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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