An Act To Restore Services To Help Certain Noncitizens Meet Their Basic Needs
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1317
Committee: Health and Human Services
Sponsors: GATTINE, LIBBY, CLOUTIER, JORGENSEN, MORALES, TALBOT ROSS, WARREN, CHIPMAN, GRATWICK
Amends: 22 MRSA §3104-A, 22 MRSA §3174-B, 22 MRSA §3273, 22 MRSA §3762

Legislative Document
No. 1317
H.P. 952
House of Representatives, March 19, 2019
An Act To Restore Services To Help Certain Noncitizens Meet Their 
Basic Needs
Reference to the Committee on Health and Human Services suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative GATTINE of Westbrook.
Cosponsored by Senator LIBBY of Androscoggin and
Representatives: CLOUTIER of Lewiston, JORGENSEN of Portland, MORALES of South 
Portland, TALBOT ROSS of Portland, WARREN of Hallowell, Senators: CHIPMAN of 
Cumberland, GRATWICK of Penobscot, SANBORN, L. of Cumberland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  22 MRSA §3104-A, as amended by PL 2013, c. 368, Pt. OO, §§1 and 2, is 
further amended to read:
§3104-A.  Food supplement program for certain noncitizens
1.  Food assistance.  The department shall provide food assistance to households that 
would be eligible for assistance under the federal Food Stamp Act of 1977, 7 United 
States Code, Section 2011 et seq. and under the federal Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 
but for provisions of Sections 401, 402 and 403 of the Personal Responsibility and Work 
Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 that are receiving food assistance under this 
subsection as of July 1, 2011. Any household receiving assistance as of that date may 
continue to receive assistance, as long as that household remains eligible, without regard 
to interruptions in coverage or gaps in eligibility for service. A noncitizen legally 
admitted to the United States who is neither receiving assistance on July 1, 2011 nor has 
an application pending for assistance on July 1, 2011 that is later approved is not eligible 
for food assistance through a state-funded program unless that noncitizen is:
A.  Elderly or disabled, as described under the laws governing supplemental security 
income in 42 United States Code, Sections 1381 to 1383f (2010);
B.  A victim of domestic violence;
C.  Experiencing other hardship, such as time necessary to obtain proper work 
documentation, as defined by the department by rule. Rules adopted by the 
department under this paragraph are routine technical rules as defined by Title 5, 
chapter 375, subchapter 2-A; or
D.  Unemployed but has obtained proper work documentation, as defined by the 
department by rule.  Rules adopted by the department under this paragraph are 
routine technical rules as defined by Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
1-A.  Food assistance.  The department shall provide food assistance to a household 
that would be eligible for assistance under the federal Food Stamp Act of 1977, 7 United 
States Code, Section 2011 et seq. and under the federal Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 
but for provisions of Sections 401, 402 and 403 of the federal Personal Responsibility and 
Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, including to any person in the household 
who, in accordance with 8 United States Code, Section 1621(d), is:
A.  Lawfully present in the United States with the knowledge and permission of the 
United States Department of Homeland Security and whose departure is not required 
by the United States Department of Homeland Security.  This includes a person 
described in 45 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 152.2, subsections (1) to (7) or 
a person with deferred action under the United States Department of Homeland 
Security's deferred action for childhood arrivals process; or
B.  Pursuing a lawful process to apply for immigration relief under the federal 
Immigration and Nationality Act, as long as the person has submitted an application 
for immigration relief or can provide verification that the person is taking reasonable 
steps to pursue the application process.
2.  Amount of assistance.  The total amount of food assistance provided under this 
section must equal the amount that the household would be eligible to receive under the 
federal Food Stamp Act of 1977, 7 United States Code, Sections 2014 and 2017 and 
under the federal Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 if the household were eligible for either 
of those programs.
3.  Administration.  The department shall provide assistance under this section to 
eligible households on a monthly basis through an electronic benefit transfer system.
