00 HOUSE CS FOR CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 4(FIN) am H 01 "An Act relating to cash assistance for seniors; establishing the senior benefits payment 02 program; and providing for an effective date." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 05 to read: 06 LEGISLATIVE INTENT. It is the intent of the legislature that 07 (1) the Alaska senior benefits payment program established under 08 AS 47.45.301, as enacted by sec. 3 of this Act, be funded under the fiscal year 2008 public 09 assistance appropriation as a general relief assistance allocation until the Second Regular 10 Session of the Twenty-Fifth Alaska State Legislature convenes, passes an appropriation bill 11 that creates a new allocation under the public assistance appropriation, and the appropriation 12 bill becomes law; and 13 (2) during the period described in (1) of this section, the program pay the full 14 authorized benefit, notwithstanding AS 47.45.301(c) and 47.45.302(c), as enacted by sec. 3 of 01 this Act. 02 * Sec. 2. AS 09.38.015(a) is amended to read: 03 (a) An individual is entitled to exemption of the following property: 04 (1) a burial plot for the individual and the individual's family; 05 (2) health aids reasonably necessary to enable the individual or a 06 dependent to work or to sustain health; 07 (3) benefits paid or payable for medical, surgical, or hospital care to 08 the extent they are or will be used to pay for the care; 09 (4) an award under AS 18.67 (Violent Crimes Compensation Board) or 10 a crime victim's reparations act of another jurisdiction; 11 (5) benefits paid or payable as a longevity bonus under AS 47.45; 12 (6) compensation or benefits paid or payable and exempt under federal 13 law; 14 (7) liquor licenses granted under AS 04; 15 (8) tuition credit or savings accounts under a higher education savings 16 account established under AS 14.40.802 or an advance college tuition savings contract 17 authorized under AS 14.40.809(a); 18 (9) a permanent fund dividend to the extent allowed under 19 AS 43.23.065; 20 (10) benefits paid or payable as a senior care benefit under 21 AS 47.45.300 - 47.45.390; 22 (11) benefits paid or payable under AS 47.45.301 - 47.45.309. 23 * Sec. 3. AS 47.45 is amended by adding new sections to read: 24 Sec. 47.45.301. Alaska senior benefits payment program. (a) The Alaska 25 senior benefits payment program is established in the Department of Health and Social 26 Services to provide cash benefits as far as practicable under appropriations provided 27 by law. 28 (b) The department shall administer the program and adopt regulations under 29 AS 44.62 to carry out the purposes of the program. 30 (c) If the department estimates that appropriations for the program are 31 insufficient to meet the demands of the program in a fiscal year, the department may 01 reduce or eliminate the cash benefit available to recipients. 02 Sec. 47.45.302. Cash assistance benefit. (a) An individual is eligible for a 03 cash assistance benefit under the program if the individual 04 (1) is 65 years of age or older; 05 (2) is a resident of the state; 06 (3) has a household income that does not exceed 175 percent of the 07 annual federal poverty line for Alaska, as determined by the United States Department 08 of Health and Human Services and revised under 42 U.S.C. 9902(2); 09 (4) has not received a longevity bonus payment under AS 47.45.010 - 10 47.45.160 for the same period; and 11 (5) applies on a form provided by the department; the department may 12 use an abbreviated form for an individual who received a payment under an assistance 13 program for seniors that paid $120 a month and was administered by the department 14 on or before the effective date of this section. 15 (b) An eligible individual shall receive a monthly cash assistance payment 16 beginning on August 1, 2007, or on the effective date of this Act, whichever is later, as 17 follows: 18 (1) $250 if the individual's household income does not exceed 75 19 percent of the federal poverty guidelines for Alaska; 20 (2) $175 if the individual's household income does not exceed 100 21 percent but is above 75 percent of the federal poverty guidelines for Alaska; 22 (3) $125 if the individual's household income does not exceed 175 23 percent but is above 100 percent of the federal poverty guidelines for Alaska. 24 (c) Cash assistance provided under this section is subject to appropriation. 25 Sec. 47.45.304. Continuation of benefits. An eligible individual who leaves 26 the state may not receive a cash benefit under AS 47.45.302 during the absence unless 27 the individual's absence is temporary and is for one of the following reasons: 28 (1) to receive medical treatment for the individual; 29 (2) to accompany the individual's family member who is receiving 30 medical treatment outside the state; or 31 (3) for a vacation, business trip, or other absence of less than 30 01 consecutive days, unless the individual has applied for and received a time extension 02 from the department for special circumstances. 03 Sec. 47.45.306. Appeal rights. An individual who receives a determination 04 from the department that denies, limits, or modifies a cash benefit under AS 47.45.301 05 - 47.45.309, other than a determination under AS 47.45.301(c) to reduce or eliminate 06 benefits, may request a hearing before the department under regulations adopted by 07 the department. 08 Sec. 47.45.308. Ability to recover or recoup improper assistance or 09 benefits. An individual is liable to the department for the value of assistance or 10 benefits improperly paid to the individual under AS 47.45.302 or former AS 47.45.310 11 or 47.45.320 if the improper payment was based on inaccurate or incomplete 12 information provided by the individual. In a civil action brought by the state to recover 13 from the individual the value of assistance or benefits improperly paid under 14 AS 47.45.302 or former AS 47.45.310 or 47.45.320, the state may recover from the 15 individual the costs of investigation and prosecution of the civil action, including 16 attorney fees as determined under court rules. 17 Sec. 47.45.309. Definitions. In AS 47.45.301 - 47.45.309, 18 (1) "department" means the Department of Health and Social Services; 19 (2) "eligible individual" means an individual who meets the 20 requirements of AS 47.45.301 - 47.45.309 and regulations adopted under those 21 statutes for eligibility for the program; 22 (3) "family member" means a person who is 23 (A) legally related to an eligible individual through marriage or 24 guardianship; or 25 (B) an eligible individual's sibling, parent, grandparent, son, 26 daughter, grandson, granddaughter, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew, or first cousin; 27 (4) "program" means the senior benefits payment program established 28 in AS 47.45.301 - 47.45.309; 29 (5) "resident" has the meaning given in AS 47.25.430(a). 30 * Sec. 4. AS 09.38.015(a)(11); AS 47.45.301, 47.45.302, 47.45.304, 47.45.306, 47.45.308, 31 and 47.45.309 are repealed June 30, 2011. 01 * Sec. 5. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 02 read: 03 APPLICABILITY: SENIOR BENEFITS PAYMENT PROGRAM. In addition to 04 meeting the eligibility requirements under AS 47.45.302 and 47.45.304, a person may not 05 receive cash assistance under the senior benefits payment program enacted by sec. 3 of this 06 Act if the person is receiving cash assistance or a prescription drug benefit under a separate 07 senior benefit program established by the Department of Health and Social Services under 7 08 AAC 47.575 - 7 AAC 47.590. 09 * Sec. 6. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 10 read: 11 TRANSITION: SENIOR BENEFITS PAYMENTS MADE DURING FISCAL YEAR 12 2008. The provisions of AS 47.45.301(c), enacted by sec. 3 of this Act, and AS 47.45.302(c), 13 enacted by sec. 3 of this Act, do not apply to payments made under AS 47.45.301 - 47.45.309, 14 enacted by sec. 3 of this Act, by the Department of Health and Social Services for the period 15 beginning August 1, 2007, and ending on the effective date of enactment by the Twenty-Fifth 16 Alaska State Legislature of an appropriation bill that makes an allocation under the public 17 assistance appropriation to fund the senior benefits payment program, but not later than 18 June 30, 2008. 19 * Sec. 7. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).