HB1097 HD1.DOC

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1097
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO ASSISTANCE FOR AGED, BLIND, AND PERMANENTLY AND TOTALLY DISABLED PERSONS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Section 346-52, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§346-52[]] Aged, blind, and permanently and totally disabled persons; eligibility for assistance. (a) A person shall be eligible for state-funded public assistance who meets the requirements established by the Federal Supplemental Security Income Program or its successor agency[,]; provided that the person is also determined needy in accordance with state standards.

(b) The allowance for the aged, blind, and permanently and totally disabled persons shall not exceed sixty-two and one-half per cent of the standard of need.

(1) The allowance for the aged, blind, and permanently and totally disabled persons based upon the total amount appropriated for the aged, blind, and permanently and totally disabled persons;

(2) A method for determining allowance amounts; and

(3) Other necessary provisions to implement public assistance to aged, blind, and permanently and totally disabled persons."

SECTION 2. Section 346-53, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsections (a) and (b) to read as follows:

"(a) This subsection does not apply to general assistance to households without minor dependents[.] or to public assistance to aged, blind, and permanently and totally disabled persons. The standard of need shall equal the poverty level established by the federal government in 2006, prorated over a twelve-month period based on family size.

The assistance allowance provided shall be based on a percentage of the standard of need. For exempt households and households in which all caretaker relatives are minors, living independently with minor dependents and attending school, the assistance allowance shall be set no higher than sixty-two and one-half per cent and no lower than forty-four per cent of the standard of need. For all other households, the assistance allowance shall be set no higher than sixty-two and one-half per cent of the standard of need and set no lower than thirty-four per cent of the standard of need. The standard of need shall be determined by dividing the 2006 federal poverty level by twelve and rounding down the quotient. The remaining quotient shall be multiplied by the per cent as set by the director by rules pursuant to chapter 91, and the final product shall be rounded down to determine the assistance allowance; provided that:

(1) The department may increase or reduce the assistance allowance as determined in this subsection for non-exempt households for the purpose of providing work incentives or services under part XI;

(2) No reduction shall be allowed that jeopardizes eligibility for or receipt of federal funds;

(3) Reductions in the assistance allowance shall be limited to no more than one per year; and

(4) No non-exempt household, which includes an adult who has received sixty cumulative months of temporary assistance to needy families with minor dependents, shall be eligible for an assistance allowance, unless authorized by federal regulations.

(b) The director shall determine the allowance for general assistance to households without minor dependents and public assistance to aged, blind, and permanently and totally disabled persons based upon the total amount appropriated for general assistance to households without minor dependents[,] and public assistance to aged, blind, and permanently and totally disabled persons, respectively, among other relevant factors."

SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on January 1, 2050.