Green Workforce Pilot Act

Summary#

The Green Workforce Pilot Amendment Act of 2026 would create a pilot program run by the Department of Human Services (DHS). Despite its title, the bill text does not amend a named existing Act; it requires DHS to establish the program through its Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Employment and Education Program. Its stated goal is to help eligible people meet certain SNAP or Medicaid work requirements while gaining work experience and doing conservation work.

  • DHS must provide paid work to 250 people at a time, at no less than the District minimum wage, for 32 to 48 hours per month.
  • Participants must be out of compliance with specified SNAP or Medicaid work requirements, while otherwise eligible for the relevant benefit.
  • Work may be arranged through public or private employers and programs, including Clean Teams, the DC Sustainable Energy Utility Workforce Development program, Green Pathways, invasive-plant control programs, and the Green Stormwater Infrastructure Maintenance Program.
  • Each participant must have access to job coaching. DHS must collect information to verify SNAP compliance, and send necessary Medicaid-compliance information to the Department of Health Care Finance.
  • The bill would exclude pilot payments from income and assets calculations for specified District-funded benefits, unless federal law prohibits that treatment. The pilot ends March 31, 2031, and participants must begin work no later than April 1, 2028.

The bill is introduced and is not law. It would take effect only after required approvals and congressional review.

What it means for you#

  • People seeking SNAP or Medicaid: If you are otherwise eligible but not meeting the specified work requirements, you could be eligible for the pilot. The bill does not guarantee a place or say that the pilot’s hours will satisfy every person’s federal requirements.
  • Pilot participants: You would receive paid work and have access to job coaching. The listed work includes environmental and infrastructure-related activities. The bill does not promise full-time work or a job after leaving the pilot.
  • People receiving District-funded benefits: Pilot payments would not count as income or assets for the listed District programs, including certain health, housing, education, and caregiver benefits, unless federal law prevents that exclusion. The bill does not change SNAP or Medicaid eligibility rules.
  • DHS and the Department of Health Care Finance: DHS must run the pilot and collect and share specified information. The bill does not set up a detailed application, selection, or appeal process.
  • Employers and program operators: They may provide placements, but the bill does not require any named employer or program to take participants.
  • Tax credits: The bill requires DHS to track how many participants claim District and federal Earned Income Tax Credits. It does not change who qualifies for those credits or how much they receive.

Money#

No publicly available information on the program’s cost is included in the supplied material.

  • The bill requires paid placements and gives the DHS director authority to issue grants, but provides no funding amount, wage budget, staffing estimate, or grant total.
  • It adopts a fiscal impact statement from a committee report, but that report and its estimate were not supplied.

What is unclear#

  • How people apply, how DHS selects participants, and whether there will be a waiting list or appeal process.
  • Whether 32 to 48 hours of work per month will meet each participant’s federal SNAP or Medicaid requirement. The bill does not set a minimum monthly earnings amount or promise that participation will satisfy those rules.
  • How the program will be funded, how many placements each employer or program will provide, and how much job coaching will be available.
  • What limits, if any, will apply to how long a person can participate. The Mayor may issue rules, including time limits, but the bill does not set them.
  • What protections will govern the personal information DHS collects and shares, beyond requiring published evaluation data to be anonymized and aggregated.

Case for#

  • The pilot combines wages, work experience, and job coaching for people who are not meeting specified benefit work requirements.
  • Placements could connect participants with environmental and infrastructure work while giving them a route toward other employment.
  • Excluding pilot payments from specified District benefit calculations could reduce the risk that these payments reduce those benefits, where federal law allows.
  • The bill requires DHS to track employment and income outcomes, which could help assess whether the pilot is working.

Case against#

  • The program is limited to 250 people at a time, and the bill does not explain how DHS will choose among eligible people.
  • The work hours may not satisfy every participant’s federal requirement; the bill does not guarantee that a placement will preserve SNAP or Medicaid eligibility.
  • The bill requires paid placements but gives no cost estimate or funding amount.
  • The bill requires measurement of outcomes but does not require a particular employment result, such as a full-time job.