First Regular Session
Sixty-second General Assembly
LLS NO. 99-0655.01 Debbie Haskins HOUSE BILL 99-1255
STATE OF COLORADO
BY REPRESENTATIVES Stengel, Pfiffner, May, Dean, Lee, McElhany,
Mitchell, Nunez, Paschall.
HEALTH, ENVIRONMENT, WELFARE, & INSTITUTIONS
A BILL FOR AN ACT
101 CONCERNING ELIGIBILITY FOR THE COLORADO OLD AGE PENSION.
Bill Summary
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does
not necessarily reflect any amendments that may be subsequently
adopted.)
Adds a requirement that an applicant for the old age pension
(OAP) be a resident of the state of Colorado for at least one year
immediately preceding the application for an old age pension. Declares
that the purpose of this requirement is to allow a period of time to permit
the agencies administering the pension to process applications for the
benefits and to assure that applicants meet the qualifications for
eligibility.
Provides, consistent with federal welfare reform law, that the
following persons are not eligible for an old age pension:
An alien who is not a "qualified alien"; and
An immigrant who is not a "legal immigrant".
Includes a legislative declaration regarding the eligibility of
noncitizens for the old age pension.
Makes the act apply to persons applying for the old age pension on
or after July 1, 1999.
1 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
2 SECTION 1. 26-2-111 (2), Colorado Revised Statutes, is
3 amended to read:
4 26-2-111. Eligibility for public assistance. (2) Old age
[ ] denotes HOUSE amendment. { } denotes SENATE amendment.
Capital letters indicate new material to be added to existing statute.
Dashes through the words indicate material to be deleted from existing statute.
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1 pension. (a) (I) THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY HEREBY FINDS AND DECLARES
2 THAT IT IS APPROPRIATE TO ALLOW ONE YEAR FOR ADMINISTRATIVE
3 AGENCIES TO ASCERTAIN THAT INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE APPLIED FOR THE
4 OLD AGE PENSION ARE PROPERLY QUALIFIED AND TO ENSURE THAT THE
5 AGENCIES HAVE SUFFICIENT TIME TO PROCESS THE OLD AGE PENSION
6 APPLICATIONS.
7 (II) THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY HEREBY RECOGNIZES THAT IN
8 PASSING THE FEDERAL "PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY AND WORK
9 OPPORTUNITY RECONCILIATION ACT OF 1996", THE UNITED STATES
10 CONGRESS PROVIDED IN 8 U.S.C. SEC. 1621 THAT CERTAIN ALIENS ARE NOT
11 ELIGIBLE FOR ANY STATE PUBLIC BENEFIT, UNLESS THE STATE ENACTS A
12 STATE LAW AFTER AUGUST 22, 1996, THAT AFFIRMATIVELY PROVIDES FOR
13 SUCH ELIGIBILITY. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY HEREBY NOTES THAT THE
14 GENERAL ASSEMBLY ENACTED S.B. 97-171 TO SPECIFY THE ELIGIBILITY OF
15 LEGAL IMMIGRANTS FOR CERTAIN TYPES OF PUBLIC ASSISTANCE AND THAT
16 IN SUCH LEGISLATION THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY DETERMINED THAT OLD
17 AGE PENSION BENEFITS SHOULD BE AVAILABLE TO ONLY THOSE
18 IMMIGRANTS WHO ARE LEGAL IMMIGRANTS AS DEFINED IN SECTION
19 26-2-103 (5.7). THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RECOGNIZES, HOWEVER, THAT
