HB 453-FN-LOCAL – AS INTRODUCED
2011 SESSION
05/01
HOUSE BILL 453-FN-LOCAL
AN ACT making persons fleeing to avoid prosecution or custody or violating parole or probation ineligible to receive certain disability aid.
SPONSORS: Rep. Cebrowski, Hills 18; Rep. Kotowski, Merr 9; Rep. Seidel, Hills 20; Rep. Case, Rock 1; Rep. Merrick, Coos 2
COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
This bill makes persons fleeing to avoid prosecution or custody or violating parole or probation ineligible to receive cash assistance benefits under the aid to the needy blind, aid to the permanently and totally disabled, and old age assistance programs.
The bill is a request of the department of health and human services.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
11-0231
05/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eleven
AN ACT making persons fleeing to avoid prosecution or custody or violating parole or probation ineligible to receive certain disability aid.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Paragraph; Public Assistance Eligibility. Amend RSA 167:6 by inserting after paragraph IX the following new paragraph:
X.(a) For purposes hereof, an individual is ineligible for cash assistance benefits under the aid to the needy blind, aid to the permanently and totally disabled, and old age assistance programs for any month during which he or she is:
(1) Fleeing to avoid prosecution for a crime which is a felony under the laws of the place from which the individual flees, or which, in the case of the state of New Jersey, is a high misdemeanor under the laws of that state; or
(2) Fleeing to avoid custody or confinement after conviction for a crime, or an attempt to commit a crime, which is a felony under the laws of the place from which the individual flees, or which, in the case of the state of New Jersey, is a high misdemeanor under the laws of that state; or
(3) Violating any condition of probation or parole imposed under federal or state law.
(b) Suspension of benefit payments because an individual is a fugitive as described in subparagraph (a)(1) or (a)(2) or a probation or parole violator as described in subparagraph (a)(3) is effective on the first day of whichever of the following months is earlier:
(1) The month in which a warrant or order for the individual’s arrest or apprehension, an order requiring the individual’s appearance before a court or other appropriate tribunal, such as a parole board, or a similar order is issued by a court or other duly authorized tribunal on the basis of an appropriate finding that the individual:
(A) Is fleeing, or has fled, to avoid prosecution as described in subparagraph (a)(1);
(B) Is fleeing, or has fled, to avoid custody or confinement after conviction as described in subparagraph (a)(2);
(C) Is violating, or has violated, a condition of his or her probation or parole as described in subparagraph (a)(3); or
(D) The first month during which the individual fled to avoid such prosecution, fled to avoid such custody or confinement after conviction, or violated a condition of his or her probation or parole, if indicated in such warrant or order, or in a decision by a court or other appropriate tribunal.
(2) If benefits are otherwise payable, they shall be resumed effective on the first month throughout which the individual is determined to be no longer fleeing to avoid such prosecution, fleeing to avoid such custody or confinement after conviction, or violating a condition of his or her probation or parole.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2012.
LBAO
11-0231
Revised 01/26/11
HB 453 FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT making persons fleeing to avoid prosecution or custody or violating parole or probation ineligible to receive certain disability aid.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Health and Human Services states this bill will have an indeterminable fiscal impact on state, county and local expenditures in FY 2012 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on state, county, or local revenues.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department stated this bill would bring the policy for State Supplemental Payment programs (SSP) into alignment with the Financial Assistance to Needy Families (FANF) policy by prohibiting fugitive felons and violators of probation or parole from receiving cash assistance under Aid to Permanently and Totally Disabled (APTD), Aid to the Needy Blind (ANB), or Old Age Assistance (OAA). The Department’s Supplemental Security Income Facilitation Unit found 10 recipients of APTD who were not eligible to receive federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) because they are fugitive felons or have violated their probation or parole. The Department assumed the Unit located all current recipients who would be ineligible for SSP. Nine of the individuals receive a monthly benefit of $688 and one receives a monthly benefit of $542 for a monthly cost of $6,734 to the state general fund. The Department is not able to determine the exact amount but, based on current cases and assumptions, potential savings could equal $81,000 per year. The Department stated there could be a cost to local welfare offices for individuals who are not employed and no longer receiving cash assistance. In addition, there is a potential for additional costs to the counties if a nursing home resident were to lose cash assistance.