1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to human services; modifying citizenship 
  1.3             requirements of the general assistance program; 
  1.4             creating a state food assistance program for certain 
  1.5             legal noncitizens; extending food assistance benefits 
  1.6             for certain other noncitizen families; creating a 
  1.7             state food assistance program for certain other legal 
  1.8             noncitizens; appropriating money; amending Minnesota 
  1.9             Statutes 1997 Supplement, sections 256D.05, 
  1.10            subdivision 8; and 256J.11, subdivision 2, as amended; 
  1.11            proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.12            chapter 256D. 
  1.13  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.14     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1997 Supplement, section 
  1.15  256D.05, subdivision 8, is amended to read: 
  1.16     Subd. 8.  [CITIZENSHIP.] (a) Effective July 1, 1997, 
  1.17  citizenship requirements for applicants and recipients under 
  1.18  sections 256D.01 to 256D.03, subdivision 2, and 256D.04 to 
  1.19  256D.21 shall be determined the same as under section 256J.11, 
  1.20  except that legal noncitizens who are applicants or recipients 
  1.21  must have been residents of Minnesota on March 1, 1997.  Legal 
  1.22  noncitizens who arrive in Minnesota after March 1, 1997, and 
  1.23  become elderly or disabled after that date, and are otherwise 
  1.24  eligible for general assistance can receive benefits under this 
  1.25  section.  The income and assets of sponsors of noncitizens shall 
  1.26  be deemed available to general assistance applicants and 
  1.27  recipients according to the Personal Responsibility and Work 
  1.28  Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, Public Law Number 
  1.29  104-193, title IV, sections 421 and 422, and subsequently set 
  2.1   out in federal rules. 
  2.2      (b) As a condition of eligibility, each legal adult 
  2.3   noncitizen in the assistance unit who has resided in the country 
  2.4   for four years or more and who is under 70 years of age must: 
  2.5      (1) be enrolled in a literacy class, English as a second 
  2.6   language class, or a citizen class; 
  2.7      (2) be applying for admission to a literacy class, English 
  2.8   as a second language class, and is on a waiting list; 
  2.9      (3) be in the process of applying for a waiver from the 
  2.10  Immigration and Naturalization Service of the English language 
  2.11  or civics requirements of the citizenship test; 
  2.12     (4) have submitted an application for citizenship to the 
  2.13  Immigration and Naturalization Service and is waiting for a 
  2.14  testing date or a subsequent swearing in ceremony; or 
  2.15     (5) have been denied citizenship due to a failure to pass 
  2.16  the test after two attempts or because of an inability to 
  2.17  understand the rights and responsibilities of becoming a United 
  2.18  States citizen, as documented by the Immigration and 
  2.19  Naturalization Service or the county. 
  2.20     If the county social service agency determines that a legal 
  2.21  noncitizen subject to the requirements of this subdivision will 
  2.22  require more than one year of English language training, then 
  2.23  the requirements of clause (1) or (2) shall be imposed after the 
  2.24  legal noncitizen has resided in the country for three years.  
  2.25  Individuals who reside in a facility licensed under chapter 
  2.26  144A, 144D, 245A, or 256I are exempt from the requirements of 
  2.27  this section. 
  2.28     Sec. 2.  [256D.053] [MINNESOTA FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.] 
  2.29     Subdivision 1.  [PROGRAM ESTABLISHED.] The Minnesota food 
  2.30  assistance program is established to provide food assistance to 
  2.31  legal noncitizens residing in this state who are ineligible to 
  2.32  participate in the federal food stamp program solely due to the 
  2.33  provisions of section 402 or 403 of Public Law Number 104-193, 
  2.34  as authorized by Title VII of the 1997 Emergency Supplemental 
  2.35  Appropriations Act, Public Law Number 105-18. 
  2.36     Subd. 2.  [ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.] To be eligible for 
  3.1   the Minnesota food assistance program, all of the following 
  3.2   conditions must be met: 
  3.3      (1) the applicant must meet the initial and ongoing 
  3.4   eligibility requirements for the federal food stamp program, 
  3.5   except for the applicant's ineligible immigration status; 
  3.6      (2) the applicant must be either a qualified noncitizen as 
  3.7   defined in section 256J.08, subdivision 73, or a noncitizen 
  3.8   otherwise residing lawfully in the United States; 
  3.9      (3) the applicant must be a resident of the state; and 
  3.10     (4) the applicant must not be receiving assistance under 
  3.11  the Minnesota family investment program - statewide or the work 
  3.12  first program. 
  3.13     Subd. 3.  [PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION.] (a) The rules for the 
  3.14  Minnesota food assistance program shall follow exactly the 
  3.15  regulations for the federal food stamp program, except for the 
  3.16  provisions pertaining to immigration status under sections 402 
  3.17  or 403 of Public Law Number 104-193. 
  3.18     (b) The county agency shall use the income, budgeting, and 
  3.19  benefit allotment regulations of the federal food stamp program 
  3.20  to calculate an eligible recipient's monthly Minnesota food 
  3.21  assistance program benefit.  Eligible recipients shall receive 
  3.22  the same level of benefits as those provided by the federal food 
  3.23  stamp program to similarly situated citizen recipients.  The 
  3.24  monthly Minnesota food assistance program benefits shall not 
  3.25  exceed an amount equal to the amount of federal food stamp 
  3.26  benefits the household would receive if all members of the 
  3.27  household were eligible for the federal food stamp program. 
