HOUSE BILL REPORT
HB 3156
As Reported by House Committee On:
Children & Family Services
Title: An act relating to creating a pilot program to assist in asset building for low-income persons.
Brief Description: Creating a pilot program to assist low-income families.
Sponsors: Representatives Darneille, Haler, Dickerson, Morrell, Pettigrew and Simpson.
Brief History:
Children & Family Services: 1/30/06 [DP].
Brief Summary of Bill |
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HOUSE COMMITTEE ON CHILDREN & FAMILY SERVICES
Majority Report: Do pass. Signed by 8 members: Representatives Kagi, Chair; Roberts, Vice Chair; Walsh, Ranking Minority Member; Hinkle, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Darneille, Dickerson, Haler and Pettigrew.
Minority Report: Without recommendation. Signed by 1 member: Representative Dunn.
Staff: Sonja Hallum (786-7092).
Background:
Department of Community, Trade, and Economic Development
The Department of Community, Trade, and Economic Development (CTED) provides
assistance to Washington's communities, businesses and families. The CTED is organized
into several different agencies, one of which is the Community Services Division. This
division works to build community partnerships to provide service and advocacy for
individuals and families.
The Community Services Division administers funds for anti-poverty programs including
funds distributed to the Community Action Agencies. The Community Action Agency
Network is a delivery system for federal and state anti-poverty programs in the state,
including but not limited to the Community Services Block Grant Program, the Low-income
Energy Assistance Program, and the federal Department of Energy Weatherization Program.
The Community Action Agency Network is comprised of local Community Action Agencies
that serve low-income persons in the counties.
Asset Building Programs
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, asset building is an anti-poverty strategy that helps low-income people move toward greater self-sufficiency by
accumulating savings and purchasing long-term assets. The theory behind this approach is
that helping people purchase an asset, as opposed to simply increasing their income, provides
stability that may allow them to escape the cycle of poverty permanently. Examples of long-term assets include a home, higher education and training, and a business.
Asset building strategies incorporate many different approaches and use a variety of methods
to help achieve the goal of creating asset wealth for low-income people. Some of the most
common tools for asset building include the following:
Summary of Bill:
Pilot Program
The Department of Community, Trade, and Economic Development (CTED) must establish a
pilot program to assist low-income families to accumulate assets. The pilot program will
utilize Community Action Agencies to facilitate bringing together community partners to
determine the asset building programs to initiate within the community.
The pilot program must consist of four sites with at least one of the pilot sites located in
eastern Washington. The CTED will select the pilot sites through a request for proposal
process which must begin by July 31, 2006.
Any county, or group of counties, in which a Community Action Agency is located may
submit a proposal to be selected as a pilot site. The proposal must include the following:
The CTED must report to the Legislature by December 1, 2007, on the progress of the
implementation of the pilot program including the request for proposals process, the response
from the counties to the request for proposal, the status of the program, and any
implementation issues that arose in initiating the pilot program.
Earned Income Tax Credit
To the extent funding is appropriated, the CTED must establish a program to create an
outreach campaign to increase the number of eligible families who claim the federal Earned
Income Tax Credit. The CTED may work collaboratively with other state agencies, private
and nonprofit agencies, local communities, and others with expertise that might assist the
CTED in implementing the program.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Available.
Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.
Testimony For: (In support) These bills were motivated by talking to people in Pierce
County about helping low-income people build assets. The Pierce County Asset Building
Coalition was started in Pierce County and received a grant to increase the number of people
applying for the Earned Income Tax Credit. Six million, three hundred thousand dollars that
could have been paid out by the Earned Income Tax Credit was left on the table by Pierce
County. This bill establishes a program to provide incentive grants to establish pilots like the
program in Pierce County. It is a real public-private partnership.
(With concerns) Community Action Agencies within the state work differently in each
county. We would like to have the bill apply to either the counties or the Community Action
Agencies. Some counties may be slower or less reluctant to get involved.
Testimony Against: None.
Persons Testifying: (In support) Representative Darneille, prime sponsor.
(With concerns) Jean Wessman, Association of Counties.