.02 Definitions.

A. The following terms have the meanings indicated.

B. Terms Defined.

(1) "Administration" means the Family Investment Administration of the Department of Human Services.

(2) "Applicant" means the head of household and spouse or cohabitant of the head of household, or representative of a shelter.

(3) "Benefit" means the amount of assistance or related service that is provided on behalf of an eligible household.

(4) "Boarder" means an individual to whom a household furnishes lodging and meals for compensation. A relative may be given boarder status if aged 60 years old or older, or disabled.

(5) "Crisis assistance" means a benefit provided an eligible household during an energy-related emergency and required to be delivered within 18 or 48 hours in accordance with Regulation .10F or G of this chapter.

(6) "Current program year" means the State fiscal year from July 1 through June 30.

(7) "Department" means the Maryland Department of Human Services.

(8) "Disabled" means an individual who has a physical or mental impairment that interferes with one or more of life's major activities, such as walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, working, or learning.

(9) "Domiciliary care facility" means an institution which admits aged or disabled persons, maintains the necessary facilities, and provides a protective institutional or home type environment to persons who are of advanced age or have a physical or mental disability.

(10) "Duration of benefit" means the length of a State fiscal year during which a household expends an energy benefit or has it returned to the Maryland Energy Assistance Program.

(11) "Elderly" means a person 60 years old or older.

(12) "Energy crisis" means weather-related or supply-shortage emergencies, or other household energy-related emergencies.

(13) "Energy supplier" means a vendor of home energy. An energy supplier may be a company or sole proprietorship supplying electricity, natural gas, propane, kerosene, coal, or wood for residential use.

(14) "Head of household" means a person who is designated by the household as the head or representative of the household.

(15) "Homeless person" means a resident of Maryland without shelter and lacking resources to provide shelter.

(16) "Household" means an individual or group of individuals who are living together as one unit and for whom residential energy is customarily purchased in common or who make undesignated payments for energy in the form of rent.

(17) "Landlord" means the owner of the property who leases or rents the property to the household.

(18) "Local agency" means the local administering agency that the Department has designated to administer a component or components of the Program.

(19) "Public housing" means a dwelling complex owned and operated by a local government and whose:

(a) Residents are determined eligible based on income; and

(b) Rental fees are subsidized by local or federal funding.

(20) "Qualified alien" means an individual who is not a citizen of the United States who:

(a) Is lawfully admitted for permanent residence under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA);

(b) Is admitted to the United States as a refugee under §207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act;

(c) Is granted asylum under §208 of the Immigration and Nationality Act;

(d) Has had deportation or removal withheld under §234(h) or 241(b)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act;

(e) Has been granted status as a Cuban or Haitian entrant as defined in §501(e) of the Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980;

(f) Is paroled into the United States under §212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act for a period of at least 1 year;

(g) Is granted conditional entry pursuant to §203(a)(7) of the Immigration and Nationality Act as in effect before April 1, 1980; or

(h) Is a battered spouse, battered child, or parent or child of a battered individual.

(21) "Renter" means an individual who leases a residential dwelling from a landlord.

(22) "Roomer" means an individual to whom a household furnishes lodging but not meals for compensation. A relative may be given roomer status if 60 years old or older, or disabled.

(23) Shelter.

(a) "Shelter" means a public or private nonprofit residential facility whose function is to provide temporary or intermediate accommodations to battered spouses and homeless persons.

(b) "Shelter" does not include residential treatment programs, for example, those funded by the Departments of Juvenile Services, Aging, Human Services, and Department of Health.

(24) Subsidized Housing.

(a) "Subsidized Housing" means a privately owned dwelling complex where eligibility for residency is based on income and the rental fees are subsidized by federal or local funding.

(b) "Subsidized Housing" does not include a dwelling funded under the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Below Market Interest Rate Program or under the Rental Assistance Program.

(25) "Verification" means proof of accuracy of statements made by the applicant or recipient.