30-38,113. State agency; means-tested programs; rules and regulations.

(1) Each state agency that provides governmental benefits to individuals of any age with disabilities through means-tested programs, including the medical assistance program, shall adopt and promulgate rules and regulations that:

(a) Are not more restrictive than existing federal law, regulations, or policies with regard to the treatment of a special needs trust, including a trust defined in 42 U.S.C. 1396p(c)(2) and 42 U.S.C. 1396p(d)(4);

(b) Are not more restrictive than any state law regarding trusts, including any state law relating to the reasonable exercise of discretion by a trustee, guardian, or conservator in the best interests of the beneficiary;

(c) Do not require disclosure of a beneficiary's personal or confidential information without the consent of the beneficiary;

(d) Allow an individual account in a pooled special needs trust to be funded without financial limit;

(e) Allow an individual to establish or fund an individual account in a pooled special needs trust without an age limit or a transfer penalty;

(f) Allow an individual to fund a special needs trust for the individual's child with disabilities without a transfer penalty and regardless of the child's age; and

(g) Allow all legally assignable income or resources to be assigned to any special needs trust without limit.

(2) Nothing in this section may be interpreted to require a court order to authorize the funding of, or a disbursement from, a special needs trust.

Source:Laws 2024, LB1074, ยง 77.
Operative Date: July 19, 2024