PRINTER'S NO. 1436
No. 1248 Session of 1989
INTRODUCED BY RICHARDSON, PISTELLA, LINTON, CAWLEY, ACOSTA, BISHOP, CARN, EVANS, HARPER, HUGHES, JAMES, OLIVER, PRESTON, ROEBUCK, THOMAS, WILLIAMS, R. C. WRIGHT, DALEY AND DOMBROWSKI, APRIL 19, 1989
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND WELFARE, APRIL 19, 1989
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of June 13, 1967 (P.L.31, No.21), entitled "An
2 act to consolidate, editorially revise, and codify the public
3 welfare laws of the Commonwealth," making an editorial change
4 in relation to certain aliens.
5 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
6 hereby enacts as follows:
7 Section 1. Section 432(3) of the act of June 13, 1967
8 (P.L.31, No.21), known as the Public Welfare Code, amended April
9 8, 1982 (P.L.231, No.75), is amended to read:
10 Section 432. Eligibility.--Except as hereinafter otherwise
11 provided, and subject to the rules, regulations, and standards
12 established by the department, both as to eligibility for
13 assistance and as to its nature and extent, needy persons of the
14 classes defined in clauses (1), (2), and (3) shall be eligible
15 for assistance:
16 * * *
17 (3) Other persons who are citizens of the United States, or
18 [legally] lawfully admitted aliens and who are chronically needy
1 or transitionally needy persons. 2 (i) Chronically needy persons are those persons chronically 3 in need who may be eligible for an indeterminate period as a 4 result of medical, social or related circumstances and shall be 5 limited to: 6 (A) A child who is under age eighteen or who is attending a 7 secondary or equivalent vocational or technical school full-time 8 and may reasonably be expected to complete the program before 9 reaching age nineteen. 10 (B) A person who is over forty-five years of age. 11 (C) A person who has a serious physical or mental handicap 12 which prevents him or her from working in any substantial 13 gainful activity as determined in accordance with standards 14 established by the department. The department may require that 15 documentation of disability be submitted from a physician or 16 psychologist. The department may also order at the department's 17 expense a person to submit to an independent examination as a 18 condition of receiving assistance under this clause. The 19 department shall determine eligibility within thirty days from 20 the date of application. Persons discharged from mental 21 institutions shall be classified as chronically needy in 22 accordance with department regulations. 23 (D) A person who is a caretaker. This category of persons 24 shall include persons whose presence is required in the home to 25 care for another person as determined in accordance with 26 department regulations. 27 (E) A person suffering from drug or alcohol abuse who is 28 currently undergoing active treatment in an approved program. No 29 individual shall qualify as chronically needy under this clause 30 for more than nine months. 19890H1248B1436 - 2 -
1 (F) A person who is employed full-time and who does not have 2 earnings in excess of current grant levels. 3 (G) Any person who is ineligible for unemployment 4 compensation and whose income falls below the assistance 5 allowance level as a result of a natural disaster as determined 6 by the department. 7 (H) Any person who has previously been employed full time 8 for at least forty-eight months out of the previous eight years 9 and has exhausted his or her unemployment compensation benefits 10 prior to applying for assistance. 11 (I) Any person who does not otherwise qualify as chronically 12 needy, and who is receiving general assistance on the date this 13 section is enacted into law and who has not refused a bona fide 14 job offer or otherwise failed to comply with all employment 15 requirements of this act and regulations promulgated thereunder. 16 Such person must comply with all employment requirements of this 17 act and regulations promulgated thereunder. If after the date 18 this section is enacted into law a person's general assistance 19 grants are terminated, then that person may not subsequently 20 qualify for general assistance under this clause except when 21 such person has been terminated from employment through no fault 22 of his own and has not met the minimum credit week 23 qualifications of the act of December 5, 1936 (2nd Sp.Sess., 24 1937 P.L.2897, No.1), known as the "Unemployment Compensation 25 Law." If it is determined that the classification of persons 26 according to their status on the date of enactment as provided 27 in this clause is invalid, then the remainder of this act shall 28 be given full force and effect as if this clause had been 29 omitted from this act, and individuals defined in this clause 30 shall be considered transitionally needy if otherwise eligible. 19890H1248B1436 - 3 -
1 No person shall qualify for general assistance under this clause 2 after December 31, 1982. 3 (ii) Assistance for chronically needy persons shall continue 4 as long as the person remains eligible. Redeterminations shall 5 be conducted on at least an annual basis and persons capable of 6 work, even though otherwise eligible for assistance to the 7 chronically needy, would be required to register for employment 8 and accept employment if offered as a condition of eligibility 9 except as otherwise exempt under section 405.1. 10 (iii) Transitionally needy persons are those persons who are 11 otherwise eligible for general assistance but do not qualify as 12 chronically needy. Assistance for transitionally needy persons 13 shall be authorized only once in any twelve-month period in an 14 amount not to exceed the amount of ninety days' assistance. 15 * * * 16 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days. A30L67DGS/19890H1248B1436 - 4 -