HF 109

Introduction - 79th Legislature (1995 - 1996)

Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00 a.m.

  1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to human services; requiring the commissioner 
  1.3             of human services to seek certain federal waivers; 
  1.4             requiring reforms in the program of aid to families 
  1.5             with dependent children; requiring copayments for 
  1.6             medical assistance; requiring certain general 
  1.7             assistance and work readiness payments to be made on a 
  1.8             weekly basis; mandating reductions in administrative 
  1.9             costs; establishing a targeted jobs credit program; 
  1.10            appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 1994, 
  1.11            sections 256.73, by adding a subdivision; 256D.05, 
  1.12            subdivision 6; 256D.051, subdivision 1a; and 256D.09, 
  1.13            subdivision 1; proposing coding for new law in 
  1.14            Minnesota Statutes, chapters 256; 256B; and 290. 
  1.15  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.16     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 256.73, is 
  1.17  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.18     Subd. 5a.  [MINORS TO LIVE IN SUPERVISED 
  1.19  SETTINGS.] Never-married pregnant or parenting teens under the 
  1.20  age of 18 who are recipients of assistance under sections 256.72 
  1.21  to 256.87 must reside in their parental home, if it is suitable 
  1.22  and available, or in some other appropriate supervised setting, 
  1.23  in accordance with applicable federal laws and regulations. 
  1.24     Sec. 2.  [256.735] [AFDC WORK PROGRAM REFORM WAIVERS.] 
  1.25     Subdivision 1.  [AUTHORITY.] The commissioner of human 
  1.26  services shall seek waivers of existing federal requirements in 
  1.27  the program of aid to families with dependent children, to 
  1.28  implement the reform measures specified in this section. 
  1.29     Subd. 2.  [TIME LIMIT ON UNRESTRICTED BENEFITS.] Except as 
  1.30  provided in subdivision 3, recipient families shall be eligible 
  2.1   for a maximum of 24 consecutive months of AFDC benefits in any 
  2.2   60-month period.  During the 24-month period of eligibility, all 
  2.3   caretakers not participating in STRIDE under section 256.736, 
  2.4   subdivision 3, must participate in job search or in an 
  2.5   educational program designed to lead to employment. 
  2.6      Subd. 3.  [CONTINUED BENEFITS.] Caretakers in recipient 
  2.7   families that have exhausted their 24 months of AFDC benefits 
  2.8   will be required to participate in the public works program 
  2.9   authorized by subdivision 4, as a condition of continued receipt 
  2.10  of benefits.  Caretakers subject to this provision must work 
  2.11  sufficient hours monthly in a public works slot so that their 
  2.12  monthly earnings equal the amount of the family AFDC grant. 
  2.13     Subd. 4.  [PUBLIC JOBS PROGRAM.] (a) The commissioner of 
  2.14  human services and the commissioner of economic security shall 
  2.15  jointly develop and administer a public jobs program in 
  2.16  accordance with the requirements of this subdivision. 
  2.17     (b) For purposes of this subdivision, an "eligible employer"
  2.18  means a for-profit business, a nonprofit agency, a county, 
  2.19  municipality, school district, or other local governmental 
  2.20  subdivision, a state agency, or federal office, in Minnesota. 
  2.21     (c) For purposes of this subdivision, an "eligible 
  2.22  employee" is an AFDC caretaker, who has exhausted the 24 months 
  2.23  of unrestricted eligibility for AFDC, under subdivision 2, but 
  2.24  continues to remain otherwise eligible for assistance under 
  2.25  sections 256.72 to 256.879. 
  2.26     (d) The commissioners of economic security and human 
  2.27  services shall contract with eligible employers to deliver wage 
  2.28  subsidies on behalf of eligible employees.  The maximum monthly 
  2.29  subsidy for any eligible employee shall be the amount of 
  2.30  assistance for which the employee's household would be otherwise 
  2.31  eligible under sections 256.72 to 256.879.  The wage to be paid 
  2.32  to eligible employees shall be the subsidy amount plus a minimum 
  2.33  of $2 per hour additional to be paid by the eligible employer.  
