ELIGIBILITY RULES.

(a) The executive commissioner by rule shall provide that in determining eligibility:

(1) a county may not consider the value of the applicant's homestead;

(2) a county must consider the equity value of a car that is in excess of the amount exempted under department guidelines as a resource;

(3) a county must subtract the work-related and child care expense allowance allowed under department guidelines;

(4) a county must consider as a resource real property other than a homestead and, except as provided by Subsection (b), must count that property in determining eligibility;

(5) if an applicant transferred title to real property for less than market value to become eligible for assistance under this chapter, the county may not credit toward eligibility for state assistance an expenditure for that applicant made during a two-year period beginning on the date on which the property is transferred; and

(6) if an applicant is a sponsored alien, a county may include in the income and resources of the applicant:

(A) the income and resources of a person who executed an affidavit of support on behalf of the applicant; and

(B) the income and resources of the spouse of a person who executed an affidavit of support on behalf of the applicant, if applicable.

(b) A county may disregard the applicant's real property if the applicant agrees to an enforceable obligation to reimburse the county for all or part of the benefits received under this chapter. The county and the applicant may negotiate the terms of the obligation.

(c) In this section, "sponsored alien" means a person who has been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence under the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. Section 1101 et seq.) and who, as a condition of admission, was sponsored by a person who executed an affidavit of support on behalf of the person.