SF 678

2nd Engrossment - 79th Legislature (1995 - 1996) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to human services; extending welfare fraud 
  1.3             penalties to the Minnesota family investment plan; 
  1.4             providing a method of lien enforcement in the AFDC 
  1.5             program; expanding the fraud prevention investigation 
  1.6             project on a regional basis into counties with smaller 
  1.7             AFDC caseloads; establishing the program integrity 
  1.8             reinvestment project based on statewide guidelines and 
  1.9             performance standards; providing for disqualification 
  1.10            in diverted cases; expanding the timeframe for 
  1.11            establishing food stamp claims; modifying recovery 
  1.12            incentives to allow state sharing in recoveries 
  1.13            received through the federal tax revenue offset 
  1.14            program; authorizing the use of affidavits of 
  1.15            collection without the appointment of a personal 
  1.16            representative; revising the protections from income 
  1.17            attachments; amending Minnesota Statutes 1994, 
  1.18            sections 256.034, subdivision 1; 256.73, subdivision 
  1.19            2; 256.98, subdivisions 1 and 8; 256.983, subdivision 
  1.20            4, and by adding a subdivision; 393.07, subdivision 
  1.21            10; 524.6-207; and 550.37, subdivision 14; proposing 
  1.22            coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 256. 
  1.23  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.24     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 256.034, 
  1.25  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.26     Subdivision 1.  [CONSOLIDATION OF TYPES OF ASSISTANCE.] 
  1.27  Under the Minnesota family investment plan, assistance 
  1.28  previously provided to families through the AFDC, food stamp, 
  1.29  and general assistance programs must be combined into a single 
  1.30  cash assistance program.  As authorized by Congress, families 
  1.31  receiving assistance through the Minnesota family investment 
  1.32  plan are automatically eligible for and entitled to medical 
  1.33  assistance under chapter 256B.  Federal, state, and local funds 
  1.34  that would otherwise be allocated for assistance to families 
  2.1   under the AFDC, food stamp, and general assistance programs must 
  2.2   be transferred to the Minnesota family investment plan.  The 
  2.3   provisions of the Minnesota family investment plan prevail over 
  2.4   any provisions of sections 245.771, 256.72 to 256.87, 256D.01 to 
  2.5   256D.21, or 393.07, subdivisions 10 and 10a, and any rules 
  2.6   implementing those sections with which they are irreconcilable.  
  2.7   The food stamp, general assistance, and work readiness programs 
  2.8   for single persons and couples who are not responsible for the 
  2.9   care of children are not replaced by the Minnesota family 
  2.10  investment plan.  Unless stated otherwise in statutes or rules 
  2.11  governing the Minnesota family investment plan, participants in 
  2.12  the Minnesota family investment plan shall be considered to be 
  2.13  recipients of aid under aid to families with dependent children, 
  2.14  family general assistance, and food stamps for the purposes of 
  2.15  statutes and rules affecting such recipients or allocations of 
  2.16  funding based on the assistance status of the recipients, and to 
  2.17  specifically be subject to the provisions of section 256.98.  
  2.18     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 256.73, 
  2.19  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  2.20     Subd. 2.  [ALLOWANCE BARRED BY OWNERSHIP OF PROPERTY.] 
