ALC – Charitable, Penal, and Correctional Institutions – July 30, 2009
Posted on July 30th, 2009
Date & Time: Tuesday, July 30, 2009 at 1:30 AM
Location: Room 171, State Capitol
Agenda: http://tr.im/uMHP
Attachments: none
1:35 pm – It has been almost two weeks since committee meetings were held in Little Rock. Alot of socializing going on. It seems alittle strange, almost like the start of a session.
1:39 pm – This meeting is a subcommittee of the Arkansas Legislative Council. The Council was established by Act 264 of 1949 to collect data and information upon which legislative decisions will be made during regular session of the General Assembly. The Bureau of Legislative Research of the Legislative Council is a service agency within the legislative department of government. All members of the General Assembly have access to the Bureau of Legislative Research. The Legislative Council is the supervisory committee for the Bureau of Legislative Research, the Council coordinates the activities of the various interim committees and through the various committees provides legislative oversight of the executive branch of government. The Council consists of 36 regular members which is comprised of 20 House members and 16 Senators. In addition there are 24 ex-officio voting members and 5 ex-officio non-voting members.(A.C.A. 10-3-301).
1:40 pm – I am not a member of this committee, but since term limits all members are encouraged to attend.
1:41 pm – Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel is making a presentation about the “Smart Choices, Better Chances” Education and Crime Prevention Program.
1:43 pm – This presentation is associated with Senator Glover’s mention that we need to do something to prevent a growing prison population by making early contact with youth.
1:45 pm – We have 9 Senators and 29 Representatives present at today’s meeting.
1:47 pm – Murder rate for Arkansans 17 years and younger increased by 255% between 1988 and 1992. The “Smart Choices, Better Chances” program was started in the Spring of 1995 to provide preventative education courses in response to the rising crime.
1:49 pm – FYI: This committee reviews matters pertaining to the Department of Correction and it’s various units; the state correctional facilities for juveniles; In state institutions which provide institutional services for citizens; and private, facilities providing institutional services and care purchased by the state for the benefit of the indigent.
1:50 pm – The “Smart Choices, Better Chances” program is the first program in the nation to focus curriculum on state’s juvenile justice system. It teaches students about specific laws and specific punishments, from burglary to terroristic threatening to assault and murder.
1:53 pm – AG McDaniel showed a short clip of the programs that are shown to children. The target audiences start in grades 4 to 6 who recieve concentrated information through a series of six one-hour lesson plan. Junior and Senior High students get one-hour long assemblies. Teachers or other groups that would like these preseantations for schools or other groups may contact the AG office. www.ArkansasAG.gov
1:57 pm – Rep. Pam Adcock asked a great question. “Do we do anything to track the success of this program?” AG McDaniel said that we do not.
1:58 pm – Rep. Pennartz is asking how much the program costs. AG McDaniel said it cost between $6000 and $8000 dollars for materials but does not include incidental for salaries of those who make presentation or manage program.
1:59 pm – Rep. Pennartz is asking for updated crime data because the information in the slides is almost 15 years old.
2:02 pm – Most of the presentations are performed by more than 650 adjuncte instructors. The volunteers are law enforcement officers (current and former), educators, attorneys and legal professionals, civic group members and concerned citizens.
2:04 pm – AG McDaniel says that the program is not getting into enough schools. 21,870 people participated in Smart Choices, Better Chances presentations in 2008 alone. 450 presentations made in 2008 in 30 counties at 88 schools, civic organizations, etc.
2:06 pm – Senator Glover is asking what we need to do to decrease crime rates in Arkansas, says that we are “grasping at straws.” AG McDaniel says that we are already doing the right things, mentions Drug Courts.
2:08 pm – I can’t help but get the icky feeling that all of this is a great big scripted campaign commercial for AG McDaniel with Senator Glover providing a “faux interview” to help the AG get out all his talking points.
2:12 pm – Rep. Gaskill is asking about “One-Day Sentence” and other “Scared-Straight” programs.
2:18 pm – The current prison population is currently 15,146. It is expected to grow to 19,337 by the end of year 2019 assuming a growth rate of about 400 per year.
2:22 pm – There sure are a lot of TV station cameras here at the ALC committee meeting. I expect they are here for the “Larry Norris Show” coming up next.
2:23 pm – I just looked through the “Smart Chances, Better Chances” materials that you can get form the Attorney General’s office. They would make some good home schooling materials when teaching about the law enforcement and justice system.
2:26 pm – Larry Norris coming to the podium looking rather “peaked”. Is that the correct spelling?
2:29 pm – Mr. Norris provided report requested by Rep. Adcock concerning the 2005 Recidivism study.
2:31 pm – The number of inmates serving life totals 1,138 or 7% of the total prison population. The number of inmates serving life without parole totals 621 or 4% of the prison population. Therefore, 11% of the inmates currently serving time in the ADC will never go home. This is up from 10% just a few years ago.
2:33 pm – Mr. Norris is explaining the incident notification process in which the incidents are broken into two levels of seriousness. I really which we could have gotten a written procedure rather than a quick overview of the notification process.
2:37 pm – Mr. Benny Magness, Chairman, Board of Corrections is currrently answering questions from Senator Kim Hendren.
2:41 pm – Senator Glover is asking Mr. Magness about improving the process to notify the legislature of serious incidents.
2:47 pm – Rep. Lea is asking about the request for written notification process and the failure of the minutes of the board meeting. Mr. Magness, says that Robert’s Rules of Order does not require minutes reflect anything but when action is taken. Rep. Creekmore is asking for an example of what would be put into the minutes. Mrs. Creekmore points out that her experience on various boards and commissions has shown that most discussions are recorded in the minutes. My own experience on boards also tells me that reports made before the board are recorded, and the fact that no motion made for follow up or continuing action is a passive “action” in and of itself and is therefore recorded.
2:54 pm – Mr. Magness says that their method for recording is according to that recommended by the Attorney General. I would bet that the AG doesn’t appreciate that hot potato being tossed into his lap.
2:58 pm – Mr. Magness seems to be getting into an argument with Senator Glover about who the board is answerable to.
3:04 pm – I just asked some follow up questions from Mr. Magness about their interpretation of Roberts Rules. “Is a report made before the board an action that should be recorded in the minutes?” Shouldn’t the decision to not take action be recorded in the minutes as “no action taken?” I am not sure what answer I got, I think he agreed, but claimed that no discussion was presented to the board about the incident whatsoever.
3:08 pm – Senator Key is pointing out that there is a lack of consistency in minutes and suggest that we need to look at all the boards and commissions for common procedures for minutes.
3:14 pm – Rep. Cooper was asking about the success of about the 70% rule in freeing up bed in the prison system.
3:20 pm – I asked follow up questions, inquiring why not one of the members of the board thought the incident did not rise to the level of needing at least some formal discussion and reports before the board.
3:22 pm – Rep. Saunders asked a series of questions that seemed to shape the debate that the incident to a “personnel issue”. He said, “We can’t put that stuff in the minutes or we might get sued.”
3:25 pm – Senator Kim Hendren discussing how thing ought to be done to keep the prision system accountable. He is drawing an applause from citizens to the back of the room.
3:27 pm – Rep. John Burris is pointing out a conflict in testimony by the Board. During the last meeting, we discuss the three big recent incidents. Will those be discussed during the regular board meeting? Will those incidents be recorded in the minutes?
3:31 pm – Rep. Creekmore is asking about the recent escape. What options does the board have for actions to be taken? He said they may consider using “barometrics” [sic]. Rep. Creekmore points out that this was a high security escape and that the inmates had nothing to lose. She wants assurance that action is taken that prevents this in the future.
3:36 pm – Rep. Harrelson seems to asking if the incident notifications are subject to FOIA. He was informed they were not. In my opinion, this makes it even more important that the board handle this situation formally because it is not subject to transparent oversight.
3:39 pm – Senator Hendren pointed out that the board, by conducting so much business in private, may be violating the proper execution of business by public boards and commissions. I agree.
3:41 pm – Committee adjourned.
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Jeffersonian Principles Persist in the United Kingdom
Posted on July 17th, 2009
For me to say that I am enjoying the refreshing air of being on the side of the majority present in the audience versus the stale and oppressive atmosphere to which I have become far to accustomed, would be an understatement of immense proportions. Today I got to meet and briefly speak with the U.K. MEP Daniel Hannon.
Check out his blog today in which he points to Newt Gingrich as “one of the greatest living politicians in the US and seems excited meet him here at ALEC. Mr. Gingrich will be speaking at lunch today.
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American Legislative Exchange Council in Atlanta
Posted on July 16th, 2009
I am currently in Atlanta enjoying the training and policy discussions being held at the ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council) Annual meeting. The speakers include former Congressman and Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Honorable Newt Gingrich; Member of European Parliament, Mr. Daniel Hannan; Dr. Art Laffer; Mr. Stephen Moore; and the Honorable Zell Miller, former Georgia governor and U.S. Senator.
I had the opportunity to meet and speak with one of my personal heros, Dr. Arthur Laffer, who is in the picture above. You may recall a post I did that asked a flurry of questions that could help us determine “where we are now” in the structure of our state government and suggested that the “Laffer” and “Rahn” curves could provide a common ground to move forward to make improvements.
Part of the mission of ALEC is to advance the Jeffersonian principles of free markets, limited government, federalism, and individual liberty, through a nonpartisan public-private partnership of America’s state legislators, members of the private sector, the federal government, and general public.
I am glad that there is bipartisian representation of Arkansas here at the ALEC conference. I have spotted Rep. Robert Moore, who also has a dead ringer lookalike here. Also seen were Sen. Gilbert Baker, Rep. Dawn Creekmore, Rep. Karen Hopper, Rep. Debbie Hobbs, Rep. Les Carnine, Sen. Barbara Horne, Sen. Steve Farris, and Rep. Ed Garner.
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Desegregation Litigation Oversight Subcommittee – July 14, 2009
Posted on July 14th, 2009
Date & Time: Tuesday, July 14, 2009 at 2:30 AM
Location: Room 151, State Capitol
Agenda: http://tr.im/skcP
Attachments: none
The Desegregation Litigation Oversight Subcommittee shall have the authority and duty to monitor the implementation of the Pulaski County School Desegregation Case Settlement Agreement and to monitor the state’s participation in any future desegregation case in which the Department of Education or the State Board of Education is a defendant, or both. (A.C.A. 10-3-1501)
This meeting is being held jointly with the Public School Desegregation Lawsuit Resolution Task Force.
2:37 pm – The Desegregation Litigation Legislative Oversight Committee was established by Title 10 Section 3 of the Arkansas Code.
2:39 pm – Mr. Scott Richardson, the Assistant Attorney General from the Office of the Attorney General is providing background about the case. The Little Rock school district has been declared “unitary.” The Pulaski County and North Little Rock School Districts have not. The judge that had been hearing the case recently recused himself. There has also been an unfortunate death in another person involved.
2:41 pm – There had been a meeting scheduled before Judge Wilson before he recused himself. The A.G. Office stated that there goal was to get the cases out of court so that they can move forward to declare the district unitary. The hold up is currently the Federal Courts.
2:43 pm – The federal court will have to release the school districts from supervision before the funding can be returned to control of the legislature. There are questions about how the funding might be “wound down”.
2:44 pm – It is not clear if the State of Arkansas be can be released if this cannot be resolved in court. Do the school districts have to be declared completely unitary or simply key areas in the settlement agreement? Sen. Thompson is asking what obligation the State of Arkansas has to continue funding desegregation funding once the courts declare the school districts to be “unitary.”
2:48 pm – Apparently the new judge is not ready to start setting hearings. Sen. Thompson asked if the state had filed any motions to seek release from funding? Mr. Richardson said those would not be strong motions to make until the declaration is made that the school is unitary.
