1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to human services; changing the standard of 
  1.3             assistance for certain human services programs; 
  1.4             amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 256D.44, 
  1.5             subdivision 5. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 256D.44, 
  1.8   subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  1.9      Subd. 5.  [SPECIAL NEEDS.] In addition to the state 
  1.10  standards of assistance established in subdivisions 1 to 4, 
  1.11  payments are allowed for the following special needs of 
  1.12  recipients of Minnesota supplemental aid who are not residents 
  1.13  of a nursing home, a regional treatment center, or a group 
  1.14  residential housing facility. 
  1.15     (a) The county agency shall pay a monthly allowance for 
  1.16  medically prescribed diets payable under the AFDC program or the 
  1.17  Minnesota family investment program-statewide if the cost of 
  1.18  those additional dietary needs cannot be met through some other 
  1.19  maintenance benefit.  
  1.20     (b) Payment for nonrecurring special needs must be allowed 
  1.21  for necessary home repairs or necessary repairs or replacement 
  1.22  of household furniture and appliances using the payment standard 
  1.23  of the AFDC program in effect on July 16, 1996, for these 
  1.24  expenses, as long as other funding sources are not available.  
  1.25     (c) A fee for guardian or conservator service is allowed at 
  2.1   a reasonable rate negotiated by the county or approved by the 
  2.2   court.  This rate shall not exceed five percent of the 
  2.3   assistance unit's gross monthly income up to a maximum of $100 
  2.4   per month.  If the guardian or conservator is a member of the 
  2.5   county agency staff, no fee is allowed. 
  2.6      (d) The county agency shall continue to pay a monthly 
  2.7   allowance of $68 for restaurant meals for a person who was 
  2.8   receiving a restaurant meal allowance on June 1, 1990, and who 
  2.9   eats two or more meals in a restaurant daily.  The allowance 
  2.10  must continue until the person has not received Minnesota 
  2.11  supplemental aid for one full calendar month or until the 
  2.12  person's living arrangement changes and the person no longer 
  2.13  meets the criteria for the restaurant meal allowance, whichever 
  2.14  occurs first. 
  2.15     (e) A fee of ten percent of the recipient's gross income or 
  2.16  $25, whichever is less, is allowed for representative payee 
  2.17  services provided by an agency that meets the requirements under 
  2.18  SSI regulations to charge a fee for representative payee 
  2.19  services.  This special need is available to all recipients of 
  2.20  Minnesota supplemental aid regardless of their living 
  2.21  arrangement. 
  2.22     (f) Notwithstanding the language in this subdivision, an 
  2.23  amount equal to the maximum allotment authorized by the federal 
  2.24  Food Stamp Program for a single individual which is in effect on 
  2.25  the first day of January each year will be added to the 
  2.26  standards of assistance established in subdivisions 1 to 4 for 
  2.27  applicants as well as current recipients of benefits from the 
  2.28  following programs, who are shelter needy: 
  2.29     (i) the alternative care program under section 256B.0913; 
  2.30     (ii) the elderly waivered program under section 256B.0915; 
  2.31     (iii) the community alternatives for disabled individuals 
  2.32  and community alternative care waiver programs under section 
  2.33  256B.49; 
  2.34     (iv) the mental retardation or related conditions waiver 
  2.35  program under section 256B.092, subdivision 5; or 
  2.36     (v) the traumatic brain injury waiver program under section 
  3.1   256B.093. 
  3.2      Shelter needy means that the assistance unit incurs monthly 
  3.3   shelter costs that exceed 40 percent of the assistance unit's 
  3.4   gross income before the application of this special needs 
  3.5   standard.  "Gross income" for the purposes of this section is 
  3.6   the applicant's or recipient's income as defined in section 
  3.7   256D.35, subdivision 10, or the standard specified in 
  3.8   subdivision 3, whichever is greater.  A recipient of a federal 
  3.9   housing subsidy, including Section 8 program assistance, cannot 
  3.10  be considered shelter needy for the purposes of this provision.