(a) Beginning October 1, 2017, the department shall implement the work requirements for recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits as required pursuant to 7 U. S. C. §2015(o) in counties where the department determines there is sufficient opportunities for recipients to work or participate in work force training or volunteerism.

(b) If a recipient resides in a county which the department has determined contains sufficient work, work force training or volunteerism opportunities the applicant for supplemental nutrition assistance benefits shall:

(1) Be required to work at least twenty hours per week, averaged monthly, or eighty hours a month; or

(2) Participate in, and comply with, the requirements of a work force training program of twenty hours per week, as determined by the department in rule; or

(3) Volunteer twenty hours per week, as determined by the department in rule; or

(4) Any combination of subdivisions one, two and three, as determined by the department in rule; or

(5) Participate in, and comply with, a workfare program as set out in 7 CFR 273.24(a)(4).

(c) As determined by the department, if an individual would have worked an average of twenty hours per week but missed some work for good cause, the individual shall be considered to have met the work requirement if the absence from work is temporary and the individual retains his or her job. Good cause shall include circumstances beyond the individual’s control, such as, but not limited to, illness, illness of another household member requiring the presence of the member, a household emergency, or the unavailability of transportation.

(d) If the department determines that a waiver, or an amendment to a waiver, is necessary to implement a policy that complies with 7 CFR 273.24, they shall request the waiver or the amendment to the waiver from the United States Department of Agriculture.

(e) The work requirement is required in all counties on October 1, 2020.

(f) The department shall propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code on the suspension of benefits for applicants who fail to comply with the work requirements as set forth in this section and for a plan for implementation of the work requirements in counties which they deem to have sufficient work or volunteerism opportunities.”;

And,

On page 11, section 9, line 7 by striking the word, “ten”, and inserting the word, “twenty”;

And,

On page 11, section 9, line 10 by striking subsection (c) in its entirety, and inserting in lieu thereof a new subsection (c) that reads as follows, “(c) An individual may respond in writing or electronically. If an individual responds verbally, staff shall note the time and contents of the response in the individual’s file. The response by the individual may:”