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Committee narrows family‑responsibility statute in HB 132, changing 'shall' to 'may' and setting Jan. 1 effective date
Summary
Conference committee amended HB 132 to replace mandatory 'shall' language with discretionary 'may' when determining whether relatives are able to assist a person, and set the effective date to Jan. 1; welfare administrators testified the statute is an important tool for outreach, not enforcement.
A Committee of Conference on House Bill 132 agreed to amend long‑standing statute language so that a relative "may be deemed able to assist" a person rather than the prior wording that said the relative "shall" be deemed able to assist. The committee also accepted the Senate’s proposed effective date (January 1) to give local welfare administrators time for training and implementation.
The debate centered on whether the statute gives towns a useful lever to contact relatives and arrange informal support or risks imposing unfair financial…
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