MINUTES OF THE
SENATE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE
Sixty-seventh Session
February 1, 1993
The Senate Committee on Finance was called to order by Vice Chairman Raymond D. Rawson at 8:00 a.m., on Monday, February 1, 1993, in Room 223 of the Legislative Building, Carson City, Nevada. Exhibit A is the Meeting Agenda. Exhibit B is the Attendance Roster.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT:
Senator Raymond D. Rawson, Vice Chairman
Senator Lawrence E. Jacobsen
Senator Bob Coffin
Senator Diana M. Glomb
Senator William R. O'Donnell
Senator Matthew Q. Callister
COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT:
Senator William J. Raggio, Chairman (Excused)
STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT:
Dan Miles, Fiscal Analyst
Bob Guernsey, Principal Deputy Fiscal Analyst
Judy Jacobs, Committee Secretary
OTHERS PRESENT:
Cheryl Lau, Secretary of State
Nancy Dunn, Senior Management Analyst, Office of the Secretary of State
Mark Griffin, Deputy Secretary for Securities, Office of the Secretary of State
Stanley P. Jones, Executive Director, Employment Security Department
Judy Matteucci, Director, Department of Administration
Martin Ramirez, Budget, Financial Management Section, Employment Security Department
Valerie Hopkins, Executive Director, State Occupational Coordinating Committee
Barbara Weinberg, Director, State Job Training Office
Secretary of State - Page 53
Cheryl Lau, Secretary of State, referred to the two items included in the budget proposals for her office, one for the Carson City office, and one for the Las Vegas office. She introduced two of her staff, Nancy Dunn, Senior Management Analyst, from the Carson City office, and Mark Griffin, Deputy Secretary for Securities, from the Las Vegas office.
Ms. Lau pointed out her office provides many services which earn the state millions of dollars in revenue annually, derived from fees for filings in connection with corporations, securities, Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), limited partnerships, trademarks and patents. Future fees may be obtained from franchising, she said. She declared her office collected over $13 million in revenue for the General Fund in fiscal 1991-92, an increase of 27 percent over the previous year.
Ms. Lau anticipated the collection of an additional $1.5 million each year of the next biennium. She stated both corporate filings and security revenues were up over 18 percent from the last year.
Ms. Lau noted revenue collection is not the major objective of her office, only a function of doing business. She declared service and accuracy are the primary objectives to maintain a competitive edge in retaining the desirability of doing business in Nevada. However, she admitted, there is a cost involved in generating money.
Nancy Dunn, Senior Management Analyst, Office of the Secretary of State, discussed the details of the budget requests for account 1051 of the Governor's Executive Budget which covers the responsibilities for corporate filings, UCC, trademarks, limited partnerships, notary publics and administration of election laws. She indicated revenue sources are comprised of general funds or funds earned by the office and transferred from a special services account.
Ms. Dunn called attention to changes in the base budget, between the 1992 actual budget figures set forth in the Governor's budget and the requests for the next biennium. She said those moderate changes are in personnel, data processing and operating categories, primarily the result of the Governor's reorganization plan. She explained a micro-computer specialist would be moved from the secretary of state's staff to the Department of Data Processing under the Department of Administration, which would result in a reduction in salaries and operating costs but an increase in data processing costs.
Ms. Dunn noted a request in the personnel account to transfer the Education and Information officer from the Governor's proposed budget account 1050 to budget account 1051.
Ms. Dunn called attention to a moderate decrease in the base amount of the equipment category. An allocation during the 1991 session for furniture and equipment for new staff was not included in the new budget.
Regarding the increase in the election law changes category, Ms. Dunn explained,
Under election law changes the amounts in the last biennium are not being carried forward into the new biennium. That was an allocation that was given to us to implement the national "Change of Address" pilot program, and we do not plan to continue that program into the next biennium.
Turning to page 53 of the Governor's budget, Ms. Dunn attributed most of the changes to an 18 percent increase in corporate filings. She stated increases in the election division are due to legislation enacted by the 1991 legislature, which include the creation, filing and dissemination of three additional forms not used in the past.
