(1) If, at any time during the continuance of public assistance, the recipient thereof becomes possessed of any property having a value in excess of that amount set pursuant to the provisions of section 26-2-109 and the rules of the state department or receives any increase in income, the recipient shall notify the county department of the possession of such property or receipt of such income, and the county department may either terminate the public assistance or alter the amount of assistance payments in accordance with the circumstances and the rules of the state department. To the extent not otherwise prohibited by state or federal law, if the recipient is found to have committed an intentional program violation, the recipient is disqualified from participation in the public assistance program under this article 2 in which a recipient is found to have committed an intentional program violation for twelve months for the first incident, twenty-four months for a second incident, and permanently for a third or subsequent incident. Such disqualification is mandatory and is in addition to any other penalty imposed by law. Except as provided in subsections (3) and (4) of this section, any previously paid excess public assistance to which the recipient was not entitled is recoverable by the county as a debt due to the state and the county in proportion to the amount of public assistance paid by each respectively; except that any fraudulently obtained public assistance or fraudulently obtained overpayments of public assistance is recoverable and payable in proportionate shares as provided in section 26-1-112 (2)(b), and interest is charged and paid to the county department on any sum fraudulently obtained, calculated at the legal rate and calculated from the date the recipient obtained such sum to the date such sum is recovered. The following remedies apply for the enforcement and collection of a debt for fraudulently obtained public assistance or fraudulently obtained overpayments of public assistance:
(a) If the debt for fraudulently obtained public assistance, fraudulently obtained overpayments of public assistance, or excess public assistance paid for which the recipient was ineligible has been reduced to a judgment in a court of record in this state, the county department may seek a continuing garnishment to collect the debt under article 54.5 of title 13, C.R.S.
(b) If the person has received an overissuance of food stamp benefits resulting from fraud or willful misrepresentation that has not been recovered by repayment under section 13 (b)(1) of the federal Food Stamp Act, as amended, the state shall recover the overissuance by withholding unemployment compensation to which the person is entitled pursuant to section 8-73-102 (6), C.R.S.
(2) If, upon the death or mental incompetency of any recipient, the inventory of the recipient's estate shows assets in excess of the amount that the recipient was allowed to have in order to receive public assistance, or if it be shown that the recipient was otherwise ineligible for public assistance, then the claim of the county and state for the excess public assistance paid for which the recipient was ineligible, if filed as required by section 15-12-804, C.R.S., shall have priority as a debt given preference under section 15-12-805 (1)(f.7), C.R.S.
(3) Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, when a recipient was ineligible for assistance payments solely because of property in excess of that permitted by state department rules and regulations adopted pursuant to section 26-2-109, the amount for which he shall be liable shall be the amount by which his property exceeded the amount allowable under such rules and regulations or the total amount of assistance payments thus received by him, whichever is the lesser amount. Actions for the recovery of such sums shall be prosecuted by the county or state department in any court of record having jurisdiction thereof.
(4) Notwithstanding subsections (1), (2), and (3) of this section, in any assistance case in which more than the correct amount of payment has been made, there shall be no adjustment of payments to the county or state department or recovery by the county or state department from any person who is without fault and who has reported to the state department any increase in income or changes in resources or property, if such adjustment or recovery would deprive a person of income required for ordinary and necessary living expenses or would be against equity and good conscience. Overpayments in all cases involving a grant of aid to families with dependent children shall be recovered from the caretaker relative in the assistance unit who fraudulently obtained the public assistance or who was the direct payee of the overpayments or from such individual's estate. The state department and the county departments shall pursue all available overpayment recovery options against the caretaker relative in the assistance unit first and during this time all overpayment collection activities against the other overpaid members of the assistance unit shall be suspended. On March 26, 2002, the state department and the county departments shall cease any collection efforts being made against the children of an assistance unit in which public assistance was overpaid or fraudulently obtained by a caretaker relative if the caretaker relative has been located. The state and the county departments may elect not to attempt recovery of an overpayment from an individual no longer receiving public assistance where the overpayment amount is less than thirty-five dollars. Where the overpayment amount owed by an individual no longer receiving public assistance is thirty-five dollars or more, the state department and the county departments may determine, consistent with the six-year time limitation for the execution on judgments involving state debt, that it is no longer cost-effective to continue to pursue recovery of the overpayment. The state department and the county departments shall not pursue overpayment collection activities against children who have been part of a Colorado works program assistance unit.
