An Act To Impose a 90-day Residency Requirement in Order To Receive State Assistance
Maine Legislature, Session 125, LD 1294
Committee: Health and Human Services
Sponsors: GUERIN, BENNETT, HARVELL, LIBBY, O'CONNOR, OLSEN, PARKER, PARRY, SIROCKI
Amends: 22 MRSA §3104, 22 MRSA §3104-A, 22 MRSA §3173, 22 MRSA §3763, 22 MRSA §4301, 22 MRSA §4307

Legislative Document 
No. 1294 
H.P. 949 
House of Representatives, March 24, 2011 
An Act To Impose a 90-day Residency Requirement in Order To 
Receive State Assistance 
Reference to the Committee on Health and Human Services suggested and ordered printed. 
HEATHER J.R. PRIEST 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative GUERIN of Glenburn. 
Cosponsored by Representatives: BENNETT of Kennebunk, HARVELL of Farmington, 
LIBBY of Waterboro, O'CONNOR of Berwick, OLSEN of Phippsburg, PARKER of Veazie, 
PARRY of Arundel, SIROCKI of Scarborough. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  22 MRSA §3104, sub-§8-A is enacted to read: 
8-A.  Residency requirement.  An applicant for assistance under the statewide food 
supplement program must prove to the department that the applicant has been physically 
present for 90 days or longer in the State prior to applying for the statewide food 
supplement program.  Acceptable forms of proof of residency must include the 
applicant's name and the address of the applicant's residence or domicile.  A post office 
box or mail drop address is not sufficient.  Acceptable proof of residency includes, but is 
not limited to: 
A.  A tax return, W-2 form or paycheck stub; 
B.  A utility bill or a letter from a utility company showing application for service; 
C.  A contract to which the applicant is a party; or 
D.  A document issued by a governmental entity. 
Sec. 2.  22 MRSA §3104-A, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2009, c. 291, §3, is 
further amended to read: 
3.  Administration.  The department shall provide assistance under this section to 
eligible households on a monthly basis through an electronic benefit transfer system.  For 
the purpose of this subsection, "eligible household" means a household that has been 
physically present for 90 days or longer in the State prior to applying for the statewide 
food supplement program.  Acceptable forms of proof of residency must include the 
applicant's name and the address of the applicant's residence or domicile.  A post office 
box or mail drop address is not sufficient.  Acceptable proof of residency includes, but is 
not limited to: 
A.  A tax return, W-2 form or paycheck stub; 
B.  A utility bill or a letter from a utility company showing application for service; 
C.  A contract to which the applicant is a party; or 
D.  A document issued by a governmental entity. 
Sec. 3.  22 MRSA §3173, 8th ¶, as repealed and replaced by PL 1979, c. 127, 
§144, is amended to read: 
No time standard established by this section shall may be used as a waiting period 
before granting aid, or as a basis for denial of an application or for terminating assistance. 
Sec. 4.  22 MRSA §3173, as amended by PL 1997, c. 676, §1 and PL 2003, c. 689, 
Pt. B, §6, is further amended by adding at the end a new paragraph to read: 
An applicant for assistance under the MaineCare program must prove to the 
department that the applicant has been physically present for 90 days or longer in the 
State prior to applying for MaineCare.  Acceptable forms of proof of residency must 
include the applicant's name and the address of the applicant's residence or domicile.  A 
post office box or mail drop address is not sufficient.  Acceptable proof of residency 
includes, but is not limited to a tax return, W-2 form or paycheck stub; a utility bill or a 
letter from a utility company showing application for service; a contract to which the 
applicant is a party; or a document issued by a governmental entity. 
Sec. 5.  22 MRSA §3763, sub-§11 is enacted to read: 
11.  Residency requirement.  An applicant for assistance under TANF must prove to 
the department that the applicant has been physically present for 90 days or longer in the 
State prior to applying for TANF.  Acceptable forms of proof of residency must include 
the applicant's name and the address of the applicant's residence or domicile.  A post 
office box or mail drop address is not sufficient.  Acceptable proof of residency includes, 
but is not limited to: 
A.  A tax return, W-2 form or paycheck stub; 
B.  A utility bill or a letter from a utility company showing application for service; 
C.  A contract to which the applicant is a party; or 
D.  A document issued by a governmental entity. 
Sec. 6.  22 MRSA §4301, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 1983, c. 577, §1, is amended 
to read: 
3.  Eligible person.  "Eligible person" means a person who shows proof of having 
lived in a municipality for 90 days continuously prior to the date of application and who 
is qualified to receive general assistance from a municipality according to standards of 
eligibility determined by the municipal officers whether or not that person has applied for 
general assistance. 
Sec. 7.  22 MRSA §4307, sub-§2, as repealed and replaced by PL 1987, c. 349, 
Pt. H, §15, is amended to read: 
2.  Municipality of responsibility.  Except as provided in subsection 4, a 
municipality is responsible for the general assistance support of the following individuals:  
A.  A resident of the municipality.  For the purposes of this section, a "resident" 
means a person who is physically present in a municipality with the intention of 
remaining in that municipality to maintain or establish for at least 90 days prior to the 
date of application and who maintains or establishes a home and who has no other 
residence; and. 
B.  Eligible persons who apply to the municipality for assistance and who are not 
residents of that or any other municipality.  If a person is not a resident of any 
municipality, the municipality where that person first applies shall be responsible for 
support until a new residence is established. 
Sec. 8.  22 MRSA §4307, sub-§3, as repealed and replaced by PL 1987, c. 349, 
Pt. H, §15, is repealed. 
SUMMARY 
This bill establishes a 90-day residency requirement for applicants for the MaineCare 
program, the statewide food supplement program, the TANF program and municipal 
general assistance.