1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to human services; excluding income earned by 
  1.3             a temporary census employee for purposes of public 
  1.4             assistance eligibility; amending Minnesota Statutes 
  1.5             1998, sections 256D.06, subdivision 1; 256D.435, 
  1.6             subdivision 5; and 256L.01, subdivision 5; Minnesota 
  1.7             Statutes 1999 Supplement, sections 256B.056, 
  1.8             subdivision 4; 256D.03, subdivision 3; and 256J.21, 
  1.9             subdivision 2. 
  1.10  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.11     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
  1.12  256B.056, subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  1.13     Subd. 4.  [INCOME.] To be eligible for medical assistance, 
  1.14  a person eligible under section 256B.055, subdivision 7, not 
  1.15  receiving supplemental security income program payments, and 
  1.16  families and children may have an income up to 133-1/3 percent 
  1.17  of the AFDC income standard in effect under the July 16, 1996, 
  1.18  AFDC state plan.  Effective July 1, 2000, the base AFDC standard 
  1.19  in effect on July 16, 1996, shall be increased by three percent. 
  1.20  Effective January 1, 2000, and each successive January, 
  1.21  recipients of supplemental security income may have an income up 
  1.22  to the supplemental security income standard in effect on that 
  1.23  date.  In computing income to determine eligibility of persons 
  1.24  who are not residents of long-term care facilities, the 
  1.25  commissioner shall disregard increases in income as required by 
  1.26  Public Law Numbers 94-566, section 503; 99-272; and 99-509.  
  1.27  Veterans aid and attendance benefits and Veterans Administration 
  2.1   unusual medical expense payments are considered income to the 
  2.2   recipient.  The earned income that temporary census employees 
  2.3   receive from the United States Census Bureau during years that 
  2.4   the census is taken is excluded from income. 
  2.5      Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
  2.6   256D.03, subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  2.7      Subd. 3.  [GENERAL ASSISTANCE MEDICAL CARE; ELIGIBILITY.] 
  2.8   (a) General assistance medical care may be paid for any person 
  2.9   who is not eligible for medical assistance under chapter 256B, 
  2.10  including eligibility for medical assistance based on a 
  2.11  spenddown of excess income according to section 256B.056, 
  2.12  subdivision 5, or MinnesotaCare as defined in paragraph (b), 
  2.13  except as provided in paragraph (c); and: 
  2.14     (1) who is receiving assistance under section 256D.05, 
  2.15  except for families with children who are eligible under 
  2.16  Minnesota family investment program-statewide (MFIP-S), who is 
  2.17  having a payment made on the person's behalf under sections 
  2.18  256I.01 to 256I.06, or who resides in group residential housing 
  2.19  as defined in chapter 256I and can meet a spenddown using the 
  2.20  cost of remedial services received through group residential 
  2.21  housing; or 
  2.22     (2)(i) who is a resident of Minnesota; and whose equity in 
  2.23  assets is not in excess of $1,000 per assistance unit.  Exempt 
  2.24  assets, the reduction of excess assets, and the waiver of excess 
  2.25  assets must conform to the medical assistance program in chapter 
  2.26  256B, with the following exception:  the maximum amount of 
  2.27  undistributed funds in a trust that could be distributed to or 
  2.28  on behalf of the beneficiary by the trustee, assuming the full 
  2.29  exercise of the trustee's discretion under the terms of the 
  2.30  trust, must be applied toward the asset maximum; and 
  2.31     (ii) who has countable income not in excess of the 
  2.32  assistance standards established in section 256B.056, 
  2.33  subdivision 4, or whose excess income is spent down according to 
  2.34  section 256B.056, subdivision 5, using a six-month budget 
  2.35  period.  The method for calculating earned income disregards and 
  2.36  deductions for a person who resides with a dependent child under 
  3.1   age 21 shall follow section 256B.056, subdivision 1a.  However, 
  3.2   if a disregard of $30 and one-third of the remainder has been 
  3.3   applied to the wage earner's income, the disregard shall not be 
  3.4   applied again until the wage earner's income has not been 
  3.5   considered in an eligibility determination for general 
  3.6   assistance, general assistance medical care, medical assistance, 
  3.7   or MFIP-S for 12 consecutive months.  The earned income that 
  3.8   temporary census employees receive from the United States Census 
  3.9   Bureau during years that the census is taken is excluded from 
  3.10  income.  The earned income and work expense deductions for a 
  3.11  person who does not reside with a dependent child under age 21 
  3.12  shall be the same as the method used to determine eligibility 
  3.13  for a person under section 256D.06, subdivision 1, except the 
  3.14  disregard of the first $50 of earned income is not allowed; 
  3.15     (3) who would be eligible for medical assistance except 
  3.16  that the person resides in a facility that is determined by the 
  3.17  commissioner or the federal Health Care Financing Administration 
  3.18  to be an institution for mental diseases; or 
  3.19     (4) who is ineligible for medical assistance under chapter 
  3.20  256B or general assistance medical care under any other 
  3.21  provision of this section, and is receiving care and 
  3.22  rehabilitation services from a nonprofit center established to 
  3.23  serve victims of torture.  These individuals are eligible for 
  3.24  general assistance medical care only for the period during which 
  3.25  they are receiving services from the center.  During this period 
  3.26  of eligibility, individuals eligible under this clause shall not 
  3.27  be required to participate in prepaid general assistance medical 
  3.28  care.  
  3.29     (b) Beginning January 1, 2000, applicants or recipients who 
  3.30  meet all eligibility requirements of MinnesotaCare as defined in 
  3.31  sections 256L.01 to 256L.16, and are: 
  3.32     (i) adults with dependent children under 21 whose gross 
  3.33  family income is equal to or less than 275 percent of the 
  3.34  federal poverty guidelines; or 
  3.35     (ii) adults without children with earned income and whose 
  3.36  family gross income is between 75 percent of the federal poverty 
  4.1   guidelines and the amount set by section 256L.04, subdivision 7, 
  4.2   shall be terminated from general assistance medical care upon 
  4.3   enrollment in MinnesotaCare. 
  4.4      (c) For services rendered on or after July 1, 1997, 
  4.5   eligibility is limited to one month prior to application if the 
  4.6   person is determined eligible in the prior month.  A 
  4.7   redetermination of eligibility must occur every 12 months.  
  4.8   Beginning January 1, 2000, Minnesota health care program 
  4.9   applications completed by recipients and applicants who are 
  4.10  persons described in paragraph (b), may be returned to the 
  4.11  county agency to be forwarded to the department of human 
  4.12  services or sent directly to the department of human services 
  4.13  for enrollment in MinnesotaCare.  If all other eligibility 
  4.14  requirements of this subdivision are met, eligibility for 
  4.15  general assistance medical care shall be available in any month 
  4.16  during which a MinnesotaCare eligibility determination and 
  4.17  enrollment are pending.  Upon notification of eligibility for 
  4.18  MinnesotaCare, notice of termination for eligibility for general 
  4.19  assistance medical care shall be sent to an applicant or 
  4.20  recipient.  If all other eligibility requirements of this 
  4.21  subdivision are met, eligibility for general assistance medical 
  4.22  care shall be available until enrollment in MinnesotaCare 
  4.23  subject to the provisions of paragraph (e). 
