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| Montana Administrative Register Notice 37-823 | No. 22 11/24/2017 | |
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BEFORE THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES OF THE STATE OF MONTANA
TO: All Concerned Persons
1. On December 14, 2017, at 11:00 a.m., the Department of Public Health and Human Services will hold a public hearing in Room 207 of the Department of Public Health and Human Services Building, 111 North Sanders, at Helena, Montana, to consider the proposed amendment of the above-stated rules.
2. The Department of Public Health and Human Services will make reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities who wish to participate in this rulemaking process or need an alternative accessible format of this notice. If you require an accommodation, contact the Department of Public Health and Human Services no later than 5:00 p.m. on December 1, 2017, to advise us of the nature of the accommodation that you need. Please contact Kenneth Mordan, Department of Public Health and Human Services, Office of Legal Affairs, P.O. Box 4210, Helena, Montana, 59604-4210; telephone (406) 444-4094; fax (406) 444-9744; or e-mail [email protected].
3. The rules as proposed to be amended provide as follows, new matter underlined, deleted matter interlined:
37.70.305 APPLICATION (1) through (3) remain the same. (4) Publicly subsidized housing households whose energy costs are included as a fixed portion of their rent or households who reside in publicly subsidized housing and have an obligation to pay a base-load electric bill are not eligible for a regular LIEAP benefit computed using the benefit matrices and multipliers in the LIEAP Benefit Award Matrix and Table of Multipliers for the (5) through (7) remain the same.
AUTH: 53-2-201, MCA IMP: 53-2-201, MCA
37.70.401 DEFINITIONS (1) through (23) remain the same. (24) "Modified LIEAP benefit" means the amount paid to eligible households who reside in publicly subsidized housing and whose energy costs are included as a fixed portion of their rent or who have an obligation to pay a base-load electric bill. The modified LIEAP benefit is equal to 5 percent of the amount of a regular LIEAP benefit computed using the benefit matrices and multipliers in the LIEAP Benefit Award Matrix and Table of Multipliers for the (25) through (39) remain the same.
AUTH: 53-2-201, MCA IMP: 53-2-201, MCA
37.70.402 GENERAL ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS, ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN TYPES OF INDIVIDUALS, AND HOUSEHOLDS (1) through (6) remain the same. (7) Residents of publicly subsidized housing whose energy costs are included as a fixed portion of their rent or who reside in publicly subsidized housing and have an obligation to pay a base-load electric bill are not eligible for a regular LIEAP benefit computed using the benefit matrices and multipliers in the LIEAP Benefit Award Matrix and Table of Multipliers for the (8) through (10) remain the same.
AUTH: 53-2-201, MCA IMP: 53-2-201, MCA
37.70.406 INCOME STANDARDS (1) Households with one through seven members with annual gross income at or below 60 percent of the estimated state median are eligible for LIEAP benefits on the basis of income. Households with eight or more members are eligible for LIEAP benefits on the basis of income only if the household's annual gross income is at or below 150 percent of the (2) remains the same. (3) The department adopts and incorporates by reference the department's Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP) Table of Income Standards, (4) remains the same.
AUTH: 53-2-201, MCA IMP: 53-2-201, MCA
37.70.408 RESOURCES (1) through (3) remain the same. (4) The department adopts and incorporates by reference the department's LIEAP Table of Resource Standards, for the (5) remains the same.
AUTH: 53-2-201, MCA IMP: 53-2-201, MCA
37.70.601 BENEFIT AWARD (1) The department adopts and incorporates by reference the department's LIEAP Benefit Award Matrix and Table of Multipliers, for the (a) through (g) remain the same. (2) The benefit payable to an eligible household will be computed by multiplying the applicable amount in the table of base benefit levels found in the LIEAP Benefit Award Matrix for the (3) remains the same. (4) Publicly subsidized households whose energy costs are included as a fixed portion of their rent or who reside in publicly subsidized housing and have an out-of-pocket obligation to pay a base-load electric bill are not eligible for a regular LIEAP benefit computed using the benefit matrices and multipliers in the LIEAP Benefit Award Matrix and Table of Multipliers for the
AUTH: 53-2-201, MCA IMP: 53-2-201, MCA
37.70.607 AMOUNT AND METHOD OF PAYMENT (1) Eligible households that are billed for energy costs directly by the fuel vendor will be paid a benefit in the amount computed using the benefit matrices and multipliers in the LIEAP Benefit Award Matrix and Table of Multipliers for the (a) through (d) remain the same. (2) Eligible households that pay energy costs for heating their homes that are not billed directly by the fuel vendor because the fuel account is not in the name of a member of the household will be reimbursed for eligible energy costs paid by the household, provided that the amount paid to the household for the heating season does not exceed the benefit amount computed using the benefit matrices and multipliers in the LIEAP Benefit Award Matrix and Table of Multipliers for the (3) and (4) remain the same.
AUTH: 53-2-201, MCA IMP: 53-2-201, MCA
4. STATEMENT OF REASONABLE NECESSITY
The Department of Public Health and Human Services (department) is proposing the amendment of ARM 37.70.305, 37.70.401, 37.70.402, 37.70.406, 37.70.408, 37.70.601, and 37.70.607 pertaining to the Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP). LIEAP is a federally funded program to help low income households pay their home heating costs. The department proposes to make the following changes to its administrative rules governing LIEAP.
ARM 37.70.305, 37.70.401, 37.70.402, 37.70.601 and 37.70.607
The department is proposing to amend these rules by providing that an updated LIEAP Benefit Award Matrix will be used for the 2017-2018 heating season. ARM 37.70.601 provides that, in most cases, an eligible household's benefit is computed by multiplying the applicable amount in the table of base benefits found in the LIEAP Benefit Award Matrix by the applicable multiplier from the table of income/climatic adjustment multipliers also found in the LIEAP Benefit Award Matrix. The amounts in the table of base benefits vary based on the type of heating fuel the household uses and the type and size of the household's dwelling. The benefit amounts also take into consideration available funding, fuel costs, and the number of households expected to receive benefits in a given heating season, all of which change from year to year. The amounts in the benefit tables in the LIEAP Benefit Award Matrix for 2017-2018 are being revised based on estimates of the amount of funds available to pay LIEAP benefits for the 2017-2018 heating season, the estimated number of households that will apply and be found eligible for LIEAP for the 2017-2018 season, and fuel cost projections for the 2017-2018 heating season. If the amounts in the benefit tables were not updated for the 2017-2018 heating season, the amount of benefits paid out for the season might exceed available funding or a large amount of funds that could have helped low income households heat their homes might go unspent.
In addition to the table of base benefits, the LIEAP Benefit Award Matrix also contains a table of income/climatic adjustment multipliers. These multipliers are based on a household's income as a percentage of the federal poverty guidelines and also on what part of the state the household lives in. The state is divided into ten regions with different multipliers to take into account the climatic differences from one part of the state to another, which have an impact on residential heating costs. It is not necessary to revise the multipliers annually because the factors on which they are based do not vary significantly from year to year. The department is not proposing any changes to the table of income/climatic adjustment multipliers in the LIEAP Benefit Award Matrix for 2017-2018 for this reason.
ARM 37.70.406
The department proposes to amend this rule to provide that it will use the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' poverty guidelines for 2017, rather than the federal poverty guidelines for 2015, in the table of income standards used to determine eligibility for LIEAP for the 2017-2018 heating season. This change is necessary to take into account increases in the cost of living. The department uses the poverty guidelines for the current year because they are usually higher than the guidelines for the previous year, resulting in higher standards for the current heating season. If the department did not use the updated guidelines, some households might be ineligible for LIEAP due to inflationary increases in the household's income that do not reflect an increase in buying power.