  2.34  The wage subsidy shall be available for a maximum of 52 
  2.35  consecutive weeks for each eligible employee. 
  2.36     (e) In contracting with eligible employers, the 
  3.1   commissioner shall: 
  3.2      (1) ensure that subsidy funds are not used to fill 
  3.3   positions which would be filled in the absence of wage 
  3.4   subsidies; 
  3.5      (2) prohibit the use of eligible employees to do work that 
  3.6   was part or all of the duties or responsibilities of an 
  3.7   authorized public employee bargaining unit position on January 
  3.8   1, 1995; 
  3.9      (3) require the employer to be in compliance with all 
  3.10  applicable state and federal laws, including all civil rights 
  3.11  laws and laws governing affirmative action, fair labor, health, 
  3.12  safety and environmental standards; and 
  3.13     (4) specify that eligible employers, who retain eligible 
  3.14  employees beyond the 52-week subsidy period shall be eligible 
  3.15  for a targeted jobs credit under section 290.0692. 
  3.16     Subd. 5.  [CAPS ON FAMILY BENEFITS.] Any increase in AFDC 
  3.17  benefits attributable to the birth of additional children 
  3.18  conceived while a family is receiving AFDC benefits shall be 
  3.19  limited as follows:  (1) increases attributable to a first 
  3.20  additional child will be reduced by 50 percent; (2) there will 
  3.21  be no increase in benefits for a second additional child or for 
  3.22  any subsequent children who may be conceived and are born while 
  3.23  the family is receiving AFDC. 
  3.24     Subd. 6.  [EXTENSION OF TRANSITIONAL MEDICAL 
  3.25  ASSISTANCE.] Recipient families eligible for transitional 
  3.26  medical assistance under section 256B.062, shall be eligible for 
  3.27  an additional 12 months of medical assistance benefits up to a 
  3.28  total of 24 months. 
  3.29     Subd. 7.  [EXTENSION OF TRANSITIONAL CHILD CARE.] Recipient 
  3.30  families eligible for AFDC child care benefits under section 
  3.31  256H.05, subdivision 1b, clause (3) shall be eligible for child 
  3.32  care benefits for an additional 12 months beyond their 
  3.33  transition year, up to a total of 24 months. 
  3.34     Subd. 8.  [SCOPE OF WAIVERS.] The waivers authorized by 
  3.35  this section shall be designed so that at least 90 percent of 
  3.36  the AFDC caseload statewide is subject to the changes in the 
  4.1   AFDC program authorized by the waivers.  The control group for 
  4.2   federal evaluation purposes must be no more than ten percent of 
  4.3   the caseload.  The waiver reforms shall become effective six 
  4.4   weeks after receipt of federal approval and shall be applied to 
  4.5   90 percent of the caseload on that date and to 90 percent of all 
  4.6   AFDC families that become eligible for benefits subsequent to 
  4.7   that date. 
  4.8      Sec. 3.  [256B.0635] [NONEMERGENCY SERVICES PROVIDED IN 
  4.9   EMERGENCY ROOMS.] 
  4.10     Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] (a) For purposes of this 
  4.11  section, the following definitions apply. 
  4.12     (b) "Emergency services" means services provided in a 
  4.13  hospital that is equipped to furnish the required care, after 
  4.14  the sudden onset of a medical condition manifesting itself by 
  4.15  acute symptoms of sufficient severity (including severe pain) 
  4.16  that the absence of immediate medical attention could reasonably 
  4.17  be expected to result in: 
  4.18     (1) placing the patient's health in serious jeopardy; 
  4.19     (2) serious impairment to bodily functions; or 
  4.20     (3) serious dysfunction of any bodily organ or part. 
  4.21     (c) "Nonemergency services" means services that do not meet 
  4.22  the definition of "emergency services" in paragraph (b). 
  4.23     Subd. 2.  [COPAYMENT ASSESSED.] (a) Except as provided in 
  4.24  paragraph (b), hospitals licensed under sections 144.50 to 
  4.25  144.56, shall assess recipients copayments of double the 
  4.26  copayment amounts determined under Code of Federal Regulations, 
  4.27  title 42, part 447.54(a)(3), for nonemergency services provided 
  4.28  in a hospital emergency room.  The commissioner shall reduce 
  4.29  medical assistance reimbursement for nonemergency services 
  4.30  provided in a hospital emergency room by the amount of the 
  4.31  copayment required to be assessed. 
