1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to crime; expanding the welfare fraud law to 
  1.3             include the failure to report a material change in 
  1.4             circumstances while continuing to receive assistance 
  1.5             greater than lawfully allowed; prescribing criminal 
  1.6             penalties; amending Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 
  1.7             256.98, subdivision 1. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 256.98, 
  1.10  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.11     Subdivision 1.  [WRONGFULLY OBTAINING ASSISTANCE.] A person 
  1.12  who commits any of the following acts or omissions is guilty of 
  1.13  theft and shall be sentenced pursuant to section 609.52, 
  1.14  subdivision 3, clauses (1), (2), (3), and (5): 
  1.15     (1) obtains, or attempts to obtain, or aids or abets any 
  1.16  person to obtain by means of a willfully false statement or 
  1.17  representation, by intentional concealment of a material fact, 
  1.18  or by impersonation or other fraudulent device, assistance or 
  1.19  the continued receipt of assistance to which the person is not 
  1.20  entitled or assistance greater than that to which the person is 
  1.21  entitled, or who; 
  1.22     (2) knowingly aids or abets in buying or in any way 
  1.23  disposing of the property of a recipient or applicant of 
  1.24  assistance without the consent of the county agency with intent 
  1.25  to defeat the purposes of sections 256.12, 256.031 to 256.0361, 
  1.26  256.72 to 256.871, and chapter 256B, or all of these sections is 
  2.1   guilty of theft and shall be sentenced pursuant to section 
  2.2   609.52, subdivision 3, clauses (2), (3)(a) and (c), (4), and 
  2.3   (5).; or 
  2.4      (3) knowingly fails to report a change or anticipated 
  2.5   change in circumstances as required by Minnesota Rules, part 
  2.6   9500.2700, subpart 7, and continues to receive assistance to 
  2.7   which the person is not entitled or assistance greater than that 
  2.8   to which the person is entitled. 
  2.9      The continued receipt of assistance to which the person is 
  2.10  not entitled or greater than that to which the person is 
  2.11  entitled as a result of any of the acts described in this 
  2.12  subdivision shall be deemed to be continuing offenses from the 
  2.13  date that the first act or failure to act occurred. 
  2.14     Sec. 2.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  2.15     Section 1 is effective August 1, 1997, and applies to acts 
  2.16  committed on or after that date.