In this section, “resident” means an individual who resides in this State on the date the individual applies for public assistance. Subject to § 5–314 of this title and as authorized under 21 U.S.C. § 862a(d)(1), the State removes itself from the application of § 115 of the federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 to allow the Department to provide temporary cash assistance and food stamps to a resident who has been convicted of a felony involving the possession, use, or distribution of a controlled dangerous substance. Notwithstanding subsection (b) of this section, if a resident receiving temporary cash assistance or food stamps is found to be in violation of § 5–612 or § 5–613 of the Criminal Law Article, the resident is: ineligible for temporary cash assistance or food stamps for 1 year after the date of the conviction; and subject to testing for substance abuse, as provided by the Department, and to treatment as required under § 5–314 of this title, for 2 years beginning on the later of: the date the individual is released from incarceration; the date the individual completes any term of probation; or the date the individual completes any term of parole or mandatory supervision. A recipient who fails to comply with the testing required under this subsection or the treatment required under § 5–314 of this title or who tests positive for the abuse of controlled dangerous substances is subject to the sanctions provided under § 5–314 of this title. In consultation with the Maryland Department of Health, the Secretary shall adopt regulations to establish the testing methods and procedures, consistent with § 5–314 of this title, to be required by the Department under this subsection, including the intervals of testing and methods required.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Administration, a local department, or any other unit may not decrease the monetary amount of assistance received by any recipient of public assistance before the implementation of a system of flat grant payments, solely as a result of the implementation of the system.

In this section the following words have the meanings indicated. “Delinquent tenant” means a tenant of public housing who is 30 or more days delinquent in paying the tenant’s full monthly rent to a public housing authority. “Public housing” means a dwelling unit owned, leased, or managed by a public housing authority. “Public housing authority” means a public corporation created under Division II of the Housing and Community Development Article or the public corporation’s designee. If a recipient of temporary cash assistance is a delinquent tenant, the Administration, at the request of the public housing authority, shall: deduct the amount of the tenant’s rent from the tenant’s monthly assistance payments each month; pay the amount deducted from the tenant’s monthly assistance payments to the public housing authority or the public housing authority’s authorized agent; and forward the remaining amount of the monthly assistance payments to the tenant. If a court establishes an escrow account under § 8-211 of the Real Property Article or a parallel provision of public local law for a tenancy covered under subsection (b) of this section, the public housing authority shall notify the Administration of the court action. On notice under paragraph (1) of this subsection or on certification by an attorney of record representing the delinquent tenant in the court action that an order has been issued to establish an escrow account, the Administration shall pay rent to the court as long as the order is in effect. Any notice under paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection shall include a list of all addresses covered by the court action. The public housing authority shall notify the Administration when the court action has been resolved.

The Department may request and obtain from a fiduciary institution doing business in the State any financial records that the Department determines are necessary to verify or confirm an individual’s eligibility or ineligibility for public assistance. On a showing by an applicant for long–term care Medicaid benefits that the applicant has been unable to obtain from a fiduciary institution doing business in the State financial records related to financial and real property assets necessary to establish the applicant’s eligibility or ineligibility for Medicaid benefits, the Department shall request the records. The Department shall adopt regulations governing procedures for requesting, obtaining, and examining financial records that the Department determines are necessary to verify or confirm an individual’s eligibility or ineligibility for public assistance. The regulations shall: include reimbursement schedules necessary to compensate fiduciary institutions for complying with this section; and state the requirements that an applicant must satisfy in order for the Department to request financial records under subsection (b) of this section. The Secretary shall notify a fiduciary institution of the officers or employees of the Department who are authorized to request and receive financial records from the fiduciary institution. An individual authorized to receive information under this section may not disclose any personally identifiable information obtained or maintained under this section.

In this section the following words have the meanings indicated. “Fraud” has the meaning stated in § 8–501 of the Criminal Law Article. “Public assistance” means any assistance described in § 8–503 of the Criminal Law Article. Each applicant for or recipient of public assistance shall: read or have read to the individual a statement of the conduct that constitutes fraud; and sign the statement to acknowledge that the individual understands that the penalties for fraud under § 8–503 of the Criminal Law Article are: imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or a fine not exceeding $1,000 or both; and restitution.

The local department shall place a duplicate photo identification print in the case file of a public assistance recipient whenever a photo identification card is issued to the recipient.

The Administration shall make every effort to recoup overpayments made to recipients that the State is authorized to recoup under federal law. The Administration shall establish an administrative procedure, in accordance with federal law, to be followed when the Administration has reason to believe that an overpayment has been made.

The Administration may: accept any federal funds or commodities; manage and dispose of any federal funds or commodities as required by federal law; and apply the federal Social Security Act or any other federal law relating to public assistance to the benefit of the State.

In this section the following words have the meanings indicated. “Personal identifying information” has the meaning stated in § 8–301 of the Criminal Law Article. “Personal identifying information” includes an Electronic Benefits Transfer card number or personal identification number. “Skimming practices” includes: use of a skimming device, including a scanner, skimmer, reader, or other electronic device used to access, read, scan, obtain, memorize, or store, temporarily or permanently, personal identifying information; or adding malicious code illegally to a website to capture Electronic Benefits Transfer card data or personal identifying information. “Theft” includes: physical theft of an Electronic Benefits Transfer card; identity fraud, as defined in § 8–301 of the Criminal Law Article; and theft through skimming practices. “Two–way fraud alert” means the capability of the Department to communicate with households, and of households to communicate with the Department, through text messaging regarding potential fraudulent use or theft of an Electronic Benefits Transfer card. For fiscal year 2025 and each fiscal year thereafter, the total amount of benefits restored under this section is limited to $30,000,000 per fiscal year. If an investigation by the Department shows a household’s correctly issued benefits were lost due to theft, the Department shall restore the benefits without requiring further action from the household. As soon as practicable, but not later than 10 days after a household informs the Department of the loss of benefits due to theft, the Department shall: notify the household in writing of the Department’s decision as to whether to restore benefits, the amount of benefits to be restored, and the right to and method of requesting a hearing on the Department’s decision in accordance with subsection (d) of this section; if the Department determines that the household receives benefits, restore benefits to the household in the amount of benefits that was lost; and provide the household with a new Electronic Benefits Transfer card. The Department may not: require a household to provide a police report as a condition of restoration of benefits; or limit the number of months in which a household can receive restoration of benefits lost due to theft. If a household disputes the amount of benefits restored or the Department’s determination that no restoration is due, the household may request a hearing with the Department within 90 days after the date of the Department’s determination. If a household requests a hearing under this subsection, the Department shall restore the benefits for which the household claims entitlement while the hearing is pending. If the hearing decision is unfavorable to the household, any benefits improperly restored under paragraph (2) of this subsection may be recovered by the Department by reducing the household’s benefit at a rate that may not exceed the lesser of $10 or 5% of the household’s monthly allotment of benefits. In the procurement process for electronic benefits distribution or administration, the State or State–aided or State–controlled entity shall give preference to a vendor that: holds a form of insurance that can be used to reimburse a beneficiary for identity fraud or theft; and provides identity access protections to protect an eligible beneficiary against identity fraud and theft, which may include multifactor authentication. The Department shall coordinate with vendors to take available precautions to reduce the vulnerability of Electronic Benefits Transfer cards to theft by utilizing enhanced technology. On or before December 1 each year, the Department, in consultation with local law enforcement agencies in the State, shall report to the General Assembly, in accordance with § 2–1257 of the State Government Article, on: the accessibility and security of Electronic Benefits Transfer cards; actions taken to reduce the fraudulent use of Electronic Benefits Transfer cards; the number of Electronic Benefits Transfer cards reissued due to fraud in the immediately preceding year; the number of households reporting theft of benefits, by jurisdiction and program; the number of households eligible for expedited Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits that reported loss of benefits due to theft, by jurisdiction and program; the total dollar amount of benefits reported lost due to theft, by jurisdiction and program; the number of determinations of theft made by the Department, by jurisdiction; the number of determinations made by the Department that theft did not occur, by jurisdiction; the number of households reimbursed for benefits lost due to theft and the total dollar amount of benefits restored, by jurisdiction and program; the average and maximum length of time, in days, between the report of theft and the restoration of benefits, by jurisdiction; the number of hearings requested and the number of households that received a restoration of benefits as an outcome of a hearing, by jurisdiction; and demographic data on households that experienced theft, including race, gender, number of households with children under the age of 18 years, and number of households with a member at least 60 years old.

The Department may: restore benefits to any household that lost benefits due to theft that occurred between January 1, 2021, and October 1, 2022, both inclusive, provided that the Department confirms the household lost benefits due to theft during that time period; and support innovative practices required to support beneficiaries during the time period between the reporting of the loss of benefits due to theft and the restoration of benefits. On or before September 1, 2023, the Department shall issue benefits to households eligible to receive funds under subsection (a) of this section.