00:00
Representative Cozart
Thank you. Appreciate y'all. So the proceeding is, today, the governor will be here in just a few minutes. And when she walks in, I will introduce her and I will, please, if y'all would stand and welcome her generously, please. And then she will come and present the budget this morning. After she is finished, we will take a short recess and give her time to greet a few that want to greet her. She will not take any questions. Then DFA will come and answer questions after that. So that's kind of what it goes today. 

Thank you all for being here. I'm gonna gavel in just a minute. Actually, I'm probably going to go ahead and gavel in and we'll get our prayer. Senator Hammer is going to do the prayer, so I'm going to call this meeting to order. Senator Hammer. Hold on, I'm getting there. You're on.

01:14
Senator Hammer
Father, we come before your throne today. We are indeed grateful and thankful that we have the capacity to be in this room. Father, we ask your blessing upon us as we do the people's business. We ask your blessing upon our governor, and we ask your blessing upon her staff. We thank you, Lord, for the spirit of cooperation that exists within the three branches of government here in the state of Arkansas. And we ask, Lord, that you would just bestow your collective wisdom upon us as we debate with regards to the finances. We thank you, Lord, that we are blessed the way that we are as a state, with the financial strength that we have, recognizing that all blessings come from you. We ask your blessing, Lord, upon those that are serving in our armed forces, that are granting us the freedom to be able to assemble publicly like this, as well as those that are at home defending our freedom here at home as well. We ask your blessing upon them. We pray that you bless our nation and its future. We pray for a smooth transition, Father, as a new president is brought into power. And we just pray, Lord, above all, that we would realize that everything we say and do, we stand before the greatest of all. And that will be you one day in eternity. So let us be kind in our words. Let us, Lord, just be respectful. And let us just do unto others as we would have them do unto us as your word says. Bless the day and bless our governor. We pray in thy name, Amen.

02:34
Representative Cozart
If you would please remain standing, the governor has entered the room and we will welcome her now. Welcome. Welcome, Governor. Governor Sanders, you're recognized.

03:01
Governor Sarah Sanders
Thank you. Good morning. We got one. She an educator. She knows co chairs Rice and Wardlaw, who I know are not here today but still wanted to recognize them. Senators Gilmore and Dismang, Representative Cozart and Jean, President Hester and Speaker Evans, Members of our Legislature, thank you for having me here today to present my balanced budget. I want to thank all of the members of my cabinet who are here today and give special thanks to Secretary Jim Hudson, Director Robert Brecht and Selby McCollett. Their help has been invaluable as we have prepared for today. Not too long ago, states around the country were flush with COVID era cash. All this Federal spending spurred 50 year high inflation. In states like California and New York, officials couldn't seem to spend the money fast enough and Arkansas got its fair share of new money as well.

But unlike our blue state friends, we grew spending cautiously thanks to the discipline of our legislators and leadership. In other states, the bill for their spending is coming due. California and New York are staring down budget deficits ranging into the tens of billions of dollars. Leaders there have proposed sweeping cuts to education, healthcare, public safety and more. Amid this belt tightening, Arkansas's fiscal discipline stands apart. Earlier this year, were one of only six states to receive the coveted positive rating from the S&P Credit rating agency. We've kept up large budget surpluses and at the same time we've continued our investments in needed priorities while delivering not one, not two, but three tax cuts, lowering Arkansas's top line income tax rate by a full percentage point. This year's balanced budget continues that trend of fiscal responsibility.

I look forward to working with our legislature to increase spending by only 2.89%. The added funding is directed toward areas we have all agreed are priorities: education, maternal health, public safety and government efficiency. As you all know, Education Freedom Accounts go universal next school year. Thanks to our hard work to pass the LEARNS Act, for the first time in state history, we are empowering parents to make the decision about where their child can best learn. Interest in the EFA program is high and it's not a surprise. As a mom, I know that no two kids learn in the same way. When I first signed the LEARNs Act, I told the story of Jack, a boy with learning disabilities who struggled with bullies in his local school.

He ran away once, twice and a third time when he was eventually found soaking wet and crying in a ditch. Jack was one of the earliest recipients of the EFA program. I had the chance to meet up with him earlier this year in his new school. And it's not just the specialized school addressing his learning needs. He's away from his bullies, making friends. And I'm happy and proud to report that Jack is thriving. There are literally thousands of stories all across Arkansas of kids who are now thriving, who have an opportunity and will be able to reach their full potential. And next year, we expect thousands more to accommodate all those new students.

