NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1979 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 702

HOUSE BILL 1189

 

 

AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 108 OF THE GENERAL STATUTES BY REPEALING THE PROGRAM OF AID TO THE AGED AND DISABLED, CURRENTLY ADMINISTERED BY THE UNITED STATES SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION UNDER THE SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME PROGRAM, AND BY DEFINING ELIGIBILITY FOR THE STATE-COUNTY SPECIAL ASSISTANCE FOR ADULTS PROGRAMS.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

 

Section 1.  G.S. 108-23(a)(l), as the same appears in the 1978 Interim Supplement to the General Statutes of North Carolina, is hereby repealed, and the remaining subdivisions of subsection (a) of G.S. 108-23 are renumbered accordingly.

Sec. 2.  Part 1 of Article 2 of Chapter 108 of the General Statutes is hereby repealed, and the remaining Parts of Article 2 of Chapter 108 are renumbered accordingly.

Sec. 3.  The title to Part 3 of Article 2 of Chapter 108 of the General Statutes is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Part 3.  The Administration of Aid to Families with Dependent Children."

Sec. 4.  G.S. 108-40 is hereby amended by deleting the words "aid to the aged and disabled or" therefrom.

Sec. 5.  G.S. 108-42(a) is hereby amended by deleting the words "aid to the aged and disabled and" therefrom and is further amended by deleting the comma following the word "case" on line 5 thereof as well as the words "except that the disability factor of applications for aid to the disabled shall be finally determined by the Department of Human Resources as provided in G.S. 108-26".

Sec. 6.  The title to Part 4 of Article 2 of Chapter 108 of the General Statutes is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Part 4.  Financing of Programs of Public Assistance."

Sec. 7.  G.S. 108-60, as the same appears in the 1978 Interim Supplement to the General Statutes of North Carolina, is hereby amended by adding a new paragraph at the end thereof to read as follows:

"Provided, no payments from the fund shall be made for the care of any person in a nursing home or intermediate care home which is owned or operated in whole or in part by a member of the Social Services Commission, of any county board of social services, or of any board of county commissioners, or by an official or employee of the Department of Human Resources or of any county department of social services or by a spouse of any such person."

Sec. 8.  G.S. 108-62, as the same appears in the 1978 Interim Supplement to the General Statutes of North Carolina, is hereby amended by designating the current section as subsection (a) and by adding the following subsection at the end thereof:

"(b)      Assistance shall be granted to any person who:

(1)        is 65 years of age and older, or is between the ages of 18 and 65 and is permanently and totally disabled;

(2)        has insufficient income or other resources to provide a reasonable subsistence compatible with decency and health as determined by the rules and regulations of the Social Services Commission; and

(3)        is a resident of North Carolina."

Sec. 9.  A new section is hereby added to Part 6 of Article 2 of Chapter 108 of the General Statutes, immediately following G.S. 108-62, to read as follows:

"§ 108-62.1.  Determination of disability. — (a) An applicant between the ages of 18 and 65 seeking assistance under this Part must be found to be permanently and totally disabled as defined in G.S. 106-24(5) by a physician or by a medical review board in his county of residence; such physician or board must submit any findings of disability to the county department of social services for transmittal to the Department of Human Resources.

(b)        All applications for assistance as a permanently and totally disabled person under this Part shall be reviewed by medical consultants employed by the Department of Human Resources. The final decision on the disability factor shall be made by such medical consultants under rules and regulations adopted by the Social Services Commission."

Sec. 10.  The following new sections are hereby added at the end of Article 2, Part 6 of Chapter 108 of the General Statutes to read as follows:

"§ 108-65.1.  Direct payments for custodial care. — (a) The Department of Human Resources is authorized and empowered to make payments to family care homes, homes for the aged and other domiciliary facilities for persons eligible to receive assistance under this Part when such facilities are found to be essential for such persons by a county department of social services under the pertinent rules and regulations of the Social Services Commission.

(b)        The Department of Human Resources is authorized and empowered to utilize funds available to the Department to increase the rates for licensed family care homes, homes for the aged or other domiciliary facilities or payments made for this purpose to persons assigned by the Department to these homes, to offset the increased costs due to any additional increases in minimum wages required by federal or State laws after April 15, 1973.

"§ 108-65.2. Limitations on payments. — No payment of public assistance under this Part shall be made for the care of any person in a home for the aged, family care home, or other domiciliary facility which is owned or operated in whole or in part by any of the following:

(1)        a member of the Social Services Commission, of any county board of social services, or of any board of county commissioners;

(2)        an official or employee of the Department of Human Resources or of any county department of social services;

(3)        a spouse of a person designated in subdivisions (1) and (2)."

Sec. 11.  This act is effective upon ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 30th day of May, 1979.