  2.21  Ownership by an assistance unit of property as follows is a bar 
  2.22  to any allowance under sections 256.72 to 256.87: 
  2.23     (1) The value of real property other than the homestead, 
  2.24  which when combined with other assets exceeds the limits of 
  2.25  paragraph (2), unless the assistance unit is making a good faith 
  2.26  effort to sell the nonexcludable real property.  The time period 
  2.27  for disposal must not exceed nine consecutive months.  The 
  2.28  assistance unit must sign an agreement to dispose of the 
  2.29  property and to repay assistance received during the nine months 
  2.30  that would not have been paid had the property been sold at the 
  2.31  beginning of such period, but not to exceed the amount of the 
  2.32  net sale proceeds.  The family has five working days from the 
  2.33  date it realizes cash from the sale of the property to repay the 
  2.34  overpayment.  If the property is not sold within the required 
  2.35  time or the assistance unit becomes ineligible for any reason 
  2.36  during the nine-month period, the amount payable under the 
  3.1   agreement will not be determined and recovery will not begin 
  3.2   until the property is in fact sold. execute a lien covering that 
  3.3   property with the amount of assistance expended over the 
  3.4   nine-month period covered by the agreement.  The amount payable 
  3.5   should be calculated and entered onto the lien form which shall 
  3.6   be filed for record with the recorder in the county where the 
  3.7   real property is situated.  The lien takes priority from the 
  3.8   time of its attaching over all other liens subsequently acquired 
  3.9   and subsequent conveyances.  The lien shall be enforced in the 
  3.10  manner provided by law for the enforcement of mechanics liens 
  3.11  upon real property and at such time as the property is in fact 
  3.12  sold.  If the property is intentionally sold at less than fair 
  3.13  market value or if a good faith effort to sell the property is 
  3.14  not being made, the overpayment amount shall be computed using 
  3.15  the fair market value determined at the beginning of the 
  3.16  nine-month period.  For the purposes of this section, 
  3.17  "homestead" means the home that is owned by, and is the usual 
  3.18  residence of, the child, relative, or other member of the 
  3.19  assistance unit together with the surrounding property which is 
  3.20  not separated from the home by intervening property owned by 
  3.21  others.  "Usual residence" includes the home from which the 
  3.22  child, relative, or other members of the assistance unit is 
  3.23  temporarily absent due to an employability development plan 
  3.24  approved by the local human service agency, which includes 
  3.25  education, training, or job search within the state but outside 
  3.26  of the immediate geographic area.  Public rights-of-way, such as 
  3.27  roads which run through the surrounding property and separate it 
  3.28  from the home, will not affect the exemption of the property; or 
  3.29     (2) Personal property of an equity value in excess of 
  3.30  $1,000 for the entire assistance unit, exclusive of personal 
  3.31  property used as the home, one motor vehicle of an equity value 
  3.32  not exceeding $1,500 or the entire equity value of a motor 
  3.33  vehicle determined to be necessary for the operation of a 
  3.34  self-employment business, one burial plot for each member of the 
  3.35  assistance unit, one prepaid burial contract with an equity 
  3.36  value of no more than $1,000 for each member of the assistance 
  4.1   unit, clothing and necessary household furniture and equipment 
  4.2   and other basic maintenance items essential for daily living, in 
  4.3   accordance with rules promulgated by and standards established 
  4.4   by the commissioner of human services. 
  4.5      Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 256.98, 
  4.6   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  4.7      Subdivision 1.  [WRONGFULLY OBTAINING ASSISTANCE.] A person 
  4.8   who obtains, or attempts to obtain, or aids or abets any person 
  4.9   to obtain by means of a willfully false statement or 
  4.10  representation, by intentional concealment of a material fact, 
  4.11  or by impersonation or other fraudulent device, assistance to 
  4.12  which the person is not entitled or assistance greater than that 
  4.13  to which the person is entitled, or who knowingly aids or abets 
  4.14  in buying or in any way disposing of the property of a recipient 
  4.15  or applicant of assistance without the consent of the county 
  4.16  agency with intent to defeat the purposes of sections 
  4.17  256.12, 256.031 to 256.0361, 256.72 to 256.871, and chapter 
  4.18  256B, or all of these sections is guilty of theft and shall be 
  4.19  sentenced pursuant to section 609.52, subdivision 3, clauses 
  4.20  (2), (3)(a) and (c), (4), and (5). 
  4.21     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 256.98, 
  4.22  subdivision 8, is amended to read: 
  4.23     Subd. 8.  [DISQUALIFICATION FROM PROGRAM.] Any person found 
  4.24  to be guilty of wrongfully obtaining assistance by a federal or 
  4.25  state court or by an administrative hearing determination, or 
  4.26  waiver thereof, through a disqualification consent agreement, or 
  4.27  as part of any approved diversion plan under section 401.065 in 
  4.28  either the aid to families with dependent children program or, 
  4.29  the food stamp program, the Minnesota family investment plan, 
  4.30  the general assistance or family general assistance program, the 
  4.31  Minnesota supplemental aid program, or the work readiness 
  4.32  program shall be disqualified from that program.  The needs of 
  4.33  that individual shall not be taken into consideration in 
  4.34  determining the grant level for that assistance unit:  
  4.35     (1) for six months after the first offense; 
  4.36     (2) for 12 months after the second offense; and 
  5.1      (3) permanently after the third or subsequent offense.  
  5.2      Any The period for which sanctions are imposed is 
  5.3   effective, of program disqualification shall begin on the date 
  5.4   stipulated on the advance notice of disqualification without 
  5.5   possibility of postponement for administrative stay, or hearing 
  5.6   and shall continue through completion unless and until the 
  5.7   findings upon which the sanctions were imposed are reversed by a 
  5.8   court of competent jurisdiction.  The period for which sanctions 
  5.9   are imposed is not subject to review.  The sanctions provided 
  5.10  under this subdivision are in addition to, and not in 
  5.11  substitution for, any other sanctions that may be provided for 
  5.12  by law for the offense involved.  Notwithstanding clauses (1) to 
  5.13  (3), the disqualification period shall not begin until the 
  5.14  disqualified individual establishes that they are otherwise 
  5.15  eligible for the program which is the subject of the 
  5.16  disqualification.  
  5.17     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 256.983, 
  5.18  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  5.19     Subd. 4.  [FUNDING.] (a) Every involved county agency shall 
  5.20  either have in place or obtain an approved contract which meets 
  5.21  all federal requirements necessary to obtain enhanced federal 
  5.22  funding for its welfare fraud control and fraud prevention 
  5.23  investigation programs.  County agency reimbursement shall be 
  5.24  made through the settlement provisions applicable to the aid to 
  5.25  families with dependent children and food stamp programs.  
  5.26     (b) Should a county agency fail to comply with the fraud 
  5.27  prevention investigation guidelines or fail to meet cost 
  5.28  effectiveness standards developed by the commissioner for three 
  5.29  months during any grant year, the commissioner shall deny 
  5.30  reimbursement after allowing an opportunity to establish 
  5.31  compliance.  This result is contingent on the commissioner 
  5.32  providing written notice, including an offer of technical 
  5.33  assistance, within 30 days of the end of the third or subsequent 
  5.34  month of noncompliance.  The county agency shall be required to 
  5.35  submit a corrective action plan to the commissioner within 30 
  5.36  days of receipt of a notice of noncompliance.  Failure to submit 
  6.1   a corrective action plan or, continued deviation from standards 
  6.2   of more than ten percent after submission of a corrective action 
  6.3   plan, will result in denial of funding for each subsequent month 
  6.4   during the grant year or billing the county agency for fraud 
  6.5   prevention investigation (FPI) service provided by the 
  6.6   commissioner.  The denial of funding shall apply to the general 
  6.7   settlement received by the county agency on a quarterly basis 
  6.8   and shall not reduce the grant amount applicable to the FPI 
  6.9   project.  
  6.10     Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 256.983, is 
  6.11  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  6.12     Subd. 5.  [FPI PROGRAM EXPANSION; PILOT PROJECT.] (a) 
  6.13  Within the limits of available appropriations and to the extent 
  6.14  either required or authorized by applicable federal regulations, 
  6.15  the commissioner of human services shall fund a two year pilot 
  6.16  project to test the effectiveness of expanding the Fraud 
  6.17  Prevention Investigation (FPI) Program to all remaining counties 
  6.18  regardless of county AFDC case load size.  Investigative staff 
  6.19  shall be required to provide FPI services to financial 
  6.20  assistance staff in all counties within FPI districts 
  6.21  established by the commissioner.  
  6.22     (b) FPI district services providers shall be selected based 
  6.23  on responses to requests for proposals issued by the 
  6.24  commissioner.  If proposals are not submitted or do not meet 
  6.25  standards set forth in the request for proposal, the 
  6.26  commissioner may provide or contract for FPI district service 
  6.27  providers.  Nothing in this initiative shall preclude existing 
  6.28  counties currently operating an FPI program from submitting 
  6.29  proposals to become district service providers.  
  6.30     (c) County agency financial assistance staff assigned to 
  6.31  each FPI district shall comply with FPI program operational 
  6.32  guidelines as set forth by the commissioner in section 256.986, 
  6.33  subdivisions 1 to 4.  
  6.34     (d) Optionally, qualifying counties may apply for funding 
  6.35  under section 256.986 to operate an FPI program pursuant to 
  6.36  section 256.983. 