2:52 pm – The A.G. Office has asked for the court to set a timeline and deadlines for the hearings about one month ago.
2:53 pm – Sen. Hendren is asking questions of why the Attorney General did not “throw a fit” when the judge failed to make the meetings they had agreed to. Mr. Richardson says that “if the judge won’t set hearings, there is not much we can do about it.”
2:56 pm – Sen. Hendren asked how much this was costing the states? Answer: $60,000,000.00 per year. It totals to $700,000,000.00 so far. Sen. Hendren made the point that there is no motivation for the parties involved to resolve the issue and take care of the things that need to be done to achieve unitary status because they will lose funding once it is done. He made the point that we need to be proactive to move forward.
2:58 pm – Sen. Hendren asked if the A.G. has a time frame to for getting this resolved. Mr. Richardson says that if the judge must do it, and he doesn’t like it either, but that is the boundaries he must work within.
3:02 pm – Sen. Hendren said that if the A.G. office cannot press the federal judge to expedite, then maybe the legislature should do it. However, Sen. Hendren did not make a motion to do so.
3:30 pm – I just recieved a printout prepared by the Arkansas Bureau of Legislative Research, the total actual expenditures is $845,504,403.00 ! That will be more than a BILLION before the next session is complete.
3:06 pm – Sen. Jimmy Jeffress is asking if there is any incentive for the school district. Mr. Richardson said that a desire to properly serve their students should be the incentive to achieve unitary status. He said that if they have indeed properly served their students, then they may already be unitary but don’t want to declare it due to a lost of funding.
3:16 pm – Mr. Chris Heller, the attorney who represents the Little Rock School District, is presenting an update on the Little Rock School district, which has been declared unitary. The other two districts have filed petitions to be declared unitary. The Little Rock School District has filed a settlement proposal with the Attorney General’s Office on January 23, 2009 and has not had a response. They have requested a reimbursement of attorney fees required to reach unitary status which the attorney general’s office has not responded to that.
3:19 pm – Mr Heller states that while the school districts may have met their obligations, the legislature needs to ask if it have complied with the state’s obligations. [Commentary: This is a foreshadowing of what the next step after the federal courts eventually decide that the all the school districts are unitary. That should take another twenty years worth of stalling and litigation.]
3:22 pm – Robert Thompson is asking a follow up question asking how Mr. Heller believes that the State of Arkansas has not lived up to its obligations. That probably will end up being the position of the Little Rock School District since it is being presented to their school board by their attorney. Robert Thompson is asking for specifics. Mr Heller is vaguely saying it is because the charter schools and their failure to get prior federal court approval.
3:28 pm – I have to give it to the Little Rock School District credit. They have played this well. They have established that they are unitary, which is required for them to say that they are actually doing their job. So they have covered their asses, and have countered that the State of Arkansas has not done it’s job so we still have to be giving them money. Apparently the school districts have better lawyers than the State of Arkansas does.
3:32 pm – Sen. Hendren is asking if there is a way to get the parties together to finally get this settled. Mr. Heller claims that the Attorney General can schedule that meeting.
3:35 pm – Lawyers make me nuts. The sit here talking legal mumbo jumbo acting like they want one thing, when really they are not seeking a solution at all. The sole purpose is to keep the money flowing. There is no way out of this through the normal legal process. The only way the state will ever be out of this is by an initiated act that forces a supreme court decision.
3:39 pm – Mr. Ken Kirspel, the Superintendent for the North Little Rock School District is now updating their activites demonstrating compliance with the deseg plan.
3:44 pm – Mr. Ken Kirspel said that he would agree with the Little Rock School districts proposal for settlement. He also is claiming that even if unitary settlement is achieved that he also does not think it removes the obligation of the state to continue to provide the additional funding.
3:47 pm – Mr. Sam Jones, with the Pulaski County Special School District is updating their progress to achieve unitary status. Apparently they had not even created a checklist until a question was asked by Sen. Hendren a couple of years ago. The plan has now progressed to a report that was submitted the state Dept. of Education on June 11, 2009. They do not seem to be claiming that they are currently unitary.
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Public Health – House Health Services Subcommittee – July 9, 2009
Posted on July 9th, 2009
Date & Time: Tuesday, July 09, 2009 at 10:00 AM
Location: Room 130, State Capitol
Agenda: http://tr.im/rz4V
Attachments: none
10:01 am – The subcommittee has convened. Senator Pritchard, the subcommittee chair is presenting opening comments. Legislators are trying to move back and forth between this and the ALC Personnel committee. Apparently, they have and agenda down there, but the members are wanting to discuss lottery salaries.
10:05 am – It is funny to see legislators around the room pecking at their phones texting back and forth with members in the other meeting trying to keep up with both.
10:10 am – Matthew Miller, Administrative Rules Counsel, with the Bureau of Legislative Research is providing background on the Tobacco Settlement Proceeds Act. If you want to read that law, it is in Arkansas Code Title 19 Chapter 12. Here is a link: http://tr.im/rzud
10:17 am – Rep. Pennartz is asking about the debt services fund. The question is being held until later.
10:18 am – Aaron Black, Executive Director of the Arkansas Tobacco Settlement Commission is reviewing the role of the commission. He has just presented us with “The Rand Report”, a large spiral bound binder of information. There is also an organizational chart in the information provided.
10:24 am – You can view alot of the information we are seeing here in committee at the Arkansas Tobacco Settlement Commission website: http://tr.im/rzCT On that website, you will see the seven programs funded.
10:27 am – Here is a link to the huge spiral bound “Biennial Progress Report” referred to as “The Rand Report” that I mentioned above: http://tr.im/rzEw
10:30 am – If you notice, legislators often have to go through information at a rate akin to drinking from a fire hose.
10:33 am – The Act for the Arkansas Tobacco Settlement Commission Appropriation for the 2009-2010 Fiscal Year can be seen here: http://tr.im/rzIh This is just for operation of the commission and not related to funds distributed.