  3.28     (c) Minnesota food assistance program benefits must be 
  3.29  disregarded as income in all programs that do not count food 
  3.30  stamps as income. 
  3.31     (d) The county agency must redetermine a Minnesota food 
  3.32  assistance program recipient's eligibility for the federal food 
  3.33  stamp program when the agency receives information that the 
  3.34  recipient's legal immigration status has changed in such a way 
  3.35  that would make the recipient potentially eligible for the 
  3.36  federal food stamp program. 
  4.1      (e) Until October 1, 1998, the commissioner may provide 
  4.2   benefits under this section in cash. 
  4.3      Subd. 4.  [STATE PLAN REQUIRED.] The commissioner shall 
  4.4   submit a state plan to the secretary of agriculture to allow the 
  4.5   commissioner to purchase federal food stamp benefits for each 
  4.6   Minnesota food assistance program recipient who is ineligible to 
  4.7   participate in the federal food stamp program solely due to the 
  4.8   provisions of section 402 or 403 of Public Law Number 104-193, 
  4.9   as authorized by Title VII of the 1997 Emergency Supplemental 
  4.10  Appropriations Act, Public Law Number 105-18.  The commissioner 
  4.11  shall enter into a contract as necessary with the secretary to 
  4.12  use the existing federal food stamp benefit delivery system for 
  4.13  the purposes of administering the Minnesota food assistance 
  4.14  program under this section. 
  4.15     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1997 Supplement, section 
  4.16  256J.11, subdivision 2, as amended by Laws 1997, Third Special 
  4.17  Session chapter 1, section 1, is amended to read: 
  4.18     Subd. 2.  [NONCITIZENS; FOOD PORTION.] (a) For the period 
  4.19  September 1, 1997, to October 31, 1997, noncitizens who do not 
  4.20  meet one of the exemptions in section 412 of the Personal 
  4.21  Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, 
  4.22  but were residing in this state as of July 1, 1997, are eligible 
  4.23  for the 6/10 of the average value of food stamps for the same 
  4.24  family size and composition until MFIP-S is operative in the 
  4.25  noncitizen's county of financial responsibility and thereafter, 
  4.26  the 6/10 of the food portion of MFIP-S.  However, federal food 
  4.27  stamp dollars cannot be used to fund the food portion of MFIP-S 
  4.28  benefits for an individual under this subdivision.  
  4.29     (b) For the period Beginning November 1, 1997, to June 30, 
  4.30  1998, noncitizens who do not meet one of the exemptions in 
  4.31  section 412 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity 
  4.32  Reconciliation Act of 1996, but were residing in this state as 
  4.33  of July 1, 1997, and are receiving cash assistance under the 
  4.34  AFDC, family general assistance, MFIP or MFIP-S programs are 
  4.35  eligible for the average value of food stamps for the same 
  4.36  family size and composition until MFIP-S is operative in the 
  5.1   noncitizen's county of financial responsibility and thereafter, 
  5.2   the food portion of MFIP-S.  However, federal food stamp dollars 
  5.3   cannot be used to fund the food portion of MFIP-S benefits for 
  5.4   an individual under this subdivision.  The assistance provided 
  5.5   under this subdivision, which is designated as a supplement to 
  5.6   replace lost benefits under the federal food stamp program, must 
  5.7   be disregarded as income in all programs that do not count food 
  5.8   stamps as income where the commissioner has the authority to 
  5.9   make the income disregard determination for the program. 
  5.10     (c) The commissioner shall submit a state plan to the 
  5.11  secretary of agriculture to allow the commissioner to purchase 
  5.12  federal food stamp benefits in an amount equal to the MFIP-S 
  5.13  food portion for each legal noncitizen receiving MFIP-S 
  5.14  assistance who is ineligible to participate in the federal food 
  5.15  stamp program solely due to the provisions of section 402 or 403 
  5.16  of Public Law Number 104-193, as authorized by Title VII of the 
  5.17  1997 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, Public Law 
  5.18  Number 105-18.  The commissioner shall enter into a contract as 
  5.19  necessary with the secretary to use the existing federal food 
  5.20  stamp benefit delivery system for the purposes of administering 
  5.21  the food portion of MFIP-S under this subdivision. 
  5.22     Sec. 4.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  5.23     (a) $....... is appropriated in fiscal year 1999 from the 
  5.24  general fund to the commissioner of human services for the 
  5.25  purposes of section 1.  Of this appropriation, up to $....... is 
  5.26  to reimburse the secretary of agriculture for any incurred costs 
  5.27  related to the purchase of food stamp benefits under that 
  5.28  section. 
  5.29     (b) $....... is appropriated in fiscal year 1999 from the 
  5.30  general fund to the commissioner of human services for the 
  5.31  purposes of section 2.  Of this appropriation, up to $....... is 
  5.32  to reimburse the secretary of agriculture for any incurred costs 
  5.33  related to the purchase of food stamp benefits under that 
  5.34  section. 
  5.35     Sec. 5.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  5.36     Section 1 is effective for MFIP-S applications received on 
  6.1   or after July 1, 1998.