  7.1      Sec. 7.  [256.986] [PROGRAM INTEGRITY REINVESTMENT 
  7.2   PROJECT.] 
  7.3      Subdivision 1.  [PROGRAM ESTABLISHED.] Within the limits of 
  7.4   available state and federal appropriations, and to the extent 
  7.5   required or authorized by applicable federal regulations, the 
  7.6   commissioner of human services shall make funding available to 
  7.7   county agencies for the establishment of program integrity 
  7.8   reinvestment initiatives.  The project shall initially be 
  7.9   limited to those county agencies participating in federally 
  7.10  funded optional fraud control programs as of January 1, 1995.  
  7.11     Subd. 2.  [COUNTY PROPOSALS.] Each included county shall 
  7.12  develop and submit annual funding, staffing, and operating grant 
  7.13  proposals to the commissioner no later than April 30 of each 
  7.14  year.  For the first operating year only, the proposal shall be 
  7.15  submitted no later than October 30.  Each proposal shall 
  7.16  include, but is not limited to:  (a) the staffing and funding of 
  7.17  the fraud investigation and prosecution operations; (b) job 
  7.18  descriptions for agency fraud control staff; (c) contracts 
  7.19  covering outside investigative agencies; (d) operational methods 
  7.20  to integrate the use of fraud prevention investigation 
  7.21  techniques; and (e) administrative disqualification hearings and 
  7.22  diversions into the existing county fraud control and 
  7.23  prosecution procedures.  
  7.24     Subd. 3.  [DEPARTMENT RESPONSIBILITIES.] The commissioner 
  7.25  shall provide written instructions outlining the contents of the 
  7.26  proposals to be submitted under this section.  Instructions 
  7.27  shall be made available 30 days prior to the date by which 
  7.28  proposals under subdivision 2 must be submitted.  The 
  7.29  commissioner shall establish training programs which shall be 
  7.30  attended by fraud control staff of all involved counties.  The 
  7.31  commissioner shall also develop the necessary operational 
  7.32  guidelines, forms, and reporting mechanisms which shall be used 
  7.33  by the involved counties.  
  7.34     Subd. 4.  [STANDARDS.] The commissioner shall establish 
  7.35  standards governing the performance levels of involved county 
  7.36  investigative units based on grant agreements negotiated with 
  8.1   the involved county agencies.  The standards shall take into 
  8.2   consideration and may include investigative caseloads, grant 
  8.3   savings levels, the comparison of fraud prevention and 
  8.4   prosecution directed investigations, utilization levels of 
  8.5   administrative disqualification hearings, the timely reporting 
  8.6   and implementation of disqualifications, and the timeliness of 
  8.7   prosecutorial required reports.  
  8.8      Subd. 5.  [FUNDING.] (a) Grant funds are intended to help 
  8.9   offset the reduction in federal financial participation to 50 
  8.10  percent and may be apportioned to the participating counties 
  8.11  whenever feasible, and within the commissioner's discretion, to 
  8.12  achieve this goal.  State funding shall be made available upon 
  8.13  approval of the grant proposal.  Failure or delay in obtaining 
  8.14  that approval shall not, however, eliminate the obligation to 
  8.15  maintain fraud control efforts at the January 1, 1995 level.  
  8.16  Additional counties may be added to the project to the extent 
  8.17  that funds are subsequently made available.  Every involved 
  8.18  county must meet all federal requirements necessary to obtain 
  8.19  federal funding for its welfare fraud control and prevention 
  8.20  programs.  County agency reimbursement shall be made through the 
  8.21  settlement provisions applicable to the AFDC and food stamp 
  8.22  programs.  
  8.23     (b) Should a county agency fail to comply with the 
  8.24  standards set, or fail to meet cost effectiveness standards 
  8.25  developed by the commissioner for three months during any grant 
  8.26  year, the commissioner shall deny reimbursement after allowing 
  8.27  an opportunity to establish compliance.  