(5) (a) When a recipient, during or because of continuance of public assistance, receives excess assistance through fraudulent acts, the county department shall make regular deductions consistent with federal regulations from said recipient's monthly grant until the excess payment is fully recovered.
(b) Repealed.
(6) (a) The state department shall have a right to recover any amount of public assistance paid to a recipient because:
(I) The trustee of a trust for the benefit of the recipient has used the trust property in a manner contrary to the terms of the trust;
(II) A person holding the recipient's power of attorney has used the power for purposes other than the benefit of the recipient.
(b) To enforce the right under this subsection (6), the county or state department may institute or intervene in legal proceedings against the trustee or person holding the power of attorney. Any amount of public assistance recovered pursuant to this subsection (6) shall be distributed between the state and county in proportion to the amount of public assistance paid by each respectively.
(c) No action taken by the county or state department pursuant to this subsection (6) or any judgment rendered in such action or proceeding shall be a bar to any action upon the claim or cause of action of the recipient or his guardian, personal representative, estate, dependent, or survivors against the trustee or person holding the power of attorney.
Source: L. 73: R&RE, pp. 1193, 1649, �� 2, 12. C.R.S. 1963: � 119-3-28. L. 75: (1) and (3) amended and (4) added, p. 896, � 1, effective June 23. L. 77: (1) amended and (5) added, p. 1335, � 6, effective January 1, 1978. L. 79: (5)(b) repealed, p. 1093, � 2, effective June 21. L. 81: (6) added, p. 1373, � 1, effective May 18; (1) amended, p. 1371, � 2, effective June 5. L. 91: (4) amended, p. 1863, � 7, effective July 1. L. 94: (1) amended, p. 2063, � 5, effective July 1. L. 2002: (4) amended, p. 114, � 1, effective March 26. L. 2006: (1) and (2) amended, p. 946, � 1, effective August 7. L. 2020: IP(1) amended, (SB 20-206), ch. 222, p. 1096, � 2, effective July 2.
Cross references: For the legislative intent contained in the 2006 act amending subsections (1) and (2), see section 8(2) of chapter 208, Session Laws of Colorado 2006.
26-2-129. Funeral - final disposition expenses - death reimbursement - definitions - rules. (1) The general assembly hereby finds and declares that, subject to available appropriations, the purposes of this section are the following:
(a) To provide appropriate and equitable reimbursement of funeral, cremation, burial, or natural reduction expenses or any combination of expenses associated with the final disposition of any deceased public assistance or medical assistance recipient;
(b) To consider the religious and cultural preferences of the decedent and the decedent's family;
(c) To assure that final disposition of a decedent is provided with dignity;
(d) To ensure that reimbursement of a provider of funeral or final disposition services is appropriately disbursed by the county department;
(e) To provide that public funds are made available for reimbursement pursuant to this section only after it has been determined that there are insufficient resources from the estate of the decedent or the decedent's legally responsible family members to cover the funeral or final disposition expenses;
(f) To allow family members and friends of a decedent to contribute toward the charges of funeral or final disposition expenses to the extent the contributions do not exceed the specified maximum combined charges for the expenses.
(2) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) Contributions means any monetary payment or donation made directly to the service provider or providers by a nonresponsible person to defray the expenses of a deceased public assistance or medical assistance recipient's funeral or final disposition.
(b) Death reimbursement means the payment made by the county department to the provider of funeral or final disposition services when adequate resources are not available from legally responsible persons or from the personal resources or income of the decedent or from contributions to cover the charges for funeral or final disposition expenses of a deceased public assistance or medical assistance recipient.
(c) Decedent means a deceased recipient of public assistance or medical assistance who was receiving benefits at the time of death.
(d) Final resting place means a space, either below or above the surface of the ground, for the interment or entombment of the remains of human bodies.
(e) Legally responsible person means a person who:
(I) Is the decedent's spouse or the decedent's parent if the decedent is an unemancipated minor who is under the age of eighteen; and
(II) Bears legal responsibility for the charges associated with the decedent's funeral or final disposition expenses.
(f) Maximum combined charges means the total of all charges from all providers but in an amount not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars.
(f.5) Medical assistance means a payment on behalf of eligible recipients who are enrolled in the Colorado medical assistance program established in articles 4, 5, and 6 of title 25.5, which is funded through Title XIX of the federal Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. sec. 1396u-1.
