PART J
‘Sec. J-1. 22 MRSA §4311, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2015, c. 267, Pt. SSSS, §1, is further amended to read:
The department shall reimburse each municipality and each Indian tribe 70% of the direct costs incurred by that municipality or tribe on or after July 1, 2015 and prior to July 1, 2016 for the general assistance program granted by that municipality or tribe. For the purposes of this subsection, "Indian tribe" has the same meaning as in section 411, subsection 8-A.
Sec. J-2. 22 MRSA §4311, sub-§1-C, as enacted by PL 2013, c. 368, Pt. OO, §10, is amended to read:
The amount of reimbursement must be calculated for each fiscal year by adding 10% of all general assistance granted up to the threshold amount to 100% of all general assistance granted above the threshold amount.
For the purposes of this subsection, "Indian tribe" has the same meaning as in section 411, subsection 8-A. For purposes of this subsection, "threshold amount" means 0.0003 of the Indian tribe’s most recent state valuation, as determined by the State Tax Assessor in the statement filed as provided in Title 36, section 381, relative to the year for which reimbursement is being issued.
Sec. J-3. 22 MRSA §4311, sub-§1-D is enacted to read:
For purposes of this subsection, "adjusted direct costs" means the direct costs of the general assistance program of a municipality or Indian tribe, plus an amount that is equal to that municipality's or Indian tribe's annual unemployment rate, expressed as a percentage, multiplied by its annual direct costs.
For the purposes of this subsection, "Indian tribe" has the same meaning as in section 411, subsection 8-A.
PART K
Sec. K-1. 22 MRSA §3104-A, as amended by PL 2013, c. 368, Pt. OO, §§1 and 2, is repealed.
Sec. K-2. 22 MRSA §3273, sub-§9, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 643, Pt. WW, §1, is repealed.
Sec. K-3. 22 MRSA §3762, sub-§3, ¶B, as amended by PL 2015, c. 267, Pt. RRRR, §2, 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 75% 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;
(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.
PART L
Sec. L-1. PL 2015, c. 267, Pt. E, §1 is repealed.
Sec. L-2. Transfer prohibited. Notwithstanding the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 21-A, section 1124, subsection 2, paragraph B, the State Controller may not transfer funds to the Maine Clean Election Fund during fiscal year 2016-17.
PART M
Sec. M-1. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and allocations are made.
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF (FORMERLY DHS)
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, or SNAP, benefits for legal noncitizens.
| GENERAL FUND | 2015-16 | 2016-17 |
|
All Other
|
$0 | ($1,208,912) |
 |
|
|
| GENERAL FUND TOTAL | $0 | ($1,208,912) |
General Assistance - Reimbursement to Cities and Towns 0130
Initiative: Adjusts funding by restructuring the General Assistance program to reflect a change in the reimbursements made to municipalities.
| GENERAL FUND | 2015-16 | 2016-17 |
|
All Other
|
$0 | ($5,425,960) |
|
|
|
| GENERAL FUND TOTAL | $0 | ($5,425,960) |
State Supplement to Federal Supplemental Security Income 0131
Initiative: Reduces funding in the State Supplement to Federal Supplemental Security Income program by eliminating benefits for legal noncitizens.
| GENERAL FUND | 2015-16 | 2016-17 |
|
All Other
|
$0 | ($955,806) |
|
|
|
| GENERAL FUND TOTAL | $0 | ($955,806) |
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families 0138
Initiative: Reduces funding in the General Fund in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program by eliminating state-funded Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, benefits for legal noncitizens.
| GENERAL FUND | 2015-16 | 2016-17 |
|
All Other
|
$0 | ($186,648) |
|
|
|
| GENERAL FUND TOTAL | $0 | ($186,648) |
| HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF (FORMERLY DHS) | ||
| DEPARTMENT TOTALS | 2015-16 | 2016-17 |
|
GENERAL FUND
|
$0 | ($7,777,326) |
|
|
|
| DEPARTMENT TOTAL - ALL FUNDS | $0 | ($7,777,326) |
HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION, MAINE
Historic Preservation Commission 0036
Initiative: Deappropriates one-time funds provided in Public Law 2015, chapter 267, Part A, section 34 for the purchase of the Frances Perkins Homestead in Newcastle, Maine.
| GENERAL FUND | 2015-16 | 2016-17 |
|
All Other
|
($200,000) | $0 |
|
|
|
| GENERAL FUND TOTAL | ($200,000) | $0 |
| HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION, MAINE | ||
| DEPARTMENT TOTALS | 2015-16 | 2016-17 |
|
GENERAL FUND
|
($200,000) | $0 |
|
|
|
| DEPARTMENT TOTAL - ALL FUNDS | ($200,000) | $0 |
| SECTION TOTALS | 2015-16 | 2016-17 |
|
GENERAL FUND
|
($200,000) | ($7,777,326) |
|
|
|
| SECTION TOTAL - ALL FUNDS | ($200,000) | ($7,777,326) |
PART N
Sec. N-1. Additional transfer to Maine Budget Stabilization Fund for fiscal years 2015-16 and 2016-17. In addition to other transfers required under this Act, the State Controller shall transfer $200,000 in fiscal year 2015-16 and $10,977,326 in fiscal year 2016-17 from the unappropriated surplus of the General Fund to the Maine Budget Stabilization Fund established in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, section 1532.’