Apprenticeship Opportunity Act

Summary#

This bill requires States to ignore all income earned during the first year of a registered apprenticeship when deciding whether a person is eligible for assistance under the program of block grants to States for temporary assistance for needy families (TANF). The apprenticeship must be registered under the National Apprenticeship Act (29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.). If the Secretary of Health and Human Services finds a State violated this requirement in a fiscal year, the Secretary must reduce that State’s family assistance grant for the next fiscal year by an amount equal to 1 percent of the State family assistance grant. The changes take effect on the first day of the first Federal fiscal year that begins after the date of enactment.

What it means for you#

  • If you are in the first year of a registered apprenticeship, income from that first year would not be counted when determining eligibility for TANF assistance.
  • States must change how they count income for TANF applicants who are in their first apprenticeship year to follow this rule.
  • If a State does not follow the rule, the State’s TANF family assistance grant could be reduced by 1 percent the following fiscal year.
  • No publicly available information on administrative details or how States must change their systems.

Expenses#

  • No publicly available information on overall cost estimates or budgetary effects beyond the text in the bill.
  • The bill does not provide new funding. It creates a possible reduction equal to 1 percent of a State’s family assistance grant for noncompliance.

Proponents' View#

  • The bill text and listed sponsors propose requiring that income from the first year of a registered apprenticeship be disregarded when determining TANF eligibility.

Opponents' View#

  • No publicly available information on objections or opposition in the bill text or provided metadata.