$1.1 million in awards sent back for review

Capitol police Cpl. Adolf White gives directions Friday to William Tanner of Bigelow at the state Capitol. The Arkansas Legislative Council discussed security funding briefly during a meeting in Little Rock.
Capitol police Cpl. Adolf White gives directions Friday to William Tanner of Bigelow at the state Capitol. The Arkansas Legislative Council discussed security funding briefly during a meeting in Little Rock.

The Legislative Council on Friday asked a subcommittee to reconsider its recommendations to award $600,000 to the family of a mentally disabled woman who died as a result of negligence at a state facility last year and $495,000 to a road construction company that blamed delays on interstate work on state highway officials.

The council also signed off on a contract for up to $45,000 with a Russellville-based company to analyze the effectiveness of a wellness initiative for state and public school employees in the state's health insurance plans and to recommend other strategies for reducing employees' medical expenses.

In addition, it referred the secretary of state's request for $80,000 to boost security at the state Capitol to the Joint Budget Committee.

At the request of Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, the council voted to ask the Joint Budget Committee's claims review subcommittee to re-examine its endorsement of the state Claims Commission's decision to award $600,000 to the family of Brenda Mize, who died after choking at a human development center in Arkadelphia.

Mize, 47, had been at the Arkadelphia Human Development Center, overseen by the state Department of Human Services, since 2006 after she was diagnosed with an intellectual disability; bipolar disorder; and dysphagia, a condition that makes it difficult to swallow.

The Claims Commission unanimously found that state staff was negligent in Mize's care and described her encounter with a staff member before her death as a "supervisory failure with tragic consequences."

After the council meeting, Hester said he asked the subcommittee to review its decision because "my concern is we have to establish some parameters of how we deal with this ... and make sure that all families are treated fairly and human development centers are fiscally sound."

At Hester's request, the council voted to ask the Joint Budget Committee's claims review subcommittee to re-examine its decision to award $495,000 to the Memphis-based APAC-Tennessee road construction company.

In September, the Claims Commission recommended awarding the company $745,770; the subcommittee recommended cutting that award to $495,000.

Because of delays in completing the job, the company, which was contracted to do bridge and surface work on a 7-mile stretch of interstate in 2013, lost nearly $1 million it said it was owed by the state Highway and Transportation Department.

But the company has argued the delays were the fault of state highway officials.

"I think there was just some evidence that the highway department wasn't able to present or maybe didn't get enough time," Hester told his colleagues in explaining his request for the claims review subcommittee to reconsider its recommendation.

"Those meetings run really long and we start shrinking the time down, and they didn't feel like they got enough time to present their case," he said.

The council also approved a contract with Human Factor Analytics of Russellville through March 31 to review "the population health management and health data analytics" for the state employees and public school employees for the State and Public School Life and and Health Insurance Task Force. The company will be paid a $40,000 consulting fee and up to $5,000 in reimbursements for travel expenses.

The company's final report is due to the Bureau of Legislative Research by Feb. 15.

"We need some data back about whether or not some of the things we are considering will have a good return on investment," during the session that starts Jan. 12, said state Sen. Jim Hendren, R-Sulphur Springs and chairman of the task force.

"What we are considering right now are wellness initiatives and whether or not the direction that [the Employee Benefits Division] is moving forward with regard to efforts to improve employee wellness are cost-effective," Hendren said.

Under the initiative, employees who visited a doctor for a preventive health screening from Jan. 1, 2013, through Nov. 1 will receive $75 discounts on their monthly premiums next year.

To qualify for the discount in 2016, employees will have to get another wellness exam next year. Employees and spouses covered under the state's public school and state employee health insurance plans will also have to take a phone or online survey meant to assess their health and their risks of developing chronic illnesses such as diabetes.

"We are getting ready to spend several million dollars of the state employees' plans implementing wellness plans," Hendren said. "Before we do that, I think it is a worthwhile effort to insure that we are spending those dollars and getting a return on the investment and that's really the purpose of this contract."

In other action, the council referred Secretary of State Mark Martin's request for $80,000 to improve security at the state Capitol to the Legislature's Joint Budget Committee.

The council wants more information about Martin's request, state Rep. Stephens Meeks, R-Greenbrier, said after the council's meeting.

When asked whether Martin wants the money to hire more state Capitol officers and buy more security equipment, Martin spokesman Laura Labay replied, "In order to protect the Capitol and the people in it, we do not comment on security measures at the Capitol."

Martin's request comes on the heels of the Legislative Council's Executive Subcommittee sending a letter in October to Martin's office, saying it has discussed concerns about the lack of security for the elevators in the tunnel entrance to the building and the need for increased security at the building's entrances and the House and Senate galleries.

Martin also is seeking $720,000 for capital facility needs.

Metro on 12/20/2014

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