| | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: |
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| | | Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §3761, sub-§3 is enacted to read: |
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| | | 3.__Insurance payments.__The department shall pay emergency | | aid used for the payment of insurance on an automobile directly | | to the insurance agency or carrier on behalf of the applicant or | | TANF recipient.__If automobile insurance that was paid by the | | department under this subsection is cancelled and a refund is | | due, the insurance agency or carrier shall pay the refund to the | | department. |
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| | | Sec. 2. 22 MRSA §3763, sub-§§8 and 9, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 530, Pt. | | A, §16, are amended to read: |
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| | | 8. Alternative aid. To assist applicants who seek short-term | | assistance to obtain or retain employment, the department shall | | pay one-time voucher payments of up to 3 times the monthly TANF | | grant for which the family is eligible. If the family reapplies | | for TANF within 3 months of receiving alternative aid, the family | | must repay any alternative aid received in excess of the amount | | that the family would have received on TANF. The method of | | repayment must be the same as that used for the repayment of | | unintentional overpayments in the TANF program. |
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| | | The department shall pay alternative aid used for the payment of | | insurance on an automobile directly to the insurance agent or | | carrier on behalf of the applicant or TANF recipient.__If | | automobile insurance that was paid by the department under this | | subsection is cancelled and a refund is due, the insurance agency | | or carrier shall pay the refund to the department. |
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| | | 9. Emergency assistance. The department shall establish and | | operate a program of emergency assistance to needy families with | | children. This program must provide benefits to needy families | | with children in emergency situations in which the family is | | deprived of the basic necessities essential to its support, | | including but not limited to, fire and other natural disasters, | | terminations of utility service or lack of adequate shelter. |
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| | | A. In determining what constitutes an emergency with | | respect to utility terminations, the department shall grant | | assistance when an otherwise qualified family has received a | | disconnection notice and has exhausted their ability to | | negotiate and pay the terms of a reasonable payment | | arrangement. |
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