An Act to Expand the General Assistance Program
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 1732
Committee Amendment CA_A_H805 (House)
Amends: 22 MRSA §4305, 22 MRSA §4323, 22 MRSA §4327

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT Hf\ " to H.P, 1111, L.D. 1 732, "An Act to Expand the
General Assistance Program"
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following:
'An Act Regarding the General Assistance Program'
Amend the bill by striking out all of the emergency preamble.
Amend the bill in section 1 in §4302-A by striking out all of subsection 2 (page 1, lines
17 to 24 m L.D,) and inserting the followmg:
'2. Trainine; minimum requirements. The department shall ensure that all overseers
and municipal officials have access to training required in subsection 1. at no cost to the
overseer or municipal official. that can be completed in less than 4 hours and is accessible
either in person. online or via a pre-recorded video presentation, At a minimum, the training
must include instruction on the purpose of the eeneral assistance proeram, the deliverY_Qf
trauma-informed services and culturally and Uneuistically apm'ooriate services as defined
in section 4305, subsection 7 and the laws governmg_the general assistance program's
administration, procedures and requirements.'
Amend the bill in section 2 in subsection 1 in the 2nd line (page 1, line 28 in L.D.) by
inserting after the following: "durmg" the following; 'the municipality's'
Amend the bill by inserting after section 2 the following;
'See. 3. 22 MRSA §4305, sub-§7 is enacted to read;
7. Appropriate services. A municipality, in administerme a general assistance
program, shall provide trauma-mformed services and culturally and Imguistically
0 aopropriate servicesja all app^U For purposes of this subsection, trauma-informed
seiMces'Lmeans services that acknowledee and are informed by the widespread effects of
trauma and recoenize the potential oaths for recovery; recoenize the unique signs and
3 symptoms of trauma in applicants, clients. families and staff; respond by fully inteeratine
knowledee about trauma into policies, procedures and practices; and seek to actively aYgjd
5 retraumatization, For purposes of this subsection, "culturally and lineuisticallv apDrooriate
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
ROS COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A/ " to H.P. 1111, L.D, 1732
services" means services that are designed to serve culturally diverse populationsjn_a
person's preferred language; function effectively within the context of cultural beliefs.
behaviors and needs presented by a person who applies to or is a recipient of assistance
from a general assistance program and the person's community; contribute to a work
environment that supports diversity: promote community engagement; build trust and
relationships with applicants and recipients; actively support and enable recipients to make
informed choices; and value and facilitate the exchange of information withj-ecipients,'
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 4 and mserting the following;
'See. 4. 22 MRSA §4323, sub-§l, as corrected by RR 2021, c, 2, Pt, B, §202,is
amended by enacting a new last blocked paragraph to read:
The department is responsible for ensuring that each municipality complies with its _dutyJ:o
provide trauma-informed services and culturallY anUin^uisticallv apm-opriate seryices as
defined in section 4305. subsection 7. The department shall provide mandatory trainine to
municipalities to ensure that a municioalitv is able to comply with the reauu-ements of this
chapter/
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 5 and inserting the following:
'See. 5. 22 MRSA §4323, sub-§6 is enacted to read:
6. Database. Beeinninp on July 1,2025 ,the department shall provide oyerseers access
to an Internet-based, real-time database containing the information necessary to oroperly
determine an applicant's eligibility,'
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 6 and inserting the following:
'See. 6. 22 MRSA §4327 is enacted to read:
§4327. Reportins
The department shall use municipal reports, data from the statewide online database
required under section 4323, subsection 6 and other metrics to generate a general assistance
report to be submitted to thejpint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction
over general assistance matters no later than January 30, 2026 and no later than January
30th of each odd-numbered calendar year thereafter, The initial report must include
recommendations regarding a potential extension of the eeneral assistance eligibility ueriod
0 beyond the 3 Q-dav limit established in section 4310. subsection 4. All reports must include
metrics for: the number_of individuals and ^families who received funds; the basic
necessities for which those funds were provided; the length of tune those funds were
received; which municipalities accessed technical assistance and the number of times that
technical assistance was requested. includine instances outside of normal business hours;
the type of technical assistance municipalities required; the number of calls to the
department's general assistance hotline; and the number and content of complaints received
and additional metrics as determined necessary by the department. The report must also
8 include data illustratmg municipal poverty levels, or regional or county poverty data when
municipal-level poverty data is unavailable, and data regarding the use of other public
benefit programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the
Temtiorarv Assistance for Needy Families program in each municipality.'
Amend the bill by striking out all of sections 7, 8 and 9.
Amendthebillby striking out all of the emergency clause.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "J^-" to H.P. 1111, L.D. 1732
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section
number to read consecutively.
SUMMARY
This amendment makes the following changes to the bill regarding municipal general
assistance programs.
1, It adds the delivery of trauma-informed services and culturally and linguistically
appropriate services to the training requirements for overseers and municipal officials,
2, It requires municipalities to provide general assistance with trauma-informed
services and culturally and linguistically appropriate services.
3, It removes the requirement for the Department of Health and Human Services to
require annual training for certain state employees.
4. It requires the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that each
municipality complies with its duty to provide trauma-informed services and culturally and
linguistically appropriate services and requires the department to provide mandatory
training to municipalities to ensure that a municipality is able to comply with the general
assistance program requirements,
5, It removes the requirement that the Department of Health and Human Services
provide in-person technical assistance to overseers 24 hours a day.
6. It removes the requirement that the Department of Health and Human Services issue
written decisions within 24 hours of receiving an inquiry.
7. It adds a reporting requirement for the Department of Health and Human Services
to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over general
assistance matters,
8, It removes the provision of the bill increasing state reimbursement for the costs of
general assistance mcurred by each municipality and each Indian tribe from 70% to 90%.
9. It removes the requirement for the Department of Health and Human Services to
reimburse municipalities for 100% of certain medical care for certain general assistance
recipients, for emergency general assistance that exceeds maximum levels of assistance,
for temporary housing, for interpreter services and for 5% of direct costs incurred for
general assistance granted by a municipality for administrative expenses.
The amendment also removes the emergency preamble and emergency clause from the
bill,
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED
(See attached)
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Approved; 02/13/24 ^CTct
LD 1732 LR 674(02)
An Act to Expand the General Assistance Program
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment 'j^' (l-t-^O,
Committee: Health and Human Sendces
Fiscal Note Required: Yes
Fiscal Note
Minor cost increase - General Fund
Fiscal Detail and Notes
Any additional costs to the Department of Health and Human Services to implement the provisions of this bill are
expected to be minor and can be absorbed within existing budgeted resources,
LR0674(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1