The Florida Senate

414.075  Resource eligibility standards.--For purposes of program simplification and effective program management, certain resource definitions, as outlined in the food stamp regulations at 7 C.F.R. s. 273.8, shall be applied to the WAGES Program as determined by the department to be consistent with federal law regarding temporary cash assistance and Medicaid for needy families, except that:

(1)  The maximum allowable resources, including liquid and nonliquid resources, of all members of the family may not exceed $2,000.

(2)  In determining the resources of a family, the following shall be excluded:

(a)  Licensed vehicles needed for individuals subject to the work participation requirement, not to exceed a combined value of $8,500, and needed for training, employment, or education purposes. For any family without an individual subject to the work participation requirement, one vehicle valued at not more than $8,500 shall be excluded. Any vehicle that is necessary to transport a physically disabled family member shall be excluded. A vehicle shall be considered necessary for the transportation of a physically disabled family member if the vehicle is specially equipped to meet the specific needs of the disabled person or if the vehicle is a special type of vehicle and makes it possible to transport the disabled person.

(b)  Funds paid to a homeless shelter which are being held for the family to enable the family to pay deposits or other costs associated with moving to a new shelter arrangement.

(3)  A vacation home that annually produces income consistent with its fair market value, and that is excluded as a resource in determining eligibility for food stamps under federal regulations, may not be excluded as a resource in determining a family's eligibility for temporary cash assistance.

(4)  An individual and the assistance group in which the individual is a current member will be ineligible for a period of 2 years from the original date of a transfer of an asset made for the purpose of qualifying for or maintaining eligibility for temporary cash assistance.

History.--s. 11, ch. 96-175; s. 7, ch. 97-173.