2000 Minnesota Statutes

     256J.43 Interstate transitional standards. 

    Subdivision 1.    Payment.  (a) Effective July 1, 1997, 
 the amount of assistance paid to an eligible unit in which all 
 members have resided in this state for fewer than 12 consecutive 
 calendar months immediately preceding the date of application 
 shall be the lesser of either the interstate transitional 
 standard that would have been received by the assistance unit 
 from the state of immediate prior residence, or the amount 
 calculated in accordance with MFIP standards.  The lesser 
 payment must continue until the assistance unit meets the 
 12-month requirement.  An assistance unit that has not resided 
 in Minnesota for 12 months from the date of application is not 
 exempt from the interstate transitional standards provisions 
 solely because a child is born in Minnesota to a member of the 
 assistance unit.  Payment must be calculated by applying this 
 MFIP's budgeting policies, and the unit's net income must be 
 deducted from the payment standard in the other state or the 
 MFIP transitional or shared household standard in this state, 
 whichever is lower.  Payment shall be made in vendor form for 
 shelter and utilities, up to the limit of the grant amount, and 
 residual amounts, if any, shall be paid directly to the 
 assistance unit. 

    (b) During the first 12 months an assistance unit resides 
 in this state, the number of months that a unit is eligible to 
 receive MFIP benefits is limited to the number of months the 
 assistance unit would have been eligible to receive similar 
 benefits in the state of immediate prior residence. 

    (c) This policy applies whether or not the assistance unit 
 received similar benefits while residing in the state of 
 previous residence. 

    (d) When an assistance unit moves to this state from 
 another state where the assistance unit has exhausted that 
 state's time limit for receiving benefits under that state's 
 TANF program, the unit will not be eligible to receive any MFIP 
 benefits in this state for 12 months from the date the 
 assistance unit moves here. 

    (e) For the purposes of this section, "state of immediate 
 prior residence" means: 

    (1) the state in which the applicant declares the applicant 
 spent the most time in the 30 days prior to moving to this 
 state; or 

    (2) the state in which an applicant who is a migrant worker 
 maintains a home. 

    (f) The commissioner shall annually verify and update all 
 other states' payment standards as they are to be in effect in 
 July of each year. 

    (g) Applicants must provide verification of their state of 
 immediate prior residence, in the form of tax statements, a 
 driver's license, automobile registration, rent receipts, or 
 other forms of verification approved by the commissioner. 

    (h) Migrant workers, as defined in section 256J.08, and 
 their immediate families are exempt from this section, provided 
 the migrant worker provides verification that the migrant family 
 worked in this state within the last 12 months and earned at 
 least $1,000 in gross wages during the time the migrant worker 
 worked in this state. 

    Subd. 2.    Temporary absence from Minnesota.  (a) For 
 an assistance unit that has met the requirements of section 
 256J.12, the number of months that the assistance unit receives 
 benefits under the interstate transitional standards in this 
 section is not affected by an absence from Minnesota for fewer 
 than 30 consecutive days. 

    (b) For an assistance unit that has met the requirements of 
 section 256J.12, the number of months that the assistance unit 
 receives benefits under the interstate transitional standards in 
 this section is not affected by an absence from Minnesota for 
 more than 30 consecutive days but fewer than 90 consecutive 
 days, provided the assistance unit continues to maintain a 
 residence in Minnesota during the period of absence. 

    Subd. 3.    Exceptions to the interstate payment policy. 
  Applicants who lived in another state in the 12 months prior 
 to applying for assistance are exempt from the interstate 
 payment policy for the months that a member of the unit: 

    (1) served in the United States armed services, provided 
 the person returned to Minnesota within 30 days of leaving the 
 armed forces, and intends to remain in Minnesota; 

    (2) attended school in another state, paid nonresident 
 tuition or Minnesota tuition rates under a reciprocity 
 agreement, provided the person left Minnesota specifically to 
 attend school and returned to Minnesota within 30 days of 
 graduation with the intent to remain in Minnesota; or 

    (3) meets the following criteria: 

    (i) a minor child or a minor caregiver moves from another 
 state to the residence of a relative caregiver; 

    (ii) the minor caregiver applies for and receives family 
 cash assistance; 

    (iii) the relative caregiver chooses not to be part of the 
 MFIP assistance unit; and 

    (iv) the relative caregiver has resided in Minnesota for at 
 least 12 months from the date the assistance unit applies for 
 cash assistance. 

    Subd. 4.    Ineligible mandatory unit members.  
 Ineligible mandatory unit members who have resided in Minnesota 
 for 12 months immediately before the unit's date of application 
 establish the other assistance unit members' eligibility for the 
 MFIP transitional standard, shared household or family wage 
 level, whichever is applicable. 

    HIST: 1997 c 85 art 1 s 33; 1997 c 203 art 12 s 13; 1998 c 407 
 art 6 s 80; 1999 c 159 s 88; 1999 c 245 art 6 s 52