New Arkansas public housing work requirements (2023)
The Arkansas General Assembly approved House Bill 1196 on February 27, 2023, which requires able-bodied adults to work, volunteer, or participate in a workforce training program for at least 20 hours per week. The law requires local public housing authorities (PHAs) to seek approval from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by January 1, 2025, to implement the work requirements.[1]
The new law applies to adults from 19-64 ages who are not pregnant, disabled, receiving unemployment compensation, or participating in a drug treatment program, and do not have kids under five. If the work requirements are unmet, the law requires PHAs to terminate the lease agreements after 60 days. Local PHAs receive federal funding and must meet guidelines set by HUD. [1]
Representative Kendon Underwood (R), the bill’s lead sponsor, argued that the law would promote self-sufficiency. “If you can work, you should work, and by getting those people to work, that gets [them] out of government dependency,” said Underwood in a February 6 meeting of the House City, County and Local Affairs Committee.
House Minority Leader Tippi McCullough (D) argued in the committee meeting that the bill conflicts with existing federal law.[2][3]
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Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Arkansas Lesislature," "House bill 1196," accessed October 31, 2023"
- ↑ "News From The States," "Arkansas House approves work requirement for public housing recipients," accessed November 1, 2023
- ↑ "Arkansas Times," "House passes work requirement for public housing," accessed October 31, 2023