Ms. Dunn pointed to the Enhancement category of the Governor's budget on page 54, which increases funds for travel both in and out of state. She reminded the committee Secretary of State Lau has increasing and expanding responsibilities with the National Association of Secretaries of State. Ms. Lau represents the State of Nevada on two "high powered" committees, she said, and serves as chair of "Project Democracy." Ms. Dunn requested funds for one additional out-of-state trip for Ms. Lau during the coming biennium.
Ms. Dunn added the corporations deputy is currently the vice president, and will become the next president, of the International Association of Corporate Administrators. Thus she recommended funds should be made available for her to attend and chair the two conferences held each year.
Ms. Dunn asked for funds to allow the elections deputy to attend one of the four national conferences for the election center. She admitted the state had dropped active involvement in that committee but deemed the national trend toward election reform would warrant his participation.
Ms. Dunn solicited support for a salary increase to $50,000 for the Chief Deputy Secretary of State, an unclassified employee. She compared his $43,500 salary to his counterparts under other constitutional officers who receive $55,000, $60,000 and $77,000.
Senator Rawson asked for clarification of the figures for the salary request. Ms. Dunn referred him to page 54, category 701, and assured him the recommended $7,201 would cover the increase only for the chief deputy. Ms. Lau interjected she wanted an increase from $28,000 to $36,000 for her chief analyst division head whose responsibilities include supervision of six people and who "has great corporate responsibilities." Ms. Dunn assured her the raise was included in the budget.
Secretary of State Securities - Page 57
Mark Griffin, Deputy Secretary for Securities, Office of the Secretary of State, testified he manages the securities division, which has two sections, one revenue-generating and one for enforcement. He explained the enforcement section investigates and provides litigation support in cases of violations of Chapters 90 and 91 of the Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS), which deal with securities and commodities.
Mr. Griffin voiced his request for an addition of four people to the securities division staff of 17, two investigators, a securities examiner and a legal secretary-trainee. He justified his request due to demographics and caseload increases. He expressed concern the caseload is too high for his one current securities examiner, who is charged with reviewing all registration filings to protect Nevada citizens who purchase securities. He added that new proposed legislation to regulate franchises will add to the caseload, thus necessitating the addition of a new securities examiner. He opined a franchising law is needed because of the increase in franchising activity.
Mr. Griffin explained at the present time volunteers are used in investigations, which poses some security problems. Thus he recommended that a legal secretary-trainee be hired to assist in those investigations rather than use volunteers.
According to Mr. Griffin the two compliance audit investigators requested for job classification at level three have been reduced to level one. He expressed concern that employment of level one personnel would require an inordinate amount of training. Because of the complexity of securities investigations he felt more experienced people were necessary.
Senator Rawson reviewed the recommendations by the Governor, and asked if there was an error in the Agency Request as delineated. Mr. Griffin agreed the funding figures were not as requested by the division. He said the portion of the $143,534 allocated that includes the two new investigators would have to be raised
approximately 20 percent to fund at a level three. He agreed to provide the committee with the exact information.
Mr. Griffin declared revenue from fines has increased 650 percent, partly due to the recent assignment of a deputy attorney general to criminal prosecutions. He said criminal enforcement has a great deterrent effect.
Senator Callister asked for clarification of the duties of the new people requested. Mr. Griffin replied one should be an attorney or accountant, who reviews "extraordinarily technical" documents. Two, he said, are "quasi-police," involved in enforcement, who usually hold advanced degrees in business or accounting. It was estimated an addition of 20 percent to the suggested $28,715 salary would enable the department to hire qualified people.
Mr. Griffin pointed out division revenues were up $575,000 last year and were up $220,000 this year to date, a likely annual increase of 20 percent. Senator Callister noted no performance indicators were included with the budget but called attention to the statement on page 58 that litigation activity had yielded a 650 percent increase in fines. He called it an "extraordinary increase." Mr. Griffin attributed the increase to enforcement through the courts, rather than settlements out of court. He stated, "It is difficult to quantify statistically the activity of our enforcement section because litigation is measured primarily not in quantity but quality." He felt hiring level three employees would enhance enforcement.
