PLEASE NOTE: Legislative Information cannot perform research, provide legal advice, or interpret Maine law. For legal assistance, please contact a qualified attorney.
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following:
‘Resolve, Directing the Department of Health and Human Services To Develop a Report with Data on Out-of-state Access to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program Benefits’
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the title and before the summary and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 1 Department of Health and Human Services to develop report with data on out-of-state access to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program benefits. Resolved: That the Department of Health and Human Services, referred to in this resolve as "the department," shall develop a report with data on out-of-state access to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program benefits using the electronic benefits transfer system. The report must include data on transactions at automated teller machines and electronic points of sale, types of establishments where benefits are used, purchases at electronic points of sale and the duration of continuous access of benefits outside of the State. The department shall work with the Office of the Attorney General to investigate possible misuse of benefits, including accessing benefits at establishments that are designated as unauthorized under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 22, section 23 and benefits continuously used outside of the State that warrant further investigation into determining Maine residency, and shall include those findings in the report. The department shall submit the report including proposed actions and statutory recommendations to the Joint Standing Committee on Health and Human Services no later than November 1, 2014.’
 
SUMMARY
This amendment, which is the majority report of the committee, replaces the bill with a resolve. It requires the Department of Health and Human Services to develop a report on out-of-state access to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program benefits to be submitted to the Joint Standing Committee on Health and Human Services no later than November 1, 2014. The report must include data on out-of-state transactions at automated teller machines and electronic points of sale, the types of establishments where benefits are accessed, the type of purchases made using point-of-sale transactions and the duration of continuous access out of state. The Department of Health and Human Services is required to work with the Office of the Attorney General to investigate possible misuse of benefits and whether continuous use outside of the State means the individual accessing those benefits is no longer a resident of the State.