HB369 Alabama 2018 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Tommy Hanes

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2018

Title

Public assistance, require able bodied unemployed recipient to work

Summary

HB 369 would require adult public-benefit recipients in Alabama to perform mandatory community service and impose drug-testing rules for TANF applicants, with penalties for noncompliance.

What This Bill Does

It requires each adult public-benefit recipient to participate in a mandatory community service program, with at least 20 hours of work per week, and creates a system of penalties for noncompliance that can make benefits unavailable for 90 days, 180 days, or a full year. It sets up a list of eligible nonprofit programs and allows school volunteer work to count, but not church volunteer work, and provides exemptions for certain emergency and essential services. It also introduces a drug-screening requirement for TANF applicants with recent drug offenses, specifying when screenings occur, who pays for them, and the consequences of positive results, including potential ineligibility and the possibility of a designated payee for dependent children; all of this is to be implemented by the Department of Human Resources through new rules and federal waivers.

Who It Affects

• Adult recipients of state or local public benefits who must participate in mandatory community service and could lose benefits for noncompliance.
• TANF applicants (and their minor children) who are subjected to drug screening, with possible ineligibility and payee-designation arrangements if they or their family members are affected.

Key Provisions

• Mandates that, starting July 1, 2017, every adult recipient of state or local public benefits must participate in a mandatory community service program, administered by the Department of Human Resources (DHR) in coordination with the Department of Labor, with a minimum of 20 hours of community service per week.
• The Department will publish monthly a list of eligible nonprofit 501(c)(3) programs for required community service; volunteer work at public or private schools counts, while volunteering at a church does not; forms and procedures for verification will be provided; eligibility of programs to accept recipients is encouraged but not required.
• Noncompliance with mandatory community service results in ineligibility for public benefits for defined periods (90 days for first noncompliance, 180 days for second, and one year for third and subsequent noncompliances); if a recipient refuses to participate, they face a one-year ineligibility.
• Exemptions to mandatory community service include emergency medical care, short-term disaster relief, immunizations and disease testing, prenatal care, and certain in-kind services not tied to income/resources, among others; the Department will implement rules to govern these provisions.
• For TANF, beginning October 1, 2018, applicants with a drug offense conviction within the past five years must undergo drug screening; initial screening costs are paid by the department, with subsequent screenings paid by the applicant (reimbursed if negative); refusals or delays lead to ineligibility for TANF; positive results without a valid prescription lead to ineligibility, with a second positive resulting in one-year ineligibility and a third positive resulting in permanent ineligibility; no more than two additional screenings per calendar year; protective payees may be designated for dependent children if a parent is permanently ineligible.
• A parent of a minor who tests positive may designate a third party to receive public assistance for the benefit of minor child family members; other provisions ensure dependents’ benefits are protected. The DHR is authorized to promulgate rules to implement these programs, and the act requires annual reporting and federal waiver conditions before full implementation.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Public Benefit