Sec. 1. 19-A MRSA §2154, sub-§1, ¶¶A and B, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 and affected by Pt. E, §2, are amended to read:

A. Hiring of a person who resides or works in this State to whom the employer anticipates paying earnings; and

B. Rehiring or return to work of an employee who was laid off, furloughed, separated, granted a leave without pay or terminated from employment.; and

Sec. 2. 19-A MRSA §2154, sub-§1, ¶C is enacted to read:

C.__The contracting for services, other than casual labor, in this State with an individual, in accordance with the rules adopted by the commissioner, when reimbursement for such services is anticipated to exceed $2,500.

Sec. 3. 19-A MRSA §2154, sub-§4, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 and affected by Pt. E, §2, is amended to read:

4. Report. An employer shall submit a report within 7 days of the contracting for services, hiring, rehiring or return to work of the employee. The report must contain:

A. The employee's name, address, social security number and date of birth; and

B. The employer's name, address and employment security reference number or unified business identifier number.

Sec. 4. 22 MRSA §3769-C, sub-§3 is enacted to read:

3.__Increased assistance levels.__Support assigned to the department pursuant to Title 19-A, section 2369 and debts due the department for public assistance pursuant to Title 19-A, section 2301 that are collected by the department, that are not owed to another person or governmental entity and that are in excess of $7,406,560 must be used to increase the maximum payment levels in TANF and__the Parents as Scholars Program, established in section 3790, by no more than 5% each year until the maximum cash assistance for a family of 3 reaches at least the average maximum payment for a family of 3 in the other New England states and the cash assistance levels for larger and smaller families are increased proportionately.__The differential between the maximum level and the standard of need remains the same as it was on January 1, 2001.