Bill Text: OR HB2725 | 2011 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to general assistance; appropriating money; declaring an emergency.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2011-06-30 - In committee upon adjournment. [HB2725 Detail]

Download: Oregon-2011-HB2725-Introduced.html

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     76th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2011 Regular Session

NOTE:  Matter within  { +  braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within  { -  braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
 { +  braces and plus signs + } .

LC 1439

                         House Bill 2725

Sponsored by Representative TOMEI (Presession filed.)

                             SUMMARY

The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.

  Creates General Assistance Program in Department of Human
Services to help support Oregon residents who have disabilities
and are pursuing Supplemental Security Income and Social Security
disability benefits by providing monthly cash assistance, medical
assistance and case management services. Revises provisions
relating to general assistance. Specifies operative date of
January 1, 2012.
  Establishes General Assistance Program Fund. Continuously
appropriates moneys in fund to Department of Human Services to
provide grants of general assistance. Establishes eligibility
requirements for individuals to receive grants.
  Declares emergency, effective on passage.

                        A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to general assistance; creating new provisions; amending
  ORS 293.321, 411.010, 411.081, 411.141, 411.144, 411.710,
  411.730 and 414.025; repealing ORS 411.720, 411.750, 411.790,
  411.860, 411.865 and 416.810; appropriating money; and
  declaring an emergency.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
  SECTION 1.  { + Sections 2 and 3 of this 2011 Act are added to
and made a part of ORS 411.710 to 411.730. + }
  SECTION 2.  { + (1) There is created in the Department of Human
Services the General Assistance Program.
  (2) The purpose of the General Assistance Program is to help
support residents of Oregon who have disabilities and who are
pursuing Supplemental Security Income and Social Security
disability benefits, by providing to recipients:
  (a) Monthly cash assistance to enable recipients to meet their
basic requirements for a standard of living compatible with
decency and health;
  (b) Medical assistance including payment for medical
documentation necessary to establish eligibility for Supplemental
Security Income or Social Security disability benefits; and
  (c) Case management services to assist recipients in
successfully qualifying for Supplemental Security Income or
Social Security disability benefits. + }
  SECTION 3.  { + (1) Within the moneys continuously appropriated
to the Department of Human Services from the General Assistance
Program Fund by the Legislative Assembly, the department shall

provide assistance and services under section 2 of this 2011 Act
to an individual:
  (a) Who has a disability as defined in ORS 411.710;
  (b) Whose resources are within the limits prescribed in ORS
411.730;
  (c) Who is a resident of Oregon; and
  (d) Who is 18 to 64 years of age and has no dependent children
in the home.
  (2) The department shall adopt standards for cash assistance
paid under this section that are consistent with the requirements
of ORS 411.070. However, payments may not exceed the Supplemental
Security Income program benefit amounts adopted by the Social
Security Administration under the authority of 20 C.F.R. part
416, subpart D. + }
  SECTION 4.  { + The General Assistance Program Fund is
established in the State Treasury, separate and distinct from the
General Fund. Interest earned by the General Assistance Program
Fund shall be credited to the fund. All moneys in the fund are
continuously appropriated to the Department of Human Services and
may be used only to provide grants of general assistance under
ORS 411.710 to 411.730. + }
  SECTION 5. ORS 411.081 is amended to read:
  411.081. (1) A person seeking public assistance shall file an
application for public assistance with the Department of Human
Services. At the time of application, the applicant shall declare
to the department any circumstance that directly affects the
applicant's eligibility to receive assistance or the amount of
assistance available to the applicant. Upon the receipt of
property or income or upon any other change in circumstances that
directly affects the eligibility of the recipient to receive
assistance or the amount of assistance available to the
recipient, the applicant, recipient or other person in the
assistance household shall immediately notify the department of
the receipt or possession of such property or income, or other
change in circumstances. The department shall recover from the
recipient the amount of assistance improperly disbursed by reason
of failure to comply with the provision of this section.
    { - (2) The department may recover any cash assistance
granted for general assistance under ORS 411.710 to 411.730 and
the recipient's portion of the aid described in ORS 412.014 (3)
that has been paid to any recipient 18 years of age or older, and
for the costs incurred by the department to provide
representation to the recipient under ORS 412.014 (2), when the
recipient is presently receiving or subsequently receives
Supplemental Security Income. The amount of recovery shall be
limited to the total amount of Supplemental Security Income that
was received for the same time period that the general assistance
or the aid received under ORS 412.014 was being paid. - }
    { - (3) - }  { +  (2) + } Nothing in   { - subsection (1) or
(2) of - }  this section shall be construed as to prevent the
department from entering into a compromise agreement for recovery
of assistance improperly disbursed, if the department determines
that the administration and collection costs involved would
exceed the amount that can reasonably be expected to be
recovered.
  SECTION 6. ORS 411.144 is amended to read:
  411.144. (1)  { + Except as provided in subsections (3) and (4)
of this section, + } the Department of Human Services shall
deposit in the State Treasury to the credit of the General Fund
all the amounts received by it from the United States Government
or its agencies or from any other source for public assistance
purposes.  All such funds, together with any remaining balances
of funds received for the purposes of public assistance of any
type, hereby are appropriated for expenditure by the department
for the type of public assistance for which such funds were