10:36 am – Rep. Reep pointed out that the Tobacco Settlement Proceeds Act (TSPA) was a voter initiated act and asked what would be required for change it. Of course, he knows that it requires a super majority and knew the answer to the question before even asking it. Rep. Reep is asking leading questions to demonstrate the need to protect the status quo.
10:40 am – Senator Percy Malone is providing some of the background and legislative boundaries as related capital improvement projects. Changes to the TSPA will require a 2/3 supermajority to modify.
10:43 am – Sen. Pritchard is pointing out that the legislature also has to ability to “tweak” the ongoing operation without changing the act as long as it does not violate the intent of the act.
10:45 am – Rep. Pennartz is asking for deals about the bonded indebtedness to be retired by the TSPA.
10:46 am – The Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) with the tobacco companies was signed on November 23, 1998. All states except Florida, Minnesota, Mississippi, and Texas are participants in the MSA. DC and several US territories also do not participate.
10:49 am – Participating states will receive more than $206 billion in payments from tobacoo compaines over the next 25 years. Arkansas receives a 0.828 percent share of those payments.
10:53 am – The Quarterly Reports and Community Grant Program reports that we are currently reviewing can be found at the link I give you at 10:24 am. The Grant Reports also have maps to show where dollars are going.
10:54 am – Rep. Hoyt is asking if our MSA funding will decline if the numbers of smokers decline in Arkansas. He is asking about the status of the effectiveness of the programs to lower smoking rates.
10:58 am – Since this committee is a kick-off of an ongoing investigation, alot of questions are being delayed and will be evaluated in great detail later. The purpose of this meeting is to distribute information and provide legislators with background, history, status, and a familiarity with agency personnel related to the TSPA.
11:00 am – Mitzi Ferguson, Deputy Legislative Auditor of the Division of Legislative Audit is providing an update on the upcoming review of the TSPA. This audit was requested by Sen Pritchard and approved by the Audit Committee. They will be looking for adminstrative efficiencies, effectiveness and performance of efforts to achieve goals and produced hard results, and duplication of services. This committee and add additional audit objectives as the committee reviews this topic.
11:03 am – The TSPA orginiated at Initiated Act 1 of 2000 and passed in November of 2000 with 64.26 percent of the vote. It sets out the program for using the Master Settlement Agreement Funds. The act created 7 programs funded by tobacco settlement dollars:
- Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program
- Arkansas Bioscience Institute
- Medicaid Expansion Programs
- College of Public Health
- Arkansas Aging Initiative
- Delta Area Health Education Center
- Minority Health Initiative
11:10 am – The first thing this subcommittee will probably be doing is having each of the programs come before the committee and present their mission statement, performance goals, and specific metrics of success against which they may be held accountable.
11:16 am – Several members are asking for a review of the distribution of the grants around the state and if the grants are given on an ongoing basis to the same entities. These grant programs were not intended to be continuing funding sources for operations.
11:20 am – The bureaucrats present are noticably disturbed by the legislators meddling on their turf. That’s okay, most of us will be gone next session and all this will be forgotten in due time.
11:25 am – The State Board of Finance recieves disbursements from the Master Settlement Account escrow and oversees the distribution of fund. The proceeds are deposited into the Tobacco Settlement Cash Holding Fund and are distributed to:
- the Healthy Century Trust Fund (First $100 million + interest + unneeded funds in Debt Service Fund),
- the Tobacco Settlement Debt Service Fund ($5 million per year); UAMS Biosciences $2.2M; ASU Biosciences $1.8M; College of Public Health $1M.
- and the Tobacco Settlement Program Fund (programs listed above)
11:30 am – Senator Pritchard is discussing “The Rand Report”, it’s legal necessity, the $600,000 that we spend for it, and how usable/unusable the report is.
10:40 am – Senator Pritchard is pointing out that the Bureau of Legislative Research could provide the service of and independent evaluator and noted that one Rand presenter would not provide “how” they arrived at information in the report and when pressed finally disclosed that the information was “found on the internet.”
10:47 am – Closing remarks being made by Senator Pritchard, the subcommittee chairman. Future agenda will start with the programs.
10:53 am – Committee adjourned.
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Task Force on Substance Abuse Prevention – July 8, 2009
Posted on July 8th, 2009
Date & Time: Tuesday, July 08, 2009 at 1:00 PM
Location: Room 130, State Capitol
Agenda: http://tr.im/rqx8
Attachments: none
1:09 pm – Called to order. Senator Prichard was nominated and approved to be the chairman of this task force.
1:10 pm – We are currently reviewing reports and discussing the sale of beer, alcopops, and tobacco products. There was legislation during the last session concerning keeping alcopops out of the hands of minors that was defeated due to industry response to address concerns.
1:12 pm – Michael Langley, the Director of the ABC Board is currently discussing the “great” strides made to reduce the sales of alcohol to minors. Random test purchases and increased fines have been put in place. ABC has been working with law enforcement to increase enforcement. Mr. Langley has expressed that he did not thing separating out alcopops would have been the proper solution to the problem.
1:15 pm – J.R. Thomas, the Director of the Tobacco Control Board is discussing increased enforcement of “smuggling” of tobacco from lower taxed states. He mentions new laws concerning fire safety cigarettes.
1:21 pm – Ann Hines, the Executive Vice President of the Arkansas Oil Market Association (AOMA) is currently discussing efforts made by retailers to prevent sales to minors. The AOMA represents the gas stations and convienence stores that sell most of the tobacco products in the state and an increasing amount of the alcohol.
1:23 pm – Polly Rand Martin, the President of the Arkansas Grocers and Retail Merchants Association is currently discussing efforts made by those stores (which includes most all retail stores including liquor stores, convienence stores, and grocers… even those not involved in sales of tobacco or alcohol.) She is suggesting that there needs to be consequences to the minors who attempt to purchase tobacco.
1:26 pm – Laurie Smalling, the Senior Manager of Public Affairs & Government Relations for Walmart Stores, Inc. is currently discussing their procedures and training to prevent sales of tobacco or alcohol to minors. If the checker is not 21, the registers have interlocks that prevent transactions from being performed by minors. Sales to a minor by a checker results in immediate termination.
