As we wind down the legislative session in Augusta, one of the major issues still left on the docket is welfare reform. The Health and Human Services Committee, where such legislation is first considered, is one of the busiest committees in the Legislature and deals with many detailed, nuanced proposals.
With dozens of welfare reform proposals in front of them, the committee certainly had their work cut out for them. Most of the legislation has had a public hearing, which is the first step in the legislative process, and is now in the work session stage. Several of the bills have been voted on in committee, but have not yet come to the floor for a vote. I’m pleased that of the bills the committee voted on, some have garnered bipartisan and even unanimous support.
Among the bills still being worked on in committee are two Governor’s bills that encompass a wide swath of welfare reform proposals including LD 1375, “An Act To Increase Accountability in Maine’s Welfare Programs.” The reforms included in this bill were attempted in the previous Legislature, but faced partisan opposition. This year, though, after Mainers have made it clear they want welfare reform I am hopeful we will be able to have bipartisan support and pass real reform.
The proposals contained in LD 1375 include commonsense ideas like requiring applicants for welfare benefits to apply for work, prohibiting EBT cards from being used for tobacco, liquor, gambling, lottery, tattoos, and bail, prohibiting EBT cards from being used outside of Maine, and implementing stricter penalties for people who abuse welfare benefits.
The second Governor’s bill is a proposal that would do away with Maine’s welfare cliff. In many cases, if people on public assistance were to start working, they would immediately lose all of their welfare benefits ”“ a situation known as hitting the welfare cliff. We need to continue to encourage people to help themselves, and structuring our public benefits so folks avoid the welfare cliff is key to making that happen.
The way the Governor’s proposal does that is by tieing the current amount of income disregarded for determining TANF eligibility to employment, starting it at a much higher level but gradually reducing the benefit over time.
This legislation would expand the income disregard to include 100 percent of total gross income for the first two months of employment, 75 percent for the following six months, and 50 percent of income thereafter for full time employees working 40 hours per week or more. For part time workers, the 100 percent income disregard lasts for one month instead of two.
In the coming weeks, these two bills as well as others dealing with issues like time limits on General Assistance benefits, prohibiting the purchase of junk food with EBT cards, and cash withdrawals from EBT cards will be dealt with by the full Legislature.
If you have thoughts on any welfare reform topic, or any issue currently before the Legislature, please don’t hesitate to be in touch. I can be reached at: david.woodsome@legislature.maine.gov or 432”“5643.
— Sen. David Woodsome represents Senate District 33 which includes Cornish, Limerick, Newfield, Parsonsfield, Sanford, Shapleigh, and Waterboro.
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