granted to or received by the state or appropriated by the state,
as the case may be.
  (2) All moneys received from refunds, cancellations or
recoveries   { - resulting from - }  { +  of + } public
assistance payments made from state funds, as differentiated from
federal or county funds,  { +  and moneys received under
subsection (3) of this section + } shall be paid into the State
Treasury and credited to the Public Welfare Account and hereby
are appropriated for expenditure by the department for public
assistance purposes.
   { +  (3) The department may recover from retroactive
Supplemental Security Income owed to a recipient by the United
States Government or the Social Security Administration the
portion of the aid described in ORS 412.014 (3) that was paid to
a recipient when the recipient was 18 years of age or older.
  (4) The department may recover from retroactive Supplemental
Security Income owed to a recipient by the United States
Government or the Social Security Administration the amount of
any cash assistance granted as general assistance under ORS
411.710 to 411.730. The amount of recovery shall be limited to
the total amount of Supplemental Security Income owed for the
time period during which the recipient received general
assistance. All moneys received under this subsection shall be
deposited to the General Assistance Program Fund established by
section 4 of this 2011 Act. + }
  SECTION 7. ORS 411.710 is amended to read:
  411.710.   { - (1) General assistance shall be granted in
accordance with the rules and regulations of the Department of
Human Services and on the basis of need, taking into account the
income, resources and maintenance available to the individual
from whatever source derived and the necessary expenditures of
the individual and the conditions existing in each case. - }
    { - (2) With respect to health services and needs to be
provided in any general assistance programs during any period,
and within the limits of funds available therefor, the department
shall determine and fix, subject to such revisions as it may make
from time to time: - }
    { - (a) The types and extent of health services and needs to
be provided to applicants and recipients. - }
    { - (b) Statewide uniform standards to be observed in the
provision of health services and needs. - }
    { - (c) The maximum number of days of health services and
needs toward the cost of which general assistance funds will be
expended in the care of any applicant or recipient. - }
    { - (d) Schedules of maximum fees, charges and daily rates to
which general assistance funds will be applied toward meeting the
costs of providing health services and needs to an applicant or
recipient. - }
    { - (3) The types and extent of health services and needs and
the amounts to be paid in meeting the costs thereof, as
determined and fixed by the department, shall be the total
general assistance available to applicants and recipients for
health services and needs and the total amounts from general
assistance funds available to vendors in meeting such costs. - }
    { - (4) Payments of general assistance for medical care and
services shall constitute payment in full for all such care and
services for which the payments were made. - }
   { +  (1) As used in ORS 411.710 to 411.730:
  (a) 'Individual who has a disability' means an individual who
is unable to do any substantial gainful activity by reason of any
medically determinable physical or mental impairment, or
combination of impairments, that can be expected to result in
death or that has lasted or can be expected to last for a
continuous period of not less than 12 months. To meet this
description, an individual must be unable to do the individual's
past relevant work or any other substantial gainful work that
exists in the national economy, based on the individual's mental
and physical residual functional capacity, age, education and
work experience.
  (b) 'Resident of Oregon' means an individual who lives in
Oregon with the intent to reside in Oregon and who is:
  (A) A United States citizen; or
  (B) Otherwise lawfully residing in the United States.
  (c) 'Social Security disability benefits' means assistance paid
to individuals on account of disability under Title II of the
Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. 402.
  (d) 'Substantial gainful activity':
  (A) Means work that involves doing significant and productive
physical or mental duties and is done or intended to be done for
pay or profit.
  (B) Does not mean an activity for which the earnings from the
activity are below the greater of:
  (i) $940 per month; or
  (ii) An amount adjusted for national wage growth, calculated by
multiplying $700 by the ratio of the national average wage index
for the year two calendar years before the year for which the
amount is being calculated to the national average wage index for
the year 1998, rounded to the next higher multiple of $10 if such
amount is a multiple of $5 but not of $10 or to the nearest
multiple of $10 in any other case.
  (e) 'Supplemental Security Income' means assistance paid to
needy individuals on account of disability under Title XVI of the
Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. 1382.
  (2) In adopting rules to carry out the provisions of ORS
411.710 to 411.730, the Department of Human Services shall
prescribe a definition of 'disability' that includes both
blindness and disability as those terms are defined in ORS
411.704. + }
  SECTION 8. ORS 411.730 is amended to read:
  411.730.   { - The Department of Human Services shall receive
all applications for general assistance, and shall determine in
accordance with its rules and regulations the eligibility for and
the amount of the assistance which any person shall receive. - }
   { +  (1) If an individual lives with a spouse, the individual
meets the resource limit under section 3 of this 2011 Act if the
value of all countable resources owned by the couple does not
exceed $3,000.
  (2) If an individual does not live with a spouse, the
individual meets the resource limit under section 3 of this 2011
Act if the value of the individual's countable resources does not
exceed $2,000.
  (3) The Department of Human Services shall prescribe by rule
the resources that are not countable under this section,
including but not limited to all of the following:
  (a) A home in which the individual has an ownership interest
and that serves as the individual's principal place of residence.
  (b) Household goods and personal effects.
  (c) One motor vehicle if used for transporting the individual
or a member of the individual's household. + }
  SECTION 9. ORS 293.321 is amended to read:
  293.321. (1) A person having a claim against the state shall
present the claim, with the evidence in support thereof, to the
Oregon Department of Administrative Services or the state agency
that incurred the obligation or made the expenditure on which the
claim is based within two years after the date on which the claim
accrues. However, if any federal funding arrangement requires
payment of a claim within one year, that claim, with evidence in
support thereof, must be presented within one year after the date
on which the claim accrues.
  (2) All claims, with evidence in support thereof, presented for
health services under   { - ORS 411.710 - }  { +  ORS 414.705 to