Senator Callister wanted to know the dollar amounts generated by the 650 percent increase in fines to determine whether the additional expense would be warranted. Mr. Griffin reminded him some of the fines are distributed to individual investors who had been wronged.
Ms. Lau agreed to provide the information and declared it a major goal of the securities division to insure safety for investors. She said, "We have moved from a place known as a haven for security fraud to a well-regarded and respected state that controls fraud by tight administrative civil and criminal enforcement." She encouraged the committee to approve her requests.
Mr. Griffin pointed out the requests for additional equipment were in conjunction with the requests for new personnel as well as for training and rising enforcement expenditures.
Mr. Griffin asked for funds to allow the two section chiefs to attend a conference of the North American Securities Administrators Association. He alleged the cost of their attendance at the meeting would be returned to the state many times over from their expanded ability to communicate with colleagues from other states.
An increase in operating funds was requested by Mr. Griffin to enable printing and distribution of statutes, regulations and tips against fraud helpful to Nevada citizens.
Senator O'Donnell asked if the secretary of state's office used employment contracts which set forth specific periods of time for employment. Mr. Griffin answered there is a high rate of turnover from his department not only to the private sector but also to counterparts in other states and on the federal level. He asserted the others receive much higher pay than that offered by the State of Nevada for investigators. He said there are no contracts which require employment for a specific time period, although those employed at the highest levels are asked for a verbal commitment, usually two years.
In response to a query by Senator O'Donnell about the amount of revenue generated by auditors, Mr. Griffin responded the first priority is to recover money for investors who have been harmed. After that fines can be levied up to $25,000 per series of occurrences. He estimated the average serious violation would engender a fine of $5,000, while the most common violations of registration incur fines of about $500.
Senator Jacobsen asked if the loss of a micro-computer specialist would have an adverse affect on operations. Ms. Lau reported she had been advised there would not be a change. She expressed concern that the specialist would not remain "in-house" with the secretary of state's office full-time so tight control over programming could be maintained.
Senator Rawson conveyed his support for constitutional officers to have the tools necessary to do their jobs. He asked Ms. Lau to keep the committee advised of her needs, for which she would continue to be accountable.
Senator Callister concurred that Nevada's reputation regarding securities fraud had improved during the past few years. He voiced concern that the growing population of aging in the state might be the frequent target of fraudulent schemes. He asked if the trend was growing. Ms. Lau conceded the trend was increasing in Nevada. As chair of Project Democracy, she said, she was made aware of similar problems in other states. She indicated she had expanded educational programs in the securities division.
Senator Callister concluded that there is an increase in criminal activity, but most investigation and enforcement is through the Office of the Secretary of State, not through local police departments. He contrasted the frequency of prosecution of crimes such as car radio theft to the prosecution of securities fraud involving millions of dollars.
Employment Security - Page 1074
Stanley P. Jones, Executive Director, Employment Security Department (ESD), gave an overview of the mandates for his department, attached as Exhibit C. He called attention to a questionnaire (Exhibit D) regarding the Governor's reorganization plan and a letter from the Regional Director for Unemployment Insurance of the United States (U.S.) Department of Labor (Exhibit E). He reported he was forming a transition committee within his department to facilitate the reorganization plan.
Mr. Jones cautioned there are many questions to address because of the unique federal-state partnership involving the proposed Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation and in order to remain in compliance and conformity with federal regulations. Senator Rawson inquired if Mr. Jones was concerned about complying with the Governor's plan. Mr. Jones responded he was confident the intricacies could be worked out with the U.S. Department of Labor.