  4.24     (d) The date of an initial Minnesota health care program 
  4.25  application necessary to begin a determination of eligibility 
  4.26  shall be the date the applicant has provided a name, address, 
  4.27  and social security number, signed and dated, to the county 
  4.28  agency or the department of human services.  If the applicant is 
  4.29  unable to provide an initial application when health care is 
  4.30  delivered due to a medical condition or disability, a health 
  4.31  care provider may act on the person's behalf to complete the 
  4.32  initial application.  The applicant must complete the remainder 
  4.33  of the application and provide necessary verification before 
  4.34  eligibility can be determined.  The county agency must assist 
  4.35  the applicant in obtaining verification if necessary.  On the 
  4.36  basis of information provided on the completed application, an 
  5.1   applicant who meets the following criteria shall be determined 
  5.2   eligible beginning in the month of application: 
  5.3      (1) has gross income less than 90 percent of the applicable 
  5.4   income standard; 
  5.5      (2) has liquid assets that total within $300 of the asset 
  5.6   standard; 
  5.7      (3) does not reside in a long-term care facility; and 
  5.8      (4) meets all other eligibility requirements. 
  5.9   The applicant must provide all required verifications within 30 
  5.10  days' notice of the eligibility determination or eligibility 
  5.11  shall be terminated. 
  5.12     (e) County agencies are authorized to use all automated 
  5.13  databases containing information regarding recipients' or 
  5.14  applicants' income in order to determine eligibility for general 
  5.15  assistance medical care or MinnesotaCare.  Such use shall be 
  5.16  considered sufficient in order to determine eligibility and 
  5.17  premium payments by the county agency. 
  5.18     (f) General assistance medical care is not available for a 
  5.19  person in a correctional facility unless the person is detained 
  5.20  by law for less than one year in a county correctional or 
  5.21  detention facility as a person accused or convicted of a crime, 
  5.22  or admitted as an inpatient to a hospital on a criminal hold 
  5.23  order, and the person is a recipient of general assistance 
  5.24  medical care at the time the person is detained by law or 
  5.25  admitted on a criminal hold order and as long as the person 
  5.26  continues to meet other eligibility requirements of this 
  5.27  subdivision.  
  5.28     (g) General assistance medical care is not available for 
  5.29  applicants or recipients who do not cooperate with the county 
  5.30  agency to meet the requirements of medical assistance.  General 
  5.31  assistance medical care is limited to payment of emergency 
  5.32  services only for applicants or recipients as described in 
  5.33  paragraph (b), whose MinnesotaCare coverage is denied or 
  5.34  terminated for nonpayment of premiums as required by sections 
  5.35  256L.06 and 256L.07.  
  5.36     (h) In determining the amount of assets of an individual, 
  6.1   there shall be included any asset or interest in an asset, 
  6.2   including an asset excluded under paragraph (a), that was given 
  6.3   away, sold, or disposed of for less than fair market value 
  6.4   within the 60 months preceding application for general 
  6.5   assistance medical care or during the period of eligibility.  
  6.6   Any transfer described in this paragraph shall be presumed to 
  6.7   have been for the purpose of establishing eligibility for 
  6.8   general assistance medical care, unless the individual furnishes 
  6.9   convincing evidence to establish that the transaction was 
  6.10  exclusively for another purpose.  For purposes of this 
  6.11  paragraph, the value of the asset or interest shall be the fair 
  6.12  market value at the time it was given away, sold, or disposed 
  6.13  of, less the amount of compensation received.  For any 
  6.14  uncompensated transfer, the number of months of ineligibility, 
  6.15  including partial months, shall be calculated by dividing the 
  6.16  uncompensated transfer amount by the average monthly per person 
  6.17  payment made by the medical assistance program to skilled 
  6.18  nursing facilities for the previous calendar year.  The 
  6.19  individual shall remain ineligible until this fixed period has 
  6.20  expired.  The period of ineligibility may exceed 30 months, and 
  6.21  a reapplication for benefits after 30 months from the date of 
  6.22  the transfer shall not result in eligibility unless and until 
  6.23  the period of ineligibility has expired.  The period of 
  6.24  ineligibility begins in the month the transfer was reported to 
  6.25  the county agency, or if the transfer was not reported, the 
  6.26  month in which the county agency discovered the transfer, 
  6.27  whichever comes first.  For applicants, the period of 
  6.28  ineligibility begins on the date of the first approved 
  6.29  application. 
