1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to immigration; requiring commissioner of 
  1.3             human services to use the SAVE system to verify 
  1.4             immigration status of applicants for assistance; 
  1.5             requiring a report on the usage and cost of the SAVE 
  1.6             program; amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 
  1.7             256.01, by adding a subdivision.  
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 256.01, is 
  1.10  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.11     Subd. 18.  [IMMIGRATION STATUS 
  1.12  VERIFICATIONS.] Notwithstanding any waiver of this requirement 
  1.13  by the secretary of the United States Department of Health and 
  1.14  Human Services, the commissioner shall utilize the Systematic 
  1.15  Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program to conduct 
  1.16  immigration status verifications: 
  1.17     (1) as required under United States Code, title 8, section 
  1.18  1642; 
  1.19     (2) for all applicants for food assistance benefits, 
  1.20  whether under the federal food stamp program, the MFIP or work 
  1.21  first program, or the Minnesota food assistance program; 
  1.22     (3) for all applicants for general assistance medical care, 
  1.23  except assistance for an emergency medical condition, for 
  1.24  immunization with respect to an immunizable disease, or for 
  1.25  testing and treatment of symptoms of a communicable disease; and 
  1.26     (4) for all applicants for general assistance, Minnesota 
  2.1   supplemental aid, MinnesotaCare, or group residential housing, 
  2.2   when the benefits provided by these programs would fall under 
  2.3   the definition of "federal public benefit" under United States 
  2.4   Code, title 8, section 1642, if federal funds were used to pay 
  2.5   for all or part of the benefits.  
  2.6      Sec. 2.  [REPORTS ON SAVE IMPLEMENTATION.] 
  2.7      On January 15, 2002, and January 15, 2003, the commissioner 
  2.8   shall report to the chairs of the house health and human 
  2.9   services policy committee and the senate health and family 
  2.10  security committee on the usage and costs of the SAVE program 
  2.11  over the previous year.  These reports must include summary, 
  2.12  nonidentifying information on the number of inquiries per month 
  2.13  that were submitted to the SAVE system, the number of times 
  2.14  secondary verifications were pursued as a result of the 
  2.15  inquiries submitted to SAVE, and the number of times the county 
  2.16  determined, as a result of information provided through the SAVE 
  2.17  system, that an applicant to a program listed in section 256.01, 
  2.18  subdivision 18, was ineligible for benefits due to the 
  2.19  applicant's immigration status. 
  2.20     Sec. 3.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  2.21     Sections 1 and 2 are effective January 1, 2001.