This balanced budget proposes $90 million in additional funding for the EFA program, plus an additional 90 million in set aside funding to ensure all Arkansas families have access to the full EFA amount, even if demand exceeds expectations. Maternal health has also been one of our shared priorities. We are all aware that Arkansas lags the nation in our maternal health statistics, which is why I convened the Strategic Committee on Maternal Health earlier this year and why my administration is busy implementing their proposals. This budget includes $13 million for Medicaid to help fund our maternal health programs and an additional 100 million in set aside funding for Medicaid sustainability. I know all of us want to find real solutions, not headline grabbing programs that don't actually solve the problem. This budget puts money behind that goal.

The third key bucket of new funding is for our new state employee pay plan. I announced it alongside many of you last Tuesday and I spent the next day in Pocahontas, including a meeting with the kind of frontline DHS workers this plan intends to reward. These men and women spend their days with some of the most vulnerable Arkansans imaginable. Kids entering the foster system because of abuse or neglect, parents who can no longer afford to feed their families, sick Arkansans who couldn't afford the treatments they need without our support. The new pay plan was built to give back to the state employees who give us so much. When I talked to them, the feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

Not only will it help us recruit and retain these much needed workers, it will be key to our larger goal of delivering better, more efficient government for the people of Arkansas. The vast majority of this plan's $102 million commitment comes from existing funding streams. But in this budget we are also proposing $3.15 million in new funding for pay raises for our state's dedicated frontline workers. You'll find support for our state's other critical needs in this budget. Nearly $50 million for Corrections, nearly $6 million for Higher Education, more than $4 million for the Division of Youth Services, and $1 million for foster placement. These numbers might seem small in a multibillion dollar budget, but their impact is enormous.

I'm sure many of you saw the story this week of Jose, a 17 year old who spent more time in foster care than any other kid in Arkansas's history. Jose has severe disabilities and will need hands on care for the rest of his life. But that didn't stop Mary and Patrick from welcoming him into their family. His adoption was finalized last week. For the first time since we started keeping track, there are now fewer than 200 kids in Arkansas waiting for adoption. That is a huge accomplishment and one that I know we'll build on through investments in things like foster placement. Budgets show our priorities and deliver on the promises we all spend years campaigning on: education, maternal health, efficient government, public safety and child well being. We all ran on improving these systems. Through this balanced budget, we can deliver on our promises.

I want to thank you all again for the opportunity to be here to present this budget. And thank you again to Jim, Robert and Selby. I had the easy job. They spent hours and hours poring over spreadsheets and now they get to stay behind and answer your questions. I look forward to working with each of you getting this balanced budget passed. At the end of the day it's really just a technical correction. So I would appreciate your vote. Together we'll continue our work to make Arkansas the best place in the country to live, to work and to raise a family. Thank you for your work and I look forward to working with you on this and in the next legislative session. Thank you very much.

11:32
Representative Cozart
Members, we're going to take just a short recess. We'll come back real quick and we'll get Secretary Hudson up and set up and then we'll come back. 

[RECESS]

If I could have everybody's attention please. You're going to have to sign back in again. We had to shut the system down. So all you gotta do is go ahead and sign back in. Your name will come back up or your screen will come back up. We had a little glitch and it's all caused on the senator side of the House. So. If I could have your attention please. If we could get back to our seats, we'll try to get started and get the lobbyist out of here. All right, we're getting there. 

If I could have your attention, I have an announcement. Talked to Senator Rice last night. He has had some minor surgery on his back done. He is doing well and in recuperation and he will be back as soon as possible. Not sure exactly when but he would love to have been here today. But it's just trying to get well as like all of us know that we have something done. You want to get well before you come back. So he will be back soon. Just wanted to send his regards to everybody and let everybody know that he's doing well. 

All right, Secretary Hudson, you are. If you guys will mic up and recognize yourself, we'll start.

19:31
Secretary Jim Hudson
Good morning, Committee. Jim Hudson, Secretary, DFA.

19:37
Robert Brecht
Robert Brecht, Budget Office.

