Further Amendment #412.1 to H3400

Dempsey Further Amendment

[Sponsors] Mr. Dempsey of Haverhill moves to further amend amendment 412 of H. 3400 by striking out the amendment in its entirety and inserting in place thereof the following amendment:-

Mr. Dempsey of Haverhill moves to amend H. 3400 by adding the following sections:-

SECTION . (a) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the MassHealth program within the executive office of health and human services shall: (i) continue to implement the state option provided by section 1902(ee) of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. section 1396a(ee), to verify the citizenship or nationality of individuals declaring to be United States citizens or nationals; and (ii) register for the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE system, to verify the immigration status of applicants presenting an alien admission number or alien file number.

Consistent with federal and state law and notwithstanding (a)(ii) of this section, the registration of the MassHealth program for the SAVE system may be incorporated into a system for the executive office of health and human services and all agencies organized therein, to determine common eligibility standards for applicants, provided that such system shall include registration for the SAVE system. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the development of a system of common eligibility standards that includes additional agencies outside the executive office of health and human services, provided that such system shall include registration for the SAVE system.

(b) Annually, on or before February 1, or as further developments warrant, the executive office of health and human services or the executive office of administration and finance shall report to the senate and house committees on ways and means the status of efforts to implement a system to determine common eligibility standards for applicants.

(c) Annually, on or before February 1, the executive office of health and human services shall report to the senate and house committees on ways and means and the executive office for administration and finance the amount of money recovered from recipients, providers or other vendors who fraudulently received benefits or payments under chapter 118E of the General Laws.

SECTION . Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, to prevent fraud and misuse of public assistance benefits, the department of transitional assistance shall continue to:

(1) consistent with federal and state law, require all applicants for benefits to declare in writing under penalty of perjury whether the individual is a citizen of the United States and if not whether the individual meets applicable immigration status requirements; provided, however, that noncitizens shall be required to provide documentation from the United States Department of Homeland Security or such other documents as the department determines constitutes reasonable evidence of required immigration status; provided further, that consistent with federal and state law, the state shall provide a reasonable opportunity to submit evidence of required immigration status and will not delay, deny, reduce or terminate benefits on the basis of immigration status until such verification is provided; provided further, that the department of transitional assistance shall use the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements or SAVE system to verify the immigration status of any noncitizen whose documentation includes an alien registration number to determine whether the individual meets noncitizen requirements for benefit eligibility purposes and shall verify the social security number of each individual seeking benefits, citizens as well as noncitizens, in accordance with procedures established by the Social Security Administration;

(2) implement data matching with the department of revenue, the department of children and families, the division of unemployment assistance and any other relevant state agencies to verify financial and categorical eligibility criteria;

(3) cooperate fully with the food and nutrition service of the United States Department of Agriculture in pursuing and prosecuting vendor fraud;

(4) refer all credible reports of fraud received from its fraud hotline or any other source to the bureau of special investigations for investigation in accordance with protocols for prioritizing cases;

(5) pursue, to the fullest extent possible, consistent with protocols for prioritizing cases, administrative disqualification penalties for instances of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and cash assistance fraud; and

(6) report annually to the senate and house committees on ways and means and the executive office for administration and finance the amount of money recovered by the department from those who received benefits fraudulently and the number of recipients who were issued partial or lifetime disqualifications.

SECTION . Consistent with federal and state law, and to prevent fraud and misuse of unemployment benefits, the division of unemployment assistance shall continue to:

(1) maintain interagency agreements with the United States Social Security Administration and the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service within the Department of Homeland Security to utilize a primary verification system to determine citizenship or work authorization at the time of new claim filings through the SAVE system;

(2) require noncitizen claimants to provide their alien registration number; provided, however, that the division of unemployment assistance shall verify claimant information and alien registration number with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service within the Department of Homeland Security;

(3) require noncitizen claimants who cannot provide an alien registration number during the new claim process to send copies of any official documents they have that authorize them to work in the United States to the division of unemployment assistance;

(4) institute a secondary verification process for claims for which a non-citizen does not have an alien registration number or if primary verification does not establish satisfactory status, using division staff to review the documents and transmit pertinent information from the documents for verification with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service within the Department of Homeland Security;

(5) flag expiration dates of work authorizations or in the unemployment insurance system if such dates exist; and

(6) report annually to the senate and house committees on ways and means and the executive office for administration and finance the amount of money recovered by the division of unemployment assistance from those who received benefits fraudulently as well as the numbers of recipients who were issued disqualifications.

SECTION . (a) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, an applicant for the MassGrant program administered by the department of higher education office of grant assistance shall complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or other federal student loan program that verifies both financial and citizenship eligibility.

