In late April, the Joint Standing Committee on Health and Human Services with regard to LD 1066, An Act to Address the Temporary maximum Levels of Assistance of General Assistance Established in 1991, voted to carry over the bill to the Second Regular Session of the 121st Legislature with instructions to "the Department of Human Services to convene a group of intersted parties to develop policy recommendations to address the following issues.

1. Adequacy of maximum levels of General Assistance, particularly in relation to housing costs.
2. Distribution of General Assistance expenditures across municipalities and
3. Legal assistance fo recipients pursuing Supplemental Security Income and Worker's Compensation."

Additional requests of the committee includes "improve the safety net provided by General Assistance, while minimizing additional costs to the state and municipalities."

Representatives from The Maine Council of Churches The Maine Equal Justice Program, The Maine Municipal Association, Welfare Directors from various communities, officials from the Department of Human Services have begun meetings at DHS to address these issues.

The Maine Council of Churches asked that there be input from those who receive General Assistance. A subcommittee of representatives of Maine Council of Churches and Maine Equal Justice was appointed to set up a system to get input from GA recipients.

Policy recommendations must be submitted to the committee no later than January 1, 2004. Chairs of the legislative sub committee are Senator Michael Brennan, District 27 and Representative Thomas Kane, Saco . Other legislators on the committee are Senators John Martin, District 1 and Carol Weston, District 11; Representatives Edward Dugay, Cherryfield; Marie Leverierre-Boucher, Biddeford; Margaret Craven, Lewiston; William Earle, Damariscotta; William Walcott, Lewiston; Thomas Shields, Auburn; Darlene Curley, Scarborough; James Campbell,Sr, Newfield; and Sarah Lewin, Eliot.