2017 Wisconsin Act 264

January 2018 Special Session   Date of enactment: April 10, 2018
Assembly Bill 2   Date of publication*: April 11, 2018

* Section 991.11, Wisconsin Statutes: Effective date of acts. “Every act and every portion of an act enacted by the legislature over the governor's partial veto which does not expressly prescribe the time when it takes effect shall take effect on the day after its date of publication."

2017 WISCONSIN ACT 264

An Act to amend 49.155 (1m) (a) 3m., 49.79 (9) (a) 1. and 49.79 (9) (a) 2. of the statutes; relating to: statewide FoodShare employment and training program requirement for able-bodied adults and Wisconsin Shares child care subsidy for FoodShare employment and training program participants.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

264,1g Section 1g. 49.155 (1m) (a) 3m. of the statutes, as affected by 2017 Wisconsin Act 59, is amended to read:

49.155 (1m) (a) 3m. Participating in a job search or work experience component of the food stamp employment and training program under s. 49.79 (9).

264,1m Section 1m. 49.79 (9) (a) 1. of the statutes, as affected by 2017 Wisconsin Act 59, is amended to read:

49.79 (9) (a) 1. The department shall administer an employment and training program for recipients under the food stamp program and may contract with county departments under ss. 46.215, 46.22, and 46.23, multicounty consortia, local workforce development boards established under 29 USC 2832, tribal governing bodies, or other organizations to carry out the administrative functions. A county department, multicounty consortium, local workforce development board, tribal governing body, or other organization may subcontract with a Wisconsin Works agency or another provider to administer the employment and training program under this subsection.

1g. Except as provided in subds. 2. and 3., beginning October 1, 2019, the department shall require, to the extent allowed by the federal government, all able-bodied adults in this state to participate in the employment and training program under this subsection, except for able-bodied adults who are employed, as determined by the department. The department may require other able individuals who are 18 to 60 years of age, or a subset of those individuals to the extent allowed by the federal government, who are not participants in a Wisconsin Works employment position to participate in the employment and training program under this subsection.

264,2c Section 2c. 49.79 (9) (a) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:

49.79 (9) (a) 2. The department may not require an individual who is a recipient under the food stamp program and who is either the caretaker of a child under the age of 6 or a caretaker of a dependent who is disabled, as defined in 49.468 (1) (a) 1., to participate in any employment and training program under this subsection.

264,2r Section 2r. Nonstatutory provisions.

(1) FoodShare employment and training program audit. The joint legislative audit committee is requested to direct the legislative audit bureau to perform a financial and performance evaluation audit in 2019 of the FoodShare employment and training program. If the joint legislative audit committee directs the legislative audit bureau to perform an audit, the legislative audit bureau shall file its report as described under section 13.94 (1) (b) of the statutes.

(2) Shared savings. The department of health services shall submit to the U.S. department of agriculture a request that if reforms to the state's food stamp program and the food stamp employment and training program result in savings to the federal government, the U.S. department of agriculture will share at least some of the savings with the state to facilitate administration of assisting able-bodied adults in finding employment.