Maine Revised Statutes
Chapter 1161: MUNICIPAL GENERAL ASSISTANCE
22 §4311. State reimbursement to municipalities; reports

§4311. State reimbursement to municipalities; reports
1. Departmental reimbursement. When a municipality incurs net general assistance costs in any fiscal year prior to July 1, 2015 in excess of .0003 of that municipality's most recent state valuation relative to the state fiscal year for which reimbursement is being issued, as determined by the State Tax Assessor in the statement filed as provided in Title 36, section 381, the Department of Health and Human Services shall reimburse the municipality for 90% of the amount in excess of these expenditures when the department finds that the municipality has been in compliance with all requirements of this chapter. If a municipality elects to determine need without consideration of funds distributed from any municipally-controlled trust fund that must otherwise be considered for purposes of this chapter, the department shall reimburse the municipality for 66 2/3% of the amount in excess of such expenditures when the department finds that the municipality has otherwise been in compliance with all requirements of this chapter.
The department shall reimburse each municipality and each Indian tribe 70% of the direct costs incurred by that municipality or tribe on or after July 1, 2015 for the general assistance program granted by that municipality or tribe. For the purposes of this subsection, "Indian tribe" has the same meaning as in section 411, subsection 8‑A.
[PL 2015, c. 267, Pt. SSSS, §1 (AMD).]
1-A. Municipalities reimbursed. When a municipality pays for expenses approved pursuant to section 4313 for hospital inpatient or outpatient care at any hospital on behalf of any person who is otherwise eligible and who would have been entitled to receive payments for hospital care if that care had been rendered prior to May 1, 1984, for services under the Catastrophic Illness Program, section 3185, the department shall reimburse the municipality for 100% of those payments.
[PL 1995, c. 696, Pt. A, §39 (AMD).]
1-B. Reimbursement for administrative expenses. The department shall reimburse each municipality for the costs of a portion of the direct costs of paying benefits incurred prior to July 1, 2015 through its general assistance program if the department finds that the municipality was in compliance with all requirements of this chapter during the fiscal year for which reimbursement is sought. The amount of reimbursement to each municipality must be an amount equal to:
A. Fifty percent of all general assistance granted by that municipality below the .0003% of all state valuation amount; or [PL 1991, c. 9, Pt. U, §8 (AMD).]
B. Ten percent of all general assistance granted. [PL 1991, c. 9, Pt. U, §8 (AMD).]
Each municipality shall elect to be reimbursed under paragraph A or B at the beginning of the fiscal year for which reimbursement is sought.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, this subsection takes effect on July 1, 1989.
[PL 2015, c. 267, Pt. SSSS, §1 (AMD).]
1-C. Indian tribe reimbursement. The department shall reimburse each Indian tribe for the costs of a portion of the direct costs of paying benefits through its general assistance program if the department finds that the Indian tribe was in compliance with all requirements of this chapter during the fiscal year for which those benefits are sought.
The amount of reimbursement must be calculated for each fiscal year by adding 10% of all general assistance granted up to the threshold amount to 100% of all general assistance granted above the threshold amount.
For the purposes of this subsection, "Indian tribe" has the same meaning as in section 411, subsection 8‑A. For purposes of this subsection, "threshold amount" means 0.0003 of the Indian tribe’s most recent state valuation, as determined by the State Tax Assessor in the statement filed as provided in Title 36, section 381, relative to the year for which reimbursement is being issued.
[PL 2013, c. 368, Pt. OO, §10 (NEW).]
2. Submission of reports. Each municipality shall report on a schedule determined by the department through rulemaking the direct cost of paying benefits through the general assistance program on forms for reimbursement provided by the department.
A. [PL 2015, c. 267, Pt. SSSS, §1 (RP).]
B. [PL 2015, c. 267, Pt. SSSS, §1 (RP).]
Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A.
[PL 2015, c. 267, Pt. SSSS, §1 (AMD).]
3. Claims. The Department of Health and Human Services may refuse to accept and pay any claim for reimbursement that is not submitted by a municipality to the department within 90 days of the payment on which that claim is based or at the end of the reporting period for which reimbursement is sought unless just cause exists for failure to file a timely claim.
[PL 1991, c. 9, Pt. U, §10 (AMD); PL 2003, c. 689, Pt. B, §6 (REV).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 1983, c. 577, §1 (NEW). PL 1983, c. 824, §X4 (AMD). PL 1985, c. 567 (AMD). PL 1987, c. 833 (AMD). PL 1991, c. 9, §§U8-10 (AMD). PL 1993, c. 410, §AAA7 (AMD). PL 1995, c. 696, §A39 (AMD). PL 2003, c. 689, §B6 (REV). PL 2013, c. 368, Pt. OO, §§10, 11 (AMD). PL 2015, c. 267, Pt. SSSS, §1 (AMD).