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Show j New Welfare ) Law Explained 1 Procedure to be followed in I applying provisions of a new State law (H.B. 247) exempting i income earned in agriculture from ( , deduction from grants to recipi-i recipi-i ents of old-age assistance is outlined out-lined in instructions received today to-day at the Cache county welfare office, Noble L. Chambers, re-i re-i ported. The instructions, prepared and issued by the Public Welfare 1 commission, include copies of H. ( B. 247 and Public Law 45, the Federal act permitting recipients 1 of old-age assistance to work as i agricultural workers without hav-, hav-, ing their grants discontinued or 1 reduced because of such earnings. 1 In an opinion given to the Public i Welfare commission, the State Attorney General ruled "it was ' undoubtedly the intention of the i Legislature to make our old-age assistance laws conform to Public Law 45." H. B. 247 directs that "the state department of - public welfare shall neither make, allow, nor permit any reductions in assistance assist-ance payment (to recipients of old-age assistance) because of income in-come received, earned, or arising from agricultural labor . . ." performed per-formed hy the recipient. These provisions become effective on April 1. 1945 and continue in effect ef-fect until the end of six months after the t.prminnt.inn nf hostili- ties in the present war, as proclaimed pro-claimed by the President of the United States. Outlining the procedures to be followed in implementing provisions provi-sions of the new law. the instructions in-structions emphasized that (1) Only those individuals who actually were paid old age i assistance in July 1943 may qualify : 2( The amount of the grant of those who qualify and earn exempted agricultural income must be cut back I s to the amount paid in July ) 1943: I (4) Services performed in con nection with processing, I canning, or freezing in com- mercial plants are not in- I eluded in the definition of ' agricultural labor and therefore may not be ex- i empted from deduction from the grant paid. ' "While the State law docs not I specifically restrict qualification i only to those persons receiving old-age assistance in July 1943." I Commission Chairman Sophus Bcr-I Bcr-I (Continued on page Eight) luctant to attempTT' of the probable effect law oj the caseload r ' diture in the old-age i s. program. It was expl-! 1 only such income froi '.1 tural labor as defined iwh; is earned on or afterES. 194o, can be exemptcS'r provision of the law. In' v pect, therefore, the nee-would nee-would not increase grant" toring any . prior deducfLl1 cause of agricultural h-1 come. There will be sonff1 tions in the amount of those wishing to engage t& j cultural work since the loV ! quires a cut back of the , j to the level of july 1943 ( i The average old-age a7. payment in the State as 1 m July 1943 was $35 26 ,cu ruary 1945 it was $37 05' erage in Cache county f 1943 was $33 34. In pii j 1945 is was $35.43. -, I As to the number that rs take advantage of the opio ity to augment their pf. , resources under provision B. 247, officials said that! just is no basis for reliab" timates. It was pointed om this connection that the n1' age of recipients of old ag?' sistance in the State is 75 Three out . of five ol the ' recipients today are women half of the males are 75 ' -of age or over; one-third ai"1 to 74 years old; and less -one-fourth are between 65 ? 69 years of p. j; "Because of th: exclusion" the definition of agricultural bor of canning and other " cessmg work, fewer w0, probably will be able to t' advantage of the provision" the law than otherwise wo-have wo-have been expected," Tffr Ber son said. It was explained ti of old-age assistance in the St; live in urban Salt Lake and W ber counties where the opportu ity for agricultural labor is o, er than in the rural areas TH effect of H. B. 247 in UIJ areas likely will be relatively i important than in other areas County Director ChamM said that there are 741 reclp,sl of old-age assistance in a' county. About 70 of tjt women. Among mai6 rtcin 41 are 75 years of age or J' er; 23 are between 70 ai''i and 36 are between 65 n' ' years of age. New Welfare Law Explained 1 Continued from page One) telson explained, "nor prescribe that grants must bo cut back to the amount paid in July 1943, it carries the qualifying phrase 'as permitted under Public Law 45, 78th Congress, first session, or other acts of Congress'. The Attorney At-torney General has ruled that it is the duty of the Department to reduce the grants to what they were on July 1, 1943 in order to fully comply with the provisions of Public Law No. 45'." (Public Law No. 45 is a joint resolution passed by Congress m 1943. It provides that, notwithstanding notwith-standing provisions of the Social Security Act relating to Federal participation in State payments of old-age assistance (requiring that all income and resources shall be taken into consideration) Federal Fed-eral grants-in-aid shall not be withheld from a State because that State fails "to take into consideration any income and resources . . . arising from agricultural agri-cultural labor . . ." Further, it provides that in order to qualify under its provisions, payments to recipients shall be "at- a rate not in excess of the jate of old-age assistance paid . . . during the month of July 1943, . . .") "S'tate law refers simply to 'agricultural labor'," Mr. Bertelso-.i continued. "In practical application the term 'agricultural labor' must be defined. We have simply used the definition of 'agricultural labor' la-bor' given the U. S. Internal Revenue Re-venue Code the definition adopted by the Social Security Board in implementing Public Law 45." A brief statement of the provisions pro-visions under the law is to be enclosed with each old-age assistance as-sistance check to be mailed to recipients in April, the Commis. sion revealed. In addition to the statement of the qualifying provisions, pro-visions, the recipient, if he is interested in-terested in taking advantage of the plan, will be urged to secure additional information about the matter from the county welfare office. "We are most anxious," Mr. Bertelson said, "to avoid any misunderstanding of the provisions under this law. There are restrictions restric-tions whidh, unless made clear, could cause bitter disappointment to the recipients. We should dislike dis-like greatly to have to reduce an individual's old-age assistance, or declare him ineligible as a result of a misconstruction on his part of the rights given him under law." State welfare officials were re- |