(a) In determining eligibility for and the amount and kind of public assistance to be provided, the board shall prescribe by regulations reasonable emergency reserves and the income and resources which may be exempt and disregarded. With respect to any category of assistance, the income and resources to be disregarded shall not be in excess of the amounts and kinds authorized under the federal Social Security Act and shall not be less than the amounts and kinds of income and resources required to be disregarded by the federal Social Security Act and any other act of Congress relating to the assistance programs in which federal financial participation is authorized under Titles IV, XVI, XIX, and XX of the federal Social Security Act.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code section, this chapter, or state law, to the extent that such disregard does not violate federal law or terminate or decrease the state's eligibility for federal funding for public assistance or for disabled persons, the Department of Human Services, the Department of Community Health, and their successors shall disregard for the purpose of eligibility for public assistance or assistance for disabled persons any funds or property held in trust for a disabled person by a community trust created and administered in accordance with Chapter 10 of Title 30, a trust for a person with one or more impairments with substantially similar provisions for distributions, or any noncash distributions from such trusts.