19:38
Representative Cozart
All right, y'all are recognized. You just want questions? Is that what you're asking for, or you want to make a statement or anything first?

19:45
Secretary Jim Hudson
Yeah. I'm smart enough to know that I can't improve upon what the boss says, so I think we'll just be ready to take questions whenever the committee is.

20:00
Representative Cozart
Senator English, you're recognized.

20:03
Senator English
Thank you very much, gentlemen. Good morning. So, I'm looking at this, but will you tell me, please, where Adequacy fits into all this?

20:16
Robert Brecht
Yes, ma'am. Actually, the recommendations that were made would provide for around $262 million over the two years. Assuming that's what's approved, the Adequacy fund will grow more than that in the next two years. It currently has a balance of $600 million, and it will actually grow even with those numbers. So the Adequacy recommendations would be funded through the Adequacy fund.

20:42
Senator English
Okay, so that's not reflected in here at all?

20:44
Robert Brecht
That's correct.

20:45
Senator English
Okay, thank you.

20:50
Representative Cozart
Representative Wooten, you are recognized.

20:53
Representative Wooten
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Gentlemen, I hate to disagree with the budget, but I'm sure you understand why. My question is, we have 18,000 students currently in the private school voucher program. If that number triples, as it did from last year to this year, from 6,000 roughly to 18,000, if it triples, then the next two bienniums, then we're talking about $402 million to fund those 54-- 52,000 students. Does the administration still maintain that the other 400,000 public school students in the state of Arkansas will not suffer?

21:56
Secretary Jim Hudson
Yes, sir. I mean, I'm sorry, I didn't want to cut you off if you haven't finished your questions. Go ahead, sir.

22:00
Representative Wooten
Well, I just. I just don't. Will you explain how you can take $402 million-- and I disagree with the governor. We had school choice several years ago in Arkansas. They have school choice relative to attending a public school. And they had school choice if they wanted their child to go to a private school. And that private school is at their will and their decision. And it's true, it's going to cost them more money, but they could have sent their children to a private school. This is not a critical indictment of the children who have afflictions, who have challenges, who need special education like Easter Seal and Sunshine and other schools that outreach. But can you explain to me how we can take over $400 million out of the state funding and it not affect the court order for Adequacy in education?

23:20
Secretary Jim Hudson
Again, I think the comment that Robert made at the very beginning about Adequacy, those are completely different funding streams. Sir, you asked your question, please give me an opportunity to answer your question and then I'll follow up whatever you may have. But we're not taking any money out of the public school funding. That stands alone. The Adequacy fund is more than adequate to cover the requirements to provide a constitutional standard of education in our public schools. What we do in terms of the EFAs, the Freedom Accounts, comes from a different, completely different funding stream. And so, yes, we can do both at the same time, one without harming the other. I understand that some members may have principal disagreements with learns, but I think that has been discussed, debated, voted upon. It is the policy of the state.

24:13
Secretary Jim Hudson
It is the law of the state. And our commitment in terms of the budget is to fund what has been passed and that's what the budget does.

24:22
Representative Wooten
Follow up. You use the word constitutional.

24:26
Secretary Jim Hudson
Yes, sir.

24:27
Representative Wooten
Public schools. Can you tell me in the state Constitution where it says private schools? Does it say that?

24:37
Secretary Jim Hudson
It does not.

24:38
Representative Wooten
It does not. And here we are funding private schools at the rate of $402 million. And Mr. Hudson, I've been where you are and I understand the position that you have to take, but I'm telling you that's not right. Well, that is not right to take $402 million of tax money and give it to people who can afford to send their students to a private school.

25:09
Secretary Jim Hudson
Yes, sir.

25:11
Representative Wooten
And here's my greatest fear. What's going to happen? We're going to wind up, if we don't watch what we're doing, we're going to wind up paying more per student basis to private schools than we're giving to public schools because private schools can raise their tuition. I know they have higher test scores because they select every student that attends a private school.

25:43
Secretary Jim Hudson
Yes, sir. Representative Wooten, I have much respect for you and I know you've been in my chair in terms of serving in an executive role. I'm not in a difficult place. I'm in a good place here. I fully believe in what the governor's doing. I don't have to push on this issue. This is a decided issue. This is the policy of State of Arkansas. And again, I will just correct the record. We are not taking any money out of public schools. As a matter of fact, the amount that gets funded per pupil in the EFA's is a less percentage. So we're doing both at the same time. And I think we can feel very good about meeting our obligations to all the children in the state of Arkansas. And you know, it is tax money, but it's taxpayers' money.

