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LD1996 • 2025

An Act to Clarify Responsibilities of the State in the Laws Governing General Assistance

An Act to Clarify Responsibilities of the State in the Laws Governing General Assistance

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Senator Henry Ingwersen
Last action
2026-04-29
Official status
Died in Possession of the Senate when the Legislature adjourned Sine Die and was PLACED IN THE LEGISLATIVE FILES . (DEAD)
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

An Act to Clarify Responsibilities of the State in the Laws Governing General Assistance

An Act to Clarify Responsibilities of the State in the Laws Governing General Assistance Sponsor: Senator Henry Ingwersen Reference committee: Health and Human Services Latest committee action: Reported Out; OTP-AM

What This Bill Does

  • An Act to Clarify Responsibilities of the State in the Laws Governing General Assistance Sponsor: Senator Henry Ingwersen Reference committee: Health and Human Services Latest committee action: Reported Out; OTP-AM

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

Adopted by House & Senate

Plain English: Page 1 - 132LR2801(02) COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 1 L.D.

  • Page 1 - 132LR2801(02) COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 1 L.D.
  • 1996 2 Date: (Filing No.
  • S- ) 3HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 4 Reproduced and distributed under the direction of the Secretary of the Senate.
  • 5STATE OF MAINE 6SENATE 7132ND LEGISLATURE 8SECOND REGULAR SESSION 9 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT “ ” to S.P.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-29 Senate

    Died in Possession of the Senate when the Legislature adjourned Sine Die and was PLACED IN THE LEGISLATIVE FILES . (DEAD)

  2. 2026-03-24 House

    PASSED TO BE ENACTED . Sent for concurrence. ORDERED SENT FORTHWITH.

  3. 2026-03-16 Committee

    Reported Out; OTP-AM

  4. 2026-02-19 Committee

    Work Session Held

  5. 2026-02-19 Committee

    Voted; OTP-AM

  6. 2025-12-03 Committee

    Referred to Committee on Health and Human Services.

Official Summary Text

An Act to Clarify Responsibilities of the State in the Laws Governing General Assistance
Sponsor:
Senator Henry Ingwersen
Reference committee:
Health and Human Services
Latest committee action:
Reported Out; OTP-AM

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
Printed on recycled paper
132nd MAINE LEGISLATURE
SECOND REGULAR SESSION-2026
Legislative Document No. 1996
S.P. 809 In Senate, December 5, 2025
An Act to Clarify Responsibilities of the State in the Laws
Governing General Assistance
Submitted by the Department of Health and Human Services pursuant to Joint Rule 203.
Received by the Secretary of the Senate on December 3, 2025. Referred to the Committee
on Health and Human Services pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator INGWERSEN of York.

Page 1 - 132LR2801(01)
1Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
2Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §4323, sub-§6, as enacted by PL 2023, c. 575, §6, is repealed.
3Sec. 2. 22 MRSA §4327, first ¶, as enacted by PL 2023, c. 575, §7, is amended to
4 read:
5 The department shall use municipal reports, data from the statewide online database
6 required under section 4323, subsection 6 and other metrics to generate a general assistance
7 report to be submitted to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction
8 over general assistance matters no later than January 30, 2026 and no later than January
9 30th of each odd-numbered calendar year thereafter. The initial report must include
10 recommendations regarding a potential extension of the general assistance eligibility period
11 beyond the 30-day limit established in section 4310, subsection 4. All reports must include
12 metrics for: the number of individuals and families who received funds; the basic
13 necessities for which those funds were provided; the length of time those funds were
14 received; which municipalities accessed technical assistance and the number of times that
15 technical assistance was requested, including instances outside of normal business hours;
16 the type of technical assistance municipalities required; the number of calls to the
17 department's general assistance hotline; and the number and content of complaints received
18 and additional metrics as determined necessary by the department. The report must also
19 include data illustrating municipal poverty levels, or regional or county poverty data when
20 municipal-level poverty data is unavailable, and data regarding the use of other public
21 benefit programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the
22 Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program in each municipality.
23SUMMARY
24 This bill removes the requirement that the Department of Health and Human Services,
25 beginning July 1, 2025, provide overseers of each municipality's general assistance
26 program access to an Internet-based, real-time database containing the information
27 necessary to properly determine eligibility of an applicant for general assistance. The bill
28 also updates certain reporting requirements for the department.
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