An Act To Include Homelessness in the Laws Governing Emergency General Assistance
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 0459
Committee: Health and Human Services
Sponsors: CHIPMAN, GRATWICK, MOORE, CRAVEN, HYMANSON, MADIGAN, MEYER, PERRY, TALBOT ROSS
Amends: 22 MRSA §4301, 22 MRSA §4308

Legislative Document
No. 459
S.P. 137
In Senate, January 29, 2019
An Act To Include Homelessness in the Laws Governing Emergency 
General Assistance
Reference to the Committee on Health and Human Services suggested and ordered printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator CHIPMAN of Cumberland.
Cosponsored by Senators: GRATWICK of Penobscot, MOORE of Washington, 
Representatives: CRAVEN of Lewiston, HYMANSON of York, MADIGAN of Waterville, 
MEYER of Eliot, PERRY of Calais, TALBOT ROSS of Portland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  22 MRSA §4301, sub-§5-A is enacted to read:
5-A.  Homelessness.  "Homelessness" means a situation in which a person or 
household has no permanent or safe housing including when a person or household is:
A.  Living in a place that is not fit for human habitation;
B.  Living in an emergency shelter;
C.  Living in temporary housing, including but not limited to a hotel, motel, 
campground, unlicensed campsite or rehabilitation facility;
D.  Exiting a hospital or institution licensed under chapter 405 or a correctional 
facility where the person or household resided for up to 90 days if the person or 
household was in an emergency shelter or a place not fit for human habitation before 
entering the hospital, institution or correctional facility;
E.  Losing the person's or household's primary nighttime residence and lacking the 
resources or support networks to remain in that residence; or
F.  Fleeing or attempting to flee violence and has no other residence.
Sec. 2.  22 MRSA §4308, sub-§2, as amended by PL 1999, c. 45, §1, is further 
amended to read:
2.  Emergencies.  A person, including a person experiencing or facing homelessness, 
who does not have sufficient resources to provide one or more basic necessities in an 
emergency is eligible for emergency general assistance, even when that applicant has 
been found ineligible for nonemergency general assistance, except as provided in this 
subsection. 
A.  A person who is currently disqualified from general assistance for a violation of 
section 4315, 4316-A or 4317 is ineligible for emergency assistance under this 
subsection.
B.  Municipalities may by standards adopted in municipal ordinances restrict the 
disbursement of emergency assistance to alleviate emergency situations to the extent 
that those situations could not have been averted by the applicant's use of income and 
resources for basic necessities.  The person requesting assistance shall provide 
evidence of income and resources for the applicable time period.
A municipality may provide emergency assistance when the municipality determines that 
an emergency is imminent and that failure to provide assistance may result in undue 
hardship and unnecessary costs.
SUMMARY
This bill defines "homelessness" for the purposes of the laws governing general 
assistance and specifies that a person experiencing or facing homelessness who meets the 
conditions for receiving emergency assistance in current law is eligible for emergency 
general assistance.