26:27
Secretary Jim Hudson
And we're giving the taxpayers the ability to choose.

26:33
Representative Cozart
Representative Wooten, I'm going to have to move on. I did delete your mic, but we'll move on. You want to get back in. We've got a big line of people asking questions. Representative Collins, you are recognized.

26:47
Representative Collins
Thank you. Mr. Chair, does this forecast include any one time money being moved in?

26:54
Robert Brecht
There are some one time monies put and you'll find it at the end of that schedule. $90 million for the Freedom Accounts if it's necessary, and then $100 million for Medicaid if it's necessary. It's not known at this time if those will be necessary. In the event they are, those set asides could be used and then built into the budget afterwards. But what we didn't want to do is put too much money in the RSA when it wasn't needed.

27:22
Secretary Jim Hudson
So to follow up on that point too, we put it in this handout at the very end just so you could see where the money's coming from in terms of safeguarding Medicaid and for funding EFAs. It is not a part of the RSA. Now, we have talked a lot during budget hearings about high fund balances. And the expectation is that agencies need to be looking at ways to bring those balances down either through, you know, better spending or looking at reducing fees. So across all the budget, you know, fund balances are getting addressed.

27:56
Representative Collins
So have we identified the set aside accounts these would come from?

28:02
Robert Brecht
They would come from the surplus that's either existing, that's still available, $384 million I believe are still left unobligated. And then we expect another $278 million this year. So this doesn't use all of those fund balances, but there are more than adequate fund balances to put aside the 190 million.

28:32
Representative Cozart
Senator Hill, you are recognized.

28:38
Senator Hill
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Over here. You mentioned that Adequacy was not part of the budget as far as the increased portion of it. What else is not included in the budget?

28:52
Secretary Jim Hudson
Go ahead.

28:53
Robert Brecht
I would think that would be the main thing that people would look for. I mean, typically what would happen in an RSA, there might be $65 to 70 million in the RSA for education, but the way their fund balances have grown, it's the same thing that's happened with the state funding. Education gets two dedicated pots of money that come from mainly the sales tax, the Educational Excellence Fund and the Adequacy Fund. The Adequacy Fund has grown and has continued to grow. Like I said, it's $600 million now. Even if we fund Adequacy recommendations out of the Adequacy Fund, it will still grow another 70 million over the next two years. So there's more than adequate funds. So there's no reason not to take it from the Adequacy Fund.

29:38
Senator Hill
The second part of the question was what else has been left out of the budget that could count?

29:44
Robert Brecht
The only possible thing, which we mentioned with Medicaid, where we've put a set aside there, it's not known whether Medicaid will need those funds or not. If it turns out that they do, then we can build it into the RSA in future years.

29:59
Secretary Jim Hudson
Yeah. And to clarify as well, it's in the budget, the question is there any increase for certain line items? But you can go through here and you can see the existing funding that's in place that will be carried forward into the next biennium and in many respects also with some increases to the base funding based on increases in salary costs that have happened in the previous biennium.

30:20
Representative Cozart
Senator Clark. Yes, Senator Tucker. Got it right. Got Clark on.

30:32
Senator Tucker
I'll answer to just about anything.

30:33
Representative Cozart
Okay, Senator Clarke Tucker.

30:35
Senator Tucker
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Can you all elaborate on the 50 million for corrections and just break that down for me a little bit?

30:43
Robert Brecht
Yes. $40 million is for the medical contract. And you'll notice in the draft that you've got, it shows a reduction in the Department of Correction line. Right below that is a new line for the medical contract alone. So you'll see a $98 million reduction, but then you'll see $140 million for the medical contract. In addition to that, we've added $9 million for the county jail reimbursement. As you recall, they did come back and we gave them some money from restricted reserve to try to catch up with some of their outstanding invoices. This takes that into account. It's built into the budget now and it should be adequate for them to pay the counties when they're, when those invoices are due.

31:28
Senator Tucker
And is that paying at the existing rate or is the rate changing at all?

