An Act To Align State-funded Benefits with Federal Eligibility Standards
PART A
Sec. A-1. 22 MRSA §3104-A, as amended by PL 2013, c. 368, Pt. OO, §§1 and 2, is repealed.
Sec. A-2. 22 MRSA §3273, sub-§9, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 643, Pt. WW, §1, is repealed.
Sec. A-3. 22 MRSA §3762, sub-§3, ¶B, as amended by PL 2017, c. 284, Pt. NNNNNNN, §10 and c. 290, §1, is further amended to read:
(1) To continue the pass-through of the first $50 per month of current child support collections and the exclusion of the $50 pass-through from the budget tests and benefit calculations;
(2) To provide financial assistance to noncitizens legally admitted to the United States who are receiving assistance under this subsection as of July 1, 2011. Recipients of assistance under this subparagraph are limited to the categories of noncitizens who would be eligible for the TANF programs but for their status as aliens under PRWORA. Eligibility for the TANF program for these categories of noncitizens must be determined using the criteria applicable to other recipients of assistance from the TANF program. Any household receiving assistance as of July 1, 2011 may continue to receive assistance, as long as that household remains eligible, without regard to interruptions in coverage or gaps in eligibility for service. A noncitizen legally admitted to the United States who is neither receiving assistance on July 1, 2011 nor has an application pending for assistance on July 1, 2011 that is later approved is not eligible for financial assistance through a state-funded program unless that noncitizen is:
(a) Elderly or disabled, as described under the laws governing supplemental security income in 42 United States Code, Sections 1381 to 1383f (2010);
(b) A victim of domestic violence;
(c) Experiencing other hardship, such as time necessary to obtain proper work documentation, as defined by the department by rule. Rules adopted by the department under this division are routine technical rules as defined by Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A; or
(d) Unemployed but has obtained proper work documentation, as defined by the department by rule. Rules adopted by the department under this division are routine technical rules as defined by Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A;
(3) To provide benefits to certain 2-parent families whose deprivation is based on physical or mental incapacity;
(4) To provide an assistance program for needy children, 19 to 21 years of age, who are in full-time attendance in secondary school. The program is operated for those individuals who qualify for TANF under the United States Social Security Act, except that they fail to meet the age requirement, and is also operated for the parent or caretaker relative of those individuals. Except for the age requirement, all provisions of TANF, including the standard of need and the amount of assistance, apply to the program established pursuant to this subparagraph;
(5) To provide assistance for a pregnant woman who is otherwise eligible for assistance under this chapter, except that she has no dependents under 19 years of age. An individual is eligible for the monthly benefit for one eligible person if the medically substantiated expected date of the birth of her child is not more than 90 days following the date the benefit is received;
(6) To provide a special housing allowance for TANF families whose shelter expenses for rent, mortgage or similar payments, homeowners insurance and property taxes equal or exceed 50% of their monthly income. The special housing allowance is limited to $200 per month for each family. For purposes of this subparagraph, "monthly income" means the total of the TANF monthly benefit and all income countable under the TANF program, plus child support received by the family, excluding the $50 pass-through payment;
(7) In determining benefit levels for TANF recipients who have earnings from employment, the department shall disregard from monthly earnings the following:
(a) One hundred and eight dollars;
(b) Fifty percent of the remaining earnings that are less than the federal poverty level; and
(c) All actual child care costs necessary for work, except that the department may limit the child care disregard to $175 per month per child or $200 per month per child under 2 years of age or with special needs;
(7-A) In determining eligibility and benefit levels, the department may apply a gross income test only to applicants and not to recipients;
(7-B) In addition to the earned income disregards provided in subparagraph (7), a TANF recipient who enters employment must receive a one-time employment incentive payment of $400 if that TANF recipient retains employment for the subsequent 4 months after entering employment, to be paid at the end of that 4-month period. This subparagraph is repealed December 31, 2018;
(8) In cases when the TANF recipient has no child care cost, the monthly TANF benefit is the maximum payment level or the difference between the countable earnings and the standard of need established by rule adopted by the department, whichever is lower;
(9) In cases when the TANF recipient has child care costs, the department shall determine a total benefit package, including TANF cash assistance, determined in accordance with subparagraph (7) and additional child care assistance, as provided by rule, necessary to cover the TANF recipient's actual child care costs up to the maximum amount specified in section 3782-A, subsection 5. The benefit amount must be paid as provided in this subparagraph.