(b) The secretary of education shall continue to report annually to the senate and house committees on ways and means and the executive office for administration and finance the amount of money recovered by the department of education from those who received assistance fraudulently and the number of recipients who were issued partial or lifetime disqualifications.

SECTION . (a)(1) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the department of housing and economic development shall continue to direct local housing authorities to:

(i) require an applicant to provide the local housing authority with access to reliable and reasonably obtainable documentation verifying the accuracy of information provided by an applicant on an application form or otherwise necessary at the time of determining final eligibility and qualification; provided, however, that income of applicants shall be verified by the procedure set forth in paragraph (2); provided further, that if the local housing authority has verified any information when making a preliminary determination of eligibility for the applicant, the local housing authority shall reverify that information on its final determination of eligibility and qualification; and provided further, that nonreceipt of requested documentation, without good cause established by the applicant, shall be cause for determining that the applicant is unqualified;

(ii) require an applicant to provide the names and current addresses of all landlords or housing providers for the applicant and the applicant’s household members during the 5 years immediately preceding the application to the date of the final determination; provided, however, that if after request the local housing authority has failed to receive a reference from a landlord or a housing provider, it shall notify the applicant of nonreceipt and the local housing authority shall request that the applicant use his best efforts to cause his landlord or housing provider to submit the reference to the local housing authority; provided further, that in the event that the applicant uses his best efforts but is unsuccessful, the applicant shall cooperate with the local housing authority in securing information from other sources relative to the tenancy; and provided further, that nonreceipt of a reference from a landlord or housing provider shall be cause for determining an applicant unqualified unless the applicant can show that he has used best efforts to secure the reference and that he has complied with reasonable requests for cooperation in securing other information;

(iii) obtain criminal offender record information for each applicant and, if necessary, check public records, credit reports, other sources of public information and other reliable sources; provided, however, that the local housing authority may conduct a home visit, which shall be scheduled reasonably in advance; and provided further, that observations by the person making such a visit shall be promptly reduced to writing and placed in the applicant's file; and

(iv) obtain information regarding eligibility or qualification from interviews with the applicant and with others from telephone conversations, letters or other documents and from other oral or written materials; provided, however, that all such information received shall be recorded in the applicant's file, including the date of its receipt, the identity of the source and the person receiving the information.

(2) The local housing authority shall assess financial eligibility by reviewing the applicant’s net household income. In reviewing the applicant’s financial status, the local housing authority shall assess net household income pursuant to regulations and guidelines promulgated by the department of housing and community development.

(b) The secretary of housing and economic development shall report annually to the senate and house committees on ways and means and the executive office for administration and finance the amount of money recovered by the department from those who received assistance fraudulently and the number of recipients who were issued partial or lifetime disqualifications.

SECTION. (a)Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the house and senate committees on post audit and oversight shall conduct a joint hearing during each session of the General Court to consider the operation of, and compliance with, citizenship verification measures for the receipt of public assistance benefits. The committees may invite the secretaries of health and human services, administration and finance, education, labor and workforce development and housing and economic development, and any other relevant agency representative, to testify as to the agency’s activity, including, but not limited to, (1) compliance with the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE system; (2) development of a system of common eligibility standards; (3) prevention of fraud and misuse of public benefits, including the amount of money recovered from those who received benefits fraudulently and the number of recipients who were issued disqualifications; (5) the status of interagency agreements; (6) and areas of difficulty in enforcing citizenship verification measures, including the net cost of such measures. The committee shall inform the membership of the General Court of the findings of the hearing by filing a report with the clerks of the house and senate.

(b)Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the house and senate committees on post audit and oversight shall, on or before July 31, 2011, conduct a joint hearing to consider the Commonwealth’s participation in the Secure Communities program, as established by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  The committees shall invite testimony from the attorney general; the secretaries of administration and finance, public safety and security, and health and human services; the chief information officer of the Commonwealth; the director of the office for refugees and immigrants; the director of the division of local mandates within the office of the auditor; representatives of the Massachusetts Sherriff’s Association; Massachusetts District Attorney’s Association; the Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance and other individuals or organizations with expertise in the administration of federal policies related to immigration, public safety and civil rights.  The committees shall evaluate the potential impact on state and local governments of participation in the Secure Communities program on (1) costs associated with participation in the program, including but not limited to, potential costs related to personnel, equipment, training, detention, and community education (2) administration and functioning of the law enforcement and criminal justice systems (3) outreach and communications strategies between law enforcement and local communities (4) access to public services for impacted populations, including but not limited to, children, victims of domestic and sexual violence, seniors and persons with disabilities.  The committees shall inform the membership of the General Court of the findings of the hearing by filing a report with the clerks of the house and senate no later than August 31, 2011.