Report Title:
Personal Needs Allowance
Description:
Increases the personal needs allowance from $20 to $30 plus additional changes yearly based on COLA increases or decreases.
THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
2265 |
TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating to human services.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that Federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) provides supplemental payments to the aged, blind, and disabled who have no or very little income from Social Security or other sources. The SSI/Medicaid recipients in domiciliary care homes or long-term care homes retain, out of their SSI payments, a $30 per month personal needs allowance (also known as a personal fund allowance) under federal law.
The legislature further finds that the personal needs allowance provides recipients with funds to pay for clothing and other miscellaneous personal needs such as toiletries, bus fare, personal postage costs, snacks, and other costs of day-to-day living. The remaining income goes to pay for part of their care facilities’ expenses, and the SSI/Medicaid program and the State cover the remaining care facilities’ costs.
Additionally, the State currently provides a $20 per month personal needs allowance to the recipient, thus making the combined total of federal and state contributions to the recipient’s personal needs allowance $50 per month, which the legislature finds insufficient to provide for the basic needs of the recipients.
Furthermore, the legislature finds that the federal government, on a yearly basis, adjusts the SSI maximum benefit payments pursuant to increases to the federal cost of living allowance (COLA). The legislature finds that the state personal needs allowance should concurrently be raised on a yearly basis by the same percentage as the federal COLA increase.
The purpose of this Act is to raise the State’s contribution by $10 per month, to a total of $30 per month, and to authorize an additional unspecified amount to be decided in future years to reflect the changes, if any, in the federal COLA.
SECTION 2. Chapter 346, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"§346- Personal needs allowance; domiciliary care homes; long-term care homes. (a) The director shall increase the State’s supplemental payment for personal needs allowance to those recipients who reside in domiciliary care homes or long-term care homes to $30. The director shall provide an additional allowance to reflect the increase, if any, equal to the percentage amount of the supplemental security income cost of living allowance increase as determined by the federal government.
(b) The personal needs allowance payment shall be made as a supplement to the personal needs funds provided by the federal supplemental security income program and is not intended to replace or affect the funds received from the federal supplemental security income program.
(c) The personal needs allowance increase shall be applied to persons otherwise eligible to receive the funds pursuant to
state law or rules, and federal laws or regulations, and is not intended to affect the classifications or number of persons eligible to receive such funds."SECTION 3. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $1, or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2004-2005, for increasing the personal needs allowance for recipients who reside in domiciliary care homes or long-term care homes.
The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of human services for the purposes of this Act.
SECTION 4. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2004.
INTRODUCED BY: |
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