Amends TCA Title 4; Title 9; Title 68 and Title 71.

This bill requires the department of human services to establish a reserve of temporary assistance for needy families (TANF) funds, annually allocate unspent TANF funds among the counties, establish a Tennessee opportunity pilot program, and make an annual report. Reserve This bill requires the department to establish a reserve of funds from the TANF program in an amount roughly equal to, within $10 million of, the federal fiscal year 2021 TANF block grant amount to this state. This bill authorizes the department to use TANF reserve funds to address: (1) Any emergency that has been declared in the state; or (2) Economic needs arising when the state unemployment rate reaches a level deemed concerning by the governor. In the quarter following the end of each federal fiscal year (October 1 through September 30), this bill requires the department to replenish any funds used from the TANF reserve fund. This bill also requires the department to annually disclose in its budget documents the reserve amount of funds from the TANF program maintained pursuant to this bill. Proportional Allotment of TANF Funds This bill requires the department to annually allocate unspent TANF funds that are not part of the reserve, the department's administrative costs, or used for the department's cash assistance program, in allotments to each county proportional to its percentage share of the total number of Tennessee children living in households with incomes at or below the federal poverty level. Subject to certain exceptions, this bill requires the department to annually allocate the full amount of the allotment to each county through new or existing programs and services that are evidence-based or evidence-informed and that provide services to families and individuals eligible for the TANF program living in households at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. The department must request proposals from nonprofits and local government entities for the provision of qualified services and programs to TANF recipients. If the department cannot spend a county's allocation due to an absence of qualified providers in that county, then the department must place that county’s allotment into the pool to be distributed to other counties and, working with nonprofit organizations and local governmental entities, will be required to develop a plan for appropriating a full allotment to that county in the subsequent year. This bill requires the department to use TANF funds to pay for any additional administrative costs associated with administering the proportional allotment, to the extent permitted by federal law. Tennessee Opportunity Pilot Program Grants For fiscal year 2022, this bill requires the department to dedicate $300 million from the department's existing surplus reserve of TANF funds to establish a three-year pilot program in eight communities with the goal of demonstrating the efficacy of well-implemented two-generation approaches to improving education, health, and economic outcomes for children and the adults in their lives. This bill requires the department to dedicate up to $5 million from the department's existing surplus reserve of TANF funds for Tennessee opportunity act pilot planning grants. The grants must be awarded by October 1, 2021, in amounts up to $500,000. By May 1, 2022, the department will be required to award a three-year implementation grant up to $30 million to each of eight selected communities that submitted the most compelling and qualified Tennessee opportunity pilot program plans. The implementation grants must be distributed in an amount of up to $10 million per year for three years. This bill requires the department to select the recipient communities for planning grants and implementation grants, with approval from the advisory board that this bill creates (see below in this Bill Summary). The full text of this bill requires the department to utilize a research partner and other experts with regards to the grant program. Advisory Board This bill creates a 13-member advisory board to approve certain of the department's decisions with regard to the engagement of research partners and other experts and the award of grants for the Tennessee opportunity pilot program. This bill also requires the advisory board to submit a report on the pilot program to general assembly by December 31, 2025. The advisory board will consist of the following members: (1) The commissioner of human services, who also serves as chair and convener; (2) The commissioner of labor and workforce development, or the commissioner's designee; (3) The commissioner of economic and community development, or the commissioner's designee; (4) The commissioner of education, or the commissioner's designee; (5) The commissioner of health, or the commissioner's designee; (6) One member of the senate to be appointed by the speaker of the senate; (7) One member of the house of representatives to be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; (8) Two representatives from businesses or business groups in this state, one appointed by each speaker; and (9) Two representatives from nonprofits in this state with expertise about services that support economic advancement for low income Tennesseans, one appointed by each speaker. The full text of this bill specifies various procedural and administrative requirements that will apply to meetings of the advisory board. Annual Report This bill requires the department of human services to compile a report by January 31, 2022, and each January 31 thereafter, on the manner in which the funds described in this bill were spent, how much of the funds remain in any reserve, how much of the funds were spent on administrative costs and a detailed accounting of those costs, the allotments made to the counties pursuant to this bill, the number of individuals and families served by county pursuant to this bill, and efforts made and planned by the department to identify qualified providers in counties where a full allotment was not appropriated in the prior year. This bill also requires the department to make a presentation to appropriate committees of each chamber of the general assembly, as determined by the respective speakers, by January 31, 2022, and each January 31 thereafter, on the report.