Sec. 2.  22 MRSA §3174-BBB is enacted to read:
§3174-BBB.  MaineCare coverage for certain noncitizens
The department shall provide the same scope of medical assistance provided under 
section 3174-G for comparable enrollment groups to a person who would be eligible for 
assistance under the federal Medicaid Program under Title XIX of the federal Social 
Security Act but for provisions of Sections 401, 402 and 403 of the federal Personal 
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, including a person 
who, in accordance with 8 United States Code, Section 1621(d), is:
1.  Lawfully present.  Lawfully present in the United States with the knowledge and 
permission of the United States Department of Homeland Security and whose departure is 
not required by the United States Department of Homeland Security.  This includes a 
person described in 45 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 152.2, subsections (1) to (7) 
or a person with deferred action under the United States Department of Homeland 
Security's deferred action for childhood arrivals process; or
2.  Immigration relief.  Pursuing a lawful process to apply for immigration relief 
under the federal Immigration and Nationality Act, as long as the person has submitted an 
application for immigration relief or can provide verification that the person is taking 
reasonable steps to pursue the application process.
Sec. 3.  22 MRSA §3273, sub-§9, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 643, Pt. WW, §1, is 
amended to read:
9.  Supplemental security income for certain noncitizens.  Supplemental State-
funded supplemental security income for legal immigrants is governed by the following 
must be provided in accordance with this subsection.
A.  The department shall provide assistance to all aliens lawfully a person residing in 
the United States who would be eligible for assistance under the federal supplemental 
security income program, 42 United States Code, Section 1381, et seq. except for the 
provisions of Sections 401, 402 and 403 of the federal Personal Responsibility and 
Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996., including a person who, in 
accordance with 8 United States Code, Section 1621(d), is:
(1)  Lawfully present in the United States with the knowledge and permission of 
the United States Department of Homeland Security and whose departure is not 
required by the United States Department of Homeland Security.  This includes a 
person described in 45 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 152.2, subsections 
(1) to (7) or a person with deferred action under the United States Department of 
Homeland Security's deferred action for childhood arrivals process; or
(2)  Pursuing a lawful process to apply for immigration relief under the federal 
Immigration and Nationality Act, as long as the person has submitted an 
application for immigration relief or can provide verification that the person is 
taking reasonable steps to pursue the application process.
B.  The total amount of monthly assistance provided under this section must equal the 
amount that the individual would be eligible to receive under the federal 
supplemental security income program, 42 United States Code, Section 1382, or its 
successor, if the individual were eligible for that program, and the state supplemental 
income payment provided to eligible individuals under section 3274.
Sec. 4.  22 MRSA §3762, sub-§3, ¶B, as amended by PL 2017, c. 256, §1; c. 284, 
Pt. NNNNNNN, §10; c. 290, §1; and c. 412, §2, is further amended to read:
B.  The department may use funds, insofar as resources permit, provided under and in 
accordance with the United States Social Security Act or state funds appropriated for 
this purpose or a combination of state and federal funds to provide assistance to 
families under this chapter.  In addition to assistance for families described in this 
subsection, funds must be expended for the following purposes:
(1)  To continue the pass-through of the first $50 per month of current child 
support collections and the exclusion of the $50 pass-through from the budget 
tests and benefit calculations;
(2)  To provide financial assistance to noncitizens legally admitted to the United 
States who are receiving assistance under this subsection as of July 1, 2011.  
Recipients of assistance under this subparagraph are limited to the categories of 
noncitizens who would be eligible for the TANF programs but for their status as 
aliens under PRWORA.  Eligibility for the TANF program for these categories of 
noncitizens must be determined using the criteria applicable to other recipients of 
assistance from the TANF program. Any household receiving assistance as of  
July 1, 2011 may continue to receive assistance, as long as that household 
remains eligible, without regard to interruptions in coverage or gaps in eligibility 
for service. A noncitizen legally admitted to the United States who is neither 
receiving assistance on July 1, 2011 nor has an application pending for assistance 
on July 1, 2011 that is later approved is not eligible for financial assistance 
through a state-funded program unless that noncitizen is:
(a)  Elderly or disabled, as described under the laws governing supplemental 
security income in 42 United States Code, Sections 1381 to 1383f (2010);
(b)  A victim of domestic violence;
(c)  Experiencing other hardship, such as time necessary to obtain proper 
work documentation, as defined by the department by rule. Rules adopted by 
the department under this division are routine technical rules as defined by 
Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A; or
(d)  Unemployed but has obtained proper work documentation, as defined by 
the department by rule.  Rules adopted by the department under this division 
are routine technical rules as defined by Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A;