Judy Matteucci, Director, Department of Administration, referred to a document (Exhibit F) showing the transfers from ESD to the Department of Taxation in the Governor's budget proposal relative to reorganization. She said:
The Employment Security Department participates in all of the auditors at one-third of their cost, approximately, based on the cost allocation procedure that was developed by the Department of Taxation.... The big bonus for the Employment Security Department is that their audit coverage will go from 2 percent to 7 1/2 percent...and there is a much lower audit coverage percentage as worked out with the federal government for employment security, so we are going to expand that. We...expect that...there would be additional recoveries in the unemployment trust fund for Employment Security Department.
Martin Ramirez, Budget, Financial Management Section, Employment Security Department, testified the Base budget on page 1074 includes detail on two major impacts from the Governor's reorganization plan, data processing functions and taxation functions. He pointed out the Base budget proposed by the Governor is about the same as that requested by the department. He said major reductions in personnel expenses reflect vacancy savings, the transfer of the audit staff to the Department of Taxation, and the transfer of data processing salaries to the Department of Data Processing.
Mr. Ramirez called attention to the large increase in data processing expenses to set up a line item for ESD to pay invoices from the Department of Data Processing for their staff and for associated operating costs. The first year the agency requested $963,092 while the Governor recommended $3,585,144. He said his department had not yet received a detailed analysis of the approximately $2.6 million transfer.
Mr. Ramirez said a new budget item called "Transfer to Taxation," to cover "our one-third cost of the audit process from the Department of Taxation" will be charged to ESD. He questioned the numbers as "primarily being that our budget analyst has indicated that these dollars are to pay for the audit process and nothing but the audit process."
Mr. Ramirez stated the ESD has requested six more auditors to add to the 20 already within the department. He said:
The complement of 26 positions we feel fairly states the approximate cost of the ESD audit process. However these auditors only do audits 15 percent of their time. The questionnaire that we provided to the Department of Taxation [Exhibit D] indicates what the auditors do in the balance of their time, which is about 85 percent of their time.... When we lose these 20 auditors that we currently have on board, how are we going to accomplish the other 85 percent...of their current work.
Mr. Ramirez added that the proposal to charge ESD one-third of the audit process raises questions because "our audit penetration level is 2 percent, and the Department of Labor...has no desire to achieve a higher audit penetration...than 2 percent."
Senator Rawson interjected the issue would be discussed by a special subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Finance.
Mr. Ramirez moved on to Maintenance items, saying ESD received a small inflation increase for utilities and insurance assessments, and a demographic caseload increase of five new positions for the biennium. He said additional funds are recommended for personnel and fringe benefits.
Mr. Ramirez pointed out Enhancements will include increases for expanded contractual services, for replacement of equipment, and an
appropriation of $999,478 for postage. ESD will no longer be exempt from paying postage after the first of October.
Mr. Ramirez continued:
In this budget we will have a line-item that we will be paying the Department of Taxation and the Department of Data Processing. They will be billing us for the staff that we currently have under our control today.
He assured the committee those charges would be paid by the federal government.
Senator Glomb asked, "This full amount will come through your budget, but...you will move it on to other budgets to pay for the services?" Mr. Ramirez concurred and continued:
We have had the positions removed from our budget, and in their place we have had two line items set up so we may transfer cash to the Department of Taxation and the Department of Data Processing.
Mr. Ramirez explained that the federal government looks upon the arrangement as paying for a service, and ESD treats the billing "almost like a contract service."
Senator Rawson asked Ms. Matteucci if her department had "tried to maximize ... federal dollars." She replied that her department had made direct contact with the U.S. Department of Labor relative to some accounts to assure that the proposed reorganization would not be illegal. She called attention to the letter from the U.S. Department of Labor (Exhibit E) to corroborate her statement.
Mr. Ramirez reiterated ESD would have to pay postage, so grants will be increased to cover the estimated costs. He continued to say some of the expenditures for new data processing equipment will not be consolidated with the new Department of Data Processing.
Ms. Matteucci interjected the data processing positions at ESD would not be physically removed because ESD has such a large data processing staff. She stated those positions would be coordinated with the central technology services functions and would be placed in the Information Technology Services (ITS) budget and would be paid by a transfer from ESD.