  4.32     (b) Recipients who are children, pregnant women, or 
  4.33  institutionalized, shall not be assessed copayments. 
  4.34     Subd. 3.  [FEDERAL WAIVER.] The commissioner shall seek a 
  4.35  waiver from the federal Health Care Financing Administration, in 
  4.36  order to implement this section. 
  5.1      Subd. 4.  [EFFECTIVE DATE; MEDICAL ASSISTANCE 
  5.2   COPAYMENT.] This section is effective July 1, 1995, or 30 days 
  5.3   after receipt of the necessary federal waiver, whichever is 
  5.4   later. 
  5.5      Sec. 4.  [256B.762] [REIMBURSEMENT INCREASES.] 
  5.6      Subdivision 1.  Effective for services rendered on or after 
  5.7   July 1, 1995, the commissioner shall make payments for physician 
  5.8   services as follows: 
  5.9      (1) payment for level one Health Care Financing 
  5.10  Administration's common procedural coding system (HCPCS) codes 
  5.11  titled "office and other outpatient services," "preventive 
  5.12  medicine new and established patient," "delivery, antepartum, 
  5.13  and postpartum care," "critical care," caesarean delivery and 
  5.14  pharmacologic management provided to psychiatric patients, and 
  5.15  HCPCS level three codes for enhanced services for prenatal high 
  5.16  risk, shall be paid at the lower of (i) submitted charges, or 
  5.17  (ii) ... percent above the rate in effect on June 30, 1995.  If 
  5.18  the rate on any procedure code within these categories is 
  5.19  different than the rate that would have been paid under the 
  5.20  methodology in section 256B.74, subdivision 2, then the larger 
  5.21  rate shall be paid; and 
  5.22     (2) payments for all other services shall be paid at the 
  5.23  lower of (i) submitted charges, or (ii) ... percent above the 
  5.24  rate in effect on June 30, 1995. 
  5.25     Subd. 2.  Effective for services rendered on or after July 
  5.26  1, 1995, the commissioner shall make payments for dental 
  5.27  services as follows: 
  5.28     (1) dental services shall be paid at the lower of (i) 
  5.29  submitted charges, or (ii) ... percent above the rate in effect 
  5.30  on June 30, 1995.  
  5.31     Subd. 3.  Effective for services rendered on or after July 
  5.32  1, 1995, the commissioner shall increase the pharmacy dispensing 
  5.33  fee to ....... for prescription drugs. 
  5.34     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 256D.05, 
  5.35  subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
  5.36     Subd. 6.  [ASSISTANCE FOR PERSONS WITHOUT A VERIFIED 
  6.1   RESIDENCE.] (a) For applicants or recipients of general 
  6.2   assistance, emergency general assistance, or work readiness 
  6.3   assistance who do not have a verified residence address, the 
  6.4   county agency may shall provide assistance using one or more of 
  6.5   the following methods as follows: 
  6.6      (1) the county agency may provide assistance in the form of 
  6.7   vouchers or vendor payments and provide separate vouchers or 
  6.8   vendor payments for food, shelter, and other needs; and 
  6.9      (2) the county agency may must determine eligibility and 
  6.10  provide assistance on a weekly basis.  The county agency shall 
  6.11  divide the monthly assistance standard into weekly payments, 
  6.12  whether in cash or by voucher or vendor payment.  Nothing in 
  6.13  this clause prevents the county agency from issuing voucher or 
  6.14  vendor payments for emergency general assistance in an amount 
  6.15  less than the standards of assistance; and. 
  6.16     (3) the county agency may determine eligibility and provide 
  6.17  assistance on a weekly basis.  Weekly assistance can be issued 
  6.18  in cash or by voucher or vendor payment and can be determined 
  6.19  either on the basis of actual need or by prorating the monthly 
  6.20  assistance standard.  