31:31
Robert Brecht
It's still at the $40 rate, that's correct.

31:33
Senator Tucker
All right, thank you.

31:39
Representative Cozart
Representative Bentley.

31:41
Representative Bentley
Thank you, Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Hudson, for being here today, I appreciate the extra funds that we're giving for maternal health, but as we look at the Maternal Mortality Review Committee and their report, the number one issue is older women with cardiovascular issues. So are we sure this funding that we've got there will provide the funding we need to increase the amount of money we're paying for prenatal care and for labor and delivery, which has not been increased, I think, for over two decades.

32:07
Secretary Jim Hudson
So I think what we're doing with the 13 million is adding resources to Medicaid and to help, you know, just stem a little bit of the burn on that for this initiative. But the intent is to, you know, move forward on all the initiatives, you know, that are coming out of that strategic recommendation. So the governor's committed to fulfilling those obligations.

32:27
Representative Cozart
Senator Hammer, you're recognized.

32:32
Senator Hammer
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Would you expand a little bit on the Medicaid sustainability fund set aside and what that entails, please?

32:41
Secretary Jim Hudson
So it's a new approach on it, but actually is very consistent with how we've handled, I think, other obligations in state government. We do know that there is a deterioration in the cash position for the Medicaid trust fund. The question is how much and what's kind of the slope of the decline on that? We don't really have good, solid information as to where we're going to end up yet toward the end of the fiscal year, going into the next fiscal year. So rather than just, you know, putting more money in the budget, not knowing whether or not we're actually going to need it, we really wanted to build a contingency plan. And that's what the reserve is set aside for. It'll be there, $100 million.

33:22
Secretary Jim Hudson
And then based on what actual results are, if DHS needs to plus up their funding, they'll come to the governor, make the request, we'll bring that to y'all, and then you'll have a chance to review it and that will occur before the money gets transferred over. So it is the executive branch and the legislative branch working together to make sure that we're keeping that in a sustainable level.

33:45
Senator Hammer
And the second question would be, and tell me if I'm interpreting the numbers right, when it comes to the surplus, we're projecting 280, then 299 and get up into  2027 505. Is that a correct interpretation? If so, what do you attribute the significant growth between 2026 and 2027 to? That the surplus projection is as high as it is.

34:11
Secretary Jim Hudson
So the 27 number really is more of a kind of reflection of where that budget is at this point. You know, based on what we have in terms of actuals in 2026, I'd fully expect coming into the fiscal session to make some adjustments there, and that will probably bring that number down a little bit. There's essentially a flat budget from 26 to 27, and there may be some things like EFAs, depending upon the actual utilization that we have to put some money in for also for Arkansas forward on the pay plan.

34:43
Senator Hammer
And the last thing. And maybe there are discussions. I just flat out missed it. So just educate me. Any additional funds or anything earmarked within this budget for senior adult centers or what discussions did you have around that or were there any? Or are you waiting for us to come to you with something?

35:00
Secretary Jim Hudson
I'm sorry, Senator. Robert and I were sitting here chatting. Can you re-ask the question? I apologize for that.

35:04
Senator Hammer
Sure. Is it. And maybe it's been discussed and I just missed it. But anywhere within the budget, the increases, discussions regarding senior adult centers and funding for them or any increase in funding. Are you waiting for us to come to you with appropriate proposal on that?

35:21
Secretary Jim Hudson
We don't have anything specifically in the budget on that.

35:23
Senator Hammer
Okay. All right. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

35:27
Representative Cozart
Representative Ladyman.

35:30
Representative Ladyman
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you all for being here. I'm glad I'm sitting over here, not over there. But you guys have a tough job, I'll tell you. But my question is about Human Services, that section of the budget. And we've gone over the details of all these budgets over the past few weeks. I understand that. But something looks glaring to me when I look at DHS and their breakdown in their line items. Developmental Disability Services is the only item that has no increase in that budget. And I've met with parents of clients in DD and they tell me that over the past 10 years there's been very little increase in that budget. And it was up and down. I went back and looked at that data we had. It has been relatively flat.

So my question is, I know that the number of clients that are being served by that particular budget line item is not decreasing. And we have workers within that group that always complain about salary and they have some of the toughest jobs out there. So my question is, how are we going to cover. I mean, inflation is going to be 1 or 2%. We've got people that are paid a low salary. We have a growing population. So how are we covering that without increasing the budget? Is that covered somewhere else?

