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Rep. Cebra Submits Bill to Reform Maine Welfare System

Legislation would set residency rules, enhance employment incentives and limit lifetime benefits to five years

AUGUSTA – State Rep. Rich Cebra has submitted legislation to overhaul Maine’s welfare system to encourage welfare recipients to become contributing members of society. His bill, LD 254, is entitled An Act to Enact a 5-Point Welfare Reform Program.

“Right now our system penalizes people who leave welfare and go back to work,” he said. “We’re holding folks back and it makes no sense. Consequently, we’re now into our second or third generation of a welfare class, and that’s not good for anybody. As a poor state facing huge budget deficits, we simply can’t afford a system that encourages people to stay on welfare.”

Rep. Cebra’s five-point reform legislation starts by setting a 90-day residency requirement for all recipients of Maine’s public assistance. “We’ve created one of the most lenient welfare systems in the country,” he said. “People from all across the nation move here for our welfare. As a sanctuary state for illegal aliens – under the governor’s executive order – illegal immigrants who arrive here also qualify for welfare benefits.

“As more people migrate here for welfare,” he added, “we have less money to help truly needy Mainers, such as those who have lost jobs in this recession. My bill would establish a 90-day residency requirement before anyone can start collecting state benefits. Obviously, that would not affect anyone who has lived here at least three months.”

The legislation’s second point would offer targeted tax credits to employers who hire economically disadvantaged Maine residents. An employer who hires a welfare recipient would receive a credit of 75 percent of the employee’s salary during the first year, followed by a 50-percent credit in the second year and 25-percent in the third year.

“This tax credit for employers could slightly reduce state revenues in the short term, but it would increase revenues over the longer term, while permanently lowering our welfare burden.”

Point three would eliminate the 20-hour rule. Currently, welfare benefits are cut off for anyone working more than 20 hours a week. “Under my bill, the number of hours worked or gross wages earned will not affect benefits up to one and one-half times their normal benefit dollar amount,” said Rep. Cebra, a third-term legislator from Naples. “Their hourly pay rate would only determine the amount of benefits they would still receive.”

The legislation would use federal figures showing that a person receiving all welfare benefits “makes” the equivalent of $17.56 per hour for a normal 40-hour week. Under the bill, an employee earning $10 per hour, for example, would still receive benefits equivalent to the differential.

“The recipients will not see a negative impact on their economic situation,” said. Rep. Cebra. “We trying to remove existing barriers and make it economically beneficial for recipients to take a job. It will also raise their self-esteem and have numerous positive effects on their families.”

The bill’s final point would bring Maine law into conformity with the federal Welfare Reform Act of 1996, one of former president Bill Clinton’s landmark achievements. Rep. Cebra’s legislation would establish a 60-month lifetime limit to receive Maine benefits, the same as the federal limit.

“Five years of welfare is much more generous than you find in most states, where they provide two years of welfare before your lifetime limit is reached,” Rep. Cebra said. “The important thing is that we begin to end this culture of dependency we have in Maine and get people back on their feet.”

State Rep. Rick Sykes (R-Harrison), a co-sponsor of the legislation, said the 90-day residency rule is critical to curb abuse. “Emergency room doctors have told me that people come to Maine because it is so easy to get benefits,” he said. “We cannot afford to be a welfare magnet. My constituents say that after taxes and health insurance, the need to reform welfare, including Medicaid, is the most critical problem facing the state.”

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