414.750 + } must be presented within one year after the date in
which the claim accrues.
  SECTION 10. ORS 411.010 is amended to read:
  411.010. As used in this chapter and in other statutes
providing for assistance and services to needy persons, unless
the context or a specially applicable statutory definition
requires otherwise:
  (1) 'Department' means the Department of Human Services.
  (2) 'General assistance' means assistance or service of any
character provided to needy persons not otherwise provided for to
the extent of such need and the availability of funds, including
medical, surgical and hospital or other remedial care.
  (3) 'Public assistance' means the following types of
assistance:
  (a) Temporary assistance for needy families granted under ORS
412.001 to 412.069 and 418.647;
  (b)   { - General assistance granted - }  { +  Assistance
provided by the General Assistance Program + } under ORS 411.710
to 411.730;
  (c) Medical assistance;
  (d) Assistance provided by the Oregon Supplemental Income
Program;
  (e) General assistance other than general assistance granted
under ORS 411.710 to 411.730; and
  (f) Any other  { + assistance provided by the department
pursuant to + } functions that   { - may be - }  { +  are + }
delegated to the Director of Human Services by or in accordance
with federal and state laws.
  SECTION 11. ORS 411.141 is amended to read:
  411.141. The Department of Human Services may, subject to the
allotment system provided for in ORS 291.234 to 291.260, expend
such sums as are required to be expended in this state to provide
public assistance excluding medical assistance. Expenditures for
public assistance include, but are not limited to, expenditures
for the following purposes:
  (1) General assistance to needy persons and their dependents.
  (2) Temporary assistance for needy families granted under ORS
412.001 to 412.069 and 418.647, including services to relatives
with whom dependent children applying for or receiving temporary
assistance for needy families are living in order to help such
relatives attain the maximum self-support or self-care consistent
with the maintenance of continuing parental care and protection
or in order to maintain and strengthen family life for such
children.
  (3) Assistance provided by the Oregon Supplemental Income
Program.
  (4)   { - General assistance granted - }  { +  Assistance
provided by the General Assistance Program + } under ORS 411.710
to 411.730.
  (5) Carrying out the provisions of law for child welfare
purposes.
  (6) Scholarships or grants for qualified recipients to provide
them education and professional, technical or other helpful
training, payable to a publicly supported career school or
educational institution on behalf of the recipient.
  (7) Other purposes for which the department is authorized to
expend funds, including the administration expenses of the
department.
  (8) Carrying out the provisions of ORS 411.116.
  SECTION 12. ORS 414.025, as amended by section 1, chapter 73,
Oregon Laws 2010, is amended to read:
  414.025. As used in this chapter, unless the context or a
specially applicable statutory definition requires otherwise:
  (1) 'Category of aid' means assistance provided by the Oregon
Supplemental Income Program,  { + the General Assistance Program
under ORS 411.710 to 411.730, Supplemental Security Income
payments and + } aid granted under ORS 412.001 to 412.069 and
418.647
  { - or federal Supplemental Security Income payments - } .
  (2) 'Categorically needy'   { - means, insofar as funds are
available for the category, - }  { +  includes, to the extent
that moneys are appropriated to the Department of Human Services
by the Legislative Assembly for the category, + } a person who is
a resident of this state and who:
  (a) Is receiving a category of aid.
  (b) Would be eligible for a category of aid but is not
receiving a category of aid.
  (c) Is in a medical facility and, if the person left such
facility, would be eligible for a category of aid.
  (d) Is under the age of 21 years and would be a dependent child
as defined in ORS 412.001 except for age and regular attendance
in school or in a course of professional or technical training.
  (e)(A) Is a caretaker relative, as defined in ORS 412.001, who
cares for a child who would be a dependent child except for age
