An Act to Protect Maine Taxpayers by Requiring a Person to Be a United States Citizen to Receive General Assistance Benefits and to Ensure Municipal Compliance with Federal Immigration Laws
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 0668
Committee: Health and Human Services
Sponsors: GREENWOOD, BRAKEY, ANDREWS, DRINKWATER, LIBBY, POIRIER, QUINT, RUDNICKI, LYFORD, MOORE
Amends: 22 MRSA §4301, 30-A MRSA §2007

Legislative Document
No. 668
H.P. 437
House of Representatives, February 16, 2023
An Act to Protect Maine Taxpayers by Requiring a Person to Be a 
United States Citizen to Receive General Assistance Benefits and to 
Ensure Municipal Compliance with Federal Immigration Laws
Reference to the Committee on Health and Human Services suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative GREENWOOD of Wales.
Cosponsored by Senator BRAKEY of Androscoggin and
Representatives: ANDREWS of Paris, DRINKWATER of Milford, LIBBY of Auburn, 
POIRIER of Skowhegan, QUINT of Hodgdon, RUDNICKI of Fairfield, Senators: LYFORD of 
Penobscot, MOORE of Washington.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  22 MRSA §4301, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2015, c. 324, §1, is further 
amended to read:
3.  Eligible person.  "Eligible person" means a person citizen of the United States 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. "Eligible person" does not include a person who is a fugitive from 
justice as defined in Title 15, section 201, subsection 4.  Beginning July 1, 2015, in 
accordance with 8 United States Code, Section 1621(d), "eligible person" means a person 
who is lawfully present in the United States or who is pursuing a lawful process to apply 
for immigration relief, except that assistance for such a person may not exceed 24 months.
Sec. 2.  30-A MRSA §2007 is enacted to read:
§2007.  Ineligibility for state funds based on immigration policies
Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a municipality that has in effect 
any law, policy or procedure, formal or informal, in contravention of the federal Illegal 
Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, Section 642, subsection 
(a) or (b) or that prohibits, formally or informally, a local law enforcement officer from 
gathering information regarding the lawful or unlawful citizenship or immigration status 
of any individual is ineligible for:
1.  General purpose aid for local schools.  Funding for general purpose aid for local 
schools distributed in accordance with Title 20-A, chapter 606-B;
2.  Municipal general assistance.  Funding for municipal general assistance pursuant 
to Title 22, chapter 1161; and
3.  State-municipal revenue sharing.  State-municipal revenue sharing pursuant to 
section 5681.
SUMMARY
This bill requires a person to be a citizen of the United States in order to receive general 
assistance benefits. This bill provides that a municipality is ineligible to receive general 
purpose aid for local schools, municipal general assistance and state-municipal revenue 
sharing if that municipality prohibits or restricts, formally or informally, the exchange of 
information with federal immigration authorities or any other federal, state or local 
government entity regarding the immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual 
or the maintenance of such information.