Minnesota Legislature
SF 3736
1st Engrossment - 91st Legislature (2019 - 2020) Posted on 03/11/2020 04:33pm
Current Version - 1st Engrossment
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A bill for an act
relating to human services; revising treatment of self-employment income for
purposes of eligibility for cash assistance programs; establishing fraudulent uses
of self-employment records or income that constitute wrongfully obtaining
assistance; amending Minnesota Statutes 2018, sections 119B.09, subdivision 4;
256P.02, subdivisions 1a, 2; 256P.04, subdivision 4; 256P.05; Minnesota Statutes
2019 Supplement, section 256.98, subdivision 1.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1.
Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 119B.09, subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4.
Eligibility; annual income; calculation.
(a) Annual income of the applicant
family is the current monthly income of the family multiplied by 12 or the income for the
12-month period immediately preceding the date of application, or income calculated by
the method which provides the most accurate assessment of income available to the family.
(b) Self-employment income must be calculated based on deleted text begin gross receipts less operating
expensesdeleted text end new text begin section 256P.05, subdivision 2new text end .
(c) Income changes are processed under section 119B.025, subdivision 4. Included lump
sums counted as income under section 256P.06, subdivision 3, must be annualized over 12
months. Income must be verified with documentary evidence. If the applicant does not have
sufficient evidence of income, verification must be obtained from the source of the income.
new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end
new text begin
This section is effective May 1, 2021.
new text end
Sec. 2.
Minnesota Statutes 2019 Supplement, section 256.98, subdivision 1, is amended
to read:
Subdivision 1.
Wrongfully obtaining assistance.
A person who commits any of the
following acts or omissions with intent to defeat the purposes of sections 145.891 to 145.897,
the MFIP program formerly codified in sections 256.031 to 256.0361, the AFDC program
formerly codified in sections 256.72 to 256.871, chapter 256B, 256D, 256I, 256J, 256K, or
256L, child care assistance programs, and emergency assistance programs under section
256D.06, is guilty of theft and shall be sentenced under section 609.52, subdivision 3, clauses
(1) to (5):
(1) obtains or attempts to obtain, or aids or abets any person to obtain by means of a
willfully false statement or representation, by intentional concealment of any material fact,
or by impersonation or other fraudulent device, assistance or the continued receipt of
assistance, to include child care assistance or vouchers produced according to sections
145.891 to 145.897 and MinnesotaCare services according to sections 256.9365, 256.94,
and 256L.01 to 256L.15, to which the person is not entitled or assistance greater than that
to which the person is entitled;
(2) knowingly aids or abets in buying or in any way disposing of the property of a
recipient or applicant of assistance without the consent of the county agency; deleted text begin or
deleted text end
(3) obtains or attempts to obtain, alone or in collusion with others, the receipt of payments
to which the individual is not entitled as a provider of subsidized child care, or by furnishing
or concurring in a willfully false claim for child care assistancedeleted text begin .deleted text end new text begin ; or
new text end
new text begin
(4) knowingly conceals self-employment income or assets by:
new text end
new text begin
(i) transferring funds between financial accounts, including business and personal
accounts;
new text end
new text begin
(ii) submitting a tax form to a state, county, or tribal authority inconsistent with the
person's tax form filed with the state or federal tax authority;
new text end
new text begin
(iii) submitting business records to a state, county, or tribal authority that do not accurately
reflect the person's earnings, income, expenses, or activities;
new text end
new text begin
(iv) using business accounts to pay expenses that are not allowable business expenses
under the Internal Revenue Code; or
new text end
new text begin
(v) using business records in any other manner that conceals the person's self-employment
income or assets.
new text end
The continued receipt of assistance to which the person is not entitled or greater than
that to which the person is entitled as a result of any of the acts, failure to act, or concealment
described in this subdivision shall be deemed to be continuing offenses from the date that
the first act or failure to act occurred.
new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end
new text begin
This section is effective May 1, 2021.
new text end
Sec. 3.
Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 256P.02, subdivision 1a, is amended to read:
Subd. 1a.
Exemption.