Senator Glomb asked who their direct supervisor would be. Ms. Matteucci replied:
Their direct supervisor will be the division director of the Information Technology Services department. They will be coordinated through a centralized function. They will be providing service directly to the Employment Security Department who will be their main client.... If...somebody leaves, ITS will be making that decision...who to replace it with.
Mr. Ramirez concluded his presentation with a recapitulation of the figures on page 1080 regarding performance indicators. Senator Rawson asked Mr. Ramirez to provide the committee with additional information on the average length of individual unemployment claims. Mr. Jones interjected the present average of unemployment insurance claims is 14 weeks.
Employment Security Special Fund - Page 1081
Mr. Jones told the committee the special fund had been authorized under NRS 612.615. He explained many of the expenditures listed under the base budget will be used to make repairs to state-owned buildings used by the Nevada ESD. The expenditures under the maintenance budget will be used primarily to bring each office into conformance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Senator Glomb asked what was the source of the funds. Mr. Jones replied the funds accrue from penalties and interest on delinquent accounts and employer forfeitures.
Senator O'Donnell inquired if the 335 percent increase denoted on page 1081 would come from an agency transfer. Mr. Jones said there was no transfer, there was $2 million in a special fund account. Ms. Matteucci stated $3 million was carried forward from the end of 1992, even though it does not appear as a balance forward. She added, "They would like to use it, when they have enough money, to build a new state office building and for administrative costs that aren't allowable under the federal allowances."
Senator Rawson asked if Ms. Matteucci was depicting more reserve accounts throughout the budgets. Ms. Matteucci replied:
In the past couple of years your staff has...suggested that our balances forward don't equal the reserve in the prior year. So we have shown those all being carried at the full level, with the explanation.... It is a bit of a housekeeping problem as to whether, and how much of the balance forward will actually be carried forward. As long as you all realize...that the amount that's being carried forward may not be the exact amount that gets carried forward because of expenditures....
In a brief discussion of the reserves being accumulated for use in new construction, Mr. Jones stated the ESD would like to replace three buildings that are more than 30 years old. ESD proposes to locate land and build new facilities in Reno, Las Vegas and Winnemucca. He added the Enhancements include funds for proposed new roofs on both the Las Vegas and Reno offices and for the addition of restrooms to the Reno industrial office where client contact has increased from 100 to more than 200 per day.
Claimant Employment Fund - Page 1065
Mr. Jones stated the Claimant Employment program provides claimants with special services and training to meet work force needs in the state. The program includes academic training, classroom skill training and on-the-job training. He reviewed the specific provisions of the budget.
Senator Rawson asked if the allowance for two and one-half new positions and an inflation factor should be considered Enhancements rather than Maintenance items when they are attributable to caseload increases. Ms. Matteucci responded:
One of the definitions is on demographics and caseload...on page 1066,...and we figured since it's directly related to additional clients that...essentially meant that it was a demographic caseload. If you feel that...it's an Enhancement, I
think you're going to see some differences here as to how we classify things.
Mr. Jones summarized the total expenditures for the Claimant Employment Fund. Senator Glomb asked how the fund was financed. Mr. Jones replied that it comes from a .05 percent tax that employers pay on the first $14,800 of wages. He said it was collected by ESD at the same time as the unemployment insurance tax but kept in a separate account.
Senator Rawson inquired if the statistics on the number of claimant assessment interviews as delineated in the performance indicator included more than one interview per participant. Mr. Jones responded the figures referred to the total number of people, not the total number of interviews.
State Occupational Information Coordinating Committee - Page 1111
Valerie Hopkins, Executive Director, State Occupational Coordinating Committee, provided the committee with a fact sheet from the National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee (NOICC) (Exhibit G. Original is on file in the Research Library.). The sheet described the initiatives of NOICC. She said the national mandate was to disseminate information for labor market and career data, second language populations, disabled persons, and a new apprenticeship program called "Project Attempt."
Ms. Hopkins distributed a document (Exhibit H) summarizing the Nevada Career Information System (CIS) and listing sites where information can be obtained. She said the State Occupational Information Coordinating Committee (SOICC) is funded by a federal basic assistance grant and by user charges.
