Limiting eligibility for public assistance programs to U.S. citizens and qualifying aliens, requiring documentary proof of citizenship or satisfactory immigration status, granting rule-making authority, and providing a penalty

This bill provides that, to the extent permitted under federal law if there are any conflicting federal provisions, only a person who is a U.S. citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, or otherwise permanently residing in the United States under color of law, is eligible for any program that is administered by DHS or DCF under the public assistance chapter of the statutes and that provides services, benefits, or other assistance (public assistance program). The bill requires that any person who applies for a public assistance program must, as a condition of eligibility for that program, provide documentary proof of citizenship or satisfactory immigration status. Under the bill, besides W-2 and the food stamp program, public assistance programs include relief block grants, with which counties provide health care services to eligible persons; the program that provides eligible persons with assistance in establishing the paternity of a child, establishing or modifying child support obligations, enforcing child support or maintenance (alimony) obligations, and locating persons who owe child support or children taken by parents in violation of court orders; the programs that provide state supplemental payments to persons receiving federal supplemental security income; the program that pays funeral, burial, and cemetery expenses for persons whose estates are insufficient to pay those expenses; the program that reimburses persons infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) for the cost of the drug azidothymidine (AZT); and the disease aids program that provides assistance in paying the costs of medical treatment for eligible persons with cystic fibrosis, hemophilia, or chronic renal (kidney) disease.

The bill requires every application for a public assistance program to include a certification clause, to be completed by the welfare worker or other person processing the application, certifying that he or she has received from the applicant the necessary documentary proof and specifying the nature of the documentary proof. Any person who falsely certifies that he or she received documentary proof is subject to a $250 forfeiture, in addition to any other penalties that might apply under current law.

Applicants for MA programs, including Badger Care and Senior Care, are specifically excluded from the requirements under the bill by excluding those programs from the definition of public assistance programs. Current law already provides that, except for treatment of emergency medical conditions, medical assistance may be provided only to persons who are U.S. citizens or aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence or otherwise permanently residing in the United States under color of law. Also under current law, certain MA recipients who declare themselves to be citizens or nationals of the United States must provide documentary evidence of that assertion. The bill retains the requirement under current law that MA applicants for MA programs provide a declaration of citizenship or satisfactory immigration status.