WEST virginia legislature

2023 regular session

Introduced

House Bill 2946

By Delegate Foster

[Introduced January 24, 2023; Referred to the Committee on Senior, Children, and Family Issues then the Judiciary]

A BILL to amend and reenact §9-8-4 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to eligibility verification for applicants for public assistance and authorizing rulemaking.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 8. eligibility and fraud requirements for public ASSISTANCE

§9-8-4. Eligibility verification.

(a) All applications for benefits must be processed through a system as set forth in this article. Complete applications, including the interview, shall be processed within 10 days of receipt or the maximum period required by federal law. Prior to determining eligibility, the department shall access information for every applicant from federal, state, and other sources: Provided, That such access does not violate any federal law.

(b) The department shall require applicants to cooperate with child support enforcement as a condition of eligibility, pursuant to 7 C.F.R. §273.11(o) and 7 C.F.R. §273.11(p), and shall promulgate rules, consistent with this requirement, for legislative approval in accordance with §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require cooperation with child support enforcement as a condition of eligibility for public assistance and authorize rulemaking.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.