and regular attendance in school or in a course of professional
or technical training; or
  (B) Is the spouse of the caretaker relative.
  (f) Is under the age of 21 years and:
  (A) Is in a foster family home or licensed child-caring agency
or institution and is one for whom a public agency of this state
is assuming financial responsibility, in whole or in part; or
  (B) Is 18 years of age or older, is one for whom federal
financial participation is available under Title XIX or XXI of
the federal Social Security Act and who met the criteria in
subparagraph (A) of this paragraph immediately prior to the
person's 18th birthday.
  (g) Is a spouse of an individual receiving a category of aid
and who is living with the recipient of a category of aid, whose
needs and income are taken into account in determining the cash
needs of the recipient of a category of aid, and who is
determined by the Department of Human Services to be essential to
the well-being of the recipient of a category of aid.
  (h) Is a caretaker relative as defined in ORS 412.001 who cares
for a dependent child receiving aid granted under ORS 412.001 to
412.069 and 418.647 or is the spouse of the caretaker relative.
  (i) Is under the age of 21 years, is in a youth care center and
is one for whom a public agency of this state is assuming
financial responsibility, in whole or in part.
  (j) Is under the age of 21 years and is in an intermediate care
facility which includes institutions for persons with mental
retardation.
  (k) Is under the age of 22 years and is in a psychiatric
hospital.
  (L) Is under the age of 21 years and is in an independent
living situation with all or part of the maintenance cost paid by
the Department of Human Services.
  (m) Is a member of a family that received aid in the preceding
month under ORS 412.006 or 412.014 and became ineligible for aid
due to increased hours of or increased income from employment. As
long as the member of the family is employed, such families will
continue to be eligible for medical assistance for a period of at
least six calendar months beginning with the month in which such
family became ineligible for assistance due to increased hours of
employment or increased earnings.
  (n) Is an adopted person under 21 years of age for whom a
public agency is assuming financial responsibility in whole or in
part.
  (o) Is an individual or is a member of a group who is required
by federal law to be included in the state's medical assistance
program in order for that program to qualify for federal funds.
  (p) Is an individual or member of a group who, subject to the
rules of the department, may optionally be included in the
state's medical assistance program under federal law and
regulations concerning the availability of federal funds for the
expenses of that individual or group.
  (q) Is a pregnant woman who would be eligible for aid granted
under ORS 412.001 to 412.069 and 418.647, whether or not the
woman is eligible for cash assistance.
  (r) Except as otherwise provided in this section, is a pregnant
woman or child for whom federal financial participation is
available under Title XIX or XXI of the federal Social Security
Act.
  (s) Is not otherwise categorically needy and is not eligible
for care under Title XVIII of the federal Social Security Act or
is not a full-time student in a post-secondary education program
as defined by the Department of Human Services by rule, but whose
family income is less than the federal poverty level and whose
family investments and savings equal less than the investments
and savings limit established by the department by rule.
  (t) Would be eligible for a category of aid but for the receipt
of qualified long term care insurance benefits under a policy or
certificate issued on or after January 1, 2008. As used in this
paragraph, 'qualified long term care insurance' means a policy or
certificate of insurance as defined in ORS 743.652 (6).
  (u) Is eligible for the Health Care for All Oregon Children
program established in ORS 414.231.
  (3) 'Income' has the meaning given that term in ORS 411.704.
  (4) 'Investments and savings' means cash, securities as defined
in ORS 59.015, negotiable instruments as defined in ORS 73.0104
and such similar investments or savings as the Department of
Human Services may establish by rule that are available to the
