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| SPONSOR: | Taylor, JP | DATE TYPED: | 02/26/99 | HB | 612 | ||
| SHORT TITLE: | Adult Basic Education Matching Funds | SB | |||||
| ANALYST: | Segura | ||||||
| Recurring
or Non-Rec |
Fund
Affected | ||||
| FY99 | FY2000 | FY99 | FY2000 | ||
| * NFI | |||||
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
Human Services Department (HSD)
State Department of Education
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
House Bill 612 amends House Bill 38 passed by the 1998 Legislature, First Special Session, to remove the requirements that $600.0 of the adult basic education (ABE) state funds used as match for the federal welfare-to-work grant. The bill contains an emergency clause.
Significant Issues
According to the State Department of Education(SDE) the identification of the state's eligible welfare-to-work recipients is pre-requisite to the reporting of the $600.0 expenditure of state adult basic education funds. The matching funds can only be expended for adult basic education students enrolled in state funded programs that also meet the participant eligibility requirements of the Federal Welfare-to-Work-Act. The SDE has not yet received a listing of the state's eligible welfare-to- work participants. Consequently, no expenditures have been reported to date.
In addition, House Bill 38 prohibits the expenditure of the $600.0 for any purpose other than for welfare-to-work eligible participants enrolled in state funded ABE programs. Any amount not expended must revert to the general fund. If SDE is required by HB38 to revert state ABE funds, the state will not meet the maintenance of effort requirement for the Federal Adult Education and Literacy grant. If funds are required to revert, over $2 million in federal adult education and literacy funds will be jeopardized.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
If the $600.0 expenditure cannot by met, the state will lose $2 million in Federal Adult Education and Literacy funds. The loss of funds would severely cripple the state's ability to continue to provide adult basic education and literacy services.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
When the list of eligible welfare-to-work participants is made available to SDE, the 20 state funded adult basic education administrative entities will be notified of their responsibility to report the matching expenditures. The SDE will submit a report for the 20 administrative entities to the Department of Labor consistent with the reporting time-lines established in the Memorandum of Agreement.
OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES
Over $2 million in Federal Adult Education and Literacy funds will be jeopardized if the state is unable to meet the $600.0 expenditure. The amendment will not jeopardize the Department of Labor's ability to draw down the federal grant if the $600.0 can be expended by June 30, 2000. Even though the amendment removes the expenditure match from law, SDE will report the expenditures through the Memorandum of Agreement with the Department of Labor.
RMS/prr