BOSTON (AP) — The Massachusetts Senate is set to take up a welfare reform plan drawn up by Democratic leaders.
The bill scheduled for debate today would require that able-bodied people demonstrate they have tried to find work before they can become eligible for public benefits.
The proposal unveiled on Monday by Senate President Therese Murray also calls for steps to reduce welfare fraud, including a requirement that photo IDs be put on electronic benefit transfer cards used by welfare recipients by August 2014. Critics of the EBT cards, which work much like bank-issued debit cards, say they frequently fall into the hands of unauthorized individuals.
About $22 million in new state spending would be required to implement the bill, but supporters say the costs could be offset if more people go off welfare and there’s less abuse of the system.
The proposal is being touted by its supporters as one of the most comprehensive attempts at welfare reform in the country and the most sweeping in Massachusetts in nearly 20 years.
Several provisions target a so-called “cliff effect,” which keeps many recipients on welfare because it’s better for them financially than working at a low-paying job.
The bill would give the Department of Transitional Assistance access to data from other agencies in determining welfare eligibility, and would require that applicants who declare their own eligibility do so under penalties of perjury. In no case would a self-declaration be the only verification of an individual’s eligibility.
All welfare recipients would be required to obtain permanent Social Security numbers within three months of receiving benefits, and the bill would fund more fraud investigators and caseworkers within the welfare agency.
While declining to comment on specific provisions, Gov. Deval Patrick said he was encouraged by the Senate proposal.
“It emphasizes that that welfare is, or ought to be, a way forward, not a way of life,” Patrick told reporters prior to a meeting with Murray and House Speaker Robert DeLeo.
“It’s about time.” said Representative Don Humason Jr., R-Westfield, yesterday. “We (House and Senate Republicans) have been driving this bus for close to a decade it seems, and our leadership refuses to see it.”
Humason believes the Senate will pass their version of the bill, which will go to the floor of the State House, where Governor Patrick has supreme authority to decide the bill’s fate.
“It remains to be seen if Governor Patrick will OK it,” Humason said.
“We’re going to get some improvements, which are in great need. The people of this state are fed up.”
While Humason was quick to reference the tireless work of House and Senate Republicans in trying to push forward welfare reform, he admits it has taken some concession from across the aisle for the state to see the light.
“Our caucus has been saying this for years, but the fact that we’ve now had two reports from state officials, both Democrats, saying the system needs to be fixed – that says a lot.” Humason said, referring to a recent state audit.
“It’s a commonsense bill that will shore up the system and address the abuses of it,” said Sen. Benjamin Downing, D-Pittsfield, yesterday.
Downing, whose grandfather worked in the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression, disagrees with the notion that the majority of welfare recipients are gaming the system and soaking the taxpayer from their couches, but rather, believes they are people who are genuine victims of the current economic downturn, and are on public assistance simply as a last resort.
“We need to create better jobs for those on welfare, and our goals are and should be to reduce those in need of public assistance,” he said.
To help avoid the cliff effect and remove incentives for people to stay on welfare, recipients who find a full-time job would be allowed to retain childcare vouchers for up to one year.
Families would be allowed to exempt more of their assets from income eligibility limits, including the value of one car and any money earned by a teenage household member in a part-time job.
The bill would also earmark $15 million to provide health insurance subsidies to private-sector employers who make a commitment to hiring low-income people to keep them off welfare.
“It is not cheap,” Senate Ways and Means chairman Stephen Brewer, D-Barre, said of the bill. “But in the long run, it’s an investment.”
A recent state audit found more than 1,000 cases of welfare benefits being paid to people who had died or people using Social Security numbers of people who have died. While Gov. Deval Patrick’s administration disputed those figures, the audit and other recent investigations have amped up the pressure to overhaul the system.
Senate minority leader Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, praised the bill as a “prime opportunity” to reform the welfare system, while indicating that Republicans planned to offer amendments to strengthen the proposal.
Meanwhile, the new director of the state agency that oversees welfare benefits has unveiled measures she says are aimed at preventing fraud and waste.
Stacey Monahan, named director of the Department of Transitional Assistance last week, appeared before a legislative panel Tuesday and pledged to continue recently implemented reforms and introduce new ones.
The Boston Globe reports Monahan’s initiatives include tougher requirements for those who request replacement electronic bank transfer cards and more thorough checks of recipient lists.
She says since December, those seeking a fourth replacement card must meet with department officials to ensure there is a legitimate need. She says that’s led to a significant drop in requests for replacement.
Staff Writer Peter Francis contributed to this report.
