Workforce Services bill sent to governor
The Arkansas Senate on Thursday sent Gov. Asa Hutchinson an appropriation for the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services that includes a provision requiring the department to seek a waiver from the federal government to restrict the use of financial assistance paid to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families recipients.
In a 28-6 vote, the Senate approved House Bill 1017 that includes an amendment by Rep. Jim Dotson, R-Bentonville, for the department 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."
Dotson's amendment 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. It also would restrict cash withdrawals from electronic benefit transfer card accounts.
Sen. Larry Teague, D-Nashville, who is one of five Senate Democrats who voted for HB1017, said, "In the final analysis, I am assuming the feds won't give the waiver, so it really won't matter."
Dotson said, "Predicting what [President Barack Obama's] administration will do or what the federal government will do from my seat here is next to impossible."
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Hutchinson said that "we were neutral" on Dotson's amendment before it cleared the Joint Budget Committee and the Legislature.
"I have not thoroughly vetted out the potential for a waiver and the impact of that, so I want to look at it in terms of implementation and whether that waiver is do-able," he said. He said he doesn't expect to issue a line-item veto of the amendment.
Capitol Zoning bill clears Legislature
In a 77-9 vote, the Arkansas House of Representatives sent Gov. Asa Hutchinson an appropriation bill for the Capitol Zoning District Commission that was amended to allow any person aggrieved by any commission action to appeal to the director of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.
Under Senate Bill 46, the director would be required to overturn the commission's action upon finding it was "clearly erroneous." The department's director is former Little Rock City Director Stacy Hurst.
The Capitol Zoning District was created in 1975 by the Legislature to oversee the look of buildings in the neighborhoods around the Capitol and the Governor's Mansion.
Its commission reviews building exterior changes and land use.
Hutchinson said the amendment, proposed by his nephew, Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson, R-Little Rock, would allow people to appeal a decision by the commission to Hurst, "which is probably not what Stacy Hurst thought she would do as the director of the Department of Heritage."
"But to me, that makes sense. There ought to be an appeal from it, so that's an example that is something that in my judgment is a positive change, even though it is substantive legislation in a fiscal session," the governor said. He said he doesn't intend to issue a line-item veto of the amendment.
Contraceptive-aid measure survives
The Arkansas Senate approved an appropriation for the state Department of Health that includes a provision authorizing it to transfer up to $3.7 million in carry-forward funds to be used at its director's discretion to provide long-term reversible contraceptives through local health units and improve and integrate an emergency management system to include trauma, stroke and myocardial infarction.
The Senate's 34-0 vote sent House Bill 1025 to the governor.
Sen. Missy Irvin, R-Mountain View, who proposed an amendment to the bill authorizing this transfer of department funds, said she found a fund balance of about $3.7 million for the trauma system and asked department officials whether "we could use that money for the long-acting personal contraceptives."
She said they indicated that they would like to do so because they want to put more money toward the supply of these contraceptives because of a waiting list and to help reduce teenage pregnancies.
She said Health Director Nathaniel Smith will decide how much money the department uses to provide long-term reversible contraceptives and to improve and integrate the emergency-management system to include trauma, stroke and myocardial infarction.
A Section on 05/06/2016