Restrictions on public benefits.

2017
STATE OF WYOMING
17LSO-0312
Introduced
1.4

HOUSE BILL

NO.

HB0207

Restrictions on public benefits.

Sponsored by:
Representative(s) Jennings, Biteman, Blackburn, Clem, Court, Edwards, Gray, Halverson, Lone, Madden, McKim, Miller, Pownall, Salazar, Steinmetz and Winters and Senator(s) Dockstader and Meier

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to public benefits; conditioning eligibility for public benefits on lawful presence in the United States; requiring verification of lawful presence in the United States upon application for public benefits; providing a penalty; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1
.

W.S.
42
‑
11
‑
101 and 42
‑
11
‑
102
are
created to read:

CHAPTER
11
RESTRICTIONS ON PUBLIC BENEFITS

42
‑
11
‑
101
.

Definitions.

(a)

As used in this chapter:

(i)

"Emergency medical condition" means as defined in 42 U.S.C. §
1396b(
v)(3);

(ii)

"Federal public benefit" means as defined in 8 U.S.C. § 1611
(c)
;

(iii)

"State or local public benefit" means as defined in 8 U.S.C. § 1621
(c)
.

42
‑
11
‑
102
.

Lawful presence required for public benefits; verification; exceptions; reporting.

(a)

Except as otherwise provided in subsection (e) of this section or where exempted by federal law, any natural person fourteen (14) years of age or older shall be lawfully present in the United States to receive state or
local public benefits or federal public benefits that are administered by this state.

(b)

No agency or political subdivision of the state shall provide any state or local public benefit or federal public benefit to an applicant whose lawful presence in the United States has not been verified if required pursuant to this chapter.

(c)

Each agency or political subdivision of the state shall verify the lawful presence in the United States of each natural person fourteen (14) years of age or older who applies for state or local public benefits or for federal public benefits that are administered by an agency or political subdivision of this state for which lawful presence in the United States is required by law, ordinance or rule.

(d)

This chapter shall be enforced without regard to race, religion, gender, ethnicity or national origin.

(e)

Lawful presence in the United States and verification thereof shall not be required:

(i)

For obtaining health care items and services that are necessary for the treatment of an emergency medical condition of the person involved and are not related to an organ transplant procedure;

(ii)

For short
‑
term, noncash, in
‑
kind emergency disaster relief;

(iii)

For public health assistance for immunizations with respect to diseases and for testing and treatment of symptoms of communicable diseases whether or not such symptoms are caused by a communicable disease;

(iv)

For
prenatal care;

(v)

For programs, services or assistance such as soup kitchens, crisis counseling and intervention and short
‑
term shelters that:

(A)

Deliver in
‑
kind services at the community level, including services through public or nonprofit agencies;

(B)

Do not condition the provision of assistance, the amount of assistance provided or the costs of assistance provided on the individual recipient's income or resources; and

(C)

Are necessary for the protection of life or safety.

(v
i
)

For the purpose of
receiving any other
state or local
public benefit
or federal public benefit
for which lawful presence in the United States is not required by law, ordinance or rule.

(f)

Except as provided under subsection (k) of this section, for
verification of the lawful presence of an applicant in the United States, the agency or political subdivision required to make such verification shall
require the applicant
to
execute a
n

affidavit under penalty of perjury that:

(i)

The applicant
is a United States citizen; or

(ii)

The applicant
is a qualified alien under the federal Immigration and Nationality Act and is lawfully present in the United States.

(g)

For any applicant who has executed an affidavit pursuant to paragraph (f
)(
ii) of this section,
the veracity of the applicant's affidavit
shall be determined through the systematic alien verification of entitlement program operated by the
United States
department of homeland security or a successor program designated by the
United States
department of homeland security. Until such verification is made, an affidavit executed pursuant to subsection (f) of this section may be presumed to be proof of lawful presence in the United States for the purposes of this section.

(h)

Any person who knowingly makes a false or fraudulent statement
or
representation in an affidavit executed pursuant to subsection (f) of this section shall be subject to criminal penalties under W.S. 6
‑
5
‑
303(
a). If the affidavit constitutes a false claim of United States citizenship under 18 U.S.C. § 911, a complaint shall be filed by the agency or political subdivision
that
required the affidavit with the
United States
attorney for the district in which the affidavit was executed.

(j)

Errors and significant delay by the federal systematic alien verification of entitlement program shall be reported to the United States department of homeland security and to the United States secretary of state to ensure that the application of the federal systematic alien verification of entitlement program is not wrongfully denying benefits to legal residents of this state.

(k)

In lieu of the affidavit required under subsection (f) of this section, the University of Wyoming and Wyoming community colleges may accept information provided by an applicant on the free application for
federal student aid form to verify the applicant's lawful presence in the United States.

Section

2
.

This
act is effective July 1,
201
7
.

(END)

1
HB0207