1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to human services; creating certain exemptions from MFIP and general 
1.3 	assistance asset limitations;amending Minnesota Statutes 2008, sections 
1.4 	256D.08, by adding a subdivision; 256J.20, subdivision 1.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 256D.08, is amended by adding a 
1.7 	subdivision to read:
1.8 		Subd. 3.Exemption. Persons who lost a job on or after October 20, 2008, 
1.9 	and have exhausted or are ineligible for benefits under the federal-state extended 
1.10 	unemployment compensation program, federal emergency unemployment compensation, 
1.11 	trade readjustment allowance program, any other federal unemployment compensation, or 
1.12 	benefits under chapter 268, and who meet all other eligibility criteria for general assistance 
1.13 	under sections 256D.01 to 256D.21, are exempt from the real and personal property 
1.14 	limitations under subdivision 1.

1.15 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective from July 1, 2010, to June 30, 2012.

1.16 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 256J.20, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
1.17 		Subdivision 1.Property ownership provisions. The county agency must apply 
1.18 	paragraphs (a) to (d) (e) to real and personal property. The county agency must use the 
1.19 	equity value of legally available real and personal property, except property excluded in 
1.20 	subdivisions 2 and 3, to determine whether an applicant or participant is eligible for 
1.21 	assistance.
1.22 	(a) When real or personal property is jointly owned by two or more persons, the 
1.23 	county agency shall assume that each person owns an equal share, except that either 
2.1 	person owns the entire sum of a joint personal checking or savings account. When an 
2.2 	applicant or participant documents greater or lesser ownership, the county agency must 
2.3 	use that greater or lesser share to determine the equity value held by the applicant or 
2.4 	participant. Other types of ownership must be evaluated according to law.
2.5 	(b) Real or personal property owned by the applicant or participant must be 
2.6 	presumed legally available to the applicant or participant unless the applicant or participant 
2.7 	documents that the property is not legally available to the applicant or participant. When 
2.8 	real or personal property is not legally available, its equity value must not be applied 
2.9 	against the limits of subdivisions 2 and 3.
2.10 	(c) An applicant must disclose whether the applicant has transferred real or 
2.11 	personal property valued in excess of the property limits in subdivisions 2 and 3 for 
2.12 	which reasonable compensation was not received within one year prior to application. 
2.13 	A participant must disclose all transfers of property valued in excess of these limits, 
2.14 	according to the reporting requirements in section 256J.30, subdivision 9. When a transfer 
2.15 	of real or personal property without reasonable compensation has occurred: 
2.16 	(1) the person who transferred the property must provide the property's description, 
2.17 	information needed to determine the property's equity value, the names of the persons who 
2.18 	received the property, and the circumstances of and reasons for the transfer; and
2.19 	(2) when the transferred property can be reasonably reacquired, or when reasonable 
2.20 	compensation can be secured, the property is presumed legally available to the applicant 
2.21 	or participant.
2.22 	(d) A participant may build the equity value of real and personal property to the 
2.23 	limits in subdivisions 2 and 3.
2.24 	(e) Persons who lost a job on or after October 20, 2008, and have exhausted or are 
2.25 	ineligible for benefits under the federal-state extended unemployment compensation 
2.26 	program, federal emergency unemployment compensation, trade readjustment allowance 
2.27 	program, any other federal unemployment compensation, or benefits under chapter 268, 
2.28 	and who meet all other eligibility criteria under this chapter, are exempt from the real and 
2.29 	personal property limitations under subdivisions 2 and 3.

2.30 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective from July 1, 2010, to June 30, 2012.