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An Act To Stimulate the Maine Economy and Alleviate Child Poverty by Indexing Certain Benefits to Inflation
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §3769-C, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2001, c. 439, Pt. CC, §1 and PL 2003, c. 689, Pt. B, §6, is further amended to read:
 
1. Amount of assistance.   It is the goal of this section to provide low-income families with children sufficient income to meet their most basic needs. If the commissioner determines that unexpended funds are available within the Department of Health and Human Services state or federal ASPIRE or TANF accounts, the commissioner may, by rule, use those funds to increase the maximum levels of assistance in the TANF Program.
 
A. Beginning October 1, 2001, the department shall use unexpended funds in the TANF program to increase the maximum amount of TANF assistance by an amount equal to 5% of the maximum payments that were in effect on January 1, 2001, and shall increase the standard of need to maintain the same differential between the maximum payment and the standard of need that was in effect on January 1, 2001. Initial applicants for assistance may not become eligible for assistance as a result of any increase in the standard of need required by this paragraph.
 
B. Beginning with the 2004-2005 fiscal biennium, the commissioner must continue the 5% benefit increase provided for in paragraph A in the department's current services budget request for the TANF block grant.
 
C.  Beginning October 1, 2017, the department shall adjust the maximum amount of monthly TANF assistance under paragraph B by an amount equal to the percentage increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index between 2001 and 2017 rounded to the nearest dollar.
 
D.  Beginning January 1, 2018, and on each January 1st thereafter, the department shall adjust the maximum amount of monthly TANF assistance under paragraph C by an amount equal to the percentage increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index.
 
For purposes of this subsection, "Consumer Price Index" means the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, CPI-W, for the Northeast Region, or its successor index, as published by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics or its successor agency.
 
SUMMARY
This bill provides that, beginning October 1, 2017, if there are available unexpended funds, the Commissioner of Health and Human Services must increase the maximum monthly assistance amount under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program by the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index between 2001 and 2017 and must further increase the monthly assistance amount on January 1, 2018 and annually every January 1st thereafter by the percentage increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index.