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House committee approves two-year study of "benefit cliffs" that can discourage work
Summary
The House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee voted to pass Senate Bill 50, establishing an Arkansas Legislative Council (ALC) subcommittee to study how public benefit phaseouts affect Arkansans’ ability to advance from public assistance to self-sufficiency.
The House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee on an undisclosed date voted to pass Senate Bill 50, creating an ALC subcommittee to study so-called "benefit cliffs"—situations in which earning more income can cause a larger loss of public benefits and leave families worse off.
Representative Wing, who presented the bill, said the study would use an ALC subcommittee "to address this issue comprehensively and to take an approach that's research based" and deliver recommendations ahead of the 2027 legislative session.
The nut of the bill, as supporters described it, is to identify and reduce inadvertent disincentives in the state’s mix of public assistance programs. "You might be able to get a…
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