Revision: March 21, 2013, midnight
HB 481-FN – AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
20Mar2013… 0778h
2013 SESSION
05/01
HOUSE BILL 481-FN
AN ACT limiting the state’s authority to seek reimbursement for public assistance.
SPONSORS: Rep. Hackel, Hills 29
COMMITTEE: Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs
This bill removes the state’s ability under RSA 167:2 to recover public assistance from the recipient’s child and stepparent and limits parental liability to children under the age of 18 or for so long as the department of health and human services is mandated to recover support under Title IV of the Social Security Act. The bill also revises RSA 546-A, relative to civil liability for support, by removing a child’s obligation to support his or her parents and limiting a parent’s liability to support his or her children.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
20Mar2013… 0778h
13-0763
05/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Thirteen
AN ACT limiting the state’s authority to seek reimbursement for public assistance.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Public Assistance to Blind, Aged, or Disabled Persons, and to Dependent Children; Liability for Support. Amend RSA 167:2 to read as follows:
167:2 Liability for Support; Recovery. Assistance rendered under this chapter or RSA 161 to anyone having a father, mother, [stepfather, stepmother, son, daughter,] husband or wife, whose weekly income or other resources are more than sufficient to provide a reasonable subsistence compatible with decency and health, may be recovered in an appropriate proceeding in the superior court brought by the commissioner of health and human services, in the name of the state, from either a father, mother, [stepfather, stepmother, son, daughter,] husband, or wife, who are declared jointly and severally liable for such assistance. A parent may be liable under this section only for assistance provided to a child under the age of 18, or for so long as the department of health and human services is mandated to recover support under Title IV of the Social Security Act. Such action shall be brought by the attorney general or the county attorney for the county in which any such relative resides when so requested by the commissioner of health and human services. Nothing in this section shall affect assistance eligibility or the amount of services that an applicant or recipient may be eligible for.
2 Uniform Civil Liability for Support; Liability. Amend RSA 546-A:2 to read as follows:
546-A:2 Liability. Every person whose income or other resources are more than sufficient to provide for his or her reasonable subsistence compatible with decency or health owes a duty to support or contribute to the support of the following persons when in need: his or her wife, husband, or child[, father or mother when in need] under the age of 18 or for so long as the department of health and human services is mandated to recover support for the child under Title IV of the Social Security Act.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2014.
LBAO
13-0763
Revised 02/04/13
HB 481 FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT limiting the state’s authority to seek reimbursement for public assistance.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Health and Human Services states this bill, as introduced, will decrease state revenue by $37,556 in FY 2014, and by $75,112 in FY 2015 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on state, county or local expenditures, or county and local revenue.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Health and Human Services states this bill would remove son, daughter, stepfather, and stepmother from the list of relatives that are potentially liable to provide support to an individual requesting or receiving public assistance. In addition, the bill adds provisions which limit the liability of parents to only the assistance provided to children under the age of 18. The Department indicates the bill also removes father and mother from the list of relatives in need that individuals are liable to provide support for. The Department states:
• The Financial Assistance to Needy Families (FANF) program provides financial assistance to eligible dependent children. The dependent child must be under the age of 18 or be under the age of 20 and be a full-time student in high school or a high school equivalency program. Parents are liable to provide support to dependent children, regardless of age, if they are receiving FANF benefits. In December 2012, there were 8 families with older children receiving FANF. There were a total of 4 adults and 12 children. One child was receiving child support of $258 per month.
• The proposed changes would not impact the recovery of medical assistance costs because there is no recovery from the estates of individuals who were under 55 at the time of assistance.
• The removal of son or daughter from the list of relatives who are liable to provide support may have a very minor impact on the Old Age Assistance (OAA), Aid to Permanently and Totally Disabled (APTD, or Aid to the Needy Blind (ANB) programs since it is quite rare for a son or daughter to be required to support a parent.
• The proposed legislation does not affect how FANF eligibility determinations are made because stepparents are included in as part of the household.
• The Division of Child Support is currently enforcing 27 cases with dependents between the ages of 18 and 20 where the child support obligation is assigned to the state because of current public assistance. The annual amount of support assigned to the state in these cases is $75,112. The Department assumes this amount does not vary significantly from year to year and under the proposed legislation would no longer be recovered by the state. Since the bill is effective on January 1, 2014, the Department assumes the decrease in revenue in FY 2014 would equal one-half of the annual amount or $37,556.