ARM 37.70.408
The department is proposing to amend this rule by updating the LIEAP Table of Nonbusiness Resource Limits used to determine LIEAP eligibility on the basis of resources. This is necessary because (5) provides that the dollar limits on nonbusiness resources will be revised annually to adjust for inflation by multiplying the current dollar limits by either the percentage increase in the consumer price index (CPI) for the previous calendar year or 3 percent, whichever is less. The increase in the CPI for 2016 was 2.1 percent, so the dollar amounts in the LIEAP Table of Nonbusiness Resource Limits for the 2017-2018 heating season will increase by 2.1 percent. If the resource limits were not revised annually to adjust for inflation, some households might be ineligible for LIEAP because their resources exceed the resource limit although the buying power of their resources was less than in previous years due to inflation.
ARM 37.70.601
The amount of an eligible household's benefit is calculated by multiplying the applicable dollar amount from the LIEAP Benefit Award Matrix by the applicable figure from the Table of Multipliers. The amounts in the Benefit Award Matrix are revised every year to take into consideration variable factors such as the amount of funds available to pay LIEAP benefits for the current heating season, projected changes in fuel costs, and estimates of the number of households that will apply and be found eligible for the heating season. It is therefore necessary to adopt by reference the revised LIEAP Benefit Award Matrix for the 2017-2018 heating season so benefits will be based on updated information rather than information from the previous heating season. The Table of Multipliers contains different multipliers which take into consideration what percentage of the Federal Poverty Level a household's income is and what part of the state the household lives in, because there are climatic differences across the state that affect the amount of fuel needed to heat and cool a home. There is no need to revise the Table of Multipliers every year because climatic differences and the relative need of households with varying incomes do not change from year to year, so the figures in the 2017-2018 Table of Multipliers being incorporated by reference are the same as those in the Table of Multipliers for 2015-2016.
5. The department intends to apply this rule amendment retroactively to October 1, 2017. A retroactive application of the proposed rule amendment does not result in a negative impact to any affected party.
6. Concerned persons may submit their data, views, or arguments either orally or in writing at the hearing. Written data, views, or arguments may also be submitted to: Kenneth Mordan, Department of Public Health and Human Services, Office of Legal Affairs, P.O. Box 4210, Helena, Montana, 59604-4210; fax (406) 444-9744; or e-mail [email protected], and must be received no later than 5:00 p.m., December 22, 2017.
7. The Office of Legal Affairs, Department of Public Health and Human Services, has been designated to preside over and conduct this hearing.
8. The department maintains a list of interested persons who wish to receive notices of rulemaking actions proposed by this agency. Persons who wish to have their name added to the list shall make a written request that includes the name, e-mail, and mailing address of the person to receive notices and specifies for which program the person wishes to receive notices. Notices will be sent by e-mail unless a mailing preference is noted in the request. Such written request may be mailed or delivered to the contact person in 6 above or may be made by completing a request form at any rules hearing held by the department.
9. The bill sponsor contact requirements of 2-4-302, MCA, do not apply.
10. With regard to the requirements of 2-4-111, MCA, the department has determined that the amendment of the above-referenced rules will not significantly and directly impact small businesses.
11 Section 53-6-196, MCA, requires that the department, when adopting by rule proposed changes in the delivery of services funded with Medicaid monies, make a determination of whether the principal reasons and rationale for the rule can be assessed by performance-based measures and, if the requirement is applicable, the method of such measurement. The statute provides that the requirement is not applicable if the rule is for the implementation of rate increases or of federal law.
The department has determined that the proposed program changes presented in this notice are not appropriate for performance-based measurement and therefore are not subject to the performance-based measures requirement of 53-6-196, MCA.
/s/ Barbara Banchero /s/ Sheila Hogan Barbara Banchero, Attorney Sheila Hogan, Director Rule Reviewer Public Health and Human Services
Certified to the Secretary of State November 13, 2017.
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A directory of state agencies is available online at http://www.mt.gov/govt/agencylisting.asp.
For questions about the organization of the ARM or this web site, contact [email protected].
