Minnesota Session Laws - 1987, Regular Session

  

                         Laws of Minnesota 1987 

                        CHAPTER 363-H.F.No. 894 
           An act relating to human services; creating a new 
          chapter establishing a single, unitary process for the 
          determination of residence and financial 
          responsibility for all human service programs; 
          amending Minnesota Statutes 1986, section 253B.23, 
          subdivision 1; proposing coding for new law as 
          Minnesota Statutes, chapter 256G; repealing Minnesota 
          Statutes 1986, sections 256.73, subdivision 4; 256.76, 
          subdivision 2; 256.79; 256B.02, subdivisions 1, 2, and 
          3; 256D.18; 256D.37, subdivision 3; and 256E.08, 
          subdivision 7. 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
    Section 1.  [256G.01] [APPLICATION; CITATION; COVERAGE.] 
    Subdivision 1.  [APPLICABILITY.] This chapter governs the 
Minnesota human services system.  The system includes the 
department of human services, county welfare boards, county 
welfare agencies, human service boards, community mental health 
center boards, state hospitals, state nursing homes, and 
persons, agencies, institutions, organizations, and other 
entities under contract to any of those agencies to the extent 
specified in the contract. 
    Subd. 2.  [CITATION.] This chapter may be cited as the 
"Minnesota unitary residence and financial responsibility act." 
    Subd. 3.  [PROGRAM COVERAGE.] This chapter applies to all 
programs administered by the commissioner in which residence is 
the determining factor in establishing financial 
responsibility.  These include, but are not limited to:  aid to 
families with dependent children; medical assistance; general 
assistance; general assistance medical care; Minnesota 
supplemental aid; commitment proceedings, including voluntary 
admissions; poor relief funded wholly through local agencies; 
and social services, including title XX, IV-E and other 
components of the community social services act, sections 
256E.01 to 256E.12. 
    Sec. 2.  [256G.02] [DEFINITIONS.] 
    Subdivision 1.  [APPLICABILITY.] The definitions in this 
section apply to this chapter.  
    Subd. 2.  [BOARD AND LODGING FACILITY.] "Board and lodging 
facility" means a facility that serves as an alternative to 
institutionalization and provides a program of on-site care or 
supervision to persons who cannot live independently in the 
community because of age or physical, mental, or emotional 
disability.  
    Subd. 3.  [COMMISSIONER.] "Commissioner" means the 
commissioner of human services. 
    Subd. 4.  [COUNTY OF FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY.] (a) "County 
of financial responsibility" has the meanings in paragraphs (b) 
to (h).  
    (b) For an applicant who resides in the state and is not in 
a facility described in subdivision 5, it means the county in 
which the applicant resides at the time of application.  
    (c) For an applicant who resides in a facility described in 
subdivision 5, it means the county in which the applicant last 
resided in nonexcluded status immediately before entering the 
facility.  
    (d) For an applicant who has not resided in this state for 
any time other than the excluded time, it means the county in 
which the applicant resides at the time of making application.  
    (e) For medical assistance purposes only, and for an infant 
who has resided only in an excluded time facility, it means the 
county that would have been responsible for the infant if 
eligibility had been established, based on that of the birth 
mother, at the time of application.  
    (f) Notwithstanding paragraphs (b) to (d), the county of 
financial responsibility for medical assistance recipients is 
the county from which a recipient is receiving a maintenance 
grant or money payment under the program of aid to families with 
dependent children or Minnesota supplemental aid. 
    (g) Notwithstanding paragraphs (b) to (f), the county of 
financial responsibility for social services for a person 
receiving aid to families with dependent children, general 
assistance, general assistance medical care, medical assistance, 
or Minnesota supplemental aid is the county from which that 
person is receiving the aid or assistance.  If more than one 
named program is open concurrently, financial responsibility for 
social services attaches to the program that has the earliest 
date of application and has been open without interruption.  
    (h) Notwithstanding paragraphs (b) to (g), the county of 
financial responsibility for semi-independent living services 
provided under section 252.275, and Minnesota Rules, parts 
9525.0500 to 9525.0660, is the county of residence in 
nonexcluded status immediately before the placement into or 
request for those services. 
    Subd. 5.  [DEPARTMENT.] "Department" means the department 
of human services. 
