recipient

pursuant to the Education Works Act;

I. "federal act" means the federal Social Security

Act and rules promulgated pursuant to the Social Security Act;

J. "federal poverty guidelines" means the level of

income defining poverty by family size published annually in

the federal register by the United States department of health

and human services;

K. "parent" means natural parent, adoptive parent,

stepparent or legal guardian;

L. "person" means an individual;

M. "recipient" means a person who receives cash

assistance or services or a member of a benefit group who has

reached the age of majority;

N. "secretary" means the secretary of human

services;

O. "services" means child-care assistance; payment

for education- or employment-related transportation costs; job

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search assistance; employment counseling; employment,

education and job training placement; an annual payment for

education-related costs; case management; or other activities

whose purpose is to assist transition into employment;

P. "unearned income" means old age, survivors and

disability insurance; railroad retirement benefits; veterans

administration compensation or pension; military retirement;

pensions, annuities and retirement benefits; lodge or

fraternal benefits; shared shelter payments; settlement

payments; individual Indian money; child support; unemployment

compensation benefits; union benefits paid in cash; gifts and

contributions; and real property income; and

Q. "vehicle" means a conveyance for the

transporting of persons to or from employment or education for

the activities of daily living or for the transportation of

goods; "vehicle" does not include boats, trailers or mobile

homes used as a principal place of residence."

Section 9. Section 27-2D-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2003,

Chapter 317, Section 3) is amended to read:

"27-2D-3. APPLICATION--RESOURCE PLANNING SESSION--

INDIVIDUAL EDUCATION PLAN--REVIEW PERIODS.--

A. Application for cash assistance or services

shall be made to the department. The application shall be in

writing or reduced to writing in the manner and on the form

prescribed by the department. The application shall be made

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under oath by an applicant with whom a dependent child resides

and shall contain a statement of the age of the child,

residence, a complete statement of the amount of property in

which the applicant has an interest, a statement of all income

that the applicant and other benefit group members have at the

time of the filing of the application and other information

required by the department.

B. The department shall assist applicants in

completing the application for cash assistance or services and

shall evaluate applicants to determine all department programs

for which the applicant may be eligible. The department shall

process all expedited food stamp applications within two

business days of submission, and the department shall deliver

expedited food stamps to eligible applicants within seven days

of the application.

C. At the time of application for cash assistance

and services, an applicant shall identify everyone who is to

be counted in the benefit group. Once an application is

approved, the recipient shall advise the department if there

are any changes in the membership of the benefit group.

D. No later than thirty days after an application

is filed, the department shall make referrals and act on the

application.

E. No later than five days after an application is

approved, the department shall provide reimbursement for child

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care.

F. Whenever the department receives an application

for assistance, a verification and record of the applicant's

circumstances shall promptly be made to ascertain the facts

supporting the application and to obtain other information

required by the department. The verification may include a

visit to the home of the applicant, as long as the department

gives adequate prior notice of the visit to the applicant.

G. The department shall work with the recipient to

develop an individual educational plan that:

(1) sets forth the educational goal for the

recipient, identifies barriers to that goal and identifies the

steps to be taken by the recipient to achieve that goal;

(2) describes the services the department

may provide so that the recipient may complete the recipient's

educational goal; and

(3) provides for meetings with the recipient

every six months or at the end of each academic term to review

the eligibility of the benefit group and to review and revise

the recipient's individual education plan.

H. The recipient and the department shall sign the

recipient's individual education plan. The department shall:

(1) not allow a recipient to decline to

participate in developing an individual education plan;

(2) not waive the requirement that a

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recipient develop an individual education plan; and

(3) emphasize the importance of the

individual education plan to the recipient."

Section 10. Section 27-2D-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2003,

Chapter 317, Section 5) is amended to read:

"27-2D-5. FINANCIAL STANDARD OF NEED.--

A. The secretary shall adopt a financial standard

of need based upon the availability of state funds.

B. The following income sources are exempt from

the gross income test, the net income test and the cash

payment calculation:

(1) medicaid;

(2) food stamps;

(3) government-subsidized foster care

payments if the child for whom the payment is received is also

excluded from the benefit group;

(4) supplemental security income;

(5) government-subsidized housing or housing

payments;

(6) federally excluded income;

(7) educational payments made directly to an

educational institution;

(8) government-subsidized child care;

(9) earned income that belongs to a person

seventeen years of age or younger who is not the head of

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household;

(10) child support passed through to the

participant by the child support enforcement division of the

department in the following amounts:

(a) fifty dollars ($50.00) per month

through December 31, 2008; and

(b) no later than January 1, 2009, a

minimum of one hundred dollars ($100) for one child and two

hundred dollars ($200) for two or more children as based on

availability of state and federal funds; and

(11) other income sources as determined by

the department.

C. The total countable gross earned and unearned

income of the benefit group shall not exceed eighty-five

percent of the federal poverty guidelines for the size of the

benefit group.

D. For a benefit group to be eligible to

participate:

(1) earned and unearned income that belongs

to the benefit group shall not exceed eighty-five percent of

the federal poverty guidelines for the size of the benefit

group; and

(2) earned and unearned income that belongs

to the benefit group shall not equal or exceed the financial

standard of need after applying the disregards set out in

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Paragraphs (1) through (4) of Subsection E of this section.

E. Subject to the availability of state funds, the

department shall determine the cash payment of the benefit

group by applying the following disregards to the benefit

group's earned income and then subtracting that amount from

the benefit group's financial standard of need:

(1) one hundred twenty-five dollars ($125)

of monthly earned income and one-half of the remainder, or for

a two-parent family, two hundred twenty-five dollars ($225) of

monthly earned income and one-half of the remainder for each

parent;

(2) monthly payments made for child care at

a maximum of two hundred dollars ($200) for a child under two

years of age and a maximum of one hundred seventy-five dollars

($175) for a child two years of age or older;

(3) costs of self-employment income; and

(4) business expenses.

F. In addition to the disregards specified in

Subsection E of this section, and between the effective date

of this 2007 act and June 30, 2008, or until implementation of

the employment retention and advancement bonus program in the

New Mexico Works Act, the department shall apply the following

income disregards to the benefit group's earned income and

then subtract that amount from the benefit group's financial

standard of need:

(1) for the first two years of receiving

cash assistance or services, if a participant works over the

work requirement rate set by the department pursuant to the

New Mexico Works Act, one hundred percent of the income earned

by the participant beyond that rate; and

(2) for the first two years of receiving

cash assistance or services, for a two-parent benefit group in

which one parent works over thirty-five hours per week and the

other works over twenty-four hours per week, one hundred

percent of income earned by each participant beyond the work

requirement rate set by the department.

G. The department may recover overpayments of cash

assistance on a monthly basis not to exceed fifteen percent of

the financial standard of need applicable to the benefit

group."

Section 11. REPEAL.--Section 27-2B-7.1 NMSA 1978 (being

Laws 2003, Chapter 160, Section 1) is repealed.

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