Joint Budget Committee

The. You ring. All right membership we'll call joint budget order first item on the agenda is the special language report central seem to get more. You're recognized do the special language report i'm sorry mister I was distracted by my colleague here so alright mr chairman special language community of joint budget met on thursday april eighteenth and mac a reviewed three governors letters to agency letters three bills and four member amendments items one through nine listen special language subcommittee report were adopted by the subcommittee or recommended for approval in a release back to subcommittee or release from the sub can be back joint budget I move for doctor the report by promoting a motion to adopt the report in the second any discussion or in favor of they are in your post and we've got some bills ready to come out mister sir in the report. Aside and be wine if you look at number two house bill ten forty five department of labor in licensing that's their board in commission's appropriation bill which chairman that's ready as amended house bill ten forty five nine most you do pass as a mandate have emotion in the second any discussion I would in favor say in your pose mister number six in the same report house bill ten twenty three treasure state this is turned back for county semis the past three. Okay need a motion do pass as a mandatory house we'll ten twenty three have a motion in a second any discussion all in favor say our in your opposed mistransition. Item number seven. This is house bill ten eighty six this is department of corrections this is a supplemental appropriation bill for the current year this is takes money out of surplus of four to. Four point two million for counter joe reimbursement I have a health motion on house will ten eighty six and a second any discussion all in favor they are in your opposed mister anderson item number eight senate bill fifty four assessment coordination that amendment is ready or need emotion do passes amended have emotion and a second any discussion all in favor they are in your pose. And is so prepaid here. Alright we'll put him on to mars calendar i. Mister anything we have amendment is sir it takes us to items see in the packet item see one. This is the member by senator rice and representative of war law to set a bill twenty one came a fish commission and that special language send a special language. Yes sir. Item see too soon as a moment by representative johnson it a men cinnabill sixty part of education bill it adds a new appropriation section. For a don't high school grants representative johnson here. I'm so you know we'll pass over to a more. Mr chairman were on page nine c three. This is an amendment by represent of hardest due considered a solid to house bill ten forty one department of education public school funded at special language send a special language. The next ones on page thirteen this is item c four on page thirteen this is a minute by senator irving representative cavenaugh to senate bill sixty three department of agriculture. This deletes eleven thousand five hundred from their administrative expenses for fairs. And deletes the arkansas expo from forty two thousand five thousand five hundred and ads fifty four thousand for the north century district fair and i'll see center over every care all you run in this. Or you passed and over. All right you're going to right there alright. Yeah. Your identify you see over explaining what to do and apologies could be the added and realize this was my bill a frank haven't asked state representative district thirty this a minute is actually taking the ay appropriation down the fifty five hundred and putting the money back to north central I think it's called district fair back to fifty four thousand. We've got some questions senators mang you recognize his the is there is there a north is you say north central district fare does it exist today now it was the one that was done away with it but it hasn't been set up now and we're going to give an entity that does not exist funding while I believe it does exist it's just been non operational but I think the nonprofit exist. May was my understanding the non profit doesn't exist at this point you're trying to get one set up but it is not being set up at this point they mean someone else may know more but that's the way that it was explained to me that you know if we did this and there was a commitment to get it set up and I would like it what's the history on the north and of this isn't exactly your thing by the way but is our ideas and it's not such a bill. What what is the history on that cause when it's the first explain to me that it was just removed by a former senator than come find out that it was actually debunked and had been functioning for some at some time as an entity and that's why it was removed. In at this point. With it you think it does exist again as a board it has governance in and the rest of things needed to be my understanding was it was like a non profit that was existing but it had not been utilized now singer dismingled as you said this is really not my bill i'm just talking about what I have been told in the past so that's what I understood so thank you. I've got a question you said this is no additional funding no idea what you're or you take it money away from the youth expo yes we're taking them down to fifty five hundred dollars because they are really just a I live stock show and that's what other lab stock shows get is fifty five hundred dollars and that's why they're being taken down to the fifty five hundred. Reps of garden record for question. The. Thank you mr chair I do have a an issue with taking money from aya is much more than a live stock show is it's basically training youth from all over the state from all over the area to be future farmers and future branches and it is so much more I had an issue with them putting it into fairs to begin with in the budget because it's so much more than that but I really feel like we need to hear from eight ay to to figure out what they would do without that because they are calling folks not just from it it happens to be house in the washington county fair grounds but they're pooling folks from all over more than fifty percent come from all over the state books that would not have an opportunity at free of charge to to work on all kinds of agriculture issues agriculture and ranching issues so I would like it i'd like to see off airs funded but i'm i'm hoping that we could find another way to find it then to take money away from aye because I don't have any trouble with all the fares being funded but I way it's not a fair they're not under the same roles and regulations that are fair boards are under which they're under multiple mandates from the state when they receive state money and they have to go through training they have to pay fees there's a list of things that they have to do a huawei doesn't aye does not have those mandates but they're still getting money more money than a lot of state fares get. And so that's a real problem I think of you I think if you take a look at mr chair thank you I think if you take a look at what they do and how they do it and the university and that benefits that we're getting on the road it would be tough to say that that that's an issue that should be an issue but I would love to hear more from them about what that would do to the program. If possible we true thank you is department of aghin would you come forward. The. Fuel identify your sales i've got a question for you yes there are westward from that area to department. Patrick fields on department. Basically my question is to you support this amendment and do you support the youth expo. Yeah. So if if I may chair i'd like to go back a little bit to last year when we had a a proposal that added a way and. So it at that time there were there were requests to have them considered four funding so that's how they originally get added in last year ultimately that's a decision of the legislature we we submitted a proposal last year they were funded the governor's letter of this year has the men their based off of what was distributed last year I do think away is a good show I think the counties that districts the junior last such shows they're all good share with your all great opportunities we support any opportunity to further expand or are you have an opportunities to be involved in agriculture so we deferred to the legislature you know there's there's interest across the state we want to be supportive of all of them and what will carry out the wishes that the legislature thinks is appropriate so what appear in your neutral sir just make you have questions but this goes to that I think I guess the north central district fair does it have an actual entity that then would be funded or what what is the current status of that and you have a little bit of history about what actually happened because i've been trying to understand that and I have yet to understand what happened there. Yes sir our hour understanding patrick can maybe answer a little more a specific to this but a couple years ago that it did your bank and essentially. Funding and so they distribute all their assets and essentially went out of business that's been a couple years ago and they lost their state funding our understanding is since then there's been an effort by people in that area that have tried to put on a fair on their own out of their own pocket and so I think that that's the internet from senator urban is to help them just reestablish that district fare and get them going and currently they do not organizationally exist but there is an effort for them to reestablish themselves so what happens when we give an entity that doesn't exist funding. When we were named and meant to do that we're gonna send funding to the doesn't have a governing structure to doesn't it it isn't even legally established in the state that's had a history of mismanagement to the point of being bankrupt. I mean that I guess my only concern is I would want to have some assurance. Meant that they were not giving it you know to just one individual to run with that there's nothing that says that it's more than one individual there's nothing that says there will be a board established there's nothing that really says anything that we're going to give it to a named entity in the in the bill is that. I mean. I mean what we have question non profits in the past about receiving money just to make sure they spend it appropriately and on this end we're going to say that we're going to give money to the nonprofit that doesn't exist I don't understand how you get to hold both of those viewpoints not saying that you do but some of my colleagues do bank. Reservative million year recognized yeah I do there's that there's a way to they follow the same guidelines as the county fares. Yes sir there's two basic requirements is to sing in a financial disclosure of other for that year and then there's continuous education that the required to teen so they do have to follow the same guidelines they're counting for it has to fall as well as a district for. I don't mister chair I don't believe that they have to pay the five hundred dollars and have to is that correct. That the to be the countings pay five hundred dollars to actually go to training and be a part of a fair manager they don't actually have to do that correct they can if they want to they're not required to do that but they that is a volunteer they can do that. Senator chest feel you're recognized yes thank you message here representative care and I we which you consider pulling it down tomorrow until tomorrow so the weekend get more information and I have to deal with the day because I have never seen you blush before I would be glad to be if you would be so can I would appreciate it very much if that's if that's okay with the. And representative cabinet is for me all right thank you. Review the painter you're recognized thank you mister chair representing some of the counties in in this would be nor saturday district and know the reason why before I felt it was because it went bankrupt because no one could get along and in I have some questions about making sure maybe you guys can reach out to the counties that would be in this direct strict to make sure they're on board because the last time I check with my counties they didn't know about this and they were still talking about are you know if they would they would like to think about it because of the last time so I would just ask if if you do pull it down also reach out to the counties that would be in that district because of past history. I'll be sure in pest I long to send urban okay send it for hammer you're reckon as for question thank you miss share when the when the entity went out last