POLL: Bid to rein poor now part of Arkansas bill

Aim: Ensure aid buys basics

Rep. Jim Dotson (left) talks with Rep. Richard Womack after Dotson’s amendment seeking restrictions on the use of assistance to needy families was endorsed Tuesday by the Joint Budget Committee.
Rep. Jim Dotson (left) talks with Rep. Richard Womack after Dotson’s amendment seeking restrictions on the use of assistance to needy families was endorsed Tuesday by the Joint Budget Committee.

Legislation that would require the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services to seek a waiver from the federal government to restrict the use of financial assistance paid to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families recipients cleared the Legislature's Joint Budget Committee on Tuesday.



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The committee voted 34-13 for the amendment, proposed by Rep. Jim Dotson to House Bill 1017 -- the appropriation bill for the department in fiscal 2017 -- before it sent the amended measure to the full House. The House later adopted the amendment but has yet to consider the bill.

Calendar

This is the calendar of public events of the 90th General Assembly for today, the 22nd day of the 2016 fiscal session.

COMMITTEES

9 a.m. The Joint Budget Committee meets in the Multi-Agency Complex, Room A.

Upon adjournment of the House and Senate, Joint Budget’s Claims Subcommittee will meet in the Multi-Agency Complex, Room B.

SENATE

1 p.m. The Senate convenes.

HOUSE

1:30 p.m. The House convenes.

Dotson, R-Bentonville, told the budget committee that his proposal would increase accountability and transparency in the spending of federal funds. He said he wants to ensure that recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds spend the aid on clothing, housing, utilities and other intended purposes.

Critics called Dotson's proposal inhumane.

Thirty-three Republicans and Sen. Bobby Pierce, D-Sheridan, voted for the amendment during the committee's meeting, while 13 Democrats voted against it. Later Tuesday, Democrats largely voted against the amendment in the House.

The state spends $13 million to $14 million annually in federal block grant funds providing financial assistance to needy families, which can receive the aid only for up to two years, according to Bryan Hicks, an assistant director for financial management at the Department of Workforce Services.

About 9,950 families benefited from the program between July 2014 and June 2015. The monthly cash payment is based on an eligible household's size -- ranging from $81 for a single person to $457 for a family of nine, said Steve Guntharp, an assistant director for the department.

Dotson's amendment would require the Department of Workforce Services to request a U.S. waiver by Oct. 1 to restrict the use of the program's financial assistance to the purchase of "goods and services that are considered essential and necessary for the welfare of the family." It would be in effect for fiscal 2017.

Dotson's proposal would limit expenses to such things as food, clothing, housing, utilities, child care and incidentals such as transportation, medicine and medical supplies or equipment not covered by either Medicaid or the recipients' health care plans.

The proposal also would restrict cash withdrawals from electronic benefit transfer card accounts. Dotson told lawmakers that there currently is no accountability for such cash withdrawals.

Dotson's amendment cleared the Joint Budget Committee five days after the committee's initial vote of 24-14 fell five votes short of the 29 required for approval in the 56-member committee.

Dotson's proposal "would address any misuse perhaps of the card or any fraud that may be connected with the use of the card," said department Director Daryl Bassett.

Texas has a law similar to Dotson's proposal, and "if we were to require this body to perform this, we would try to the best of our ability to model our program [after] that of Texas," he said.

The department would have to hire a third-party processor to monitor the use of these funds if the federal government approves the waiver, Bassett said. Department officials have said they don't know how much it would cost to administer.

But Rep. John Walker, D-Little Rock, said Dotson's amendment is regarded by many lawmakers as inhumane and serving no useful purpose.

Sen. Joyce Elliott, D-Little Rock, said "even needy people need to have cash.

"At some point, we will come to understand that being poor is not a criminal act, and just presuming criminality because you happen to be poor is just fantastical to me," she said.

HB1017 is pending action in the House of Representatives and requires 75 votes in the 100-member chamber for approval of the bill.

The House voted 64-28 to approve Dotson's amendment Tuesday afternoon. Sixty-two Republicans, Democratic Rep. Jeff Wardlaw of Hermitage and independent Rep. Nate Bell of Mena voted for the amendment, while 26 Democrats voted against it.

House Democratic leader Michael John Gray of Augusta said Tuesday afternoon in an interview that he wasn't sure whether House Democrats would block approval of the appropriation bill.

The House consists of 64 Republicans, 35 Democrats and one independent.

"Regardless of what sounds good in a coffee shop, spending $100 to save $2 doesn't work in anybody's world, so there's going to be some real conversation had about that going forward," Gray said. "If I was leadership, I'd be wondering -- if I were really interested in getting that budget through -- I'd be wondering what that amendment does to the entire budget."

Gray said the Department of Workforce Services' appropriation would have been easy to pass without Dotson's amendment with this year's fiscal session winding down.

Information for this article was contributed by Brian Fanney of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

A Section on 05/04/2016

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