  6.30     (i) When determining eligibility for any state benefits 
  6.31  under this subdivision, the income and resources of all 
  6.32  noncitizens shall be deemed to include their sponsor's income 
  6.33  and resources as defined in the Personal Responsibility and Work 
  6.34  Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, title IV, Public Law 
  6.35  Number 104-193, sections 421 and 422, and subsequently set out 
  6.36  in federal rules. 
  7.1      (j)(1) An undocumented noncitizen or a nonimmigrant is 
  7.2   ineligible for general assistance medical care other than 
  7.3   emergency services.  For purposes of this subdivision, a 
  7.4   nonimmigrant is an individual in one or more of the classes 
  7.5   listed in United States Code, title 8, section 1101(a)(15), and 
  7.6   an undocumented noncitizen is an individual who resides in the 
  7.7   United States without the approval or acquiescence of the 
  7.8   Immigration and Naturalization Service. 
  7.9      (2) This paragraph does not apply to a child under age 18, 
  7.10  to a Cuban or Haitian entrant as defined in Public Law Number 
  7.11  96-422, section 501(e)(1) or (2)(a), or to a noncitizen who is 
  7.12  aged, blind, or disabled as defined in Code of Federal 
  7.13  Regulations, title 42, sections 435.520, 435.530, 435.531, 
  7.14  435.540, and 435.541, or effective October 1, 1998, to an 
  7.15  individual eligible for general assistance medical care under 
  7.16  paragraph (a), clause (4), who cooperates with the Immigration 
  7.17  and Naturalization Service to pursue any applicable immigration 
  7.18  status, including citizenship, that would qualify the individual 
  7.19  for medical assistance with federal financial participation. 
  7.20     (3) For purposes of this paragraph, "emergency services" 
  7.21  has the meaning given in Code of Federal Regulations, title 42, 
  7.22  section 440.255(b)(1), except that it also means services 
  7.23  rendered because of suspected or actual pesticide poisoning. 
  7.24     (k) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a 
  7.25  noncitizen who is ineligible for medical assistance due to the 
  7.26  deeming of a sponsor's income and resources, is ineligible for 
  7.27  general assistance medical care. 
  7.28     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 256D.06, 
  7.29  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  7.30     Subdivision 1.  General assistance shall be granted in an 
  7.31  amount that when added to the nonexempt income actually 
  7.32  available to the assistance unit, the total amount equals the 
  7.33  applicable standard of assistance for general assistance.  In 
  7.34  determining eligibility for and the amount of assistance for an 
  7.35  individual or married couple, the county agency shall disregard 
  7.36  the first $50 of earned income per month, and shall disregard 
  8.1   earned income that temporary census employees receive from the 
  8.2   United States Census Bureau during years that the census is 
  8.3   taken.  
  8.4      Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 256D.435, 
  8.5   subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  8.6      Subd. 5.  [GENERAL INCOME DISREGARD.] The county agency 
  8.7   shall disregard the first $20 of the assistance unit's unearned 
  8.8   or earned income, and shall disregard earned income that 
  8.9   temporary census employees receive from the United States Census 
  8.10  Bureau during years that the census is taken. 
  8.11     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
  8.12  256J.21, subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  8.13     Subd. 2.  [INCOME EXCLUSIONS.] (a) The following must be 
  8.14  excluded in determining a family's available income: 
  8.15     (1) payments for basic care, difficulty of care, and 
  8.16  clothing allowances received for providing family foster care to 
  8.17  children or adults under Minnesota Rules, parts 9545.0010 to 
  8.18  9545.0260 and 9555.5050 to 9555.6265, and payments received and 
  8.19  used for care and maintenance of a third-party beneficiary who 
  8.20  is not a household member; 
  8.21     (2) reimbursements for employment training received through 
  8.22  the Job Training Partnership Act, United States Code, title 29, 
  8.23  chapter 19, sections 1501 to 1792b; 
  8.24     (3) reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses incurred while 
  8.25  performing volunteer services, jury duty, employment, or 
  8.26  informal carpooling arrangements directly related to employment; 
  8.27     (4) all educational assistance, except the county agency 
  8.28  must count graduate student teaching assistantships, 
  8.29  fellowships, and other similar paid work as earned income and, 
  8.30  after allowing deductions for any unmet and necessary 
  8.31  educational expenses, shall count scholarships or grants awarded 
  8.32  to graduate students that do not require teaching or research as 
  8.33  unearned income; 
  8.34     (5) loans, regardless of purpose, from public or private 
  8.35  lending institutions, governmental lending institutions, or 
  8.36  governmental agencies; 
  9.1      (6) loans from private individuals, regardless of purpose, 
  9.2   provided an applicant or participant documents that the lender 
  9.3   expects repayment; 
  9.4      (7)(i) state income tax refunds; and 
  9.5      (ii) federal income tax refunds; 
  9.6      (8)(i) federal earned income credits; 
  9.7      (ii) Minnesota working family credits; 
  9.8      (iii) state homeowners and renters credits under chapter 
  9.9   290A; and 
  9.10     (iv) federal or state tax rebates; 
  9.11     (9) funds received for reimbursement, replacement, or 
  9.12  rebate of personal or real property when these payments are made 
  9.13  by public agencies, awarded by a court, solicited through public 
  9.14  appeal, or made as a grant by a federal agency, state or local 
  9.15  government, or disaster assistance organizations, subsequent to 
  9.16  a presidential declaration of disaster; 
  9.17     (10) the portion of an insurance settlement that is used to 
  9.18  pay medical, funeral, and burial expenses, or to repair or 
  9.19  replace insured property; 
  9.20     (11) reimbursements for medical expenses that cannot be 
  9.21  paid by medical assistance; 
  9.22     (12) payments by a vocational rehabilitation program 
  9.23  administered by the state under chapter 268A, except those 
  9.24  payments that are for current living expenses; 
  9.25     (13) in-kind income, including any payments directly made 
  9.26  by a third party to a provider of goods and services; 
  9.27     (14) assistance payments to correct underpayments, but only 
  9.28  for the month in which the payment is received; 
  9.29     (15) emergency assistance payments; 
  9.30     (16) funeral and cemetery payments as provided by section 
  9.31  256.935; 
  9.32     (17) nonrecurring cash gifts of $30 or less, not exceeding 
  9.33  $30 per participant in a calendar month; 
  9.34     (18) any form of energy assistance payment made through 
  9.35  Public Law Number 97-35, Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act 
  9.36  of 1981, payments made directly to energy providers by other 
 10.1   public and private agencies, and any form of credit or rebate 
 10.2   payment issued by energy providers; 
 10.3      (19) Supplemental Security Income, including retroactive 
 10.4   payments; 
 10.5      (20) Minnesota supplemental aid, including retroactive 
 10.6   payments; 
 10.7      (21) proceeds from the sale of real or personal property; 
 10.8      (22) adoption assistance payments under section 259.67; 
 10.9      (23) state-funded family subsidy program payments made 
 10.10  under section 252.32 to help families care for children with 
 10.11  mental retardation or related conditions; 
 10.12     (24) interest payments and dividends from property that is 
 10.13  not excluded from and that does not exceed the asset limit; 
 10.14     (25) rent rebates; 
 10.15     (26) income earned by a minor caregiver, minor child 
 10.16  through age 6, or a minor child who is at least a half-time 
 10.17  student in an approved elementary or secondary education 
 10.18  program; 
 10.19     (27) income earned by a caregiver under age 20 who is at 
 10.20  least a half-time student in an approved elementary or secondary 
 10.21  education program; 
 10.22     (28) MFIP child care payments under section 119B.05; 
 10.23     (29) all other payments made through MFIP to support a 
 10.24  caregiver's pursuit of greater self-support; 
 10.25     (30) income a participant receives related to shared living 
 10.26  expenses; 
 10.27     (31) reverse mortgages; 
 10.28     (32) benefits provided by the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, 
 10.29  United States Code, title 42, chapter 13A, sections 1771 to 
 10.30  1790; 
 10.31     (33) benefits provided by the women, infants, and children 
 10.32  (WIC) nutrition program, United States Code, title 42, chapter 
 10.33  13A, section 1786; 
 10.34     (34) benefits from the National School Lunch Act, United 
 10.35  States Code, title 42, chapter 13, sections 1751 to 1769e; 
 10.36     (35) relocation assistance for displaced persons under the 
 11.1   Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition 
 11.2   Policies Act of 1970, United States Code, title 42, chapter 61, 
 11.3   subchapter II, section 4636, or the National Housing Act, United 
 11.4   States Code, title 12, chapter 13, sections 1701 to 1750jj; 
 11.5      (36) benefits from the Trade Act of 1974, United States 
 11.6   Code, title 19, chapter 12, part 2, sections 2271 to 2322; 
 11.7      (37) war reparations payments to Japanese Americans and 
 11.8   Aleuts under United States Code, title 50, sections 1989 to 
 11.9   1989d; 
 11.10     (38) payments to veterans or their dependents as a result 
 11.11  of legal settlements regarding Agent Orange or other chemical 
 11.12  exposure under Public Law Number 101-239, section 10405, 
 11.13  paragraph (a)(2)(E); 
 11.14     (39) income that is otherwise specifically excluded from 
 11.15  MFIP consideration in federal law, state law, or federal 
 11.16  regulation; 
 11.17     (40) security and utility deposit refunds; 
 11.18     (41) American Indian tribal land settlements excluded under 
 11.19  Public Law Numbers 98-123, 98-124, and 99-377 to the Mississippi 
 11.20  Band Chippewa Indians of White Earth, Leech Lake, and Mille Lacs 
 11.21  reservations and payments to members of the White Earth Band, 
 11.22  under United States Code, title 25, chapter 9, section 331, and 
 11.23  chapter 16, section 1407; 
 11.24     (42) all income of the minor parent's parents and 
 11.25  stepparents when determining the grant for the minor parent in 
 11.26  households that include a minor parent living with parents or 
 11.27  stepparents on MFIP with other children; and 
 11.28     (43) income of the minor parent's parents and stepparents 
 11.29  equal to 200 percent of the federal poverty guideline for a 
 11.30  family size not including the minor parent and the minor 
 11.31  parent's child in households that include a minor parent living 
 11.32  with parents or stepparents not on MFIP when determining the 
 11.33  grant for the minor parent.  The remainder of income is deemed 
 11.34  as specified in section 256J.37, subdivision 1b; 
 11.35     (44) payments made to children eligible for relative 
 11.36  custody assistance under section 257.85; 
 12.1      (45) vendor payments for goods and services made on behalf 
 12.2   of a client unless the client has the option of receiving the 
 12.3   payment in cash; and 
 12.4      (46) the principal portion of a contract for deed payment; 
 12.5   and 
 12.6      (47) earned income that temporary census employees receive 
 12.7   from the United States Census Bureau during years that the 
 12.8   census is taken. 
 12.9      Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 256L.01, 
 12.10  subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
 12.11     Subd. 5.  [INCOME.] "Income" has the meaning given for 
 12.12  earned and unearned income for families and children in the 
 12.13  medical assistance program, according to the state's aid to 
 12.14  families with dependent children plan in effect as of July 16, 
 12.15  1996.  The definition does not include medical assistance income 
 12.16  methodologies and deeming requirements.  The earned income of 
 12.17  full-time and part-time students under age 19 is not counted as 
 12.18  income.  Public assistance payments and supplemental security 
 12.19  income are not excluded income.  The earned income that 
 12.20  temporary census employees receive from the United States Census 
 12.21  Bureau during years that the census is taken is excluded from 
 12.22  income.