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An Act To Align Time Limits in the Municipal General Assistance Program and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §4301, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2015, c. 324, §1, is further amended to read:
 
3. Eligible person.   "Eligible person" means a person who is qualified to receive general assistance from a municipality according to standards of eligibility determined by the municipal officers whether or not that person has applied for general assistance. "Eligible person" does not include a person who is a fugitive from justice as defined in Title 15, section 201, subsection 4. "Eligible person" does not include a person who is ineligible to receive benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program pursuant to section 3762, subsection 18, except that a person who has applied for an extension of benefits under that section but with respect to whom the process is not yet complete may be considered eligible and except that a person who has been ineligible to receive benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program for 5 or more years may be considered eligible. Beginning July 1, 2015, in accordance with 8 United States Code, Section 1621(d), "eligible person" means a person who is lawfully present in the United States or who is pursuing a lawful process to apply for immigration relief, except that assistance for such a person may not exceed 24 months.
 
SUMMARY
This bill provides that a person who has exhausted the 60-month lifetime limit on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program benefits is ineligible to receive municipal general assistance program benefits except that a person who has been ineligible to receive benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program for 5 or more years may be considered eligible and a person who is in the process of seeking an extension of benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program may be considered eligible.