applicant or recipient to contribute toward meeting the needs of
the applicant or recipient.
  (5) 'Medical assistance' means so much of the following medical
and remedial care and services as may be prescribed by the Oregon
Health Authority according to the standards established pursuant
to ORS 413.032, including payments made for services provided
under an insurance or other contractual arrangement and money
paid directly to the recipient for the purchase of medical care:
  (a) Inpatient hospital services, other than services in an
institution for mental diseases;
  (b) Outpatient hospital services;
  (c) Other laboratory and X-ray services;
  (d) Skilled nursing facility services, other than services in
an institution for mental diseases;
  (e) Physicians' services, whether furnished in the office, the
patient's home, a hospital, a skilled nursing facility or
elsewhere;
  (f) Medical care, or any other type of remedial care recognized
under state law, furnished by licensed practitioners within the
scope of their practice as defined by state law;
  (g) Home health care services;
  (h) Private duty nursing services;
  (i) Clinic services;
  (j) Dental services;
  (k) Physical therapy and related services;
  (L) Prescribed drugs, including those dispensed and
administered as provided under ORS chapter 689;
  (m) Dentures and prosthetic devices; and eyeglasses prescribed
by a physician skilled in diseases of the eye or by an
optometrist, whichever the individual may select;
  (n) Other diagnostic, screening, preventive and rehabilitative
services;
  (o) Inpatient hospital services, skilled nursing facility
services and intermediate care facility services for individuals
65 years of age or over in an institution for mental diseases;
  (p) Any other medical care, and any other type of remedial care
recognized under state law;
  (q) Periodic screening and diagnosis of individuals under the
age of 21 years to ascertain their physical or mental
impairments, and such health care, treatment and other measures
to correct or ameliorate impairments and chronic conditions
discovered thereby;
  (r) Inpatient hospital services for individuals under 22 years
of age in an institution for mental diseases; and
  (s) Hospice services.
  (6) 'Medical assistance' includes any care or services for any
individual who is a patient in a medical institution or any care
or services for any individual who has attained 65 years of age
or is under 22 years of age, and who is a patient in a private or
public institution for mental diseases. 'Medical assistance '
includes 'health services' as defined in ORS 414.705. 'Medical
assistance' does not include care or services for an inmate in a
nonmedical public institution.
  (7) 'Medically needy' means a person who is a resident of this
state and who is considered eligible under federal law for
medically needy assistance.
  (8) 'Resources' has the meaning given that term in ORS 411.704.
For eligibility purposes, 'resources' does not include charitable
contributions raised by a community to assist with medical
expenses.
  SECTION 13.  { + ORS 411.720, 411.750, 411.790, 411.860,
411.865 and 416.810 are repealed. + }
  SECTION 14.  { + Except as provided in section 15 of this 2011
Act, sections 2 and 3 of this 2011 Act, the amendments to ORS
293.321, 411.010, 411.081, 411.141, 411.144, 411.710, 411.730 and
414.025 by sections 5 to 12 of this 2011 Act and the repeal of
ORS 411.720, 411.750, 411.790, 411.860, 411.865 and 416.810 by
section 13 of this 2011 Act become operative on January 1,
2012. + }
  SECTION 15.  { + The Department of Human Services may take any
action before the operative date specified in section 14 of this
2011 Act that is necessary to exercise, on and after the
operative date specified in section 14 of this 2011 Act, all the
duties, functions and powers conferred on the department by
sections 2 and 3 of this 2011 Act, the amendments to ORS 293.321,
411.010, 411.081, 411.141, 411.144, 411.710, 411.730 and 414.025
by sections 5 to 12 of this 2011 Act and the repeal of ORS
411.720, 411.750, 411.790, 411.860, 411.865 and 416.810 by
section 13 of this 2011 Act. + }
  SECTION 16.  { + This 2011 Act being necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an
emergency is declared to exist, and this 2011 Act takes effect on
its passage. + }
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