Purpose

This bill aims to restrict how people who receive certain public assistance benefits can move money abroad. It creates a rule that prevents those participants from using money transfer services to send money to a foreign country, and it sets up a system for reporting such transfers to state agencies and, if certain conditions are met, ending their eligibility for benefits.

Main Provisions

• Public programs covered
  • The bill defines “public programs” to include:
  • Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP)
  • Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
  • General Assistance and Minnesota Supplemental Aid
  • Housing Support
  • Medical Assistance (MA)
  • MinnesotaCare
  • Child Care Assistance
• Prohibition on sending money abroad
  • People who participate in any of these public programs are not allowed to use a money transmitter (a licensed company that moves money) to send money to a foreign country.
• Consequence for violating the prohibition
  • If a person violates the rule, they lose eligibility for all of the listed public programs and must be disenrolled from each one they were using.
• Money transmitters’ reporting duties
  • Money transmitters must report certain information about remittances (money sent to foreign countries).

How the Reporting and Termination Works

• Remittance reporting to the appropriate agency
  • For the public programs in MFIP/SNAP/related areas, money transmitters must report every six months (half-yearly), electronically, to the designated state agency.
  • The report must identify each individual who used the money transmitter to send money to a foreign country in the previous six months.
• Agencies review and act on the reports
  • The agency will check whether the individuals named in the report are enrolled in a public assistance program (MFIP, SNAP, or related programs).
  • If an individual is enrolled, the agency must terminate that person’s eligibility for the public assistance program, following the program’s laws and regulations.
• Agencies involved
  • For MFIP/SNAP-related programs, the commissioner of Children, Youth and Families conducts the determination and termination.
  • The bill also adds a similar requirement for the Department of Human Services to review and, if applicable, terminate eligibility for MA, MinnesotaCare, and other covered programs.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• Creates a new prohibition on using money transmitters to send money to foreign countries for people in specified public programs.
• Establishes a mandatory, semiannual remittance reporting system by money transmitters to state agencies.
• Authorizes automatic termination (disenrollment) of public assistance benefits when the reporting findings show a participant is sending money abroad using a money transmitter.
• Expands the statutes to include a new remittance reporting subdivision in 142A.03 and adds a remittance subdivision in 256.01, with the enforcement carried out by the relevant state agencies (Children, Youth and Families; and Human Services).

Relevant Terms - money transmitter - public programs - MFIP (Minnesota Family Investment Program) - SNAP - General Assistance - Minnesota Supplemental Aid - Housing Support - Medical Assistance - MinnesotaCare - Child Care Assistance - remittances / remittance reporting - foreign country / sending money overseas - disenrollment / terminate eligibility - commissioner of Children, Youth and Families - commissioner of Human Services - electronic reporting - six months (semiannual reporting) - enrollment status / eligibility determination