time was the department notified that they no longer were an existence or do you just find out coincidentally. The. Yesterday they did contact us as my effect the in that same year we had sent a check before we knew that all location mark if you don't mind thank you yet we had sent them funding prior to knowing that they had closed the doors they refer return that. Uh found to us and then I know fathers that they would be closing but they did return the funds to you yes sir okay thank you. A flake representative lunch from and seek forty yes sir you're reckon out thank you and this is for the agency won't pick on representative cavena. Although it's a great opportunity is this a private business. The. Are they taking out loans and I mean what do we know about these facts about about a way yes I believe they're structured as an as an llc yet I don't know if they've either speculation that they've taken out you know some sort of operating wire II don't have any documentation to verify that we we do have their financial report that they submitted this past year after receiving the funding ok i'm just i'm confused if we're helping a private business. We can have a line out the door just need more information thank you. Senators manger recognized in just one thing if we could before we come back tomorrow you know I have a. I'm concerned about funding you need to be the doesn't exist i'm concerned about funding an interview that's got a history of problems internal problems. I mean ma request would be maybe the sponsors meet with the governor's office I would think it's a lot more appropriate to have some table one time money in the beginning or a commitment that if there is a board established that it is you know getting in itself going that then we could utilize someone time funding to help them come back in the next regular session they could be added to the bill I just am i'm a little bit hesitant about how this would work or even which is about these point the precedent of funding something that doesn't even exist and so difficult thing to do. Since stone you're recognized yes secretary war does just fill out understand as away all for anything for young people that the county payers do not offer. Do that they have a mechanics division as well as and open the other the carol shows and and small rumor but i'm not aware of in the other event that county would not have ok thank you. It's seeing no more questions that recare all the clothes on your memory or political what do you want to do with representative cabinet it's not get me confused about confused enough about this bill but I would like to pull it down we can get some of these questions answered appreciate you all right. The. Repeated jobs are you here you will take this from your seat I yeah we had reference gate that that takes us back to items c two that's on page five item c two it's an amendment to send a bill sixty part of education for a gold high school education grants we light up very good you're recognized thank you mister colleagues this is this distant appropriation there's no planning mechanism to this is yet this is a appropriation to try to get some funding for some of the for the two adult high schools that exist here in the state we're just trying to lay that groundwork currently it's constitutionally I were unable to find those schools because they're adults the way it's written of the funny mechanism to education has to be for people under the age of twenty one the if you're not familiar with these high schools there's two that operate in the state right now they're looking at opening a third they're operated through goodwill they have about a hundred and thirty adults and rolled currently and they provide both transportation daycare crew technical training so that good institutions again no funding mechanism now just trying to lay that ground work in case we are doing a part finding later and i'll be happy to take any questions in equation. Yeah. We did emotion adopt the amendment have emotion and a second any discussion i'll in favor say I any opposed minute adopted thank you thank you committee all right in sent rebate and income in while we will do any of their city or right or or move on. Mistransition is sir that things is the item c five that's on page seventeen items see five this is an amendment by representative bentley it is to send a bill fifty one university barked on medical sciences this deletes the arkansas centers for health improvement appropriation and replaces the certified nursing midwife program for the same amount and same finding. Ah reviewed charlie fight. Willing to take it right turn light every go do I mean to stay here I could be there before safety representative bentley is in the hospital and was hoping to get out today to be here better unfortunately the doctor said she needs to stay another day so I told her i'd be glad to present this i'm not a nurse but I do talk slower so that as you know I can say has an eternal health care crisis the governor spoke about this recently we currently have the highest mortality rate maternal mortality rate in the nation. In the past three years alone up I can tell high speed three I can saw hospitals have shut down their maternity awards and are no longer delivering babies across the state women of all ages have to wait up to a year for an appointment with an obstitution I can say has the lowest number of certified midwifes and the lowest number of deliveries attended by midwife arkansas does not have a certified nurse program for midwife's anywhere in the state. What can we do to help with this maternal health care crisis looking across the nation we can see that many other states have used highly qualified certified nurse midwise to fill in the gap and support obstitutions using a a team approach and allowing the midwise to attend uncomplicated birth maternal health has dramatically improved with lower sea sections and higher both weights so what exactly will this amendment do this in them out with transfer five hundred million dollars in uams's budget from ac high which is the arkansas center for health initiatives to the nursing department so they can establish the first certified nurse midwife program achieve has brown exponentially From various sources this transfer will allow us to prioritize tax dollars on a very pressing need in the state without hindering the current work being done by a chi since it would be just a little over a seven percent change to their budget this is a win when for our estate showing our constituents how we would be able to keep from growing government and even cut taxes in the future without stopping any necessary services to our constituents so I am hoping that we will honor representative bentley today and have the maternal crisis in our state for children and mothers by passing this amendment. For we got a questions we debated this lengthy last thursday we had a roll call and should it like a few vote for people being in the seat at that time as reason it failed but I will take a few questions but I don't think we need to air the whole thing all over again since we did have lengthy debate and once I said that everything starts lightened to check feel you recognized thank you mister for your indulgence we do so appreciate that could you tell me please if this is an agreed to amendment between both interesting achiev whatever there is an. In this midwife program is this an agreed to a member I have not talked to achieve course i'm taking this for representative then so I don't know if she has spoken with them or not they were here the other day when we talked about this there are no objections I do have in the notes that there are no objections to this from the department of health are from secretary is achi. I represent it. I don't know your you want to go forward to jail son of my western sea professor. You'll recognize yourself and interest in a traditional question. Thank you mister chair jet homeson executive director of the arkansas center for health improvement to your question center chesterfield this is not an agreed upon amendment this will impair our ability to support state agencies and the bureau of legislative research and analysis of the all payer claims database okay thank you miss fight I was not here and is my fault it representative mentally say why she thought coming from this particular line item was the best way to do this art to the chairs as you said we had such robust discussion was talked about it all i'm going but I am my recollection here to my knowledge she said that the budget for this group had ground and grown and grown through the years that this would be gesture moving a very small part and that is she looked at everywhere as a as a way to phoned this program this seemed to be the the most logical way to do it. II see others may have come in and i'm sure you miss spoke when you said five hundred million rights. I shared it we have a grown that much how much growth has taken place and since there since the allegation is that it is grown exponentially in how much is your budget grown doctor joe syndrome has failed we have had about a seven million dollars budget over the last ten years in our budget this appropriation allows us to be responsive to state agencies the other components of our budget are largely federal contracts that do not have any flexibility we have in a each grant studying the effects of medical marijuana using the all period claims database we have a hersegrant funded to look at work for swear our physicians are and have with their ages so that we know how they're getting to so those contracts and grants are not flexible they have deliverables they have you know restrictions at this five hundred thousand is what allows us to be responsive to state agencies and when bill or needs assistance the pure of legislative research thank you so much and I guess what concerns me as we deal with material hill we had the opportunity to get the twelve months and we chose not to do it in the midst of a maternal health crisis and I guess i'm wondering why we're trying to make that up instead of appealing. To the governor to change your mind about that but then that's just linda chester for you thank you so much mississippi. Alright reps college you recognized thank you mister chair could we get you in my right to ask them where to stay on this. Which your davis should come and forward. The. Yeah. You'll identify you say if you can answer rivers college questions. The. Chairman in the day was. Collins work did you mind you thank you very much chairman in the day was with uams representative collins ums would like to see both funded nurse midwife program and a car in this situation where it's one of the other we're going to take a neutral position okay so even understanding that this bill would cut five hundred thousand dollars from a car which is under your perview you guys are still neutral even though it's effectively cutting it that's correct okay. The. Ripped it garner you're recognized. I just had a question and I know representative pipe may have a difficult time answering it but one of the things that we just did last week was take two million dollars out of general revenue to find the crisis pregnancy centers which are non health care entities that general revenue would pay for four years of the midwife free program so it seems like we could are or maybe i'm asking would you be willing to look at some other funding mechanisms as opposed to taking it from the place where we actually utilize the assimilated data for each one of our agencies and our research hospitals. Well again this was not my bill but I know that representative bantley and others spent a great deal of time looking through the budget and trying to find the best way to find this program and I would add that these are nurse midwives are highly trained I don't think I said that in my presentation they have to have a bachelor science in nursing. And then two years experience on top of that before they can even enter the two year mid with very program so this is a highly specialist group that could go a long way and helping us with our informational clisis that we're facing in our state. Gary through. I mean get you back into go here. Thank you mister chair I just have one more question if I could ask um not representative date of city more if I could ask mr davis and maybe representative johnson to talk about the bill coming up for um I find a trustphone for maternal health for you a mass and the position for that funding. So yeah i'll be having trouble answer that question would you have a to a bill I guess with bills are I think if it would college in the session to bill added some friend of special english committee to be discussed it would be a bill to create a fine from eternal health work forced there would be