An Act to Revitalize the Maine Temporary Assistance for Needy
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 0085
Sponsors: MEYER
Amends: 5 MRSA §12004-I, 22 MRSA §3789, 22 MRSA §3789-D

Legislative Document
No. 85
H.P. 49
House of Representatives, January 8, 2025
An Act to Revitalize the Maine Temporary Assistance for Needy 
Families Advisory Council
Submitted by the Department of Health and Human Services pursuant to Joint Rule 204.
Received by the Clerk of the House on January 6, 2025.  Referred to the Committee on 
Health and Human Services pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint 
Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative MEYER of Eliot.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  5 MRSA §12004-I, sub-§36-C, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 530, Pt. A, §2, 
is amended to read:
36-C.  
Human 
Services
Maine Temporary Assistance 
for Needy Families Advisory 
Council
Not Authorized 
Expenses/Legislative 
Per Diem for 
Nonsalaried Employee 
Members
MRSA 
§3789‑D
Sec. 2.  22 MRSA §3789-D, as amended by PL 2017, c. 110, §7, is further amended 
to read:
§3789-D.  Maine Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Advisory Council
1.  Duties.  The Maine Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Advisory Council, 
as referred to in this section as "the council," is established by Title 5, section 12004‑I, 
subsection 36‑C, shall to advise the commissioner or the commissioner's designee 
regarding education, training, job opportunities, quality employment and business 
ownership opportunities, the operation of any postsecondary education programs 
administered by the department and other matters affecting recipients of TANF recipients 
cash and other TANF recipients.
2.  Members.  The commissioner shall appoint the members of the council. Members 
who fail to attend 2 meetings within a 12-month period may be removed from the council. 
Members must include at least the following:
A.  Two recipients of benefits under the TANF program;
B.  One representative of employers within the State;
C.  One representative of organized labor;
D.  One representative of women's interests;
E.  One or more representatives of organizations or agencies that have experience in 
addressing the training, education and job needs of low-income women;
F.  One representative of the one-stop delivery system established under the federal 
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, 29 United States Code, Section 3151; and
G.  Two representatives of postsecondary education, one representing private 
institutions and one representing public institutions.
3.  Advice regarding postsecondary education programs.  The council shall 
establish a postsecondary education subcommittee, consisting of up to 15 members and 
nonmembers of the council.  The subcommittee must include but is not limited to the 
following representatives:
A.  A representative of the department, appointed by the commissioner;
B.  A representative of the University of Maine System who represents the interests of 
women or nontraditional students at one of the campuses, appointed by the chancellor;
C.  A representative of the Finance Authority of Maine appointed by the chief executive 
officer;
D.  Representatives of the Maine Community College System, including a gender 
coordinator at one of the campuses, appointed by the president; and
E.  Representatives of the following groups, appointed by the council:
(1)  Nonprofit service organizations that assist parents who are nontraditional 
students;
(2)  TANF participants or participants of the Parents as Scholars Program 
established in chapter 1054‑B who are enrolled in postsecondary education 
programs;
(3)  Nonprofit organizations that prepare parents to be nontraditional 
postsecondary education students;
(4)  Organizations that represent low-income parents and that have significant 
knowledge of public assistance programs;
(5)  Organizations that advocate for the interests of women;
(6)  The business community; and
(7)  Private postsecondary educational institutions.
By March 1, 1998, the subcommittee shall make recommendations to the council for 
improving the administration of the Parents as Scholars Program under section 3790, 
improving the program to make it more successful for participants and maximizing 
resources to meet the goals of the program.  The council shall approve, disapprove or 
modify the recommendations of the subcommittee and report their recommendation to the 
commissioner.
4.  Compensation and expenses.  A member of the council who is not otherwise 
compensated for the member's time serving on the council by the member's employer or 
the entity the member represents may be compensated in an amount not to exceed the 
legislative per diem for the member's time and reimbursed for expenses, including but not 
limited to meals and refreshments provided during a meeting of the council, child care and 
travel.
SUMMARY
This bill makes the following changes to the laws governing the Maine Temporary 
Assistance for Needy Families Advisory Council.
1. It changes the matters on which the council provides advice to clarify matters 
affecting recipients of TANF cash and other TANF recipients.
2. It allows for the removal from the council of a member who fails to attend 2 meetings 
within a 12-month period.
3. It removes the provision requiring the establishment of a postsecondary education 
subcommittee.
4. It authorizes compensation, in the amount of the legislative per diem, and 
reimbursement for expenses for a member who is not otherwise compensated for the 
member's time serving on the council by the member's employer or the entity the member 
represents.