37:03
Secretary Jim Hudson
Actually, I'd say it is. You know, the biggest expense is salaries. We have the Arkansas Forward Pay Plan Initiative. DHS is going to be a robust beneficiary of that. And so those salary changes that are projected are not necessarily in this line item of the budget, what we're talking about with that for the divisions that need it. You know, we'll have the performance fund out there available to them for that first fiscal year and we'll see what the actual need is. And they'll be able to draw from that to the extent that they do and they need that into ensuing fiscal years, then it'll be reflected in future RSAs. So in terms of the thing that probably means the most and some of the feedback that you're hearing there, the pay plan adjustment is going to be a big help there.

37:49
Representative Ladyman
Okay, my next question, the infrastructure and the facilities in DDS. You know, we have a 10 year plan. DHS has developed a 10 year plan to upgrade the facilities at the HDCs. That's not funded completely, it's partially funded. There's no money in this budget for that. These facilities are--. I just went to the celebration, the 50 year celebration of the HDC in Jonesboro. Those buildings are not going to last forever. And it takes phase one of that reconstruction has been going on for two years. We haven't turned dirt yet. It takes a long time to do that.

38:35
Secretary Jim Hudson
Yes, sir.

38:36
Representative Ladyman
So we need funding for facilities just like education needs funding. Because these are facilities that are old. They have old air conditioners costing a lot of money to run. Maintenance is high, morale is low because of the facilities. Is there any money in the budget anywhere to fund that 10 year plan?

38:55
Secretary Jim Hudson
There's no new money in the budget for that. No, sir.

38:58
Representative Ladyman
Well, I guess I would say why not? But thank you for your answers.

39:04
Representative Cozart
Representative Pilkington, you are recognized.

39:07
Representative Pilkington
Thank you, Chair. Thank you for being here today. Just want to go real quick to the 13 million for maternal health. I'm sure you could guess that's where I was going. But one of the recommendations was presumptive eligibility, which I know was presented by the task force of the governor. And I was just curious. Of that 13 million, is presumptive eligibility for pregnant women part of that 13 million?

39:31
Secretary Jim Hudson
I don't think that we've really kind of parsed the $13 million out into specifically it's for this and for this much. It's really looking at the initiative as a total. But then understanding too that, you know there's Medicaid assets available to fund all the different parts of the initiative? 

39:47
Representative Pilkington
That's just what I need to know. Thank you, sir.

39:48
Secretary Jim Hudson
Yes, sir.

39:51
Representative Cozart
All right, Representative Wooten, I'm getting ready to recognize you, but I hope you have a different line of questioning than you did last time so we can move on.

39:58
Representative Wooten
All right, Mr. Chairman, thank you. Representative Ladyman covered one of the areas that I have a very concern about, particularly as it relates to the developmental center in Conway and Jonesboro. My other question is the Budget Committee approved delaying doing away with 433 positions that are over two years old that are in the budget because those positions have been funded phantom employees, if you will, for many years. Is there anything in the budget or any policy that you all are coming forward with to address the phantom employee cost that exists because the over two year positions, 433 of them will be denied funding?

41:02
Secretary Jim Hudson
There's no changes relative to our previous conversations. I think in the previous meetings that we've had with leadership and with you as well, we've indicated that we have fulfilled in the executive branch our statutory duty under Act 796 to identify the positions. And then it really is up to the legislature at this point to decide does it want to discontinue those positions from the appropriation or not? That really is more of an appropriation conversation, I think than it is an RSA conversation. But there's nothing in the RSA that changes that dynamic at all.

41:32
Representative Wooten
All right, one more question. Co ops. Educational co ops. I had to miss, was gone. The meeting had been scheduled for 1:00 this Tuesday. It happened last Tuesday and I had to be out of the state. My question is have we funded the positions of 150 literacy coaches in public schools? Have we set those 150 positions up that the governor had in their plan two years ago and where did we get those employees from?

42:15
Representative Cozart
That's going to be an Education question probably.

42:16
Representative Wooten
It is.

42:17
Secretary Jim Hudson
I think I don't have the detail on that yet to ask.

42:19
Representative Cozart
I think we'll get that for you. Representative Wooten.

42:23
Representative Wooten
The other question is what is the existence going to be of the co ops? Are they continued at the funding level that they're currently funded at or has that changed?

42:34
Secretary Jim Hudson
Again, I refer you to ADE on that.

42:36
Representative Cozart
That's another education question.

42:38
Representative Wooten
Thank you.

42:42
Representative Cozart
Representative Mayberry, you are recognized.

42:45
Representative Mayberry
Thank you. I'm way on the other side over here.

42:47
Secretary Jim Hudson
Sorry.

42:47
Representative Mayberry
I know it's hard to find all of us. Thank you, Chair. I'm kind of following up on Jack Ladyman's line of thinking here. And you made reference to the increase in pay for state employees, which is great in DHS, but there are people who are not necessarily the state employee. I'm thinking more along the lines of those who are actually providing the direct care of caregivers of our most vulnerable population, those in our nursing homes, those who are development, who have developmental disabilities, and they are still working, many of them $11, $12 an hour and without any increase in the budget. I don't know if those workers who are providing the care for our most vulnerable population will benefit from the state employees receiving a pay raise.

So is there any conversation we can have on how we can help those who truly are providing the direct care for our most vulnerable population, how we can help them get more money in their pockets so that we can have more of them? Because it's very hard to find people who want to do the work because it can make so much more working someplace else. And what can we do to maintain them as well?

44:21
Secretary Jim Hudson
I probably defer to Secretary Putnam on particulars in terms of the answer. You know, I think they have a plan for, in terms of in the Medicaid world, in terms of looking at over time, the provider rates, making sure they are where they need to be. And then beyond that, I do think at least something that we are doing that is significant. I come back to, It's for those W2 employees of the state of Arkansas, the moves that we're making on that and the new pay plan are impressive. They're significant. And the feedback from the staff so far has been tremendous. So we are doing that. But other than that, I'd say I'd refer you back to Secretary Putnam and.

44:56
Robert Brecht
I would make clear when you're looking at that line in the RSA, that would not be funding the privately paid people. That would be done out of the Medicaid line. It would not be done out of that particular line, developmental disabilities.

45:12
Representative Mayberry
But I guess, are there increases there? Is there a plan to make sure whether it's under Developmental Disability Services or another, maybe it's another area. Is there a plan to try to help those workers?

45:29
Secretary Jim Hudson
Yeah, again, I'd say with respect to anything that is funded through Medicaid, anything in the provider area, you know, they are focused on it. At DHS, there is a plan to look at all those over time, the particulars as to when these might kind of fall in that cycle. I'd refer you to DHS on that.

45:45
Representative Mayberry
Thank you.

45:49
Representative Cozart
Representative Jean, you are recognized.

45:51
Representative Jean
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm over here, guys. I'm asking a question for Representative Charlene Fite. She couldn't be here today. Tom's had knee replacement surgery. She's taking care of him. Her question was, and I think she's maybe have communicated with the governor's office, the Morgan Nick Foundation, the $400,000 that is funded through the DFA disbursing act, she wanted to know was that going to be continued. I don't think she ever got a clear answer. You may know, you may not know. But if you'd get back with me or Representative Fite to go back and look at that.

46:50
Secretary Jim Hudson
Representative Jean, obviously it's not in the RSA.

46:54
Representative Jean
I think probably maybe under Miscellaneous funding. But that's just a question. She texted me and I wanted to ask it. Let's go back and look at that.

47:02
Secretary Jim Hudson
But you know, we weren't really kind of looking at the HUA stuff or the miscellaneous stuff as much as the main part of the RSA for this meeting. But we'll go look at it.

47:10
Representative Jean
Thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

47:14
Representative Cozart
All right. Seeing no more questions, thank you, gentlemen. And that was easier than you thought, right?

47:21
Secretary Jim Hudson
It's always a joy to be in front of you. People kind of say it's tough here, you know, I guess I'm sick. I like being around you folks. So thank you for letting us be here.

47:31
Representative Cozart
December 26th will be the next ALC. 20th. I'm sorry? 20th will be the next ALC meeting. I guess we have a break between now and then. So thank you for being here today. Ladies and gentlemen, colleagues, we are adjourned.