An Act to Address the Temporary Maximum Levels of Assistance for General Assistance Established in 1991
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 1066
Committee: Health and Human Services
Sponsors: DUDLEY, BRENNAN, BRANNIGAN, COWGER, FAIRCLOTH, LERMAN, PINGREE, CATHCART
Amends: 22 MRSA §4305

Legislative Document 
No. 1066 
H.P.784 
House of Representatives, March 4,2003 
An Act to Address the Temporary Maximum Levels of Assistance 
for General Assistance Established in 1991 
Reference to the Committee on Health and Human Services suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative DUDLEY of Portland. 
Cosponsored by Senator BRENNAN of Cumberland and 
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1?1·mt1£~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: BRANNIGAN of Portland, COWGER of Hallowell, FAIRCLOTH of 
Bangor, LERMAN of Augusta, McLAUGHLIN of Cape Elizabeth, PINGREE of North Haven, 
Senator: CATHCART of Penobscot. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §4305, sub-§3-B, as amended by PL 1993, 
c . 
410, Pt. AAA, §3, is further amended to read: 
3-B. 
Temporary maximum levels. 
Notwithstanding subsection 
3-A, municipalities shall establish an aggregate maximum level of 
assistance that is 110°" of the applicable existing housing fair 
market rents as established by the United States Department of 
Housing and Urban Development pursuant to 
Code of Federal 
Regulations, Section 888.115, applying the zero-bedroom level for 
one person, the one-bedroom level for 2 persons, the 2-bedroom 
level for 3 persons, the 3-bedroom level for 4 persons and the 
4-bedroom level for 5 persons, as adjusted by the maximum level 
of assistance for food established pursuant to subsection 3 -A. 
For each additional person, the aggregate maximum level increases 
by $75. 
For the purposes of this subsection, municipalities with 
populations greater than 10,000 are deemed Standard Metropolitan 
Statistical Areas in those counties for which there are 2 fai r 
market rent values and the aggregate maximum level of assistance 
for all Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas is the average of 
the 
fair 
market 
rental values 
for 
the 
Standard Metropolitan 
Statistical Areas and areas that are not Standard Metropol i tan 
Statistical Areas 
for each county in which there are 
fair 
market rental values. 
Sec. 2. 
Reimbursement to municipalities. 
For 
calendar 
year 
2004, 
the 
Department 
of 
Human 
Services 
shall 
reimburse 
municipalities on a quarterly basis for the amount by which theit 
expenditures for general assistance increase because of this Art, 
as adiusted by their total spending for general assistance as 
c\ 
proportion 
of 
total 
general 
assistance 
expenditures. 
Fo l 
calendar year 2005, the department shall consult with the Maine 
Municipal 
Association, 
persons 
representing municipal general 
assistance programs and persons representing low-income 
persons 
and shall adopt rules to equitably distribute the costs of this 
Act. 
Rules 
adopted 
pursuant 
to 
this 
section 
are 
routine 
technical rules as defined in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 
5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
Sec. 3. Effective date. 
This Act takes effect January 1, 2004. 
SUMMARY 
This 
bill 
increases 
the 
temporary 
maximum 
levels 
for 
municipal general assistance from a level based on fair market 
rents to a level based on rents and established maximum levels of 
assistance for food. 
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