20 HISTORICALLY OLD AGE PENSION BENEFITS HAVE BEEN EXTENDED TO
21 ALIENS WHO HAVE RESIDED IN THIS COUNTRY FOR MORE THAN THREE
22 YEARS BASED UPON THE LANGUAGE IN PARAGRAPH (c) OF THIS
23 SUBSECTION (2), AS IT EXISTED PRIOR TO JULY 1, 1999, AND BASED UPON
24 THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT DECISION IN GRAHAM V.
25 RICHARDSON. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY HEREBY DECLARES THAT THE
26 UNITED STATES CONGRESS UNDER ITS PLENARY POWER TO DETERMINE
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1 NATIONAL IMMIGRATION POLICY HAS DETERMINED THAT IF STATES ELECT
2 TO PROVIDE STATE PUBLIC BENEFITS, SUCH BENEFITS SHOULD BE
3 EXTENDED ONLY TO PERSONS LAWFULLY ADMITTED TO THE UNITED
4 STATES AND THAT THIS REPRESENTS A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN THE LAW
5 SINCE THE GRAHAM V. RICHARDSON DECISION. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
6 THEREFORE, FINDS THAT IT IS APPROPRIATE TO AMEND PARAGRAPH (c) OF
7 THIS SUBSECTION (2) TO CLARIFY THAT IN DETERMINING ELIGIBILITY OF
8 NONCITIZENS FOR THE OLD AGE PENSION, ONLY THOSE PERSONS WHO ARE
9 QUALIFIED ALIENS OR LEGAL IMMIGRANTS SHOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE
10 OLD AGE PENSION PROGRAM.
11 (III) Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this subsection (2),
12 public assistance in the form of the old age pension shall be granted to
13 any person who meets the requirements of subsection (1) of this section,
14 WHO HAS BEEN A RESIDENT OF THE STATE OF COLORADO FOR AT LEAST
15 ONE YEAR IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE APPLICATION FOR AN OLD AGE
16 PENSION, and WHO MEETS any one of the following requirements:
17 (I) (A) The person has attained the age of sixty years or more and
18 meets the resource eligibility requirements of the federal supplemental
19 security income program; or
20 (II) (B) Repealed.
21 (III) (C) The person is an inmate of an institution, not penal in
22 character, maintained by the state or by a municipality therein or county
23 thereof, and the person has attained the age of sixty years or more. The
24 period of confinement as a patient in such institution shall be considered
25 as residence in the state of Colorado.
26 (b) No person otherwise qualified shall be denied the old age
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1 pension by reason of the fact that relatives may be financially able to
2 contribute to his OR HER support and maintenance, but income and
3 property of the spouse of an applicant or recipient of the old age pension
4 shall be considered in determining eligibility pursuant to rules and
5 regulations of the state department, which rules and regulations shall be
6 based upon and relate to the need of the applicant or recipient.
7 (c) No alien ALIENS WHO ARE NOT QUALIFIED ALIENS, AS DEFINED
8 IN 8 U.S.C. SEC. 1641, AND IMMIGRANTS WHO ARE NOT LEGAL
9 IMMIGRANTS, AS DEFINED IN SECTION 26-2-103 (5.7), who has HAVE
10 resided in the United States for less than three years shall NOT be granted
11 AND SHALL NOT BE ELIGIBLE FOR public assistance under the provisions
12 of this subsection (2). unless it is shown that the person, other than a
13 relative, who sponsored the alien's entry into the United States and who
14 satisfied sponsorship financial requirements at the time of initial
15 sponsorship now has insufficient income, property, or other resources to
16 meet the needs of the alien as determined pursuant to rules and
17 regulations of the state department.
18 (d) (I) No person who is a member of a household which is
19 receiving public assistance under the aid to families with dependent
20 children program set forth in this article, OR ITS SUCCESSOR PROGRAM,
21 shall be eligible to receive public assistance pursuant to this subsection
22 (2). For the purposes of this paragraph (d), "household" has the same
23 meaning as "assistance unit" as used in 45 C.F.R., 205.40 (a) (1) 45
24 C.F.R. 206.10, as amended.
25 (II) (A) The provisions of subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (d)
26 notwithstanding, on and after January 1, 1992, a supplemental payment
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1 funded by state and county funds shall be paid to households which have
2 received public assistance payments for the month of December 1991,
3 under both the aid to families with dependent children program set forth
4 in this article and the old age pension program set forth in this subsection
5 (2). Such supplemental payment shall be in an amount as will maintain
6 the household's total income at the same level as in December 1991.
7 (B) Such supplemental payment shall be paid only if the
8 household remains continuously eligible to receive public assistance
9 under both the aid to families with dependent children program set forth
10 in this article and the old age pension program set forth in this subsection
11 (2).
12 SECTION 2. Effective date - applicability. This act shall take
13 effect July 1, 1999, and shall apply to persons applying for the old age
14 pension on or after said date.
15 SECTION 3. Safety clause. The general assembly hereby finds,
16 determines, and declares that this act is necessary for the immediate
17 preservation of the public peace, health, and safety.