    Subd. 6.  [EXCLUDED TIME.] "Excluded time" means any period 
an applicant spends in a hospital, sanatorium, nursing home, 
shelter, halfway house, foster home, semi-independent living 
domicile or services program, residential facility offering 
care, board and lodging facility or other institution for the 
hospitalization or care of human beings, as defined in section 
144.50, 144A.01, or 245.782, subdivision 6; or in a maternity 
home, battered women's shelter, or correctional facility.  
"Excluded time" also means that time during which an applicant 
participates in a long-term sheltered workshop as defined in 
section 129A.01, paragraph (e), or is receiving personal care 
assistant services pursuant to section 256B.02, subdivision 8, 
clause (17). 
    Subd. 7.  [LOCAL AGENCY.] "Local agency" means the agency 
designated by the county board of commissioners, human services 
boards, county welfare boards in the several counties of the 
state or multicounty welfare boards or departments where those 
have been established in accordance with law. 
    Subd. 8.  [RESIDE.] "Reside" means to have an established 
place of abode in one state or county and not to have an 
established place of abode in another state or county. 
    Sec. 3.  [256G.03] [ESTABLISHING RESIDENCE.] 
    Subdivision 1.  [STATE RESIDENCE.] For purposes of this 
chapter, "state residence" is coincidental with residence in a 
Minnesota county.  The establishment of county residence serves 
as proof of residence in Minnesota. 
    Subd. 2.  [NO DURATIONAL TEST.] For purposes of this 
chapter, no waiting period is required before securing county or 
state residence.  A person cannot, however, gain residence while 
physically present in an excluded time facility unless otherwise 
specified in this chapter or in a federal regulation controlling 
a federally funded human service program. 
    Sec. 4.  [256G.04] [DETERMINATION OF RESIDENCE.] 
    Subdivision 1.  [TIME OF DETERMINATION.] For purposes of 
establishing financial responsibility, residence must be 
determined as of the date a local agency receives a signed 
request or signed application.  This subdivision extends to 
cases in which the applicant may move to another county after 
the date of application but before the grant or service is 
actually approved. 
    Subd. 2.  [MOVING OUT OF STATE.] A person retains county 
and state residence so long as the person's absence from 
Minnesota is viewed as a temporary absence within the context of 
the affected program. 
    Direct entry into a facility in another state does not end 
Minnesota residence for purposes of this chapter.  Financial 
responsibility does not continue, however, unless placement was 
initiated by a human service agency or another governmental 
entity that has statutory authority to bind the human service 
agency and is based on a formal, written plan of treatment, or 
unless federal regulations require payment for an out-of-state 
resident. 
    Sec. 5.  [256G.05] [RESPONSIBILITY FOR EMERGENCIES.] 
    Subdivision 1.  [RESIDENCE NOT A TEST.] In situations 
involving emergencies verified by a local agency, financial 
responsibility for aid to families with dependent children, 
general assistance, and Minnesota supplemental aid rests with 
the county in which an otherwise eligible person is physically 
present when the application is filed.  The county of residence 
is not obligated to reimburse.  Financial responsibility is 
limited to 30 days unless otherwise specified in the context of 
the affected program. 
    Subd. 2.  [NON-MINNESOTA RESIDENTS.] State residence is not 
required for receiving emergency assistance in the general 
assistance and Minnesota supplemental aid programs only.  The 
receipt of emergency assistance must not be used as a factor in 
determining county or state residence. 
    Sec. 6.  [256G.06] [DETOXIFICATION SERVICES.] 
    The county of financial responsibility for detoxification 
services is the county where the client is physically present 
when the need for services is identified.  If that need is 
identified while the client is a resident of a chemical 
dependency facility, the provisions of section 2, subdivision 3, 
paragraphs (b), (c), and (e) apply. 
    Sec. 7.  [256G.07] [MOVING TO ANOTHER COUNTY.] 
    Subdivision 1.  [EFFECT OF MOVING.] A person who has 
applied for and is receiving assistance under a program governed 
by this chapter, in any county in this state, and who moves to 
another county in this state, is entitled to continue to receive 
that assistance from the county from which that person has moved 
until that person has resided in nonexcluded status for two full 
calendar months in the county to which that person has moved. 
    For purposes of general assistance and general assistance 
medical care, this time period is, however, one full calendar 
month. 
    Subd. 2.  [TRANSFER OF RECORDS.] Before the person has 
resided in nonexcluded status for two calendar months, or one 
calendar month in the case of general assistance or general 
assistance medical care, in the county to which that person has 
moved, the local agency of the county from which the person has 
moved shall transfer all necessary records relating to that 
person to the local agency of the county to which the person has 
moved. 