  6.21     (b) An individual may verify a residence address by 
  6.22  providing a driver's license; a state identification card; a 
  6.23  statement by the landlord, apartment manager, or homeowner 
  6.24  verifying that the individual is residing at the address; or 
  6.25  other written documentation approved by the commissioner. 
  6.26     (c) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 256D.06, 
  6.27  subdivision 1, if the county agency elects to provide assistance 
  6.28  on a weekly payment basis, the agency may not provide assistance 
  6.29  for a period during which no need is claimed by the individual 
  6.30  unless the individual has good cause for failing to claim need.  
  6.31  The individual must be notified, each time weekly assistance is 
  6.32  provided, that subsequent weekly assistance will not be issued 
  6.33  unless the individual claims need.  The advance notice required 
  6.34  under section 256D.10 does not apply to weekly assistance that 
  6.35  is withheld because the individual failed to claim need without 
  6.36  good cause.  
  7.1      (d) The county agency may not issue assistance on a weekly 
  7.2   basis to an applicant or recipient who has professionally 
  7.3   certified mental illness or mental retardation or a related 
  7.4   condition, or to an assistance unit that includes minor 
  7.5   children, unless requested by the assistance unit. 
  7.6      Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 256D.051, 
  7.7   subdivision 1a, is amended to read: 
  7.8      Subd. 1a.  [WORK READINESS PAYMENTS.] (a) Except as 
  7.9   provided in this subdivision, grants of work readiness shall be 
  7.10  determined using the standards of assistance, exclusions, 
  7.11  disregards, and procedures which are used in the general 
  7.12  assistance program.  Work readiness shall be granted in an 
  7.13  amount that, when added to the nonexempt income actually 
  7.14  available to the assistance unit, the total amount equals the 
  7.15  applicable standard of assistance.  
  7.16     (b) Except as provided in section sections 256D.05, 
  7.17  subdivision 6 and 256D.09, subdivision 1, work readiness 
  7.18  assistance must be paid on the first day of each month. 
  7.19     At the time the county agency notifies the assistance unit 
  7.20  that it is eligible for family general assistance or work 
  7.21  readiness assistance and by the first day of each month of 
  7.22  services, the county agency must inform all mandatory 
  7.23  registrants in the assistance unit that they must comply with 
  7.24  all work readiness requirements that month, and that work 
  7.25  readiness eligibility will end at the end of the month unless 
  7.26  the registrants comply with work readiness requirements 
  7.27  specified in the notice.  A registrant who fails, without good 
  7.28  cause, to comply with requirements during this time period, 
  7.29  including attendance at orientation, will lose family general 
  7.30  assistance or work readiness eligibility without notice under 
  7.31  section 256D.101, subdivision 1, paragraph (b).  The registrant 
  7.32  shall, however, be sent a notice no later than five days after 
  7.33  eligibility ends, which informs the registrant that family 
  7.34  general assistance or work readiness eligibility has ended in 
  7.35  accordance with this section for failure to comply with work 
  7.36  readiness requirements.  The notice shall set forth the factual 
  8.1   basis for such determination and advise the registrant of the 
  8.2   right to reinstate eligibility upon a showing of good cause for 
  8.3   the failure to meet the requirements.  Subsequent assistance 
  8.4   must not be issued unless the person completes an application, 
  8.5   is determined eligible, and complies with the work readiness 
  8.6   requirements that had not been complied with, or demonstrates 
  8.7   that the person had good cause for failing to comply with the 
  8.8   requirement.  The time during which the person is ineligible 
  8.9   under these provisions is counted as part of the person's period 
  8.10  of eligibility under subdivision 1.  
  8.11     (c) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 256D.01, 
  8.12  subdivision 1a, paragraph (d), when one member of a married 
  8.13  couple has exhausted the five months of work readiness 
  8.14  eligibility in a 12-month period and the other member has one or 
  8.15  more months of eligibility remaining within the same 12-month 
  8.16  period, the standard of assistance applicable to the member who 
  8.17  remains eligible is the first adult standard in the aid to 
  8.18  families with dependent children program. 
