On September 9, 1998, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit struck down a Pennsylvania welfare reform measure that establishes a reduced level of welfare benefits during the first 12 months after a recipient moves to Pennsylvania. WLF’s brief argued that states should be granted the flexibility to provide a reduced level of benefits to newcomers so that they can devote a greater percentage of their limited public funds to providing assistance to long-term residents. WLF argued that the law does not violate the constitutional right to travel because those arriving in Pennsylvania receive the level of benefits, during their first 12 months of residency, no more than what they would have received had they remained in their former state.
