An Act To Protect the Maine Budget Stabilization Fund

Sec. 1. PL 2017, c. 284, Pt. EEEEEEE, §§1 and 2  are amended to read:

Sec. EEEEEEE-1. Reserve for Riverview Psychiatric Center established. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the State Controller shall transfer up to $65,000,000 $54,475,183 from the Maine Budget Stabilization Fund within the Department of Administrative and Financial Services Tax Relief Fund for Maine Residents to a General Fund reserve account established by the State Controller for the purpose of providing General Fund resources for the amounts in federal financial participation for Medicaid services and disproportionate share hospital payments related to the Riverview Psychiatric Center. Transfers from the reserve account may be made to the Department of Health and Human Services pending a notice and reconsideration of disallowance from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, dated June 7, 2017. If there are insufficient funds in the Tax Relief Fund for Maine Residents to provide the amounts needed, the State Controller shall transfer the amount of the shortage from the Maine Budget Stabilization Fund. Any amount transferred from the Maine Budget Stabilization Fund to make up for the shortage in the Tax Relief Fund for Maine Residents pursuant to this section must be repaid from the Tax Relief Fund for Maine Residents as soon as funds in that fund are available.

Sec. EEEEEEE-2. Excess funds. Any remaining balance in the reserve account, established under section 1, upon closure of the pending disallowance must be transferred by the State Controller to the Maine Budget Stabilization Fund Tax Relief Fund for Maine Residents.

Sec. 2. Transfer. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the State Controller shall transfer $10,524,817 from the Tax Relief Fund for Maine Residents to the Maine Budget Stabilization Fund within the Department of Administrative and Financial Services no later than 30 days following the effective date of this section.

SUMMARY

Under Public Law 2017, chapter 284, Part EEEEEEE, the State Controller is required to transfer up to $65,000,000 from the Maine Budget Stabilization Fund, also known as the Rainy Day Fund, to provide General Fund resources to cover any federal disallowance in federal financial participation for Medicaid services and disproportionate share hospital payments related to the Riverview Psychiatric Center. A payment of $10,524,817 was made in early 2019.

This bill requires instead that the transfer be made from the Tax Relief Fund for Maine Residents and requires the State Controller to reimburse the Rainy Day Fund for the amount transferred for the federal disallowance related to Riverview Psychiatric Center earlier this year. In the event that sufficient funds do not exist in the Tax Relief Fund for Maine Residents to cover future payments, the funds must come from the Rainy Day Fund, and the Tax Relief Fund for Maine Residents must be used to reimburse the Rainy Day Fund as soon as funds become available.