  8.19     (d) Notwithstanding sections 256.045 and 256D.10, during 
  8.20  the pendency of an appeal, work readiness payments and services 
  8.21  shall not continue to a person who appeals the termination of 
  8.22  benefits under paragraph (b).  
  8.23     Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 256D.09, 
  8.24  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  8.25     Subdivision 1.  [PRESUMPTIVE ELIGIBILITY; VENDOR PAYMENTS; 
  8.26  WEEKLY ISSUANCE.] Until the county agency has determined the 
  8.27  initial eligibility of the applicant in accordance with section 
  8.28  256D.07 or 256D.051, grants for emergency general assistance and 
  8.29  work readiness assistance must be in the form of vouchers or 
  8.30  vendor payments unless the county agency determines that a cash 
  8.31  grant will best resolve the applicant's need for emergency 
  8.32  assistance.  During the first two months of any period of 
  8.33  eligibility, all recipients of general assistance and work 
  8.34  readiness shall receive assistance, whether in cash or by 
  8.35  voucher or vendor payment, on a weekly basis.  Thereafter, 
  8.36  grants of general assistance must be paid in cash on the first 
  9.1   day of the month, except as allowed in this section. 
  9.2      Sec. 8.  [290.0692] [TARGETED JOBS CREDIT.] 
  9.3      Subdivision 1.  [CREDIT ALLOWED.] A credit is allowed 
  9.4   against the tax imposed by this chapter equal to ... percent of 
  9.5   the sum of the qualifying wages paid for the taxable year.  The 
  9.6   credit does not apply to the tax imposed under section 290.091, 
  9.7   290.0921, or 290.0922.  
  9.8      Subd. 2.  [QUALIFYING WAGES.] "Qualifying wages" means the 
  9.9   first $....... of wages paid by an employer to an individual 
  9.10  during the taxable year, if: 
  9.11     (1) the individual received a wage subsidy under section 
  9.12  256.735, subdivision 4, during the previous 12-month period; 
  9.13     (2) the individual's 12-month eligibility for the wage 
  9.14  subsidy has been used up; and 
  9.15     (3) the individual worked for the employer while receiving 
  9.16  the wage subsidy. 
  9.17     Subd. 3.  [CREDIT NOT REFUNDABLE; CARRYOVER.] The credit 
  9.18  for a taxable year is limited to the amount of the tax liability.
  9.19  The liability for tax means the tax reduced by other 
  9.20  nonrefundable credits.  If the amount of the credit exceeds the 
  9.21  liability for tax, the rest of the credit is a carryover to each 
  9.22  of the next five taxable years.  All of the carryover of unused 
  9.23  credits must be carried to the earliest of the taxable years to 
  9.24  which it may be carried and then to the earliest of the later 
  9.25  years.  The amount of the carryover allowed as a credit may not 
  9.26  exceed the liability for tax, less the credit under subdivision 
  9.27  1, for the taxable year. 
  9.28     Subd. 4.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective for 
  9.29  taxable years beginning after December 31, 1995. 
  9.30     Sec. 9.  [REDUCTION IN AGENCY ADMINISTRATIVE BUDGET; 
  9.31  APPROPRIATIONS.] 
  9.32     In fiscal years 1996 and 1997, the commissioner of human 
  9.33  services shall reduce by ... percent the expenditures for 
  9.34  administration of the department of human services, including 
  9.35  expenditures for salaries, staff travel, and other agency 
  9.36  overhead administrative costs.  These funds shall be redirected 
 10.1   to implement the requirements of sections 1 to 4 and are 
 10.2   reappropriated for that purpose.  In making the reductions 
 10.3   required by this section, the commissioner shall not eliminate 
 10.4   or reduce any services or benefits to clients. 
 10.5      Sec. 10.  [APPROPRIATION; BASIC SLIDING FEE CHILD CARE 
 10.6   PROGRAM.] 
 10.7      $....... is appropriated from the general fund to the 
 10.8   commissioner of human services, for the biennium ending June 30, 
 10.9   1997, to fund services under the basic sliding fee child care 
 10.10  program authorized by Minnesota Statutes, section 256H.03.