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GOV. SCOTT WALKER'S PROPOSALS (DOCUMENT PROVIDED BY GOVERNOR'S OFFICE):
Special Session on Welfare Reform Legislation LRB-5218/5282 - Relating to: pay for success contracting, establishment of pay for success trust fund, and making an appropriation. Pay-for-Success Authorize the Department of Administration (DOA) to contract with a private service provider for payments to provide social, employment, or correctional services to individuals and create a “pay for success trust fund,” the balance of which may not exceed $20,000,000 at any time. DOA must determine that the contract is expected to result in significant performance improvements or significant budgetary savings for the state or a local government if the contract objectives are achieved. Contracts will be subject to approval by the Joint Committee on Finance and must meet payment, procedure, and schedule requirements. The following agencies, Health Services, Corrections, Children and Families, and Workforce Development, must conduct a study of their programs to identify whether and how the kind of contracting provided for under the bill could be utilized as an alternative to current funding models. LRB-5207/5276 – Relating to: creating a pilot and permanent program for making periodic payments to eligible recipients of the earned income tax credit and making an appropriation. Earned Income Tax Credit Partial Payment Pilot Program If agreed to by the IRS, establish a two-year pilot program whereby 100 Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) claimants will receive monthly payments throughout the year rather than requiring these recipients to wait until after they have filed their returns to benefit from the EITC program. For the pilot participants, this will better align work with the receipt of EITC benefits and seek to improve their financial stability. Advance payments to pilot participants will be limited to 2/3rds of their likely annual credit eligibility. The Department of Revenue will also compare pilot participants to a group of 100 claimants not receiving the advance payments to determine the success of the program. For tax years after the two-year pilot, this advance payment program may be made permanent and apply to all eligible EITC claimants if agreed to by the IRS. LRB-5217/5279 – Relating to: payments based on performance for Wisconsin Works and FoodShare employment and training program contractors. Pay-for-Performance Measures for W-2 and FoodShare Vendor Contracts Requires DHS and DCF to implement performance-based payment systems for W-2 and FSET contracts. This is a new requirement for FSET and would apply for the next round of contracts under W-2, which currently include some level of performance-based payments. LRB-5214/5258 – Relating to: required hours of participation in the FoodShare employment and training program. Move Work Requirements from 20 Hours to 30 Hours The bill allows DHS to set the required hours of participation in FSET to coincide with the maximum allowed by the federal government for both able-bodied adults with and without dependent children. Currently, 20 hours is required for able-bodied adults without dependents. It is currently allowable to require 30 hours for able-bodied adults with dependents. This bill would only impose requirements for able-bodied adults with dependents if able-bodied adults without dependents are allowed with a federal law change. This would treat both groups the same. LRB-5213/5286 – Relating to: statewide FoodShare employment and training program requirement for able-bodied adults. Statewide Work Requirements for those Receiving Food Stamps This bill requires all able-bodied adults to include able-bodied adults with school aged dependents (six or over). This bill goes into effect on October 1, 2019 to align with the federal fiscal year. The funding for the program would be included in the 2019-21 budget. LRB-5222/5287 – Relating to: asset restrictions on eligibility for FoodShare, Wisconsin Works, and Wisconsin Shares. Asset Testing for Certain Welfare Programs Establish a limit on assets related to a primary residence such that it cannot exceed 200 percent of the statewide median value home ($321,200) for W-2, Wisconsin Shares, and FoodShare and add a $20,000 limit on the total equity value of non-work-related vehicles to Shares and Food Share. An explicit exemption for agricultural land is included in the bill. W-2 would retain current law vehicle equity value limit of $10,000. Those on currently on Wisconsin Shares would be grandfathered in. Also, allow agencies to write rules creating hardship exemptions. Some provisions require a federal law change. LRB-5216/5288 – Relating to: requiring child support compliance in the Medical Assistance Program. Child Support Compliance as a Condition of Medicaid for able-bodied adults The bill prohibits from participation in Medicaid parents and certain individuals who refuse to cooperate in paternity determination of a child, establishing or enforcing any child support order or obtaining any other payments to which a child or individual has rights. This is for able-bodied adults. LRB-5223/5289 – Relating to: require drug screening, testing, and treatment and employment screening of and employability plans for residents in public housing. Require Self-Sufficiency and Drug Screening Requirements in State Housing To the extent allowed under federal law, require that the state housing strategy plan maintained under current law by the Department of Administration to include a requirement that public housing authorities conduct screening of adult residents to determine whether a resident is able-bodied and either unemployed or underemployed, and create an employability plan for each resident the housing authority determines is able-bodied and either unemployed or underemployed. Further, require the resident to participate in the plan. Also, require drug screening, testing, and treatment as a part of the plan as a condition of eligibility. LRB-5246/5290 – Relating to: creation of a savings account program in the Medical Assistance program. Creation of Medical Assistance Savings Accounts This bill would require Health Services to request an amendment to its Medical Assistance waiver to allow for the creation of health savings accounts for individuals on Medical Assistance. This could build upon the current 1115 waiver amendment that is under consideration by the federal government. Elderly, blind, and disabled individuals would be excluded along with children. LRB-5280/5281– Relating to: photo identification cards for FoodShare recipients Photo Identification Cards for FoodShare This bill requires the Department of Health Services to prepare and submit a comprehensive implementation plan to the food and nutrition service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture for approval to issue electronic benefit transfer identification cards containing a photo to recipients of assistance under the federal food stamp program. Massachusetts and Missouri already have similar requirements in place.
REACTION
State Sen. Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay)
“Adam Jarchow lost in Tuesday’s senate election in part because he and his Republican friends chose to attack struggling families.
“Despite voters’ rejection of these types of attacks, Governor Walker sees them as his opportunity to excite his supporters and shift their attention away from the fact that he, President Trump and Republicans in Madison and Congress have failed to help improve their lives.
“Instead of giving a Taiwanese billionaire over $4 billion that will do little to help the vast majority of people in this state, a more informed governor might have decided instead to invest that money into our own families, businesses, schools and roads all across the state.
“Now, seeing that his reelection ploy is not working, he is trying to divert the people’s attention by calling a special session to wage new attacks on working families and the poor.
“Governor Walker’s call for a special session is another sign that he and legislative Republicans are running scared. It is a transparently political move that is just another reason so many people are voting for real change in Wisconsin and around the country.”
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