(2-A)  To provide financial assistance to a person who, in accordance with 8 
United States Code, Section 1621(d), is:
(a)  Lawfully present in the United States with the knowledge and permission 
of the United States Department of Homeland Security and whose departure 
is not required by the United States Department of Homeland Security.  This 
includes a person described in 45 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 
152.2, subsections (1) to (7) or a person with deferred action under the 
United States Department of Homeland Security's deferred action for 
childhood arrivals process; or
(b)  Pursuing a lawful process to apply for immigration relief under the 
federal Immigration and Nationality Act, as long as the person has submitted 
an application for immigration relief or can provide verification that the 
person is taking reasonable steps to pursue the application process;
(3) To provide benefits to 2-parent families with children using the same 
eligibility requirements as apply to families headed by a single custodial parent or 
caretaker relative;
(4)  To provide an assistance program for needy children, 19 to 21 years of age, 
who are in full-time attendance in secondary school.  The program is operated for 
those individuals who qualify for TANF under the United States Social Security 
Act, except that they fail to meet the age requirement, and is also operated for the 
parent or caretaker relative of those individuals.  Except for the age requirement, 
all provisions of TANF, including the standard of need and the amount of 
assistance, apply to the program established pursuant to this subparagraph;
(5)  To provide assistance for a pregnant woman who is otherwise eligible for 
assistance under this chapter, except that she has no dependents under 19 years of 
age.  An individual is eligible for the monthly benefit for one eligible person if 
the medically substantiated expected date of the birth of her child is not more 
than 90 days following the date the benefit is received;
(6)  To provide a special housing allowance for TANF families whose shelter 
expenses for rent, mortgage or similar payments, homeowners insurance and 
property taxes equal or exceed 50% of their monthly income.  The special 
housing allowance is limited to $300 per month for each family.  For purposes of 
this subparagraph, "monthly income" means the total of the TANF monthly 
benefit and all income countable under the TANF program, plus child support 
received by the family, excluding the $50 pass-through payment;
(7)  In determining benefit levels for TANF recipients who have earnings from 
employment, the department shall disregard from monthly earnings the 
following:
(a)  One hundred and eight dollars;
(b)  Fifty percent of the remaining earnings that are less than the federal 
poverty level; and
(c)  All actual child care costs necessary for work, except that the department 
may limit the child care disregard to $175 per month per child or $200 per 
month per child under 2 years of age or with special needs;
(7-A)  In determining eligibility and benefit levels, the department may apply a 
gross income test only to applicants and not to recipients;
(8)  In cases when the TANF recipient has no child care cost, the monthly TANF 
benefit is the maximum payment level or the difference between the countable 
earnings and the standard of need established by rule adopted by the department, 
whichever is lower;
(9)  In cases when the TANF recipient has child care costs, the department shall 
determine a total benefit package, including TANF cash assistance, determined in 
accordance with subparagraph (7) and additional child care assistance, as 
provided by rule, necessary to cover the TANF recipient's actual child care costs 
up to the maximum amount specified in section 3782-A, subsection 5, paragraph 
B.  The benefit amount must be paid as provided in this subparagraph.
(a)  Before the first month in which child care assistance is available to an 
ASPIRE-TANF recipient under this paragraph and periodically thereafter, the 
department shall notify the recipient of the total benefit package and the 
following options of the recipient: to receive the total benefit package 
directly; or to have the department pay the recipient's child care assistance 
directly to the designated child care provider for the recipient and pay the 
balance of the total benefit package to the recipient.
(b)  If an ASPIRE-TANF recipient notifies the department that the recipient 
chooses to receive the child care assistance directly, the department shall pay 
the total benefit package to the recipient.
(c)  If an ASPIRE-TANF recipient does not respond or notifies the 
department of the choice to have the child care assistance paid directly to the 
child care provider from the total benefit package, the department shall pay 
the child care assistance directly to the designated child care provider for the 
recipient.  The department shall pay the balance of the total benefit package 
to the recipient;
(10)  Child care assistance under this paragraph must be paid by the department 
in a prompt manner that permits an ASPIRE-TANF recipient to access child care 
necessary for work; and
(11)  The department shall adopt rules pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375 to 
implement this subsection.  Rules adopted pursuant to this subparagraph are 
routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
SUMMARY
This bill removes limitations on food supplement program benefits and Temporary 
Assistance to Needy Families program benefits, provides MaineCare coverage and 
modifies language for state-funded supplemental security income to maintain consistency 
throughout the law for certain noncitizens who are lawfully present in the United States 
or pursuing a lawful process to apply for immigration relief.