Dupler v. City of Portland

• Decision Date: 26 October 1976
• Docket Number: Civ. No. 74-134-SD,74-79-ND.
• Citation: Dupler v. City of Portland, 421 F.Supp. 1314 (D. Me. 1976)
• Parties: Marlene DUPLER and Eva Dare, for themselves and others similarly situated, of Portland, Maine, Plaintiffs, v. The CITY OF PORTLAND and David Bittenbender, in his official capacity as Welfare Director of the City of Portland, Defendants. Dale A. ROY et al., Plaintiffs, v. OVERSEERS OF THE POOR OF the CITY OF PRESQUE ISLE et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Maine

421 F. Supp. 1314

Marlene DUPLER and Eva Dare, for themselves and others similarly situated, of Portland, Maine, Plaintiffs, v.The CITY OF PORTLAND and David Bittenbender, in his official capacity as WelfareDirector of the City of Portland, Defendants.

Dale A. ROY et al., Plaintiffs, v.OVERSEERS OF THE POOR OF the CITY OF PRESQUE ISLE et al., Defendants.

Civ. Nos. 74-134-SD, 74-79-ND.

United States District Court, D. Maine, N. D. and S. D.

October 26, 1976.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Robert E. Mittel, and Susan Calkins, Portland, Me., for plaintiffs in No. 74-134-SD.

William J. O'Brien, Charles A. Lane, Ellen Egan George, Legal Dept., City of Portland, Portland, Me., for defendants in No. 74-134-SD.

Robert E. Mittel, and Susan Calkins, Portland, Me., Robert Schwartz, Food Research & Action Center, New York City, for plaintiffs in No. 74-79-ND.

Charles A. Lane, Portland, Me., Hugo A. Olore, Jr., and John C. Walker, Presque Isle, Me., for defendants in No. 74-79-ND.

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE COURT

GIGNOUX, District Judge.

These are class actions seeking declaratory and injunctive relief against the reduction of general assistance benefits as a consequence of the receipt of federal food stamps, alleged to be in violation of Section 2019(d) of the Federal Food Stamp Act,7 U.S.C. § 2019(d)(Supp.1976).Plaintiffs in each case are recipients of federal food stamps who allege that their general assistance benefits have been unlawfully reduced on account of their receipt of these stamps.Defendants are the Cities of Portland and Presque Isle and the officials of each who are charged with the administration of the general assistance program.Jurisdiction in each case is asserted, properly, under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1337, 1343(3), 42id.§ 1983; and each case has been certified as a class action under Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(2).The Court has previously entered temporary restraining orders in each case enjoining reduction of plaintiffs' general assistance benefits on account of their receipt of federal food stamps.The cases have been consolidated for hearing and argument.They have been tried to the Court, without jury, and fully briefed and argued by counsel.¹

I.

Like every other state, the State of Maine operates federally-assisted relief programs of aid to aged, blind and disabled persons and to dependent children.22 Me. Rev.Stat.Ann. §§ 3172-3282,3741-3758 (Supp.1975);see42 U.S.C. §§ 601-644,1201-1206,1351-1355,1381-1383c.See generallyGraves v. Fisher,361 F.Supp. 1356(D.Me.1972)(three-judge court), aff'd mem.,412 U.S. 924, 93 S.Ct. 2748, 37 L.Ed.2d 152(1973);Stoddard v. Fisher,330 F.Supp. 566(D.Me.1971)(three-judge court).These programs are administered by the State Department of Human Services.In addition, municipalities in Maine, including the Cities of Portland and Presque Isle, administer general assistance programs of "municipal relief of the poor" under 22 Me.Rev.Stat.Ann. §§ 4450-4508.²The cost of providing this relief is met out of municipal funds, subject to partial reimbursement by the State if costs exceed a certain level.Id.§ 4499, see Appendix.In Portland, this program is administered by the Department of Health and Social Services; in Presque Isle by the Overseers of the Poor.The operation of the program is, in every material respect, the same in each city.It is therefore necessary to describe only the operation of the Portland program.

Guidelines established by the Portland Department of Health and Social Services, pursuant to 22 Me.Rev.Stat. § 4504, see Appendix, describe the program as one of "general assistance . . . to those in need."They state, further:

Assistance will be given to enable recipients in accordance with the general law and the guidelines set forth herein to maintain a reasonable standard of health and decency. . . .The client is expected to make use of all available resources before seeking help from the City.Each request for relief shall be considered a new obligation, and nothing herein shall be construed as giving any person, prior to the determination of eligibility a continuing right to assistance.

The Portland general assistance program supplies funds and goods and services in kind to applicants on the basis of a budget prepared by city personnel.Using criteria of need established by the Guidelines, city workers calculate the shortfall between an applicant's income and necessary expenditures.For example, the Guidelines prescribe food expenses of $12 per week for a single person, plus $6 per week for each additional member of an applicant's household.³Under this formula plaintiffMarlene Dupler, who had a small child was receiving $18 per week of general assistance, in the form of city food orders, plus other general assistance.

The Guidelines state that general assistance is granted not on a continuing but on a week-by-week basis and that an applicant is required each week to establish her/his need for relief.The evidence shows, however, that general assistance recipients typically receive aid each week for a considerable period of time and that full procedures relating to proof of need and calculation of an applicant's budgetary needs are not repeated every week.⁴

The events giving rise to these actions occurred in August 1974, when members of the plaintiff classes began to receive federal food stamps under the Federal Food Stamp Act of 1964, 78 Stat. 703, as amended, 7 U.S.C. §§ 2011-2025(Supp.1976)(the Act).The federal food stamp program allows needy persons or families meeting the eligibility standards of the Act to purchase coupons redeemable for food at retail stores.The cost of the coupons is paid by the federal government, and the program is administered by the states.In Maine, the food stamp program is operated by the counties and the costs of administration are borne initially two-thirds by the State and one-third by the municipalities.See22 Me. Rev.Stat.Ann. § 3104(Supp.1976);30 Me. Rev.Stat.Ann. § 254.The federal government subsequently reimburses the State for 50 percent of the total administrative costs.7 U.S.C.A. § 2024(Supp.1976).

As recipients of general assistance began to receive federal food stamps, the City welfare officials determined that an applicant's receipt of federal stamps would be taken into account in calculating her/his weekly food expenses.This was effected by determining an applicant's budgeted food needs to be the cost to the applicant of federal food stamps rather than the amount set forth in the Guidelines.See note 3, supra.Thus, in the case of Marlene Dupler, the Portland Department of Health and Social Services allotted her not the $18 previously allowed but only a sum (in her case, $1) with which she could obtain $18 in federal food stamps.The net effect was that Ms. Dupler continued to receive general assistance entitling her to purchase $18 worth of food, but that the City actually paid her only $1.

II.

Plaintiffs allege that the reduction of their general assistance benefits by reason of their receipt of federal food stamps violates Section 2019(d) of the Act.The Court is convinced that the language of the statute and the legislative history support plaintiffs' position.⁵

Section 2019(d) of the Act provides:

Participating States or participating political subdivisions thereof shall not decrease welfare grants or other similar aid extended to any person or persons as a consequence of such person's or persons' participation in benefits made available under the provisions of this chapter or the regulations issued pursuant to this chapter.

See also7 CFR § 271.1(c), infra.The Congressional purpose for inclusion of this provision in the Act appears clearly from the declaration of policy, contained in Section 2011, of seeking "to safeguard the health and well-being of the Nation's population and raise levels of nutrition among low-income households."7 U.S.C. § 2011(emphasis added).Congress' intent in passing the Act was to satisfy the previously unmet nutritional needs of welfare recipients and other low-income persons.SeeRodway v. United States Department of Agriculture,168 U.S.App.D.C. 387, 514 F.2d 809, 818-20(1975).The legislative history of the Act makes clear that the intent of Congress was not to provide a substitute for other forms of aid to low-income persons but to supplement that aid in order to improve their level of nutrition.SeeS.Rep.No.1124, 88th Cong., 2d Sess., 1964 U.S.Cong. & Admin. News 3275-92.It is evident that if welfare assistance is reduced to take into account the value of food stamps received under the Act, the ultimate effect of the Act will be not to raise but merely to maintain pre-existing levels of nutrition and the purpose of the Act will be frustrated.⁶Such, however, is the effect of the actions of the defendants in these cases.

Defendants offer a series of arguments contending that Section 2019(d) does not apply to their action in taking receipt of federal stamps into account when computing an applicant's entitlement to general assistance.None of these arguments is persuasive.

First, defendants contend that municipal general assistance payments in Maine are not "welfare grants or other similar aid" within the meaning of Section 2019(d).The evidence shows beyond peradventure, however, that general assistance in fact supplies recipients over extended periods of time with payments in cash and in kind designed to maintain their standard of living at a specified minimum level.General assistance is a state program mandated by state law, 22 Me.Rev.Stat.Ann. § 4497, see Appendix, and partly supported by state funds.Id.§ 4499, see Appendix.There is no question but that general assistance is an integral part of the system of benefits by which the State of Maine undertakes to meet the needs of its poor.General assistance is therefore clearly a form of "welfare grants or other similar aid" within the meaning of Section 2019(d).

...