An Act to Help Child Care Providers by Requiring Recipients of Benefits to Pay the Difference Between the Amount Reimbursed and the Amount Charged

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132nd MAINE LEGISLATURE
FIRST REGULAR SESSION-2025
Legislative Document No. 346
H.P. 246 House of Representatives, February 3, 2025
An Act to Help Child Care Providers by Requiring Recipients of
Benefits to Pay the Difference Between the Amount Reimbursed and
the Amount Charged
Received by the Clerk of the House on January 30, 2025. Referred to the Committee on
Health and Human Services pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint
Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative MILLIKEN of Blue Hill.
Cosponsored by Representatives: CLUCHEY of Bowdoinham, CRAFTS of Newcastle,
HASENFUS of Readfield, JULIA of Waterville, LEE of Auburn.

Page 1 - 132LR0389(01)
1Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
2Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §3737, sub-§6 is enacted to read:
36. Cost differential payment. A provider of child care services under this chapter
4 may require the recipient of a child care subsidy provided by the department to pay the
5 difference between the amount of the subsidy provided by the department and the amount
6 charged by the provider of child care services.
7Sec. 2. 22 MRSA §3762, sub-§3, ¶B, as amended by PL 2023, c. 29, §§1 and 2, is
8 further amended by amending subparagraph (9), division (c) to read:
9 (c) If an ASPIRE-TANF recipient does not respond or notifies the department
10 of the choice to have the child care assistance paid directly to the child care
11 provider from the total benefit package, the department shall pay the child care
12 assistance directly to the designated child care provider for the recipient. The
13 department shall pay the balance of the total benefit package to the recipient; .
14Sec. 3. 22 MRSA §3762, sub-§3, ¶B, as amended by PL 2023, c. 29, §§1 and 2, is
15 amended by enacting a new subparagraph (9), division (d) to read:
16 (d) An ASPIRE-TANF recipient may be required to pay the difference
17 between the total benefit package for child care assistance and the amount
18 charged by a designated child care provider for child care services;
19Sec. 4. 22 MRSA §3782-A, sub-§5, ¶C is enacted to read:
20 C. An ASPIRE-TANF program participant may be required to pay the difference
21 between the total benefit package for child care assistance provided by the department
22 and the amount charged by a designated child care provider for child care services.
23SUMMARY
24 This bill allows a provider of child care services receiving a child care subsidy to
25 require the recipient of the subsidy provided by the Department of Health and Human
26 Services to pay the difference between the amount of the subsidy and the amount charged
27 by the provider. It also allows recipients of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families,
28 or TANF, program or participants in the Additional Support for People in Retraining and
29 Employment - Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or ASPIRE-TANF, program
30 who are receiving child care assistance to pay the difference between the amount of the
31 total benefit package for child care assistance provided and the amount charged by the child
32 care provider.
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