  8.28     (c) Any denial of reimbursement under clause (b) is 
  8.29  contingent on the commissioner providing written notice, 
  8.30  including an offer of technical assistance, within 30 days of 
  8.31  the end of the third or subsequent months of noncompliance.  The 
  8.32  county agency shall be required to submit a corrective action 
  8.33  plan to the commissioner within 30 days of receipt of a notice 
  8.34  of noncompliance.  Failure to submit a corrective action plan or 
  8.35  continued deviation from standards of more than ten percent 
  8.36  after submission of corrective action plan, will result in 
  9.1   denial of funding for each such month during the grant year, or 
  9.2   billing the county agency for program integrity reinvestment 
  9.3   project services provided by the commissioner.  The denial of 
  9.4   funding shall apply to the general settlement received by the 
  9.5   county agency on a quarterly basis and shall not reduce the 
  9.6   grant amount applicable to the program integrity reinvestment 
  9.7   project. 
  9.8      Sec. 8.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 393.07, 
  9.9   subdivision 10, is amended to read: 
  9.10     Subd. 10.  [FEDERAL FOOD STAMP PROGRAM.] (a) The local 
  9.11  social services agency shall establish and administer the food 
  9.12  stamp program pursuant to rules of the commissioner of human 
  9.13  services, the supervision of the commissioner as specified in 
  9.14  section 256.01, and all federal laws and regulations.  The 
  9.15  commissioner of human services shall monitor food stamp program 
  9.16  delivery on an ongoing basis to ensure that each county complies 
  9.17  with federal laws and regulations.  Program requirements to be 
  9.18  monitored include, but are not limited to, number of 
  9.19  applications, number of approvals, number of cases pending, 
  9.20  length of time required to process each application and deliver 
  9.21  benefits, number of applicants eligible for expedited issuance, 
  9.22  length of time required to process and deliver expedited 
  9.23  issuance, number of terminations and reasons for terminations, 
  9.24  client profiles by age, household composition and income level 
  9.25  and sources, and the use of phone certification and home 
  9.26  visits.  The commissioner shall determine the county-by-county 
  9.27  and statewide participation rate.  
  9.28     (b) On July 1 of each year, the commissioner of human 
  9.29  services shall determine a statewide and county-by-county food 
  9.30  stamp program participation rate.  The commissioner may 
  9.31  designate a different agency to administer the food stamp 
  9.32  program in a county if the agency administering the program 
  9.33  fails to increase the food stamp program participation rate 
  9.34  among families or eligible individuals, or comply with all 
  9.35  federal laws and regulations governing the food stamp program.  
  9.36  The commissioner shall review agency performance annually to 
 10.1   determine compliance with this paragraph. 
 10.2      (c) A person who commits any of the following acts has 
 10.3   violated section 256.98 or 609.821, or both, and is subject to 
 10.4   both the criminal and civil penalties provided under those 
 10.5   sections: 
 10.6      (1) obtains or attempts to obtain, or aids or abets any 
 10.7   person to obtain by means of a willfully false statement or 
 10.8   representation, or intentional concealment of a material fact, 
 10.9   food stamps to which the person is not entitled or in an amount 
 10.10  greater than that to which that person is entitled; or 
 10.11     (2) presents or causes to be presented, coupons for payment 
 10.12  or redemption knowing them to have been received, transferred or 
 10.13  used in a manner contrary to existing state or federal law; 
 10.14     (3) willfully uses, possesses, or transfers food stamp 
 10.15  coupons or authorization to purchase cards in any manner 
 10.16  contrary to existing state or federal law, rules, or 
 10.17  regulations; or 
 10.18     (4) buys or sells food stamp coupons, authorization to 
 10.19  purchase cards or other assistance transaction devices for cash 
 10.20  or consideration other than eligible food. 
 10.21     (d) A peace officer or welfare fraud investigator may 
 10.22  confiscate food stamps, authorization to purchase cards, or 
 10.23  other assistance transaction devices found in the possession of 
 10.24  any person who is neither a recipient of the food stamp program 
 10.25  nor otherwise authorized to possess and use such materials.  
 10.26  Confiscated property shall be disposed of as the commissioner 
 10.27  may direct and consistent with state and federal food stamp 
 10.28  law.  The confiscated property must be retained for a period of 
 10.29  not less than 30 days to allow any affected person to appeal the 
 10.30  confiscation under section 256.045. 
 10.31     (e) Food stamp claims which are due in whole or in part to 
 10.32  client error shall be established by the county agency for a 
 10.33  period of six years from the date of any resultant overpayment.  