    Subd. 3.  [CONTINUATION OF CASE.] When the case is 
terminated for 30 days or less before the recipient reapplies, 
that case remains the financial responsibility of the county 
from which the recipient moved until the residence requirement 
in subdivision 1 is met. 
    Subd. 4.  [MULTIPLE FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY.] When more 
than one county becomes financially responsible for a case 
involving a single assistance unit, under a program covered by 
this chapter, that case must be immediately reconsidered by the 
affected local agencies.  Beginning with the first day of the 
calendar month after that reconsideration, financial 
responsibility for the entire assistance unit belongs to the 
county that was initially responsible for the program with the 
earliest date of application. 
    Subd. 5.  [SOCIAL SERVICE PROVISION.] The types and level 
of social services to be provided in any case governed by this 
chapter are those otherwise provided in the county in which the 
person is physically residing at the time those services are 
provided. 
    Sec. 8.  [256G.08] [REIMBURSEMENT RESPONSIBILITY FOR 
COMMITMENTS.] 
    Subdivision 1.  [COMMITMENTS.] In cases of voluntary 
admission or commitment to state or other institutions, the 
committing county shall initially pay for all costs.  This 
includes the expenses of the taking into custody, confinement, 
examination, commitment, conveyance to the place of detention, 
and rehearing. 
    Subd. 2.  [RESPONSIBILITY FOR NONRESIDENTS.] If a person 
committed or voluntarily admitted to a state institution has no 
residence in this state, financial responsibility belongs to the 
county of commitment. 
    Subd. 3.  [INITIATING COUNTY RESPONSIBLE.] The initial 
responsible county retains responsibility when adequate facts 
are not submitted to provide a sufficient legal basis for the 
transfer of responsibility. 
    Sec. 9.  [256G.09] [DETERMINING FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY.] 
    Subdivision 1.  [GENERAL PROCEDURES.] If upon investigation 
the local agency decides that the application or commitment was 
not filed in the county of financial responsibility as defined 
by this chapter, but that the applicant is otherwise eligible 
for assistance, it shall send a copy of the application or 
commitment claim, together with the record of any investigation 
it has made, to the county it believes is financially 
responsible.  The copy and record must be sent within 60 days of 
the date the application was approved or the claim was paid.  
The first local agency shall provide assistance to the applicant 
until financial responsibility is transferred under this section.
    The county receiving the transmittal has 30 days to accept 
or reject financial responsibility.  A failure to respond within 
30 days establishes financial responsibility by the receiving 
county. 
    Subd. 2.  [FINANCIAL DISPUTES.] (a) If the county receiving 
the transmittal does not believe it is financially responsible, 
it should provide to the department and the initially 
responsible county a statement of all facts and documents 
necessary for the department to make the requested determination 
of financial responsibility.  The submission must clearly state 
the program area in dispute and must state the specific basis 
upon which the submitting county is denying financial 
responsibility. 
    (b) The initially responsible county then has 15 calendar 
days to submit its position and any supporting evidence to the 
department.  The absence of a submission by the initially 
responsible county does not limit the right of the department to 
issue a binding opinion based on the evidence actually submitted.
    (c) A case must not be submitted until the local agency 
taking the application or making the commitment has made an 
initial determination about eligibility and financial 
responsibility, and services or assistance has been initiated.  
This paragraph does not prohibit the submission of closed cases 
that otherwise meet the applicable statute of limitations. 
    Subd. 3.  [DEPARTMENT OBLIGATIONS.] The department shall 
then promptly decide any question of financial responsibility as 
outlined in this chapter and make an order referring the 
application to the local agency of the proper county for further 
action.  Further action may include reimbursement by that county 
of assistance that another county has provided to the applicant 
under this subdivision.  The department shall decide disputes 
within 60 days of the last county evidentiary submission and 
shall issue an immediate opinion. 
    The department may make any investigation it considers 
proper before making its decision.  It may prescribe rules it 
considers necessary to carry out this subdivision.  The order of 
the department binds the local agency involved and the applicant 
or recipient.  That agency shall comply with the order unless 
reversed on appeal as provided in section 256.045, subdivision 
7.  The agency shall comply with the order pending the appeal. 
    Subd. 4.  [APPEALS.] A local agency that is aggrieved by 
the order of the department may appeal the opinion to the 
district court of the county responsible for furnishing 
assistance or services by serving a written copy of a notice of 
appeal on the commissioner and any adverse party of record 
within 30 days after the date the department issued the opinion, 
and by filing the original notice and proof of service with the 
clerk of district court.  Service may be made personally or by 
mail.  Service by mail is complete upon mailing. 