1:31 pm – Rep. Pritchard mentions that a study shows that one of the most common sources of alcohol is the minors parents or their friends parents.
1:32 pm – The discussion has returned to the fact that there is a desire to provide a penalty for a minor attempting to purchase tobacco or alcohol. The recommended penalty is community service.
1:35 pm – Rep. Pennartz is asking if there is any penalty for attempting to purchase tobacco or alcohol. Mr. Langley says that there is not. There are laws against possession of alcohol but not cigarettes.
1:42 pm – Current discussion among the committee about “controlled buys” and enforcement methods.
1:56 pm – There is some discussion between the group listed above discussing identification scanning machine. Apparently this is an excessively expense for “mom and pop” businesses and has found that it leads to complacent checking in larger establishments.
2:01 pm – Apparently the violation rate for the “controlled buys” of alcohol is about 16%. The violation rate for tobacco has gone down from 31% to 7%.
2:38 pm – We have beat this topic to absolute death, so much so that we are now discussing if we should legislative labeling the coolers in the stores to indicate they contain alcoholic beverages. Sigh.
2:49 pm – It was just mentioned that in New York, if a store was caught selling cigarettes/alcohol to a minor, they lose their lottery ticket license for six weeks. This brought up the discussion for enforcement of the purchase of lottery tickets.
2:51 pm – Committee adjourned.
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Task Force on Substance Abuse Treatment Services – July 8, 2009
Posted on July 8th, 2009
Date & Time: Tuesday, July 08, 2009 at 10:00 AM
Location: Room 130, State Capitol
Agenda: http://tr.im/roKO
Attachments: none
10:06 am – Dr. Joe Thompson, the Surgeon General of Arkansas is providing an update on the Governor’s Roundtable on Healthcare. He is currently talking about tobacco being a gateway drug and the impact of tobacco use on the progression of young people becoming “ensnarled” in addiction.
10:13 am – He is discussing that health insurance usually does not include substance abuse treatment.
10:14 am – Dr. Thompson said that we do not have as much information about substance abuse statistics as he would like. There are 24,000 children between 12 and 17 who have used illicit drugs in the last month. 30,000 children have used marijuana in the last year. 3,000 children in Arkansas
10:21 am – Dr. Thompson says “the science of addiction” has proven that all drugs change the neurotransmitter preformance in the brain.
10:23 am – Apparently 40,000 children in Arkansas between 12 and 17 have used alcohol in the past month.
10:24 am – The term “illicit drugs” used above apparently include marijuana/hashish, cocaine (including crack), heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants, or prescription-type psycotherapeutics used nonmedically.
10:27 am – The handout of statistics that we were given seems to be very limited in information related to methamphetamine.
10:29 am – Statistics say that 6000 children in Arkansas are currently illicit drug dependent. The term dependence is based on definitions found in the 4th edition on the Diagnostic and Statical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV)
10:43 am – Senator Prichard says that we have made great strides in changing how we look at addiction. He states that we have removed the stigma and are now view addiction as a health problem rather than a moral failure.
10:46 am – Jay Bradford, the Commissioner of the Arkansas Department of Insurance (and former Senator / State Representative) is currently discussing insurance coverage for mental health and substance abuse treatment. He is discussing laws and regulations that says that if an insurance company provides mental health and substance abuse treatment, it must be done in the same manner and level as any other health issue.
10:51 am – [Commentary] I find it interesting that “Mental Health” and “Substance Abuse” are always being used together in these discussions. I had never realized these were so closely related for funding purposes. I am too ignorant to really know what the implication of this is, but it is setting off red flags in my mind.
10:54 am – [More Commentary] I am also disturbed by the amount of discussion about forcing insurance companies to provide substance abuse treatment coverage. Apparently most people in Arkansas are employeed by small businesses that do not provide subtance abuse treatment, but desire to provide mental health treatment.
10:58 am – Apparently there is a struggle to keep “mental health” and “substance abuse” treatment “tied together.” Commissioner Bradford discussed that the offering of these services are currently “voluntary” but believes that once these services are in place, there will be a desire for people to keep it and therefore will be sustained.
11:03 am – There is alot of discussion about “parity” which I always thought that meant that physical health and mental health being treated the same for coverage purposes, but the term seems to be evolving to mean something more. Apparently it also coming to mean that an insurance provider can not divide out what is claimed to be particular areas of mental health, specifically drug abuse treatment.
11:11 am – Cindy Crone, Project Coordinator for the Closing the Addiction Treatment Gap Grant, is providing an update. She is making the case for government funding of substance abuse treatment based upon the societal costs associated with substance abuse disorders.
11:14 am – Apparently Arkansas spends up to $30 million per year on treatment for fetal alcohol syndrome. And $1/2 to $4 million per year per child born with fetal alcohol syndrome.
11:16 am – 24% of community hospital stays (excluding psychiatric or substance abuse treatment facilities) in 2004 were for patients with primary or secondary mental health or substance abuse disorders. Length of stays were longer, and over half of costs were billed to the government.
11:19 am – 80% of incarcerated individuals have a substance use disorder. It is claimed that Treatment costs less than incarceration and the outcomes are better [Commentary] – I tend to agree with this claim, but I am still not convinced about what the proper role of government is here.
11:22 am – 75% of parents of children in therapeutic foster care have records of substance addiction problems. Of mothers in treatment, over 80% have a parent with a substance use disorder
11:27 am – [Commentary] All of the discussions today center on idea that I am not comfortable with… 1) how to force insurance companies to provide coverage and 2) how to spend more state and federal tax dollars. I think very real problems are being presented here and very real solutions need to be made. But I am also convinced that government is not the solutions. Conservatives are going to have to intellectually address these issues. Failure is not an option.
11:32 am – 32% of new child welfare cases in AR in 2007 listed substance abuse as a factor in custody removal. Children placed in foster care due to parental addiction stay longer and cost more.
