An Act Regarding Responsibility of General Assistance for a Person Who Is Released from Prison
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 1416
Committee: Health and Human Services
Sponsors: GRATWICK, FREY, SCHNECK, BOYLE, HASKELL, JACKSON, KATZ, YOUNGBLOOD, BROOKS, MORRISON, POULIOT
Amends: 22 MRSA §4307

Legislative Document 
No. 1416 
S.P. 510 
In Senate, April 23, 2013 
An Act Regarding Responsibility of General Assistance for a Person 
Who Is Released from Prison 
Reference to the Committee on Health and Human Services suggested and ordered printed. 
DAREK M. GRANT 
Secretary of the Senate 
Presented by Senator GRATWICK of Penobscot. 
Cosponsored by Representative FREY of Bangor, Representative SCHNECK of Bangor and 
Senators: BOYLE of Cumberland, HASKELL of Cumberland, JACKSON of Aroostook, 
KATZ of Kennebec, YOUNGBLOOD of Penobscot, Representatives: BROOKS of 
Winterport, MORRISON of South Portland, POULIOT of Augusta. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  22 MRSA §4307, sub-§4, as corrected by RR 2009, c. 2, §58, is amended 
to read: 
4.  Special circumstances.  Overseers of a municipality may not move or transport 
an applicant or recipient into another municipality to relieve their municipality of 
responsibility for that applicant's or recipient's support.  The municipality of 
responsibility for relocations, persons released from correctional facilities and 
institutional settings is as follows. 
A.  When an applicant or recipient requests relocation to another municipality and the 
overseers of a municipality assist that person to relocate to another municipality, the 
municipality from which that person is moving continues to be responsible for the 
support of the recipient for 30 days after relocation.  As used in this paragraph, 
"assist" includes:  
(1)  Granting financial assistance to relocate; and  
(2)  Making arrangements for a person to relocate. 
B.  If an applicant is in a group home, shelter, rehabilitation center, nursing home, 
hospital or other institution at the time of application and has either been in that 
institution for 6 months or less, or had a residence immediately prior to entering the 
institution which the applicant had maintained and to which the applicant intends to 
return, the municipality of responsibility is the municipality where the applicant was 
a resident immediately prior to entering the institution.  For the purpose of this 
paragraph, a hotel, motel or similar place of temporary lodging is considered an 
institution when a municipality:  
(1)  Grants financial assistance for a person to move to or stay in temporary 
lodging;  
(2)  Makes arrangements for a person to stay in temporary lodging;  
(3)  Advises or encourages a person to stay in temporary lodging; or  
(4)  Illegally denies housing assistance and, as a result of that denial, the person 
stays in temporary lodging. 
C.  If an applicant has been released from a correctional facility within 45 days of 
application, the municipality of responsibility for the first 12 months of payment of 
benefits is the municipality that was on record as the residence of the applicant when 
the applicant was committed to the correctional facility.  A municipality of 
responsibility must accept an application for general assistance by telephone if the 
applicant is calling from another municipal office. 
SUMMARY 
This bill provides that if an applicant for general assistance under the Maine Revised 
Statutes, Title 22, chapter 1161 has been released from a correctional facility within 45 
days of application, the municipality of responsibility for the first 12 months of benefits is 
the municipality that was on record as the residence of the applicant when the applicant 
was committed to the correctional facility. The bill requires that a responsible 
municipality accept applications by telephone as long as the call is being made from a 
municipal office.