SB 1305 Arizona Senate · 57th Legislature - First Regular Session

temporary assistance; child only case

SB 1305 defines a new "child only case" category for Arizona's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. It allows cash assistance to be provided directly to children in two specific situations: (1) children in foster care with unrelated adults or nonparent relatives who aren't receiving cash aid, or (2) children living with nonparent relatives who aren't getting cash assistance. This creates a separate eligibility pathway, distinct from standard "needy family" definitions, ensuring these children can access aid even when no parent or guardian qualifies. The bill amends eligibility rules to explicitly include these cases under TANF.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Mar 2025

Senate Passage

Mar 2025

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 30, 2025 Last action Mar 31, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Version → Senate Engrossed Version · 6 edits · Mar 13, 2025

MODERATE

This bill updates Arizona's welfare definitions and eligibility rules to clarify how 'child only cases' are handled and to add new definitions for modern welfare program terms. The changes standardize language around child support cooperation, school enrollment, and immunization requirements while expanding the list of statutory definitions to include concepts like 'services' and 'vendor payments'.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of welfare definitions to include new categories like 'services' and 'vendor payments' and clarifies eligibility for children in foster care and kinship care situations.

DEFINITION

Added new statutory definitions for 'Services', 'Sponsor', 'State department', 'Temporarily deferred', 'Temporary assistance for needy families', 'Vendor payment', and 'Work activities' to modernize the welfare code language.

Modified the definition of 'Child only case' to clarify that eligible children include those in foster care with unrelated adults or nonparent relatives who are not receiving cash assistance.

Added definitions for 'qualified alien' categories to clarify immigration status eligibility for welfare benefits.

REQUIREMENT

Added explicit requirements for parents to ensure dependent children ages 6-16 are enrolled in and attending school, with enforcement sanctions for non-compliance.

Added requirements for parents to ensure dependent children receive immunizations according to state schedules, with enforcement sanctions for non-compliance.

ELIGIBILITY

Modified eligibility rules to clarify that for child-only cases, only the dependent child's income is considered when calculating benefits.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 13, 2025

How they voted

24–3

Passed · 3 other

Total votes 30

Mar 13, 2025

D Democratic13

10 Yea 3

76% Yea

R Republican17

14 Yea 3 Nay

82% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Mar 31, 2025

Lower · Passed

lower

Mar 24, 2025

Lower · Passed

lower

Mar 13, 2025

Upper · Passed

PASSED

upper

Mar 6, 2025

Upper · Passed

DPA

upper

Feb 25, 2025

Upper · Passed

DPA

upper

Feb 19, 2025

Upper · Passed

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors