_________ Bill No. _______

Introduced By _______________________________________________________________________________

A Bill for an Act entitled: "An Act requiring 60 days durational residency in Montana as a prerequisite to receipt of state or county public assistance; providing exceptions; amending sections 53-2-322 and 53-2-804, MCA; and providing an applicability date."

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Montana:

NEW SECTION. Section 1. Durational residency required for state public assistance programs. (1) Unless prohibited by federal statute or regulation, the department may not provide cash assistance, employment-related payments, job training, education, or another type of public assistance otherwise available, whether as part of the FAIM project, as defined in 53-4-602, or otherwise, to an individual who has lived in Montana for less than 60 consecutive days. This requirement does not apply to an individual who:

(a) was born in Montana;

(b) has resided in Montana in the past for at least 60 consecutive days;

(c) came to Montana to join a close relative who has resided in Montana for at least 180 consecutive days before the arrival of the individual seeking assistance; or

(d) came to Montana to accept a bona fide offer of employment and the individual was eligible to accept the employment.

(2) The department may waive the requirement of subsection (1) in an emergency or in a case of unusual misfortune or hardship.

(3) For the purpose of this section, "close relative" means a parent, a grandparent, a brother, or a sister.

Section 2. Section 53-2-322, MCA, is amended to read:

"53-2-322. County to levy taxes, budget, and make expenditures for public assistance activities. (1) The board of county commissioners in each county shall levy 13.5 mills for the county poor fund as provided by law or so much of that amount as may be necessary. The board may levy up to an additional 12 mills if approved by the voters in the county. A county shall levy sufficient mills to reimburse the state for any administrative or operational costs in excess of the administrative and operational costs for the previous fiscal year. The department of public health and human services shall notify the counties of the number of mills required to be levied. Once an additional levy has been approved, the amount of the approved levy may continue to be levied without voter approval.

(2) The board shall budget and expend so much of the funds in the county poor fund for:

(a) public assistance as necessary to reimburse the department for the county's proportionate share of the administrative costs and of all public assistance costs;

(b) salaries, travel expenses, and indirect costs, as provided in 52-1-110, of protective services employees of the department; and

(c) the county's proportionate share of any other public assistance activity that may be carried on jointly by the state and the county.

(3) The amounts set up in the budget for the reimbursements to the department must be sufficient to make all of these reimbursements in full. The budget must make separate provision for each public assistance activity and for salaries, travel expenses, and indirect costs for protective services activities of the department. Proper accounts must be established for the funds for all the activities.

(4) The department shall submit to the counties, no later than May 10, the most current county participation percentages that are necessary to establish preliminary county budgets. As soon as the county proposed budget provided for in 7-6-2315 has been agreed upon, a copy must be mailed to the department, and at any time before the final adoption of the budget, the department shall make recommendations with regard to changes in any part of the budget relating to the county poor fund as considered necessary in order to enable the county to discharge its obligations under the public assistance laws.

(5) The department shall promptly examine the county proposed budget in order to ascertain if the amounts provided for reimbursements to the department are likely to be sufficient and shall notify the county clerk of its findings. The board shall make changes in the amounts provided for reimbursements, if any are required, in order that the county will be able to make the reimbursements in full.

(6) The board of county commissioners may not make any transfer from the amounts budgeted for reimbursing the department without having first obtained a statement in writing from the department to the effect that the amount to be transferred will not be required during the fiscal year for the purposes for which the amounts were provided in the budget.

(7) The county poor fund, irrespective of the source of any part of the fund, may not be used directly or indirectly for the erection or improvement of any county building so long as the fund is needed for paying the county's proportionate share of public assistance and protective services, as described in 52-1-110, or its proportionate share of any other public assistance activity that may be carried on jointly by the state and the county. Expenditures for improvement of any county buildings used directly for care of the poor, except a county hospital or county nursing home, may be made out of money in the county poor fund, whether the money was produced by the mill levy provided for in subsection (1) or from any additional levy authorized by law. The expenditure may be authorized only when any county building used for the care of the poor must be improved in order to meet legal standards required for the building by the department and when the expenditure has been approved by the department.

(8) Money in the county poor fund may be used as matching funds for the receipt of federal money.

(9) (a) A county poor fund may not be used to provide cash assistance, employment assistance, medical assistance, or another type of public assistance to an individual who has lived in Montana for less than 60 consecutive days. This requirement does not apply to an individual who:

(i) was born in Montana;

(ii) has resided in Montana in the past for at least 60 consecutive days;

(iii) came to Montana to join a close relative who has resided in Montana for at least 180 consecutive days before the arrival of the individual seeking assistance; or

(iv) came to Montana to accept a bona fide offer of employment and the individual was eligible to accept the employment.

(b) A county may waive the requirement of subsection (9)(a) in an emergency or in a case of unusual misfortune or hardship.

Section 3. Section 53-2-804, MCA, is amended to read:

"53-2-804. Indigent assistance -- optional county program. (1) A county may provide a program of indigent assistance that it determines necessary. The program may include assistance for food, clothing, shelter, transportation, and medical assistance for individuals not eligible for state or federal programs providing similar assistance. A county may provide for the burial, entombment, or cremation of indigents. The indigent assistance program of the county includes:

(a) job search, job training, work-for-assistance, and employment programs; and

(b) health care, preventive care, and wellness programs as determined by the county commissioners.

(2) A county may establish the criteria for determining eligibility for assistance, including but not limited to residency requirements consistent with this section, limits on income and resources, and the amount, scope, and duration of assistance.

(3) A county may deny assistance for a reasonable period if a person has voluntarily left employment without good cause or is discharged ~~due to~~ because of misconduct.

(4) The program may be funded with money derived from the county poor fund mill levy established in 53-2-322.

(5) A person is indigent for purposes of this subsection if the value of all income and resources available to pay for that person's burial, entombment, or cremation at the time of death is less than the negotiated amount due the funeral home or mortician for an indigent burial. Available income and resources may be determined by the county.

(6) A county may seek reimbursement under 40-6-303, if applicable, for costs paid under this section.

(7) A county may not deduct amounts that may be recovered from an adult child of a deceased indigent or recovered from resources of a deceased indigent from a contract amount due a funeral home or mortician for burial services provided under 7-4-2915 or this section. A funeral home or a mortician that recovers an amount in excess of a contract amount paid under this subsection shall reimburse the county for the amount recovered up to the amount of the contract.

(8) (a) A county may not provide cash assistance, job search assistance, job training, work-for-assistance, employment programs, health care, preventive care, wellness programs, or another type of public assistance to an individual who has lived in Montana for less than 60 consecutive days. This requirement does not apply to an individual who:

(i) was born in Montana;

(ii) has resided in Montana in the past for at least 60 consecutive days;

(iii) came to Montana to join a close relative who has resided in Montana for at least 180 consecutive days before the arrival of the individual seeking assistance; or

(iv) came to Montana to accept a bona fide offer of employment and the individual was eligible to accept the employment.

(b) A county may waive the requirement of subsection (8)(a) in an emergency or in a case of unusual misfortune or hardship.

NEW SECTION. Section 4. Codification instruction. [Section 1] is intended to be codified as an integral part of Title 53, chapter 2, and the provisions of Title 53, chapter 2, apply to [section 1].

NEW SECTION. Section 5. Saving clause. [This act] does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, or proceedings that were begun before [the effective date of this act].

NEW SECTION. Section 6. Applicability. [This act] applies to public assistance, as defined in 53-2-101, granted for the first time to an individual after [the effective date of this act].

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