Maryland Department of Human Resources Section 52

      (a)      All assistance granted under this subtitle shall be subject to periodic recertification.

      (b)      During a certification period, the Department may at any time cancel, suspend, or revoke assistance if:

            (1)      The recipient's circumstances have altered sufficiently to warrant cancellation, suspension, or revocation; or

            (2)      The recipient has failed to comply with FIP requirements.

      (c)      (1)      Except as provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection, the Governor shall provide sufficient funds under this subtitle to ensure that the value of temporary cash assistance, combined with federal food stamps, is at a minimum equal to 61 percent of the State minimum living level.

            (2)      Except as provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection, the Governor shall provide sufficient funds to maintain the FIP at the level of the Fiscal Year 1997 appropriation.

            (3)      The funds under this subsection may be less than the amount described in paragraph (1) or (2) of this subsection if the Governor reports to the General Assembly, in accordance with § 2-1246 of the State Government Article, on the reasons for the reduced funding for temporary cash assistance and food stamps.

            (4)      This subsection does not limit the flexibility of local departments of social services regarding the provision of services.

      (d)      If the Secretary determines during the fiscal year that the funds available for the FIP are insufficient to make payments in accordance with the amount of assistance otherwise established by law, the Secretary shall:

            (1)      Provide for a uniform method of adjusting individual payments;

            (2)      Notify the Joint Committee on Welfare Reform; and

            (3)      Submit emergency regulations, as provided in Title 10, Subtitle 1 of the State Government Article, to implement the adjustment.

      (e)      As of July 1 of each year, the Department shall make available for reallocation within its budget any savings the Department anticipates achieving from funds appropriated to it for the FIP during the current fiscal year as a result of:

            (1)      Caseload reductions; or

            (2)      Other reductions in the total amount of temporary cash assistance paid to recipients when compared to the total amount of temporary cash assistance appropriated.

      (f)      Except as provided in subsection (g)(1) of this section, savings made available for reallocation may be used for:

            (1)      Child care;

            (2)      Work activities;

            (3)      Welfare avoidance grants;

            (4)      Drug treatment for targeted recipients;

            (5)      Transportation;

            (6)      Emergency funds for applicants and recipients;

            (7)      Administration to the extent that additional administrative costs are required to effectively implement the FIP; or

            (8)      Any other direct service to applicants or recipients that the Secretary and the local department consider appropriate to further the purposes of this subtitle.

      (g)      (1)      Savings shall be made available for reallocation as follows:

                  (i)      10% of the savings to a combination of the operating costs for one or more of the following:

                        1.      Demonstration projects created in § 53 of this subtitle;

                        2.      Second chance homes not subject to the restrictions of § 12 of Chapter 351 of the Acts of the General Assembly of 1996; or

                        3.      Demonstration projects to empirically evaluate a strategy or set of strategies to reduce the incidence of nonmarital births in the State;

                  (ii)      45% of the savings to local departments, in accordance with the savings achieved by each local department, for the purposes under subsection (f) of this section; and

                  (iii)      45% of the savings for the purposes under subsection (f) of this section.

            (2)      Notwithstanding § 7-302 of the State Finance and Procurement Article, any of the savings allocated under this subsection that remain unexpended after the current fiscal year may be carried over into the next fiscal year.

      (h)      (1)      All assistance granted under this subtitle is subject to all future amendment or repeal of this subtitle.

            (2)      A recipient does not have a right to compensation by reason of the recipient's assistance having been affected by amendment or repeal of this subtitle.

            (3)      Recipients who obtain employment shall remain eligible for medical assistance up to 12 months after the date of employment.