Ms. Hopkins declared 500,000 Nevadans can avail themselves of CIS data at 1,000 computer sites. The information is provided for students and for adults seeking new employment or upgraded employment. A CIS software package is distributed to the sites listed on Exhibit H, including schools, libraries, ESD offices, State Industrial Insurance System offices, State Job Training offices, and welfare offices.
Senator Rawson inquired how many people actually access the system. Ms. Hopkins referred to the performance indicators, the figures for which are assembled from surveys and sign in sheets. However, she admitted their counting system was not very accurate.
Ms. Hopkins declared the SOICC had been extremely successful due to the cooperation of the membership.
Senator Rawson wanted more information on the apprenticeship program. Ms. Hopkins advised him it was still being considered by a committee under the name "Project Attempt" which has no funding as yet. She anticipates the program will eventually be coordinated with the "School to Work" career program and other educational programs.
State Job Training Office - Page 1059
Barbara Weinberg, Director, State Job Training Office, characterized her office as "the second chance system," which "assists economically disadvantaged individuals to enter the work force and dislocated workers to return to the work force." She said all but approximately 2 percent of her budget is funded through the federal Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA). The 2 percent constitutes the Displaced Homemaker Program.
Ms. Weinberg said Nevada receives nearly $10 million annually which enables her department to serve approximately 5 percent of those eligible. She alleged Nevada receives less funding than states with similar populations because Nevada's unemployment rate is lower. She stated data on the economically disadvantaged is based on extrapolations from the 1980 census, which Ms. Weinberg believes will change when the 1990 census data becomes available within the next few weeks.
Ms. Weinberg provided copies of the annual report of the State Job Training Coordinating Council (Exhibit I. Original is on file in the Research Library.). Included with the report was an overview of the JTPA. She submitted three more documents to augment the information on State Job Training Office responsibilities, the 1992 annual report on the Displaced Homemaker program (Exhibit J), a narrative expanding on the budget information (Exhibit K), and a page of performance indicators (Exhibit L).
Senator Rawson asked for confirmation as to whether less than 25 percent of the clients of the State Job Training Office were on Aid For Dependent Children (ADC). Ms. Weinberg affirmed his information, but said she anticipates a large increase in ADC.
Ms. Weinberg described changes to the JTPA enacted in September 1992, which she asserted will greatly impact those who will be served. One amendment requires that 50 percent of those served be out of school. She also stated 65 percent will be required to have a barrier to unemployment beyond economic deprivation, including deficiencies in basic skills such as failure to meet certain educational standards, teen pregnancy, or disabilities. She added in-depth assessments of participants with referral to other appropriate programs will be mandated.
Ms. Weinberg said another JTPA amendment was added by the Defense Authorization Act of 1992 which enables the Job Training Office to expand their services to those dislocated due to defense downsizing. A transition committee was established at the Tonopah test range which determined which services would be needed upon closure, and were then provided by her office. She declared such early intervention is extremely effective in decreasing the trauma of dislocation.
Ms. Weinberg reviewed the specific line items of the State Job Training Office budget. She explained the 1992-93 Base total was substantially higher than the prior year or projections due to two one-time events. She said $1.5 million was allocated for a youth program last summer in Las Vegas. She indicated a $200,000 grant was dispersed for city clean-up and beautification due to civil unrest in Las Vegas, which provided temporary employment for 90 people.
In discussing personnel expenses, Ms. Matteucci noted the figures were inaccurate and should have included an additional $3,900 each year. Ms. Matteucci agreed to provide the correct figures for that budget.
Senator Rawson asked how the money was dispersed for the summer employment program. Ms. Weinberg replied the funds went to Nevada Business Services, a program under her auspices, to ensure expenditure only for those eligible under JTPA requirements. She assured Senator Rawson that on-site investigations were made to determine proper use of the funds. She said most of the $200,000 emergency grant was used for adults, many of whom have since been given placement assistance.
