An Act To Assist Children Who Are Not Receiving Court-ordered Child Support Payments
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 0990
Committee: Health and Human Services
Sponsors: CRESSEY, EDMONDS, BARSTOW, CAIN, GOULD, MILLER, NORTON, SIMPSON, SMITH, WESTON
Amends: 22 MRSA §3173, 22 MRSA §3762, 22 MRSA §4301

Legislative Document 
No. 990 
H.P.750 
House of Representatives, March 2, 2007 
An Act To Assist Children Who Are Not Receiving Court-ordered 
Child Support Payments 
Reference to the Committee on Health and Human Services suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative CRESSEY of Cornish. 
Cosponsored by President EDMONDS of Cumberland and 
If/~ 
/J7.1J7d£~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: BARSTOW of Gorham, CAIN of Orono, GOULD of South Berwick, 
MILLER of Somerville, NORTON of Bangor, SIMPSON of Auburn, SMITH of Monmouth, 
Senator: WESTON of Waldo. 
Printed 011 ft"l.:yded parer 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §3173, 2nd ~, as repealed and replaced by PL 1979, c. 127, 
§144, is amended to read: 
The department is authorized and empowered to make all necessary rules aRd 
regulations consistent with the laws of the State for the administration of these programs 
including, but not limited to, establishing conditions of eligibility and types and amounts 
of aid to be provided, and defining the term "medically indigent," and the type of medical 
care to be provided. The department shall exclude unpaid court-ordered child support 
from calculations to determine eligibility for applicants who are entitled to receive court-
ordered child support as part of their income. In administering programs of aid, the 
department shall, among other services, emphasize developing and providing financial 
support for preventive health care and home health care in order to assure that a 
comprehensive range of health care services is available to Maine citizens. Preventive 
health services shall include, but need not be limited to, programs such as early periodic 
screening, diagnosis and treatment; public school nursing services; child and maternal 
health services; and dental health education services. To meet the expenses of 
emphasizing preventive health care and home health care, the department is authorized to 
expend for each type of care no less than 1.5% of the total sum of all funds available to 
administer medical or remedial care and services eligible for participation under the 
United States Social Security Act, Title XIX and amendments and successors to it. 
Sec. 2. 22 MRSA §3762, sub-§3, ~A, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 530, Pt. A, § 16, 
is amended to read: 
A. 
The department shall adopt rules as necessary to implement and administer the 
program. 
The rules must include eligibility criteria, budgeting process, benefit 
calculation and confidentiality. The rules must exclude unpaid court-ordered child 
support from calculations to determine eligibility for applicants who are entitled to 
receive court-ordered child support as part of their income. The confidentiality rules 
must ensure that confidentiality is maintained for T ANF recipients at least to the 
same extent that confidentiality was maintained for families in the Aid to Families 
with Dependent Children program unless otherwise required by federal law or 
regulation. 
Sec. 3. 22 MRSA §4301, sub-§7, as amended by PL 2003, c. 510, Pt. C, §6, is 
further amended to read: 
7. Income. "Income" means any form of income in cash or in kind received by the 
household, including net remuneration for services performed, cash received on either 
secured or unsecured credit, any payments received as an annuity, retirement or disability 
benefits, veterans' pensions, workers' compensation, unemployment benefits, benefits 
under any state or federal categorical assistance program, supplemental security income, 
social security and any other payments from governmental sources, unless specifically 
prohibited by any law or regulation, eourt ordered court-ordered support payments to the 
extent the payments are received, income from pension or trust funds and household 
income from any other source, including relatives or unrelated household members. 
Page J - 123LRlOU(Oi}-1 
The following items are not available within the meaning of this subsection and 
subsection 10: 
A. 
Real or personal income-producing property, tools of trade, govcmmental 
entitlement specifically treated as exempt assets by state or federal law; 
B. 
Actual work-related expenses, whether itemized or by standard deduction, such 
as taxes, retirement fund contributions, union dues, transportation costs to and from 
work, special equipment costs and child care expenses; ef 
C. 
Eamed income of children below the age of 18 years who are full-time students 
and who are not working full time7 ~ 
D. Unpaid court-ordered child support payments. 
In determining need, the period of time used as a basis for the calculation is the 30-day 
period commencing on the date of the application. This prospective calculation does not 
disqualify an applicant who has exhausted income to purchase basic necessities if that 
income does not exceed the income standards established by the municipality. 
Notwithstanding this prospective calculation, if any applicant or recipient receives a lump 
sum payment prior or subsequent to applying for assistance, that payment must be 
prorated over future months. The period of proration is determined by disregarding any 
portion of the lump sum payment that the applicant or recipient has spent to purchase 
basic necessities, including but not limited to: all basic necessities provided by general 
assistance; reasonable payment of funeral or burial expenses for a family member; 
reasonable travel costs related to the illness or death of a family member; repair or 
replacement of essentials lost due to fire, flood or other natural disaster; repair or 
purchase of a motor vehicle essential for employment, education, training or other day-to-
day living necessities; repayments of loans or credit, the proceeds of which can be 
verified as having been spent on basic necessities; and payment of bills earmarked for the 
purpose for which the lump sum is paid. All income received by the household between 
the receipt of the lump sum payment and the application for assistance is added to the 
remainder of the lump sum. The period of proration is then determined by dividing the 
remainder of the lump sum payment by the greater of the verified actual monthly amounts 
for all of the household's basic necessities or 150% of the applicable federal poverty 
I 
guidelines. 
That dividend represents the period of proration determined by the 
administrator to commence on the date of receipt of the lump sum payment. The prorated 
sum for each month must be considered available to the household for 12 months from 
the date of application or during the period of proration, whichever is less. 
Sec. 4. 
Exclude unpaid court-ordered child support from eligibility 
criteria. The Depar1ment of Health and Human Services shall amend all applicable 
rules, within the parameters of federal law, to exclude unpaid court-ordered child support 
payments from calculations determining eligibility for public assistance programs 
including, but not limited to, programs that provide cash, vouchers or electronic benefit 
transfer payments to families for assistance with food, home heating fuel, medical care or 
other living expenses. Changes to these rules are considered routine technical rules, as 
defined in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A, for the 
purposes of this section. 
Pa.?,c 2 - 123LRHHlI.Ol)-1 
SUMMARY 
This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to exclude unpaid 
court-ordered child support payments from the calculation of income in determining 
eligibility for public assistance.