(a) Before the first month in which child care assistance is available to an ASPIRE-TANF recipient under this paragraph and periodically thereafter, the department shall notify the recipient of the total benefit package and the following options of the recipient: to receive the total benefit package directly; or to have the department pay the recipient's child care assistance directly to the designated child care provider for the recipient and pay the balance of the total benefit package to the recipient.
(b) If an ASPIRE-TANF recipient notifies the department that the recipient chooses to receive the child care assistance directly, the department shall pay the total benefit package to the recipient.
(c) If an ASPIRE-TANF recipient does not respond or notifies the department of the choice to have the child care assistance paid directly to the child care provider from the total benefit package, the department shall pay the child care assistance directly to the designated child care provider for the recipient. The department shall pay the balance of the total benefit package to the recipient;
(10) Child care assistance under this paragraph must be paid by the department in a prompt manner that permits an ASPIRE-TANF recipient to access child care necessary for work; and
(11) The department shall adopt rules pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375 to implement this subsection. Rules adopted pursuant to this subparagraph are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
Sec. A-4. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and allocations are made.
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF
Food Supplement Administration Z019
Initiative: Reduces funding in the General Fund in the Food Supplement Administration program by eliminating state-funded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for noncitizens who do not meet federal eligibility requirements.
| GENERAL FUND | 2017-18 | 2018-19 |
|
All Other
|
$0 | ($1,396,164) |
 |
|
|
| GENERAL FUND TOTAL | $0 | ($1,396,164) |
State Supplement to Federal Supplemental Security Income 0131
Initiative: Reduces funding in the General Fund in the State Supplement to Federal Supplemental Security Income program by aligning state policy with federal policy and discontinuing state supplemental income cash benefits for noncitizens beyond the level of support the Federal Government already provides.
| GENERAL FUND | 2017-18 | 2018-19 |
|
All Other
|
$0 | ($1,435,038) |
|
|
|
| GENERAL FUND TOTAL | $0 | ($1,435,038) |
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families 0138
Initiative: Reduces funding in the General Fund in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program by discontinuing the award of state-funded Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits to noncitizens beyond the level of support the Federal Government provides.
| GENERAL FUND | 2017-18 | 2018-19 |
|
All Other
|
$0 | ($799,517) |
|
|
|
| GENERAL FUND TOTAL | $0 | ($799,517) |
| HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF | ||
| DEPARTMENT TOTALS | 2017-18 | 2018-19 |
|
GENERAL FUND
|
($0) | ($3,630,719) |
|
|
|
| DEPARTMENT TOTAL - ALL FUNDS | ($0) | ($3,630,719) |
PART B
Sec. B-1. 22 MRSA §4301, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2015, c. 324, §1, is further amended to read:
Sec. B-2. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and allocations are made.
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF
General Assistance - Reimbursements to Cities and Towns 0130
Initiative: Reduces funding in the General Fund in the General Assistance - Reimbursements to Cities and Towns program by discontinuing reimbursement for general assistance benefits for noncitizens who do not meet federal eligibility requirements.
| GENERAL FUND | 2017-18 | 2018-19 |
|
All Other
|
$0 | ($2,433,947) |
|
|
|
| GENERAL FUND TOTAL | $0 | ($2,433,947) |
SUMMARY
Part A of this bill does the following:
1. It repeals the provision that requires the Department of Health and Human Services to provide a food supplement program benefit to noncitizens who would be eligible for federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits but for their status as aliens under the federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996;
2. It repeals the provision that requires the Department of Health and Human Services to provide state supplemental security income for noncitizens who would be eligible for federal supplemental security income but for their status as aliens under the federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996;
3. It repeals the provision that requires the Department of Health and Human Services to provide financial assistance to individuals who would be eligible for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families benefits but for their status as aliens under the federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996; and
4. It includes an appropriations and allocations section.
Part B of this bill does the following:
1. It amends the definition of "eligible person" in the municipal general assistance laws to repeal the provision in state law that affirmatively provides that a person who is lawfully present in the United States or who is pursuing a lawful process to apply for immigration relief is eligible for municipal general assistance for up to 24 months and to instead state that these noncitizens are not eligible for state-funded general assistance; and
2. It includes an appropriations and allocations section.