Legislature(2001 - 2002)
2001-02-22 Senate Journal
Full Journal pdf2001-02-22 Senate Journal Page 0475 SB 116 SENATE BILL NO. 116 BY THE SENATE RULES COMMITTEE BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR, entitled: "An Act relating to the Alaska temporary assistance program; and providing for an effective date." was read the first time and referred to the Health, Education and Social Services, Judiciary and Finance Committees. The following fiscal information was published today: Fiscal Note No. 1, zero, Department of Health and Social Services Governor's transmittal letter dated February 21: Dear President Halford: Five years ago my Administration worked with the Legislature to create a new welfare law for Alaska. Under the banner of welfare reform, we repealed the Aid to Families with Dependent Children and Job Opportunity and Basic Skills programs and created the Alaska Temporary Assistance Program (ATAP). We have had great success with the program, with more Alaskans transitioning from welfare to work and our caseload dropping by more than 40 percent. Like many other states addressing welfare reform, we recognize what changes are needed to improve our program administration and ensure its continued success. These changes are addressed in the bill I transmit today. The bill repeals the percentage limit on the number of families that may continue on assistance for more than 60 months due to hardship. Removal of this limit will permit the Department of Health and Social Services to base its hardship exceptions on objective criteria rather than on a fixed percentage of overall caseload. As families are successful in finding work and the overall caseload decreases, the number of hardship cases makes up a greater percentage of the total. Alaska set an extremely aggressive goal, compared to other states, in capping our hardship cases at a specific percentage of the total. Other states either avoided time limits completely or set a broader range of 2001-02-22 Senate Journal Page 0476 exemptions to the limits. We now recognize the fixed percentage in our law artificially bars needy families with disabled adults from receiving essential cash assistance and services for their children. The first families will begin to exceed the 60-month lifetime limit in July of 2002. The bill also addresses the seasonal reduction provisions for a two- parent needy family by removing outdated eligibility requirements as cited in a Superior Court ruling. This change permits the department to apply the seasonal reduction provision to all two-parent needy families in which both parents are physically and mentally able to work. Finally, the bill requires disabled parents to have self-sufficiency plans. The state can better serve these parents by promoting their efforts toward self-sufficiency. We have seen dramatic, positive changes for poor Alaska families. Thousands of recipients have been assisted into work and the state has saved millions of dollars in welfare benefit payments. The reform measures provided a durable framework for a new era of welfare in Alaska. I urge your favorable consideration for these improvements to the program. Sincerely, /s/ Tony Knowles Governor