a ten million dollars find that we haven't completely identified where that would come from yet for you I miss work force but it would be and it would be behind every four maternal health work for so would include things like do less commute health workers license midwives family practice who'll be fellows but again as a dispoint in less than your mister davis knows something different we have an identified funding for that yet it's just a fund would creating in anticipation of the hopes of generating some finding around some of the maternal work forces usually facing. All right search flowers you recognize thank you mister chair i'm just want to know it was mentioned three rule hospitals closely and maternity wards where are they ended up applied for any funding to keep the materials awards open that we turn them down on. And may not be able to name them specifically i'll be glad to get you that information but those closures are what we use the all peer claims database then to see we have the body's identification but the zip code of delivering marms and now we're looking how far those moms have to go to get to a delivering hospital because of the closure that's the type of work that we're doing with the all fair claims database. We read the governor's maternal health work group yesterday fully involved we support midwise we just think that you need to be able to see what you're funding see what happens with the decision to make around funding a multi billion dollar healthcare system. Or my concern is. Trying to understand. If a mid wife certified in arkansas would become a primary care giver for the mother is that correct what we discussed yesterday in the governor's task force is the need to actually have teams as opposed to individuals so there are midwife would be part of a team paired with a physician so that when he or she needed support it was immediately available as not the current situation and that's what again the all per claims database lets you see who's working together and who's a solo cowboy. What that I am a bit concerned with this because i. I can't imagine uh someone even with the training that is being proposed is this up there on their own substitute and for an obstitution it sounds like. And if you don't have any kind of hospital or any obstatution within an area where the mid wife would serve that's trouble in to me but we need we think midwives are an important component but they've got to be a component of a network of folk supporting marms and you've got to be able to see what they are doing in isolation which is what the all per claims database allows us to look at each and every provider to see how they are contributing in a positive or a negative way to healthcare system what last question mr chair. If if this became our policy and certified midwife's work president in our state operation on their own would. The. Which would I guess the staddor may be through medicaid be able to assign a pregnant woman to a mid wife. The. For care as a primary care giver. I think that's actually a policy decision that medicaid would have to make and before we have enough midwise for them to make that they don't currently pay for midways. Thank you mister chair. Thank you sir for the phone yesterday other most for immediate consideration as the propromotion in a second the non debatable all in favor say any opposed as have it I think we're going to need a motion to approve a mem- movement to fit senate bill fifty one have a motion in a second any discussion all in favor say I will oppose the minimums adopted and we see some hands. Call the road with anything senator english. Representative matthew shepherd. That seeing representative shepherd for salt in a representative of baby yes. Center mark johnson. Yeah. Representative alcohol. Senator hammer. Representative flowers. Not seeing representative of flower second alternative representative mcclerk. The. Senator tucker. Represent a few banks. Center pain. Representative richmond. Center urban. Representative tosh. Center flipper. Represent cabinet. I. Center blake johnson. Reps of language. Center hill. Representative evans. Senator solomon. Representative macquarie. Center murder. Reps in a million. The center has to. Representative again. Sir letting. Representative shepherd. The. Singer king. Represent women. Santa penzo. Resembering. And seeing representative period first alternate represent springer. Got it now. Sir boy. Represent sky. Sarpadi. Person calling. So chesterfield. Rips of garner. Sear flowers. Representative johnson. Sir stubborn field. Observed clowning. Sir haki. Represent AJ richardson. Sarah davis. Personal heart. Certain more. Website rose. The. Center race. Represent war law. Sir chrome. Reservies. Sarah wallace. Represent gas away. Center car well. Three percent well matt. All right thirty two votes in the affirmative takes twenty eight payers and so it is adopted twenty nine excuse me. All right we're going on to out of there's an amendment to send it but house bill ten sixty five senator davis do you honor the school special language right. And then a min- adam seven this is a representative of senate bill fifty three ms maybe this also be sent special language and we're going to go back members to the the special language reports of committee. Senator johnson is going to run senate bills sixty four. You can do it from right there. The. Thank german city repaid bill it it increases funding for the pregnancy help organization grants for goes from one me in the two million. And and that comes out of the. The general revenue a lot more reserve thank you. I have a motion in a second many discussion. I'll in favor say I any opposed it is adopted. All right is it ready now okay okay. Mr chairman we do have one in the house packet and that was a do pass for civil sixty four was chairman in the house packet each upper right hand corner on page twenty five. The only bill is house bill ten ninety six this is a supplemental for passed through phones for citi share county share. Her motion. And a second many discussion all in favor say I any opposed all right members were done we got personal committee meeting as soon as we clear the room get to get the paper work down we will meet tomorrow morning at nine am here at big mac a and also special language of meet upon a german tomorrow morning afterward through and with budget we are adjourned thank you for your good work.