Over the loud objections of Democrats in the Alabama House, Republicans pushed through a package of bills that will drastically reform Alabama’s taxpayer-funded public assistance programs.
The four-bill package includes measures to increase penalties for fraud; require welfare applicants to submit job applications before receiving benefits; prohibit spending of welfare benefits on liquor, tobacco, casinos and strip clubs; and allow for drug testing of welfare applicants who’ve had a drug conviction within the past five years.
The bills were sponsored by the two Alabama Senate Budget Chairmen, Sens. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, and Trip Pittman, R-Montrose.
Pittman’s bill, SB63, allows for drug testing of welfare applicants who have a prior drug conviction.
“Drug addiction is a serious, often life-threatening problem,” Pittman said. “By putting this check in the welfare application process, it will serve as an incentive for those who have a drug problem and are also in need of assistance to get help, and it protects hard-earned taxpayer dollars from enabling a dangerous habit.”
Sen. Orr sponsored the other three bills in the reform package.
SB114 makes it a crime to defraud many state and federal government-funded assistance programs like Medicaid, Social Security, food assistance and public housing.
SB115 requires welfare applicants to apply for at least three jobs before receiving benefits, a measure Orr said is intended to encourage applicants to utilize the benefits only as a last resort.
“Everyone wins when a welfare applicant is able to find a job instead of having to rely on public assistance,” Orr said. He added that the state of Pennsylvania denied as many as eight out of every ten welfare applicants after enacting a similar rule known as the pre-approval work search.
The final bill in the package, SB116, prohibits welfare recipients from spending public assistance benefits on alcohol and tobacco, and at strip clubs and gambling facilities. According to reports from other states, millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded public assistance funds have been spent on alcohol, tobacco and at casinos and strip clubs.
“It is a serious exploitation of a well-intended program, and quite frankly a slap in the face to taxpayers, for these public dollars to be used in such a way that is 180 degrees opposite of the program’s intent,” Orr said. “This kind of abuse shows a complete disregard for those who are genuinely in need.”
Democrats lashed out at Republicans for passing the reform measures, accusing them of targeting minorities and the poor. In spite of their protestations, the bills now go to Gov. Robert Bentley for his signature.
Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims
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