Opinion ID: 718285
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Does Act 166 Violate the Equal Protection Clause or the Due Process Clause?

Text: 45 For the purposes of equal protection analysis, the disabled do not constitute a suspect class. Welsh v. City of Tulsa, 977 F.2d 1415, 1420 (10th Cir.1992). Nor is there a fundamental right to receive General Assistance benefits. See Goldberg v. Kelly, 397 U.S. 254, 90 S.Ct. 1011, 25 L.Ed.2d 287 (1970). Review under the equal protection clause is therefore limited to determining whether Act 166 is rationally related to legitimate legislative goals. See City of Cleburne, Texas v. Cleburne Living Center, 473 U.S. 432, 105 S.Ct. 3249, 87 L.Ed.2d 313 (1985). This same review suffices to determine whether Act 166 violates the due process clause. See Weinberger v. Salfi, 422 U.S. 749, 770, 95 S.Ct. 2457, 2469, 45 L.Ed.2d 522 (1975). 46 The Appellees assert that the legitimate state interest furthered by Act 166 is the preservation of the fiscal integrity of the GA program while providing benefits to the greatest number and the most needy. It is undisputed that this objective is a legitimate state interest. 47 Appellants attack Act 166 on the ground that the one year durational limit on benefits to the disabled bears no rational relationship to the stated purpose of providing for the most needy. Appellants urge that there is no logical or empirical basis for the conclusion that persons with dependent children are more needy than the disabled. 48 The Court has concluded that the GA program at issue is, in substance if not form, two discrete forms of benefit. There is a rational relationship between the goal of providing for the needy disabled and the provision of a year's worth of benefits. There is also a rational relationship between the different goal of providing for needy households with dependent children and the provision of benefits of unlimited duration. Thus, HRS § 346-71, as amended, does not violate the Equal Protection or Due Process Clauses of the United States Constitution.