11:34 am – 75% of youth committed to DYS in 2007 had co-occuring substance abuse and mental health disorders. Of adolescents known to have FASD, 67% have had run-ins with the law and 33% have been institutionalized.
11:57 am – Janie Huddleston, the Deputy Director of DHS and Dawn Zekis, the Director of Policy and Planning for DHS are providing an update on Project 95.
12:00 am – In September of 2007, the Arkansas Department of Human Services formed the Project 95 Committee. The “95″ refers to the precent of individuals that need but do not get treatment. The committee is comprised of legislators, state officials, providers, and community leaders. The Project 95 Committee charged DHS with identifying the essential substance abuse services for Arkansans who need treatment as well as the financial and service delivery strategies that are necessary to begin to close the addiction treatment gap.
12:03 am – Project 95 is suggesting that substance abuse should not be and “excluder” for obtaining healthcare from the state but rather an addtional “benefit” to be provided.
12:13 am – Committee adjourned. Tobacco settlement money will be evaluated by task force tomorrow.
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My Take: Arkansas Highway Finance
Posted on July 7th, 2009
There have been a couple of newpaper articles (Rob Moritz and John Brummett) that quote me discussing the current issue of highway funding and the Arkansas Blue Ribbon Committee on Highway Finance. Both do a fairly good job of representing my viewpoints, but somewhat lack a complete picture of the points I was making. That is understandable, the press does not exist to make sure that Mark Martin is correctly understood in every intricate detail, but rather to communicate the big picture of what is going on. It is the communication of the big picture to the public that, in my opinion, needs additional reporting. While I will clarify some details on my viewpoint, I intend to attempt to bring this whole discussion to a more informative level in this and future posts.
Here is a clarification of my viewpoints in short bullet points:
- I tend to agree that it is NOT the charge of the Arkansas Blue Ribbon Committee on Highway Finance (AR-BRCHF) to make a recommendation on precisely where highway funds are to be spent. (In otherwords, they are not tasked to do the Highway Commission’s job.) However, if you read the enabling legislation, then a case can be made that the term “equitable and adequate” in Act 374 of 2009, Section 2 does grant the AR-BRCHF the authority to make recommendations on how it is distributed. What do you think?
- I furthermore submit to you that it is NOT the charge of the AR-BRCHF to a)create a marketing plan, b) participate in the “selling of”, or c) otherwise be involved in expending taxpayer funds to lobby, advertise, or support ANY highway finance proposal whatsoever.
- I believe that the charge of the AR-BRCHF is to determine the most fair and sustainable method (current funding mechanisms are unsustainable as transportation technology moves away from liquid fuels) of highway finance and make a recommendation for legislation to the legislature, nothing more. This is a topic that has been woefully slim in the discussions to date. See Act 374 of 2009, Section 2 for the stated PURPOSE of this committee. I will leave it to you to decide if I am correct about the purposes and limitations of the legislation that I voted FOR.
- In the peripheral discussions with the press that I have had about the inequitable distribution of highway funds, I have not been advocating a dollar per dollar per capita distribution on highway funds. In fact, I even support a reasonable amount of inequality of distribution to rural areas for sensible stimulus of economic development. I could foresee the value in an economic impact statement being developed to compare the cost of failing to invest in one area as it relates to the benefit another area. Highway dollar investment that gives a near neutral net return should certainly be preferentially given to the poorer or rural area. However, in those areas where there is a clear and large net economic advantage it is unwise to miss the opportunity to improve the overall economic strength of the state.
- I am less concerned about the unfair distribution of highway funds in and of itself than I am concerned about the unwillingness of the taxpayers to support a plan that egregiously redistributes a large amount of funds to another area when they know that there are severe needs right where they live. This will lead to a lack of voter support for statewide funding mechanisms, opting instead to vote for local funding mechanisms through regional transit authorities.
This will be the first in a series of posts to inform the public about the current situation as it relates to Arkansas highway finance. These posts will cover topics such as the current laws governing highway finance and the history behind them, how these laws relate to both administration and representation, and an overview of the resulting distribution of discretionary funds. I will be drawing heavily but not exclusively on the hard work and research done by Rep. Donna Hutchinson. Those places where you find the information to be useful and correct, Rep. Hutchinson should get full credit. On the other hand, where it is not then you can blame me. I will appreciate any corrections because this issue is extremely complex and I make no claim of being an expert. My desire is to do what is best for the State of Arkansas, and that will not be possible until we have a complete and honest discussion about these points.
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Arkansas Legislative Council – Administrative Rules and Regulations – July 7, 2009
Posted on July 7th, 2009
Date & Time: Tuesday, July 07, 2009 at 9:00 AM
Location: Room 151, State Capitol
Agenda: http://tr.im/re8W
Attachments: none
9:05 am – Currently reviewing rule changes to comply with ADA Guidelines by the State Board of Dental Examiners. New guidelines for administration of general anesthesia. Rep Billy Gaskill, a dentist, is asking questions to insure that rules adequately protect public because “administering general anesthesia is extremely dangerous.”
9:09 am – There are also some rules allowing for additions to allowed duties of Dental Assistant functions which were recommended by ADA guidelines.
9:11 am – Reviewing rule changes for the Tourism Development Incentives, Non-Profit Incentive Act.
9:12 am – A new rule to comply with legislation passed in the last session, the Motion Picture Incentive Act – Act 816 of 2009.
9:13 am – Consolidated Incentive Act of 2003 rule changes reviewed.
9:14 am – Mr John Theis of the Department of Finance and Administration reviewed the new rule concerning the standard mileage rate for income tax purposes.
9:15 am – Rule changes from the Arkansas Fire and Police Pension Review Board and the Department of Health, Immunization Section were both reviewed without comment or questions from legislators.
9:17 am – Currently reviewing rule changes for Dept. of Human Services, County Operations concerning the Weatherization Assistance Program. Rep. Lea asked what constitutes “poverty” for the purposes of this program. The response was 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. The Social Services Block Grant Comprehensive Services Program Plan rules reviewed without comment or question.
