Social Security Act of 1935
TITLE I- GRANTS TO STATES FOR OLD-AGE ASSISTANCE
Appropriation
Payment to States
Operation of State Plans
Administration
Definition
APPROPRIATION
SECTION 1. For the purpose of enabling each State to furnish financial assistance, as far as practicable under the conditions in such State, to aged needy individuals, there is hereby authorized to be appropriated for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1936, the sum of $49,750,000, and there is hereby authorized to be appropriated for each fiscal year thereafter a sum sufficient to carry out the purposes of this title. The sums made available under this section shall be used for making payments to States which have submitted, and had approved by the Social Security Board established by Title VII (hereinafter referred to as the Board ), State plans for old-age assistance.
STATE OLD-AGE ASSISTANCE PLANS
SEC. 2. (a) A State plan for old-age assistance must
(1) provide that it shall be in effect in all political subdivisions of
the State, and, if administered by them, be mandatory upon them;
(2) provide for financial participation by the State;
(3) either provide for the establishment or designation of a single State
agency to administer the plan, or provide for the establishment or designation
of a single State agency to supervise the administration of the plan;
(4) provide for granting to any individual, whose claim for old-age assistance
is denied, an opportunity for a fair hearing before such State agency;
(5) provide such methods of administration (other than those relating
to selection, tenure of office, and compensation of personnel) as are
found by the Board to be necessary for the efficient operation of the
plan;
(6) provide that the State agency will make such reports, in such form
and containing such information, as the Board may from time to time require,
and comply with such provisions as the Board may from time to time find
necessary to assure the correctness and verification of such reports;
and
(7) provide that, if the State or any of its political subdivisions collects
from the estate of any recipient of old-age assistance any amount with
respect to old-age assistance furnished him under the plan, one- half
of the net amount so collected shall be promptly paid to the United States.
Any payment so made shall be deposited in the Treasury to the credit of
the appropriation for the purposes of this title.
(b) The Board shall approve any plan which fulfills the conditions specified
in subsection (a), except that it shall not approve any plan which imposes,
as a condition of eligibility for old-age assistance under the plan-
(1) An age requirement of more than sixty-five years, except that the
plan may impose, effective until January 1, 1940, an age requirement of
as much as seventy years; or
(2) Any residence requirement which excludes any resident of the State
who has resided therein five years during the nine years immediately preceding
the application for old-age assistance and has resided therein continuously
for one year immediately preceding the application; or (3) Any citizenship
requirement which excludes any citizen of the United States.
SEC. 3. (a) From the sums appropriated therefor, the Secretary of the
Treasury shall pay to each State which has an approved plan for old-age
assistance, for each quarter, beginning with the quarter commencing July
1, 1935,
(1) an amount, which shall be used exclusively as old-age assistance,
equal to one-half of the total of the sums expended during such quarter
as old-age assistance under the State plan with respect to each individual
who at the time of such expenditure is sixty-five years of age or older
and is not an inmate of a public institution, not counting so much of
such expenditure with respect to any individual for any month as exceeds
$30, and
(2) 5 per centum of such amount, which shall be used for paying the costs
of administering the State plan or for old-age assistance, or both, and
for no other purpose: Provided, That the State plan, in order to be approved
by the Board, need not provide for financial participation before July
1, 1937, by the State, in the case of any State which the Board, upon
application by the State and after reasonable notice and opportunity for
hearing to the State, finds is prevented by its constitution from providing
such financial participation.
(b) The method of computing and paying such amounts shall be as follows:
(1) The Board shall, prior to the beginning of each quarter, estimate
the amount to be paid to the State for such quarter under the provisions
of clause (1) of subsection (a), such estimate to be based on
(A) a report filed by the State containing its estimate of the total sum
to be expended in such quarter in accordance with the provisions of such
clause, and stating the amount appropriated or made available by the State
and its political subdivisions for such expenditures in such quarter,
and if such amount is less than one-half of the total sum of such estimated
expenditures, the source or sources from which the difference is expected
to be derived,
(B) records showing the number of aged individuals in the State, and
(C) such other investigation as the Board may find necessary.
(2) The Board shall then certify to the Secretary of the Treasury the amount so estimated by the Board, reduced or increased, as the case may be, by any sum by which it finds that its estimate for any prior quarter was greater or less than the amount which should have been paid to the State under clause (1) of subsection (a) for such quarter, except to the extent that such sum has been applied to make the amount certified for any prior quarter greater or less than the amount estimated by the Board for such prior quarter.
(3) The Secretary of the Treasury shall thereupon, through the Division of Disbursement of the Treasury Department and prior to audit or settlement by the General Accounting Office, pay to the State, at the time or times fixed by the Board, the amount so certified, increased by 5 per centum.
SEC. 4. In the case of any State plan for old-age assistance which has
been approved by the Board, if the Board, after reasonable notice and
opportunity for hearing to the State agency administering or supervising
the administration of such plan, finds-
(1) that the plan has been so changed as to impose any age, residence,
or citizenship requirement prohibited by section 2 (b), or that in the
administration of the plan any such prohibited requirement is imposed,
with the knowledge of such State agency, in a substantial number of cases;
or
(2) that in the administration of the plan there is a failure to comply
substantially with any provision required by section 2 (a) to be included
in the plan; the Board shall notify such State agency that further payments
will not be made to the State until the Board is satisfied that such prohibited
requirement is no longer so imposed, and that there is no longer any such
failure to comply. Until it is so satisfied it shall make no further certification
to the Secretary of the Treasury with respect to such State.
SEC. 5. There is hereby authorized to be appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1936, the sum of $250,000, for all necessary expenses of the Board in administering the provisions of this title.
SEC. 6. When used in this title the term old age assistance means money payments to aged individuals.