 10.34     (f) With regard to the federal tax revenue offset program 
 10.35  only, recovery incentives authorized by the federal food and 
 10.36  consumer service shall be retained at the rate of 50 percent by 
 11.1   the state agency and 50 percent by the certifying county agency. 
 11.2      Sec. 9.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 524.6-207, is 
 11.3   amended to read: 
 11.4      524.6-207 [RIGHTS OF CREDITORS.] 
 11.5      No multiple-party account will be effective against an 
 11.6   estate of a deceased party to transfer to a survivor sums needed 
 11.7   to pay debts, taxes, and expenses of administration, including 
 11.8   statutory allowances to the surviving spouse, minor children and 
 11.9   dependent children, if other assets of the estate are 
 11.10  insufficient, to the extent the deceased party is the source of 
 11.11  the funds or beneficial owner.  A surviving party or P.O.D. 
 11.12  payee who receives payment from a multiple-party account after 
 11.13  the death of a deceased party shall be liable to account to the 
 11.14  deceased party's personal representative or a county agency with 
 11.15  a claim authorized by section 256B.15 for amounts the decedent 
 11.16  owned beneficially immediately before death to the extent 
 11.17  necessary to discharge any such claims and charges remaining 
 11.18  unpaid after the application of the assets of the decedent's 
 11.19  estate.  No proceeding to assert this liability shall be 
 11.20  commenced unless the personal representative or a county agency 
 11.21  with a claim authorized by section 256B.15 has received a 
 11.22  written demand by a surviving spouse, a creditor or one acting 
 11.23  for a minor dependent child of the decedent, and no proceeding 
 11.24  shall be commenced later than two years following the death of 
 11.25  the decedent.  Sums recovered by the personal representative or 
 11.26  a county agency with a claim authorized by section 256B.15 shall 
 11.27  be administered as part of the decedent's estate.  This section 
 11.28  shall not affect the right of a financial institution to make 
 11.29  payment on multiple-party accounts according to the terms 
 11.30  thereof, or make it liable to the estate of a deceased party 
 11.31  unless, before payment, the institution has been served with 
 11.32  process in a proceeding by the personal representative or a 
 11.33  county agency with a claim authorized by section 256B.15.  
 11.34     Sec. 10.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 550.37, 
 11.35  subdivision 14, is amended to read: 
 11.36     Subd. 14.  [PUBLIC ASSISTANCE.] All relief based on need, 
 12.1   and the earnings or salary of a person who is a recipient of 
 12.2   relief based on need, shall be exempt from all claims of 
 12.3   creditors including any contractual setoff or security interest 
 12.4   asserted by a financial institution.  For the purposes of this 
 12.5   chapter, relief based on need includes AFDC, general assistance 
 12.6   medical care, supplemental security income, medical assistance, 
 12.7   Minnesota supplemental assistance, and general assistance.  The 
 12.8   salary or earnings of any debtor who is or has been a an 
 12.9   eligible recipient of relief based on need, or an inmate of a 
 12.10  correctional institution shall, upon the debtor's return to 
 12.11  private employment or farming after having been a an eligible 
 12.12  recipient of relief based on need, or an inmate of a 
 12.13  correctional institution, be exempt from attachment, 
 12.14  garnishment, or levy of execution for a period of six months 
 12.15  after the debtor's return to employment or farming and after all 
 12.16  public assistance for which eligibility existed has been 
 12.17  terminated.  The exemption provisions contained in this 
 12.18  subdivision also apply for 60 days after deposit in any 
 12.19  financial institution, whether in a single or joint account.  In 
 12.20  tracing the funds, the first-in first-out method of accounting 
 12.21  shall be used.  The burden of establishing that funds are exempt 
 12.22  rests upon the debtor.  Agencies distributing relief and the 
 12.23  correctional institutions shall, at the request of creditors, 
 12.24  inform them whether or not any debtor has been a an eligible 
 12.25  recipient of relief based on need, or an inmate of a 
 12.26  correctional institution, within the preceding six months. 
 12.27     Sec. 11.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
 12.28     Sections 1 and 3 to 8 are effective July 1, 1995.  Sections 
 12.29  2, 9, and 10 are effective August 1, 1995.