Restrictions on public benefits.

2018
STATE OF WYOMING
18LSO-0121
Numbered
1.2

HOUSE BILL

NO.
HB0115

Restrictions on public benefits.

Sponsored by:
Representative(s) Salazar

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to public benefits; conditioning eligibility for state or local public benefits on lawful presence in the United States; requiring verification of lawful presence in the United States upon application for state or local public benefits; specifying penalties; 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
STATE OR LOCAL
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)

"Lawfully present"
or "lawful presence"
means a natural person who is a
United States citizen or an alien who is eligible for state or local public benefits under 8 U.S.C. § 1621(a);

(ii
i
)

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

42
‑
11
‑
102
.

L
awful presence for
state or local
public benefits; exceptions; penalties.

(a)

A
ny natural person fourteen (14) years of age or older shall be lawfully present in the United States to
receive state or local public benefits
that are administered by an agency or political subdivision of this state
, except as provided in subsection (d) of this section or where exempted by law
.

(b)

On and after July 1, 2018, every agency or political subdivision of the state shall verify the lawful presence in the United States of any natural person fourteen (14) years of age or older who applies for state or local public benefits
for which lawful presence
in the United States is required under subsection (a) of this section
.

(
c
)

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

(
d
)

Verification of lawful presence in the U
nited States under subsection (b
) of this section shall not be required for:

(i)

Obtaining health care items and services that are necessary for the treatment of an emergency
medical condition of the applicant and are not related to an organ transplant procedure;

(ii)

Short
‑
term, noncash, in
‑
kind emergency disaster relief;

(iii
)

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

(
i
v)

Prenatal care;

(v)

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.

(
e
)

An agency or political subdivision of the state may use any of the following to verify that an applicant is lawfully present in the United States as required by this section:

(i)

An affidavit executed by the applicant under penalty of perjury attesting that
the applicant is
:

(A)

A
United States citizen; or

(B)

L
awfully present in the United States.

(ii)

A Wyoming driver's license or a Wyoming identification card;

(iii)

A United States military card or a military dependent's identification card;

(iv)

A United States coast guard merchant mariner card;

(v)

A tribal identification card;

(vi)

A valid United States passport;

(vii)

For the University of Wyoming and Wyoming community colleges, the information provided by an applicant on the free application for federal student aid form.

(f
)

For any applicant who has executed an af
fidavit pursuant to paragraph (e
)(i) 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, the affidavit may be presumed to be proof of lawful presence in the United States for the purposes of this section.

(
g
)

Any person who:

(i)

Intentionally uses false documents to conceal his
true identity
, citizenship or resident alien status to obtain access to public resources or services under this section shall be subject to criminal penalties under W.S. 6
‑
3
‑
615;

(ii)

Knowingly makes a false or fraudulent statement or representation in an affidavit ex
ecuted pursuant to paragraph (e
)(i) of this section shall be subject to criminal penalties under W.S. 6
‑
5
‑
303(a).

(h
)

Any agency or political subdivision of the state that has probable cause to believe an applicant for state or local public benefits has unlawfully represented himself to be a citizen of the United States in violation of 18
U.S.C. § 911 shall file a complaint with the United States attorney for the district in which the application was made.

(
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 state or local public benefits to a person lawfully present in the United States.

Section 2
.

This act is effective July 1, 2018.

(END)

1
HB0115