9:19 am – Former Rep. Jeff Wood is presenting rule changes for the Dept of Human Services, Medical Services. Rules for funding basis changed to match budget cycles. Senator Malone, the committee chair asked for clarification on the reason for the changes. Rep. Pennartz is asking about eligablity guidelines. The answer depends on category. Senator Malone is asking if there are other methods for dental care assistance. This is the only program paid by the state of Arkansas.
9:24 am – Audible indications of slumber evident in committee room, and yet, Rep. Pennartz had a question to ask.
9:27 am – You can always tell when the agency representative doesn’t want to talk about something because it gets listed on the agenda in some obscure code reference and/or form numbers without subject.
9:29 am – The Oil and Gas Commission is currently presenting rule changes.
9:41 am – Rep. Pennartz is asking how many complaints the Oil and Gas Commission had recieved about private water wells being impacted by activities associated with Fayetteville Shale drilling. There have been 6 complaints, all have been investigated by testing. None show indications of frac fluids. Rep. Pennartz is asking why these wells are being fouled? The response is that these are perhaps due to physical disruption but not contamination. When asked by Rep. Pennartz if that then is not a proximate cause, the Oil and Gas representative refused to concur. What the hell? I wish these folks would just answer the damn questions according to just a bit of common sense. If his first statement is true, then the second has to be.
9:48 am – The State Board of Pharmacy and the State Plant Board rule changes reviewed without question or comment by legislators.
9:50 am – Senator Malone requested that the State Plant Board look at rule changes concerning termite control business where the company changes hands and the continuity of contracts.
9:52 am – The Water Well Construction Commission is presenting 2009 AWWCC Proposed Rule Revisions concerning the abandonment of water wells. Rep Burris is asking about the rule changes in apprenticeship status. Apparently this is some sensible deregulation.
10:04 am – Representative Burris pointed out that this committee spent 30 minutes on all the other business and more than 30 additional minutes were dedicated to “how to fill a hole” with respect to abandoning water wells.
10:11 am – Currently reviewing procedures of the Dept. of Workforce Services, Board of Review, concerning an appeal of an Unemployment compensation determination. Note: I have recieved at least 30 complaints from constituents about problems with the Appeals Tribunal.
10:14 am – Senator Pritchard is giving background on his efforts to communicate with the board since the session. Senator Pritchard agreed to release their budget back during the session in exchange for addressing some of his concerns. The department has failed to comply with promises made during the session to get their budget released. Rep. Stewart is asking if there have been any changes to rules since January because it is not possible to determine by the inforrmation provided to the committee today.
10:23 am – Nicole Williams, Chairman of the Board of Review, is claiming that no specific rule or regulation needs to be changed to address Sen. Pritchard’s concerns, but rather informal changes have been made.
10:26 am – Sen. Hendren is asking about the fact that the State of Arkansas is more than a million dollars in debt to the federal goverment for unemployment compensation. Sen. Malone points out that while it is off the topic of the agenda, he give the background on how this occured. Sen. Malone assured the committee that there is some provision that allows the state to be indebted even though there is a constitutional prohibition against it.
10:35 am – Sen. Malone is currently asking question to help understand how the hearing process by the Board of Review occurs. The Chairman of the Board of Review has been rather difficult and defensive in responding to the questions and repeatedly resists implementing suggestions made by the legislators to allow employers to clear their name of false accusations made during the decision process for awarding benefits. Dept. claims that is not true.
10:45 am – Sen. Pritchard is pointing out that claimed policies are not being followed. He is discussing a specific case and going through point by point where the Dept. was dishonest about statements made about the documents being disclosed. Sen. Pritchard provided evidence that claims of confidentiality were incorrect.
10:49 am – Rep. Pennartz is asking Nicole Williams if they are a “tryer of fact” the chairman says they are. The chairman also claims they are a finder of facts. Rep. Pennartz is demonstrating that the Chairman does not know the legal boundaries or roles of the board.
10:53 am – Rep. Overby is asking if they operate under the Arkansas Administrative Procedures Act. Yes, they are and I am sure he knew that. Rep. Overby is asking questions taking them step by step in the procedure. He is pointing out that there is by the AAPA requires a record to be made.
11:00 am – Going back to promises made to Sen. Pritchard during the session, the claim is that it was not understood that he wanted a written rule or regulation to address the problem. I call bullshit, these unelected bureaucrats repeatedly game the system and take advantage of obstruction and delay to counter and reverse the will of term-limited legislators, and by extension the will of the people they represent.
11:08 am – Senator Malone is concurring with Sen. Pritchard’s request to develop additional written confidentiality protections and disclosure to affected parties.
11:14 am – There really should be press here to record and present this information to the public. Where did they all go?
11:16 am – Apparently in the unemployment benefit appeal process, new information and new allegations can be made and the employer may not even be made aware that accusations of criminal activity are made.
11:19 am – Committee adjourned, if anyone in the press gives a rip about reporting on an this important topic, contact Senator Bill Pritchard.
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Arkansas Lottery Commission Legislative Oversight Committee – July 2, 2009
Posted on July 2nd, 2009
Date & Time: Tuesday, July 02, 2009 at 10:00 AM
Location: Room 151, State Capitol
Agenda: http://tr.im/qCGk
Attachments: none
10:06 am – Today will be the first time that the new Arkansas Lottery Commission Executive Director will be appearing before this committee. There is alot of people and activity in the committee room this morning.
10:11 am – Senator David Johnson has introduced the Chairman of the Arkanasas Lottery Commission, Ray Thornton.
10:12 am – Mr. Thornton says that this is the fasting moving lottery effort ever. Says that we already have RFPs for scratch off items published performed by Ernie Passailaigue, the Arkansas Lottery Commission Legislative Oversight Committee’s Executive Director. Apparently Mr. Passailaigue has been involved in the Arkansas Lottery since even the legislation was being drafted.
