SPONSOR: Laubinger
COMMITTEE ACTION: Voted "Do Pass with HCS" by the Standing Committee on Government Efficiency by a vote of 11 to 1 with 1 member voting present. Voted "Do Pass" by the Standing Committee on Rules-Legislative by a vote of 11 to 0.
The following is a summary of the House Committee Substitute for HB 1817.
This bill requires the Department of Health and Senior Services and the Department of Social Services to make a monthly report available on each of their websites that lists the following information related to each of the public assistance programs administered by those Departments for every city, town, village, and county with more than 1,000 inhabitants:
(1) The total number of households enrolled;
(2) The total number of people served;
(3) The average monthly benefits received per household receiving benefits; and
(4) The number of households that became ineligible to receive benefits.
The bill prohibits the Departments from reporting confidential information and requires that they only report aggregate data.
The following is a summary of the public testimony from the committee hearing. The testimony was based on the introduced version of the bill.
PROPONENTS: Supporters say that the less people depend on state and local welfare, the stronger those individuals become. Supporters further state that private, community-driven welfare benefits are far better than long-distance assistance from a state government agency, because local communities are in a much better position to understand local needs. Supporters also state that this bill will change the way in which the state administers aid because with the right data, local communities will be able to judge whether or not they are in fact reducing poverty. Testifying in person for the bill were Representative Laubinger; FGA Action; Americans For Prosperity; Arnie Dienoff.
OPPONENTS: There was no opposition voiced to the committee.
Written testimony has been submitted for this bill. The full written testimony and witnesses testifying online can be found under Testimony on the bill page on the House website.
Statutes affected: