PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 1768
PRINTER'S NO. 2453
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
1322
Session of
2015
INTRODUCED BY KAUFER, KNOWLES, ROZZI, McGINNIS, CUTLER, BAKER,
BLOOM, ENGLISH, MILLARD, KAUFFMAN, TOOHIL, DIAMOND, TOEPEL,
ACOSTA, PICKETT, MURT, HICKERNELL, WARD, GROVE, FEE, MILNE,
SAYLOR, HEFFLEY, A. HARRIS, KLUNK, D. COSTA, JOZWIAK, COX,
DAVIS, BOBACK, RADER, WARNER, SIMMONS, KRIEGER, PASHINSKI,
GABLER, GILLEN, SCHLEGEL CULVER, MULLERY, IRVIN, WHITE,
DeLUCA AND BURNS, JUNE 10, 2015
AS REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
AS AMENDED, OCTOBER 26, 2015
AN ACT
Amending the act of June 13, 1967 (P.L.31, No.21), entitled "An
act to consolidate, editorially revise, and codify the public
welfare laws of the Commonwealth," in public assistance,
further providing for identification and proof of residence.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 432.4 of the act of June 13, 1967
(P.L.31, No.21), known as the Public Welfare Code, amended June
16, 1994 (P.L.319, No.49) and May 16, 1996 (P.L.175, No.35), is
amended to read:
Section 432.4. Identification and Proof of Residence.--(a)
All persons applying for assistance shall provide acceptable
identification and proof of residence[; the department shall by
regulations specify what constitutes acceptable identification
and proof of residence]. A person shall be deemed to be a
resident when he or she documents his or her residency and that
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residency is verified by the department. Verification may
include, but is not limited to the production of rent receipts,
mortgage payment receipts, utility receipts, bank accounts or
enrollment of children in local schools. General assistance
applicants must establish that they have been residents of the
Commonwealth for at least twelve months immediately preceding
their application[.] and they are not receiving assistance from
any other state. General assistance applicants shall disclose,
in their application, all states in which they have resided in
the last five years and in which they have collected a form of
public assistance IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS . The provisions of this
subsection shall not apply to General Assistance applicants who
can establish that they moved to this Commonwealth to escape an
abusive living situation. The department shall adopt rules
governing the proof required to establish that the applicant has
moved to this Commonwealth to escape an abusive living
situation.
(a.1) When a general assistance applicant provides
information that the applicant has collected a form of public
assistance in another state, the Commonwealth shall notify the
other state of the change in residency of the applicant.
(b) For the purpose of determining eligibility for
assistance, the continued absence of a recipient from the
Commonwealth for a period of thirty days or longer shall be
prima facie evidence of the intent of the recipient to have
changed his residence to a place outside the Commonwealth.
(c) If a recipient is prevented by illness or other good
cause from returning to the Commonwealth at the end of thirty
days, and has not acted to establish residence elsewhere, he
shall not be deemed to have lost his residence in the
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Commonwealth.
(d) When a recipient of aid to families with dependent
children or general assistance is absent from the United States
for a period in excess of thirty days, his aid shall thereafter
be suspended whenever need cannot be determined for the ensuing
period of his absence.
(e) Beginning no later than September 1, 1994, the
department shall collect information on all general assistance
applicants to determine how long they have been residents of
this Commonwealth. The department shall report its findings to
the Governor and the General Assembly no later than December 31,
1995. Based on its findings, the department may make
recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly on
changes to the residency requirement for general assistance
recipients.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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