(g) Mortuary science practitioner means one engaged in, or holding himself or herself out as being engaged in or conducting, embalming or final disposition of dead human bodies.
(h) Nonresponsible person means one of the following who makes a contribution to the charges for a funeral or final disposition or any combination of these charges:
(I) A relative of the decedent who is not a legally responsible person; or
(II) Any other person or party.
(i) Public assistance means payments to eligible recipients of the programs for old age pensions created in article XXIV of the state constitution, except for the old age pension health and medical care program described in section 25.5-2-101; the Colorado works program created in part 7 of this article 2; the aid to the needy disabled program created in section 26-2-119; the program for aid to the blind created in section 26-2-120; and the home care allowance program created in section 26-2-122.3.
(3) Subject to available appropriations, a death reimbursement covering reasonable funeral expenses or reasonable final disposition expenses or any combination of these expenses shall be paid by the county department for a decedent if the estate of the deceased is insufficient to pay the reasonable expenses and if the persons legally responsible for the support of the deceased are unable to pay the reasonable expenses. The county department shall be reimbursed eighty percent of the amount of the death reimbursement paid for recipients of aid to the needy disabled and assistance under the Colorado works program pursuant to part 7 of this article 2 and shall be reimbursed one hundred percent of the amount of the death reimbursement for recipients of old age pensions. If the state department determines that the level of appropriation is insufficient to meet the demand for death reimbursements, the state department shall reduce the amount of the death reimbursement level to meet the amount appropriated by the general assembly for death reimbursements. In the event that a reduction is made, the county department has no additional responsibility beyond the reimbursement level as defined in the state department's rules.
(4) The total amount of a death reimbursement paid by the county department or state department pursuant to this section must not exceed one thousand five hundred dollars and the combined charge of a funeral or final disposition or any combination of these expenses must not exceed two thousand five hundred dollars. Contributions from nonresponsible persons may be made without jeopardizing payment under this section and shall be counted as an offset to the maximum combined charges of the providers. If the combined charges from the providers exceed two thousand five hundred dollars, no death reimbursement shall be paid by the state or county department. Providers may seek contributions from nonresponsible persons only to the extent that money is available from such parties.
(5) A legally responsible person shall be required to participate financially towards the charges for final disposition through a contribution to the maximum death reimbursement if his or her resources are above the federal supplemental security income resource limits. A legally responsible person shall not be required to participate if he or she has fewer resources than the supplemental security income resource limits or if participation would result in fewer resources than the supplemental security income resource limits. Any financial participation from a legally responsible person shall be deducted from the maximum death reimbursement in the same manner as the personal resources of the decedent and shall not include the survivor's home or other excluded resources as provided for in the state department's rules. Any financial participation by a legally responsible person in excess of the legally required amount shall be used to reduce the amount of the maximum death reimbursement. Social security lump-sum death benefits payable to a legally responsible person shall not be an automatic deduction from the maximum death reimbursement. For purposes of this section, resources means:
(a) Those assets or income that are accessible and available to the legally responsible person;
(b) Disbursement of funds from any insurance policy of the decedent to a legally responsible person or nonresponsible person who is named as a beneficiary or a joint beneficiary of the decedent's policy. Nothing in this paragraph (b) shall grant authority to the county department to attach a lien against such funds or otherwise obtain or access these funds for payment of the final disposition of the decedent.
(6) In calculating the amount of the death reimbursement, any personal resources or income of the decedent is counted as a deduction from the maximum allowable death reimbursement. For purposes of this section, personal resources or income of the decedent includes the following:
(a) Any preneed contract for merchandise or services to be provided or performed in connection with the decedent's final disposition;
(b) Any other resources or income accessible and available in the name of the decedent, including jointly owned resources or income but only to the extent of the decedent's share of such jointly owned resources or income;
(c) Any death benefit in which reimbursement is directly paid to a provider of funeral or final disposition services for the decedent.
(7) (a) Ownership by a public assistance or medical assistance recipient of a final resting place, or the purchase thereof during the time the recipient is receiving that assistance, shall not disqualify the recipient from receiving that assistance, nor shall such ownership be deemed cause for any reduction in the amount of the recipient's assistance.
(b) Any portion of the purchase price of a final resting place owned by the decedent in excess of two thousand dollars shall be counted as a personal resource of the decedent in calculating the amount of a death reimbursement pursuant to this section.
