An Act To Secure Transitions to Economic Prosperity for Maine Families and Children
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1772
Committee: Health and Human Services
Sponsors: STEWART, DOW, GIDEON, HYMANSON, O'CONNOR, STOVER, TALBOT ROSS, CLAXTON, MOORE
Amends: 22 MRSA §3762, 22 MRSA §3769-G, 22 MRSA §3788

Legislative Document
No. 1772
H.P. 1259
House of Representatives, May 23, 2019
An Act To Secure Transitions to Economic Prosperity for Maine 
Families and Children
Reference to the Committee on Health and Human Services suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative STEWART of Presque Isle.
Cosponsored by Senator DOW of Lincoln and
Representatives: Speaker GIDEON of Freeport, HYMANSON of York, O'CONNOR of 
Berwick, STOVER of Boothbay, TALBOT ROSS of Portland, Senators: CLAXTON of 
Androscoggin, MOORE of Washington.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  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;
(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;
(7-C)  In determining financial eligibility for applicants 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-D)  In determining benefit levels, the department shall disregard the following 
amounts from the monthly earnings of recipients:
(a)  One hundred percent of all earned income for the first 6 months of 
employment during a period of continuous receipt of assistance that is not 
interrupted by a break in assistance of more than 2 months;
(b)  Seventy-five percent of all earned income beginning in the 7th month of 
employment during a period of continuous receipt of assistance that is not 
interrupted by a break in assistance of more than 2 months;
(c)  One hundred and eight dollars and 50% of the remaining earnings that 
are less than the federal poverty level beginning in the 13th month of 
employment during a period of continuous receipt of assistance that is not 
interrupted by a break in assistance of more than 2 months; 
(d)  In the event of a break in assistance of more than 2 months, for any new 
period of assistance, $108 and 50% of the remaining earnings; and
(e)  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-E)  For any period during which a household's food supplement assistance is 
reduced as a result of earnings and receipt of the earned income disregard applied 
under subparagraph (7-D), division (a) or (b), the household must receive 
additional food supplement assistance in an amount that will, in addition to the 
food supplement assistance for which the household remains eligible, provide the 
household with the same amount of food supplement assistance as it received in 
the month immediately preceding the month in which it received the enhanced 
earned income disregard.  Additional food supplement assistance under this 
subparagraph is a noncash benefit and may be used to purchase only those food 
items permitted under the food supplement program. These funds must be 
provided under the TANF block grant available under Title IV-A of the United 
States Social Security Act;
(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) (7-D) 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.
Sec. 2.  22 MRSA §3762, sub-§8, ¶F, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 655, Pt. S, §2, is 
amended to read:
F.  The department may provide limited transitional food benefits to meet the needs 
of food supplement benefit recipients living with one or more dependent children 
under 18 years of age who are working at least 30 hours per week or who are working 
at least 20 hours per week if one or more dependent child is under 6 years of age.  
The benefit may not exceed $50 $100 per month per family.
Sec. 3.  22 MRSA §3762, sub-§18, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 380, Pt. PP, §2, is 
amended to read:
18.  Lifetime limit on assistance.  Beginning January 1, 2012, a family may not 
receive TANF assistance for longer than 60 months except in those cases in which the 
department has determined that the family qualifies for an exemption or extension under 
rules adopted by the department. When an adult has received TANF assistance for 60 
months, unless the adult has been exempted or granted an extension by the department, 
the family unit in which the adult is a member is ineligible for assistance.  The 
department shall consider conditions or situations beyond the control of the adult 
recipient, including but not limited to a physical or mental condition that prevents the 
adult from obtaining or retaining gainful employment, being a victim of domestic 
violence, participating in good standing in an approved education program or a program 
that is expected to lead to gainful employment, being the caretaker relative in the 
household who is not the parent of the child or children in the assistance unit and who is 
required to remain at home to care for a dependent in the assistance unit and loss of 
employment by the adult following termination of TANF under this subsection.  Any 
month in which a family receives an earnings disregard under subsection 3, paragraph B, 
subparagraph (7-D), division (a) or (b) may not be counted toward the 60-month limit 
established by this subsection.
The department shall adopt rules to implement this subsection.  Rules adopted pursuant to 
this subsection are routine technical rules pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 
2-A.
Sec. 4.  22 MRSA §3769-G is enacted to read:
§3769-G.  Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant; whole family 
economic security initiatives
1.  Use of block grant funds.  In fiscal year 2020-21 and annually thereafter, the 
department shall provide up to $3,000,000 in funds provided under the Temporary 
Assistance for Needy Families block grant to community action agencies designated 
pursuant to section 5324 or other community-based organizations the department finds 
qualified pursuant to subsection 3 to assist parents with children as the parents pursue 
stable employment or education intended to lead to employment.  The block grant funds 
must be used to administer services to families with children with income less than 200% 
of the nonfarm income official poverty line.
2.  Required services.  Services provided by a community-based organization the 
department finds qualified pursuant to subsection 3 must include education, including, 
but not limited to, assisting family members to acquire postsecondary degrees or other 
credentials, and the provision of health, social and economic support.
3.  Qualifications.  In order to be qualified under this section, a community action 
agency designated pursuant to section 5324 or a community-based organization must 
demonstrate to the department that it has the resources and capacity to implement 
evidence-based practices to provide the services required under this section.  The 
department shall annually review contracts awarded under this section on the basis of 
tangible performance measures; participant satisfaction and well-being; and fiscal and 
administrative accountability.
4.  Rules.  The department shall adopt rules to implement this section.  Rules adopted 
pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, 
subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 5.  22 MRSA §3788, sub-§7-A is enacted to read:
7-A.  Basic skills education.  The department shall make available to individuals 
participating in the ASPIRE-TANF program basic skills education, including programs 
that assist individuals in obtaining a high school equivalency diploma.  The time spent by 
an ASPIRE-TANF participant in basic skills education must be counted towards the first 
hours of the participant's required weekly work participation.  The department shall 
ensure that the State's work verification plan required under federal law for validating 
work participation activities of ASPIRE-TANF participants includes basic skills 
education in the definition of vocational educational training when it is a necessary part 
of a participant's vocational educational training plan.  
Sec. 6.  Funding.  Any additional costs to the State resulting from the 
implementation of this Act must be paid from funds provided to the Department of Health 
and Human Services under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant 
available under Title IV-A of the United States Social Security Act or from resources 
representing the State's maintenance of effort in order to qualify for federal funds and 
may not result in an additional net cost to the General Fund.
SUMMARY
This bill:
1.  Increases the income amounts that are disregarded when calculating benefits from 
the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, or TANF program, for recipients 
who have earnings from employment.  It also replaces for a limited period food assistance 
lost as a result of increased earnings from employment and the increased income amounts 
that are disregarded;
2. Increases the transitional food benefits available under the TANF program from 
$50 per month per family to $100 per month per family;
3. Establishes a whole family economic security initiative as part of the TANF 
program to increase the economic security of the entire family; and
4.  Requires the Department of Health and Human Services to count the participation 
of a participant in the ASPIRE-TANF program in basic skills education, which includes 
programs to assist individuals in obtaining a high school equivalency diploma, toward the 
first 20 hours of the participant's weekly work participation requirements.