Nebraska Supreme Court Online Library www.nebraska.gov/apps-courts-epub/ 06/05/2020 08:08 AM CDT - 20 - Nebraska Supreme Court Advance Sheets 306 Nebraska Reports J.S. v. NEBRASKA DEPT. OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVS. Cite as 306 Neb. 20 J.S, appellant, v. Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services et al., appellees. ___ N.W.2d ___ Filed June 5, 2020. No. S-18-1149. 1. Public Assistance: Words and Phrases. For the purposes of state or local public benefits eligibility under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 4-108 (Reissue 2012), “lawfully present” means the alien classifications under 8 U.S.C. § 1621(a)(1), (2), and (3) (2012). 2. Public Assistance: Legislature. In order to affirmatively provide a state public benefit to aliens not lawfully present in the United States, as authorized by 8 U.S.C. § 1621(d) (2012), the Legislature must make a positive or express statement extending eligibility by reference to immi- gration status. 3. Administrative Law: Judgments: Appeal and Error. A judgment or final order rendered by a district court in a judicial review pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act may be reversed, vacated, or modi- fied by an appellate court for errors appearing on the record. 4. ____: ____: ____. When reviewing an order of a district court under the Administrative Procedure Act for errors appearing on the record, the inquiry is whether the decision conforms to the law, is sup- ported by competent evidence, and is neither arbitrary, capricious, nor unreasonable. 5. Administrative Law: Judgments. Whether an agency decision con- forms to the law is by definition a question of law. 6. Administrative Law: Statutes: Appeal and Error. The meaning and interpretation of statutes and regulations are questions of law for which an appellate court has an obligation to reach an independent conclusion irrespective of the decision made by the court below. 7. Medical Assistance: Federal Acts: States. The Medicaid program provides joint federal and state funding of medical care for individuals - 21 - Nebraska Supreme Court Advance Sheets 306 Nebraska Reports J.S. v. NEBRASKA DEPT. OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVS. Cite as 306 Neb. 20 whose resources are insufficient to meet the cost of necessary medi- cal care. 8. ____: ____: ____. A state is not obligated to participate in the Medicaid program; however, once a state has voluntarily elected to participate, it must comply with standards and requirements imposed by federal stat- utes and regulations. 9. Administrative Law: Statutes. For purposes of construction, a rule or regulation of an administrative agency is generally treated like a statute. 10. ____: ____. Properly adopted and filed regulations have the effect of statutory law. 11. Administrative Law. Absent a statutory or regulatory indication to the contrary, language contained in a rule or regulation is to be given its plain and ordinary meaning. 12. Federal Acts: Words and Phrases. In interpreting federal statutes, the word “may” customarily connotes discretion. That connotation is par- ticularly apt where “may” is used in contraposition to the word “shall.” 13. Statutes: Words and Phrases. The word “may” when used in a statute will ...
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Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals