Date: 02/10/2006

Final
BILL SUMMARY for SB06-134

SENATE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Refer Senate Bill 06-134 to the Committee of the WPASS


01:40 PM -- Senate Bill 06-134

Senator Sandoval introduced Senate Bill 06-134. Senate Bill 06-134 eliminates the resource and asset limitations that are a condition of eligibility for the Colorado Works program. Senator Sandoval gave a background of the Colorado Works program and described the current asset test for the program. She stated that asset tests have been eliminated for the Colorado Medicaid and the Low-income Energy Assistance Programs. Senator Sandoval stated that the bill would add approximately 2 cases per month to the Colorado Works program.

01:46 PM -- Lynnae Flora, Jefferson County Department of Social Service, testified that the Jefferson County has concerns with the number of persons who may be added to the Colorado Works program as a result of the bill. She stated that legislation had just passed at the federal level to reauthorize the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program, and the legislation was not favorable to the states. She stated that a better approach might be to increase the allowable level of assets, rather than eliminated the test entirely. She responded to questions from Senator Johnson regarding work participation rates under TANF.

01:51 PM -- Barclay Jones, Mile High United Way, distributed a handout to the committee (Attachment A). He described programs currently offered by Mile High United Way that assist persons in building assets.

01:53 PM -- Chaer Robert, All Families Deserve a Chance Coalition, distributed a handout to the committee (Attachment B). She stated that persons who need TANF assistance currently need to deplete 401K and health savings account assets to qualify for the program. She spoke to the requirements that TANF recipients need to meet in order to receive assistance through the program, including work and school participation. She responded to questions from the committee regarding the lifetime cap on TANF assistance.

02:03 PM -- Rich Jones, Bell Policy Center, distributed two handouts to the committee (Attachments C and D). He stated that a bipartisan consensus is developing among researchers, policy makers, and practitioners that helping low-income families save and build assets is a critical strategy in moving them from dependence on government benefits toward economic self-sufficiency. He stated that it is shortsighted to have people deplete retirement funds when such funds can help individuals avoid public assistance later in their lives.

02:05 PM -- Linda Meric, 9 to 5, described stories of women who have been negatively affected by the asset test.


02:08 PM

Senator Sandoval gave concluding remarks regarding the bill.
BILL:SB06-134
TIME: 02:09:36 PM
MOVED:Sandoval
MOTION:Refer Senate Bill 06-134 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed 6-0-1.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Johnson
Yes
Mitchell
Excused
Sandoval
Yes
Shaffer
Yes
Traylor
Yes
Hanna
Yes
Hagedorn
Yes
Final YES: 6 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS