Alaska Native Settlement Trust Eligibility Act
Sponsored By: Representative Begich
Became Law
Summary
This law excludes interests in Alaska Native Settlement Trusts and certain trust distributions from federal program eligibility tests. It also says distributions to Alaska Natives or their descendants who are aged, blind, or disabled under the Social Security Act are excluded for a five-year period after enactment.
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- Alaska Native elders, people who are blind or disabled, and their descendants: Trust payouts they receive will not be counted when determining eligibility for covered federal programs for five years.
- Holders of Settlement Trust interests: Owning an interest in a Settlement Trust will not be used in eligibility calculations for those programs.
- Benefit administrators: Federal and state agencies must exclude these trust interests and the designated five-year distributions when deciding who qualifies for the applicable programs.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
1 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Alaska Native trust assets ignored for benefits
The law changes how agencies check eligibility for programs tied to ANCSA Section 29(c). An interest in an Alaska Native Settlement Trust does not count against eligibility. For five years from the law’s enactment, money or benefits from a Settlement Trust also do not count if paid to a Native or descendant who is aged, blind, or disabled. “Aged, blind, or disabled” follows Social Security Act section 1614(a). After five years, the distribution exclusion ends, but the asset exclusion stays in place.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Begich
AK • R
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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