Participants who qualify for child care assistance programs under
chapter 119B are exempt from this sectionnew text begin , except that the personal property identified in
subdivision 2 is counted toward the asset limit of the child care assistance program under
chapter 119Bnew text end .
new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end
new text begin
This section is effective May 1, 2021.
new text end
Sec. 4.
Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 256P.02, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2.
Personal property limitations.
The equity value of an assistance unit's personal
property listed in clauses (1) to deleted text begin (4)deleted text end new text begin (5)new text end must not exceed $10,000 for applicants and
participants. For purposes of this subdivision, personal property is limited to:
(1) cash;
(2) bank accounts;
(3) liquid stocks and bonds that can be readily accessed without a financial penalty; deleted text begin and
deleted text end
(4) vehicles not excluded under subdivision 3deleted text begin .deleted text end new text begin ; and
new text end
new text begin
(5) the full value of business accounts used to pay expenses not related to the business.
new text end
new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end
new text begin
This section is effective May 1, 2021.
new text end
Sec. 5.
Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 256P.04, subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4.
Factors to be verified.
(a) The agency shall verify the following at application:
(1) identity of adults;
(2) age, if necessary to determine eligibility;
(3) immigration status;
(4) income;
(5) spousal support and child support payments made to persons outside the household;
(6) vehicles;
(7) checking and savings accountsnew text begin , including any business accounts used to pay expenses
not related to the businessnew text end ;
(8) inconsistent information, if related to eligibility;
(9) residence;
(10) Social Security number; and
(11) use of nonrecurring income under section 256P.06, subdivision 3, clause (2), item
(ix), for the intended purpose for which it was given and received.
(b) Applicants who are qualified noncitizens and victims of domestic violence as defined
under section 256J.08, subdivision 73, clause (7), are not required to verify the information
in paragraph (a), clause (10). When a Social Security number is not provided to the agency
for verification, this requirement is satisfied when each member of the assistance unit
cooperates with the procedures for verification of Social Security numbers, issuance of
duplicate cards, and issuance of new numbers which have been established jointly between
the Social Security Administration and the commissioner.
new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end
new text begin
This section is effective May 1, 2021.
new text end
Sec. 6.
Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 256P.05, is amended to read:
256P.05 SELF-EMPLOYMENT EARNINGS.
Subdivision 1.
Exempted programs.
Participants who qualify for deleted text begin child care assistance
programs under chapter 119B,deleted text end Minnesota supplemental aid under chapter 256Ddeleted text begin ,deleted text end and housing
support under chapter 256I on the basis of eligibility for Supplemental Security Income are
exempt from this section.new text begin Participants who qualify for child care assistance programs under
chapter 119B are exempt from subdivision 3.
new text end
Subd. 2.
Self-employment income determinations.
new text begin Applicants and participants must
choose one of the methods described in this subdivision for determining self-employment
earned income. new text end An agency must determine self-employment income, which is either:
(1) one-half of gross earnings from self-employment; or
(2) taxable income as determined from an Internal Revenue Service tax form that has
been filed with the Internal Revenue Service deleted text begin within the lastdeleted text end new text begin for the most recentnew text end yearnew text begin and in
alignment with guidance provided for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programnew text end . A
12-month average using deleted text begin netdeleted text end taxable income shall be used to budget monthly income.
Subd. 3.
Self-employment budgeting.
(a) The self-employment budget period begins
in the month of application or in the first month of self-employment. deleted text begin Applicants and
participants must choose one of the methods described in subdivision 2 for determining
self-employment earned income.
deleted text end
(b) Applicants and participants who elect to use taxable income as described in
subdivision 2, clause (2), to determine self-employment income must continue to use this
method until recertification, unless there is an unforeseen significant change in gross income
equaling a decline in gross income of the amount equal to or greater than the earned income
disregard as defined in section 256P.03 from the income used to determine the benefit for
the current month.
(c) For applicants and participants who elect to use one-half of gross earnings as described
in subdivision 2, clause (1), to determine self-employment income, earnings must be counted
as income in the month received.
new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end
new text begin
This section is effective May 1, 2021.
new text end