10:16 am – Mr. Passailaigue is now speaking. Says that everyday that the lottery is not operating, that is a loss of $250,000 in scholarships lost. Says that the idea of a lottery can expect to take a beating in the media and public opinion until it gets launched.
10:20 am – Mr. Passailaigue says that some in South Carolina compared the lottery to pornography when it was starting up.
10:22 am – Mr. Passailaigue says that he wants to see this lottery to be the best and most ethical lottery in the history of lotteries.
10:23 am – Says that what he is doing is “launching a half billion dollar business” in six months. He says he is attempting to build out an organization with about 90% of the staff to be Arkansans, but that he needs to get experienced people from out of state. Says that the people hired “will look like the people of Arkansas.”
10:27 am – They said that they will even be conducting interviews on the Fourth of July. He said that those being hired will be devoting 6 months of their life with hardcore work with no holidays. The goal date is October 29, 2009.
10:30 am – He wants to bring with him from South Carolina the director of internal operations and also a sales and product development attorney.
10:34 am – Mr. Passailaigue profusely praising legislators and staff. Says he understands the press in Arkansas, they are like those in South Carolina… they only want to print the negative.
10:36 am – Mr. Passailaigue claims to be a fiscally and socially conservative individual who only thinks the lottery “should be played by those with discretionary dollars for the purposes of entertainment.” [I wonder what steps he will take to make sure those ideals are met.]
10:40 am – Mr. Passailaigue says he want to be very careful with the spending by the lottery commission because every $5000 wasted is a lost scholarship. Mr. Passailaigue ‘s presentation is complete.
10:42 am – We are now reviewing the Lottery Commission Operating Budget. The total salary schedule totals to $5,129,043. The Lottery Commission Budget Requests total to $3,000,000. Rep. Lovell is asking for clarification on why those numbers are different. The explaination is that the Budget Request is only for 5 months.
10:45 am – Rep. Pennartz is asking a follow-up question, since the total budget request is for $7,370,600 for only five months then what is the total annualized budget. Mr. Passailaigue said that the administrative costs in South Carolina is about 1.8% of sales, which was about a billion or about $18 million. Rep. Pennartz asked for further clarification and Mr. Passailaigue agreed that the cost of administration would be about $14 million.
10:50 am – Speaker Wills is asking about the lottery pie chart. Mr. Passailaigue says that it will be about 60% will go to prizes, 2% to administration, 2% to gaming contracts, 2% to advertising, which seems that about 34% will remain to scholarships. He is explaining that we don’t want a restriction in the law that requires a certain percent put into prizes because that has caused problems with others.
10:57 am – Speaker Wills is speaking about managing peoples expectations with “4 to 5 percent for adminstration, gaming contracts, and advertising.” Mr. Passailaigue agreed.
11:00 am – Mr. Passailaigue is re-iterating the importance of getting the lottery going quickly. He said you can not worry about the press static and “monday morning quarterbacking” to do the best thing for the lottery. He says, “This is not a vote that you can go back and talk to the average person about because they won’t understand it.”
11:04 am – Speaker Wills is asking follow up questions about cost of “vendor” contracts. I am not sure that Mr. Passailaigue understood what exactly he was asking. I am not sure I do either.
11:05 am – Speaker Wills asked for a timeline. Apparently the first items began on June 19th. There will be a time for questions from bidders, followed by the bidding processes. Next contract evaluation and selections. There will be a banking contract next week and an advertising contract the week after. Mr. Passailaigue is expecting that the point of sale contracts and licenses need to be taken care of as well.
11:10 am – Rep. Lovell is asking about the job requirements on select positions who require experience. He insists that he is going to hire people with experience. Rep. Lovell is asking follow up questions. It seemed that Mr. Passailaigue said that the V.P. Admin/COO position had been rolled into his dutes, but upon questioning about it by Rep. Lovell that is not exactly the plan. The there will still be a V.P. Admin position hired.
11:16 am – Mr. Passailaigue’s responses have become somewhat disjoined and I am not sure what he was trying to say. He has gone back to re-emphasising how necessary it is to hire experienced people.
11:19 am – The ten positions that absolutely require lottery experience are the 1) Advertising and Marketing Director for $130,279 2) Banking and Claims Director for $138,279 3) Executive Director/CEO for $324,000 4) IT Gaming Director for $156,836 5) Product Developer for $76,819 6) Sales Director for $104,080 7) Sales Training Coordinator for $53,109 
Security Deputy for $92,526 9) VP Admin/COO for $225,000 and 10) VP Gaming Operations for $225,000.
11:26 am – Apparently folks got tired of discussing this topic even though a lot of people were asking question because a move for immediate consideration to approve the report and budget as reviewed. This move terminates discussion and prevents legislators from being able to ask questions that others may not be comfortable with.
11:30 am – Mr. Stovall with the Bureau of Legislative Research is currently presenting the Requests for Pool Positions. Senator Key is currently asking about descrepancies between the position requests versus the statute.
11:38 am – Senator Thompson is asking if Mr. Passailaigue has people in mind for the positions marked as requiring experience or if he thought that he could get some of the lower salary positions fill with people with experience. Mr. Passailaigue’s response was again disjoined but seemed to be saying that he would need some flexiblity and that he would be doing the best job he could of getting the positions filled within the salary grades listed.
11:43 am – Senator Key said that there is a several month delay on background checks, and wants to know how the positions will need to be filled in the time frame needed to get the lottery going quickly. Mr. Thornton says that contact has already made arrangements with the State Police but that he could not disclose the plan right now.
11:48 am – Senator Key stated that he is having difficulty supporting the current Request for Pool Positions due to apparent conflicts between requests and statute. Mr. Stovall seemed to agree that the document probably needs to have some additional work but that it is sufficient. Review approval was approved.
11:52 am – COMMENTARY: The “million dollars a day lost for every day the lottery is not operating” is driving this committee and the legislature in general to ignore potential problems and rushing things more than seems to be prudent.
11:54 am – Meeting is adjourned.
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