Ms. Weinberg indicated operating expenses were rising due to a rent increase. She attributed the large expenditure of funds under the present work program for displaced homemakers to a slow initial start-up, which should no longer be a factor. To Senator Coffin's query, she responded the last legislature allowed expansion of the displaced homemaker program statewide, which took longer than anticipated.
Ms. Weinberg explained revenue in the Maintenance budget is based on caseload increase and on policy from the JTPA to increase funding by 10 percent. Raises in travel expenditures will be needed, she said, to implement amendment requirements for training and oversight.
Ms. Weinberg noted the major enhancement to the budget would be used for data processing equipment in order to comply with a requirement to deliver the information on participants to the United States Department of Labor. She asserted the amounts under the technical assist/incentive award category would provide additional funds to service delivery areas in order to comply with the JTPA amendments.
Ms. Weinberg called attention to the performance indicators. She averred those standards have either met or exceeded the national standards except for the percent of youth trainees who entered unsubsidized employment. She said the program had shifted emphasis to keeping youth in school.
Senator Glomb asked if trainees who were welfare recipients were connected with the "workfare" program of the Welfare Division, and if they received subsidized child care and medical benefits. Ms. Weinberg responded,
Yes, we work very closely with the Welfare Division, because we have a great opportunity to leverage our programs. We have more training kinds of dollars and they have...more support kinds of dollars. So one of the ways of dealing with this is to make certain that our training dollars are used to the greatest extent possible for welfare clientele.
Senator Glomb offered the opinion it would be important to link the Governor's proposed "workfare" program for welfare recipients with job training. Ms. Weinberg approved the use of sanctions as proposed by the Governor for those who do not comply with all the requirements.
Senator Rawson inquired if any of the job training was done in conjunction with drug rehabilitation. Ms. Weinberg answered, "Not...directly.... Indirectly, on the field level, we know there's interaction."
During a discussion of the weekly wages indicated in the performance indicators, Senator Rawson opined a goal of $228 per week should be an achievable target. He calculated that represents just under $12,000 per year, close to the poverty level. Ms. Matteucci stated the poverty level stands at $11,500 for a family of three.
Ms. Weinberg interjected her office does not have enough funding to move job training clientele into better jobs because most have poor or no work history. Furthermore, she added, most of the clientele need money immediately and cannot remain in the program for an
extended length of time. The average person remains in the training program for six months, she said.
Senator Rawson suggested those enrolled in nursing care assistance programs should achieve a salary range of $18,000 to $22,000 in a year or less. He remarked:
You might want to run a scenario to see if that depletes your money faster than the benefit that you're gaining from it, to go into some of the longer programs.... Why don't we look at trying to develop some lighter pathways that will help these people beginning...at a nurse's aide position, but use that as a ladder to go into a licensed practical nurse, and then on to an RN [registered nurse]. If we can do some stepping programs like that, I think we can meet all of the objectives; we can get people to work immediately, but leave options for them to continue.
Ms. Weinberg endorsed the senator's proposal to go into stepping programs. She said many clients lack the knowledge of how to be an employee, which makes it critical to get them into the labor force to learn how to be employees, and then get onto the career ladder.
In response to a query from Senator Rawson, Ms. Weinberg said the Job Training Office works very closely with the schools and community colleges. She added that one of the new JTPA amendments requires that school districts provide the Job Training Office with a list of all dropouts.
Senator Rawson told Ms. Weinberg he felt the program was very important, that "somehow we have to try to impact the numbers of people that are staying on medicaid and ADC and all of those programs." Ms. Weinberg agreed.
Dan Miles, Fiscal Analyst, distributed a sheet showing subcommittee assignments for the Senate Committee on Finance (Exhibit M). Senator Rawson pointed out the first name on each committee would be the chairman of that subcommittee.
There being no further business, Senator Rawson adjourned the meeting.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:
Judy Jacobs,
Committee Secretary
APPROVED BY:
Senator Raymond D. Rawson, Vice Chairman
DATE:
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Senate Committee on Finance
February 1, 1993
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