(c) A final resting place previously acquired by someone other than the decedent and donated for final disposition of that decedent shall not be counted as a personal resource of the decedent or a legally responsible person in calculating the amount of a death reimbursement pursuant to this section.
(8) A statement of agreement between the providers that shall be on a form prescribed by the state department that sets forth the charges and the amounts of any payments or contributions shall be completed prior to any disbursement of funds by the county. The agreement shall assure that the charges of all providers have been equitably addressed and shall ascertain that the maximum combined charges do not exceed two thousand five hundred dollars and that the combined contributions from all sources do not exceed two thousand five hundred dollars. All payments from a decedent's estate, payments from legally responsible persons, and contributions from nonresponsible persons shall be paid directly to the provider of services. After the provision of all services, the providers shall bill the county department directly for reimbursement for appropriate costs that have not been covered by the resources from or contributions made by the decedent's estate, legally responsible persons, or nonresponsible persons. The county department shall reimburse the appropriate providers directly, based upon the statement of agreement.
(9) (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the disposition of a deceased public assistance or medical assistance recipient must be in accordance with subsection (9)(a)(I) or (9)(a)(II) of this section, as follows:
(I) A public assistance or medical assistance recipient may express, in writing and in accordance with a procedure established by the state department, a preference to be buried, cremated, or naturally reduced, or any combination of these practices. The expression shall be honored by the county department within the limits of costs and reimbursements specified in this section.
(II) The disposition of a public assistance or medical assistance recipient who has not expressed a preference shall be determined respectively by the recipient's spouse, adult children, parents, or siblings. Upon the death of a recipient, the county department shall use reasonable effort to contact such an authorized person to determine the disposition of the deceased recipient. If the effort does not result in contact with an authorized relative within twenty-four hours, the county shall immediately have the deceased recipient's body refrigerated or embalmed. If the effort does not result in contact with and decision by an authorized relative within seven days of the recipient's death, the county department shall determine whether to bury, cremate, or naturally reduce the deceased recipient on the basis of which option is less costly.
(b) The disposition of any public assistance or medical assistance recipient in accordance with this subsection (9) shall be in a timely and dignified manner.
(c) A mortuary science practitioner or any operator of any cemetery who has contracted for cremation services pursuant to this subsection (9) may dispose of the remains of any public assistance or medical assistance recipient cremated pursuant to this section that are not claimed within one hundred twenty days from the date of cremation. For the purposes of this paragraph (c), disposal of remains shall include, but need not be limited to, placing such remains in a cemetery, scattering grounds, or columbarium.
(10) The state department shall:
(a) Adopt rules and regulations necessary for the implementation of this section; and
(b) (Deleted by amendment, L. 96, p. 1114, � 1, effective August 7, 1996.)
(c) Annually review reimbursement levels to determine whether the levels are adequate to purchase funeral, cremation, burial, or natural reduction services for deceased public assistance or medical assistance recipients.
(11) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, any person who, in good faith, disposes of a deceased recipient or the remains of a deceased recipient in accordance with this section shall be immune from any civil or criminal liability.
Source: L. 73: R&RE, p. 1193, � 2. C.R.S. 1963: � 119-3-29. L. 75: Entire section amended, p. 886, � 3, effective July 1. L. 83: (4) amended, p. 1121, � 1, effective June 10. L. 86: (2) and (4) amended, p. 991, � 1, effective April 21. L. 90: (1) and (3) amended, (2) R&RE, and (5) to (7) added, pp. 1365, 1366, �� 1, 2, effective July 1. L. 93: (5)(a)(I) and IP(6) amended, p. 1148, � 89, effective July 1, 1994. L. 96: Entire section amended, p. 1114, � 1, effective August 7. L. 2003: (2)(g) amended, p. 1924, � 4, effective July 1. L. 2010: (3) amended, (HB 10-1043), ch. 92, p. 316, � 11, effective April 15. L. 2021: IP(2) and (2)(c) amended and (2)(f.5) and (2)(i) added, (HB 21-1277), ch. 259, p. 1520, � 1, effective June 18; (1)(a), (1)(d), (1)(e), (1)(f), (2)(a), (2)(b), (2)(e)(II), IP(2)(h), (3), (4), IP(6), (6)(c), (9)(a), and (10)(c) amended, (SB 21-006), ch. 123, p. 498, � 28, effective September 7.
Cross references: For the legislative declaration contained in the 1993 act amending this section, see section 1 of chapter 230, Session Laws of Colorado 1993.