    The commissioner may elect to become a party to the 
proceedings in district court.  The court may consider the 
matter in or out of chambers and shall take no new or additional 
evidence. 
    Subd. 5.  [PAYMENT PENDING APPEAL.] After the department 
issues an opinion in any submission under this section, the 
service or assistance covered by the submission must be provided 
or paid pending or during an appeal to the district court. 
    Sec. 10.  [256G.10] [DERIVATIVE SETTLEMENT ELIMINATED.] 
    Except as described in section 2, subdivision 4, paragraph 
(d), residence under this chapter must be determined 
independently for each applicant.  The residence of the parent 
or guardian does not determine the residence of the child or 
ward.  Physical or legal custody has no bearing on residence 
determinations.  This section does not, however, apply to 
situations involving another state or limit the application of 
an interstate compact. 
    Sec. 11.  [256G.11] [NO RETROACTIVE EFFECT.] 
    This chapter is not retroactive and does not require 
redetermination of financial responsibility for cases existing 
on the effective date of this section.  This chapter applies 
only to applications and redeterminations of eligibility taken 
or routinely made after that effective date. 
    Notwithstanding this section, however, existing social 
service cases tie to cases for those programs outlined in 
section 2, subdivision 4, paragraph (g), for which an 
application is taken or a redetermination is made after the 
effective date of this section.  
    Sec. 12.  [256G.12] [STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.] 
    Subdivision 1.  [LIMITATION.] A submission to the 
department for a determination of financial responsibility must 
be made within three years from the date of application for the 
program in question. 
    Subd. 2.  [REIMBURSEMENT.] The obligation of the county 
ultimately found to be financially responsible extends only to 
the period immediately following the date the submission was 
received by the department.  In the case of social service 
programs only, no reimbursement is required until the 
financially responsible county has an opportunity to review and 
act on the plan of treatment according to the applicable social 
service rules. 
    Subd. 3.  [EXCEPTION.] Subdivision 2 does not apply to 
timely and routine submissions for determination of financial 
responsibility under section 9. 
    Sec. 13.  Minnesota Statutes 1986, section 253B.23, 
subdivision 1, is amended to read:  
    Subdivision 1.  [COSTS OF HEARINGS.] (a) In each proceeding 
under this chapter the court shall allow and order paid to each 
witness subpoenaed the fees and mileage prescribed by law; to 
each examiner a reasonable sum for services and for travel; to 
persons conveying the patient to the place of detention, 
disbursements for the travel, board, and lodging of the patient 
and of themselves and their authorized assistants; and to the 
patient's counsel, when appointed by the court, a reasonable sum 
for travel and for the time spent in court or in preparing for 
the hearing.  Upon the court's order, the county auditor shall 
issue a warrant on the county treasurer for payment of the 
amounts allowed.  
    (b) When the residence of the patient is found to be in 
another county, the committing court shall transmit to the 
county auditor a statement of the expenses of the taking into 
custody, confinement, examination, commitment, conveyance to the 
place of detention, and rehearing.  The auditor shall transmit 
the statement to the auditor of the county of the patient's 
residence.  The claim shall be paid as other claims against that 
county.  If the auditor to whom this claim is transmitted denies 
the claim, the auditor shall transmit it, together with any 
objections to the commissioner.  The commissioner shall 
determine the question of residence and certify findings to each 
auditor.  If the claim is not paid within 30 days after 
certification, an action may be maintained on it in the district 
court of the claimant county.  
    (c) Whenever venue of a proceeding has been transferred 
under this chapter, the costs of the proceedings shall be 
reimbursed to the county of the patient's residence by the state.
    Sec. 14.  [REPEALER.] 
    Minnesota Statutes 1986, sections 256.73, subdivision 4; 
256.76, subdivision 2; 256.79; 256B.02, subdivisions 1, 2, and 
3; 256D.18; 256D.37, subdivision 3; and 256E.08, subdivision 7, 
are repealed. 
    Sec. 15.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
    Sections 1 to 14 are effective January 1, 1988. 
    Approved June 2, 1987