Minnesota Statutes 256J.26 – Persons Ineligible; Vendor Payments
Subdivision 1.Person convicted of drug offenses.
(a) An individual who has been convicted of a felony level drug offense during the previous ten years from the date of application or recertification is subject to the following:
Terms Used In Minnesota Statutes 256J.26
- Applicant: means a person who has submitted to a county agency an application and whose application has not been acted upon, denied, or voluntarily withdrawn. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
- Application: means the submission by or on behalf of a family to a county agency of a completed, signed, and dated form, prescribed by the commissioner, that indicates the desire to receive assistance. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Date of application: has the meaning given in section 256P. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
- Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
- Disqualified: means being ineligible to receive MFIP due to noncooperation with program requirements. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- MFIP: means the assistance program authorized in this chapter. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
- Month: means a calendar month and "year" means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed; and "year" is equivalent to the expression "year of our Lord. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
- Participant: includes any of the following:
(1) a person who is currently receiving cash assistance or the food portion available through MFIP;
(2) a person who withdraws a cash or food assistance payment by electronic transfer or receives and cashes an MFIP assistance check or food coupons and is subsequently determined to be ineligible for assistance for that period of time is a participant, regardless whether that assistance is repaid;
(3) the caregiver relative and the minor child whose needs are included in the assistance payment;
(4) a person in an assistance unit who does not receive a cash and food assistance payment because the case has been suspended from MFIP; and
(5) a person who receives cash payments under family stabilization services under section 256J. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
- Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
- Recertification: means the periodic review of eligibility factors to determine an assistance unit's continued eligibility. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
- state: extends to and includes the District of Columbia and the several territories. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
- Vendor: means a provider of goods or services. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
(1) Benefits for the entire assistance unit must be paid in vendor form for shelter and utilities during any time the applicant is part of the assistance unit.
(2) The convicted applicant or participant may be subject to random drug testing. Following any positive test for an illegal controlled substance, the county must provide information about substance use disorder treatment programs to the applicant or participant.
(b) Applicants requesting only SNAP benefits or participants receiving only SNAP benefits, who have been convicted of a felony-level drug offense during the previous ten years from the date of application or recertification may, if otherwise eligible, receive SNAP benefits. The convicted applicant or participant may be subject to random drug testing. Following a positive test for an illegal controlled substance, the county must provide information about substance use disorder treatment programs to the applicant or participant.
(c) For the purposes of this subdivision, “drug offense” means a conviction that occurred during the previous ten years from the date of application or recertification of sections 152.021 to 152.025, 152.0261, 152.0262, 152.096, or 152.137. Drug offense also means a conviction in another jurisdiction of the possession, use, or distribution of a controlled substance, or conspiracy to commit any of these offenses, if the conviction occurred during the previous ten years from the date of application or recertification and the conviction is for a crime that would be a felony if committed in Minnesota.
(d) This subdivision does not apply for convictions or positive test results related to cannabis, marijuana, or tetrahydrocannabinols.
Subd. 2.Parole violators.
An individual violating a condition of probation or parole or supervised release imposed under federal law or the law of any state is disqualified from receiving MFIP.
Subd. 3.Fleeing felons.
An individual who is fleeing to avoid prosecution, or custody, or confinement after conviction for a crime that would be a felony if committed in Minnesota, is disqualified from receiving MFIP.
Subd. 4.Disqualification for fraudulently misrepresenting residency.
An individual who is convicted in federal or state court of having made a fraudulent statement or representation with respect to the place of residence of the individual in order to receive assistance simultaneously from two or more states is disqualified from receiving MFIP for ten years beginning on the date of the conviction.
Subd. 5.Vendor payment; uninhabitable units.
Upon discovery by the county that a unit has been deemed uninhabitable under section 504B.131, the county shall immediately notify the landlord to return the vendor-paid rent under this section for the month in which the discovery occurred. The county shall cease future rent payments for the uninhabitable housing units until the landlord demonstrates the premises are fit for the intended use. A landlord who is required to return vendor-paid rent or is prohibited from receiving future rent under this subdivision may not take an eviction action against anyone in the assistance unit.