BIDDEFORD — Hearings on two bills that could have a negative impact on some of the neediest of Maine’s residents will be heard in legislative committees this week in Augusta.

On Tuesday, a bill will be heard that makes those who are ineligible to receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families ”“ because they have exhausted their benefits ”“ ineligible for general assistance at the local level as well.

Two days later, a bill on Gov. Paul LePage’s portion of the second supplemental budget dealing with general assistance will be heard. Some of the measures proposed in the governor’s budget include making those who are currently eligible for TANF, which is a federal- and state-funded program, ineligible to receive benefits from municipal general assistance programs; it includes a 90-day limit on assistance to people in need from municipal general assistance; it also includes limiting the rate the state reimburses general assistance programs to 50 percent.

Health and Welfare Director Vicky Edgerly said these bills could have a significant effect on Biddeford’s needy and the city’s budget.

According to Edgerly, passage of LD 1862, An Act to Limit Eligibility under the Municipal General Assistance Program, which will have a hearing on Tuesday, is necessary to ensure that Maine’s property taxpayers don’t bear the burden of what amounts to a shifting of costs from the federal and state government to local communities.

Legislation passed last year enacted a 60-month lifetime limit for households  receiving TANF benefits. In May, 3,000 Maine households, including 122 families in Biddeford and 164 families in Sanford, according to figures included in the bill language, will reach their lifetime limit. More families will reach the limit each month.

Many of these families will likely visit their local general assistance office seeking help, said Edgerly.

According to calculations made earlier this year, she said the additional aid her office would have to provide could add 35 cents per $1,000 of property value to the Biddeford tax rate.

Edgerly added that imposing the 60-month limit, to move people off assistance into jobs during the current economic downturn, is bad planning.

Mayor and State Rep. Alan Casavant, D-Biddeford, is the House sponsor of the bill. He said the purpose of LD 1862 is not to prevent the needy from getting help.

“I’m not opposed to helping people in need,” he said, and added, “There are people using TANF that are deserving. It’s not fair to suddenly drop them so quickly.”

However, he said, local municipalities and property taxpayers should not be forced to pick up the slack.

Casavant said he hopes the Legislature will rework legislation regarding the 60-month limit to ensure those in need receive aid without placing that cost on local property taxpayers.

Another legislative hearing this week that affects the state’s needy concerns the governor’s budget proposals dealing with general assistance.

“The part I am most opposed to is the 90-day limit (on municipal general assistance),” said Edgerly. “That is just awful,” and, she said, it could increase homelessness across the state.

Of those who come to her office, 75 percent are disabled, said Edgerly. The office provides people with temporary assistance while they are waiting to receive more permanent assistance from the federal government. That process can talk one and a half to three years, she said.

Because they cannot work, and there is no way to force the federal government to move faster, without general assistance, many of these families would become homeless, she said.

Limiting the state reimbursement level to community general assistance programs to 50 percent is also a concern, said Edgerly. Although it wouldn’t affect Biddeford immediately, if LD 1862 doesn’t pass and the 60-month limitation for TANF benefits stands, the city would be eligible for the 90 percent current maximum level of state reimbursement to general assistance programs. Without some changes, Biddeford’s property tax rate could increase beyond the estimated 35 cents for general assistance.

The Health and Human Services Committee’s hearing on LD 1862 will take place on Tuesday at 1 p.m. The work session will follow immediately.

The Appropriations Committee and Health and Human Services Committee will hold a hearing on the general assistance portion of the governor’s second supplemental budget on Thursday at 2:30 p.m.

— Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 324 or dmendros@journaltribune.com.