POVERTY and OPPORTUNITY: STATE GOVERNMENT TASK FORCES MEMBER COMPOSITION and OPERATIONS
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March 2011 POVERTY and OPPORTUNITY: STATE GOVERNMENT TASK FORCES MEMBER COMPOSITION AND OPERATIONS round the nation, state governments have established task forces economic diversity among the membership, such as including a or commissions to develop new strategies and recommendations member with personal experience of or currently living in poverty; A for tackling poverty and providing opportunity. Managed others also specified other diversities. Representatives of the business effectively, the high-level attention of a task force created by a communities and economic development were included in more than a governor or legislature is an important step toward building the third of the task forces. Some commissions augmented the core group political and public will that is essential for policy change. with working groups, advisory groups or subcommittees made up of issue experts and public members. As legislators or governors move forward in establishing a task force, some early questions include who should be on the task force and how After the table of authorizing language is a summary of some of the will the work of the task force itself get funded. The following chart funding and staffing support for the state task forces. This isn’t a lists the composition of the 21 tasks forces established since 2003. comprehensive review of operational supports. The majority of the Some of these are on-going; others have completed their work. The task forces didn’t have explicit funding in their authorizing language, chart is followed by the full authorizing language. The composition of but many of them were able to receive staff support in kind and the task forces ranged from being at the discretion of the Governor to outside funding through public-private partnerships. having each person specified in the authorizing language. Who is in the room can greatly alter the outcomes and focus of the task Link to full series: force. The compositions of the commissions vary widely across the Poverty and Opportunity: State Government Task Forces states. The majority – fifteen – of the task forces included legislators in their task forces, with some comprised solely of state legislators. Many of the requirements for composition include wording on ensuring 1200 18th Street NW • Suite 200 • Washington, DC 20036 • p (202) 906.8000 • f (202) 842.2885 • www.clasp.org Poverty and Opportunity: State Government Task Forces 2 STATE AUTHORITY MEMBERS COMPOSITION ADDITIONAL Business/ Executive In Legislators Economic Philanthropic Faith Other Branch Poverty Development AL Legislated 22 14 2 1 5 AR Legislated 22 4 3 4 2 5 2 2 Augmented by subcommittees and CO Legislated 10 10 advisory group CT Legislated 23 4 19 Expert Panel DC Legislated Max 21 Max 9 * * * * Executive 2 at-large members DE 25 4 9 1 5 2 Order IL Legislated Max. 26 (24) 4 2 13 3 1 3 IN Legislated 23 6 4 9 4 KY Legislated 17 17 LA Legislated 19 2 9 1 4 3 5 Ex Officio Members, all Executive ME Legislated 21 6 4 6 3 1 1 Branch MI Legislated 6 to 15 (9) * * * Augmented by an advisory group "two nonvoting members were Legislated 18 18 MN appointed by the governor" Executive 6 Ex Officio Members, all Executive MT Max. 15 Order Branch 7 nonvoting ex-officio members, all NC Legislated 20 14 * 6 Executive Branch Executive NM Flexible (25) 8 (16) Order Executive Over 300 Ohioans participated in five OH (30) * * * Order work groups RI Legislated 8 8 Executive VA 22 3 8 1 7 3 Action VT Legislated 14 6 4 4 Executive VI Min 13 9 * * Order TOT Included Included Included Included 21 States Included (7) Included (12) AL (15) (12) (7) (7) Notes: * Has members in this category but not a set number (#) The number of members at the time of most recent report Poverty and Opportunity: State Government Task Forces 3 STATE MEMBERSHIP & COMPOSITION AUTHORIZING LANGUAGE The commission shall consist of the chair and vice chair of the House Education Appropriations Committee or their designees; the chair and vice chair of the House Government Appropriations Committee or their designees; the chair and vice chair of the Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee or their designees; the chair and vice chair of the Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund Committee or their designees; three members of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker; AL three members of the Senate appointed by the Lieutenant Governor; one member appointed by the Alabama Poverty Project; one member appointed by Alabama Arise; one member appointed by Alabama Community Action Agencies; one member representing the faith community appointed by the Governor; one member appointed by the Low Income Housing Coalition; two individuals living in poverty appointed by the Governor; and one member appointed by VOICES. The membership of the commission shall be inclusive and reflect the racial, gender, geographic, urban/rural, and economic diversity of the state. There is created the “Arkansas Legislative Taskforce on Reducing Poverty and Promoting Economic Opportunity” to consist of twenty-two (22) members as follows: (1) Seven (7) members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives as follows: (A) Two (2) members of the House of Representatives; (B) Two (2) members of the business community or economic development organizations; (C) One (1) member of a faith-based organization; (D) One (1) member who is an individual living at or near poverty; and (E) One (1) member who is a city or county government official; (2) Seven (7) members appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate as follows: (A) Two (2) members of the Senate; (B) Two (2) members of the business community or economic development organizations; (C) One (1) member of a faith-based organization; (D) One (1) member who is an individual living in or near poverty; and (E) One (1) member who is a city or county government official; (3) One (1) member to represent Arkansas Advocates for Children & Families; AR (4) One (1) member to represent the Southern Good Faith Fund; (5) One (1) member to represent the Arkansas Public Policy Panel; (6) One (1) member to represent the labor community; (7) One (1) member to represent the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance; (8) One (1) member to represent the Arkansas Association of Community Action Agencies; (9) One (1) member to represent Arkansas Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now; and (10) One (1) member to represent a local community development corporation. (2) (a) The task force shall consist of ten members of the General Assembly selected as follows: (I) Five members of the House of Representatives, three of whom are appointed by Speaker of the House of Representatives and two of whom are appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives; CO (II) Five members of the Senate, three of whom are appointed by the President of the Senate and two of whom are appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate (b) The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate annually shall jointly designate one member of the task force to serve as chairperson of the task force. The first chairperson shall be a member of the House of Representatives, and, thereafter, the position of Task Force Chair shall alternate between the House of Representatives and the Senate. (a)(1) There shall be a Child Poverty and Prevention Council consisting of the following members or their designees: The Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, the president pro tempore of the Senate, the speaker of the House of Representatives, the minority leader of the Senate and the minority leader of the House of Representatives, the Commissioners of Children and Families, Social Services, Correction, Mental Retardation, Mental Health and Addiction Services, Transportation, CT Public Health, Education, Economic and Community Development and Health Care Access, the Labor Commissioner, the Chief Court Administrator, the Chairman of the Board of Governors for Higher Education, the Child Advocate, [the chairperson of the State Prevention Council,] the chairperson of the Children's Trust Fund and the executive directors of the Commission on Children and the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities. The Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, or the secretary's designee, shall be the chairperson of the council. (a) (1) The Commission shall be composed of no more than 21 members appointed by the Mayor with the advice and consent of the Council. (2) No more than nine (9) members shall be employees of the government of the District of Columbia. (3) The public members of the Commission may be representatives of organizations providing services to District residents living in poverty, the faith-based community, the business community, academic or policy research institutions, advocacy organizations, or DC persons with other relevant interest or expertise. (4) No fewer than five (5) of the public members shall be persons who live in census tracts with poverty rates of at least 20 percent or who have personal experience living in poverty. (b) The Mayor shall transmit to the Council proposed resolutions to approve the appointment of each member of the Commission for a 45-day period of review, excluding days of Council recess. If the Council does not approve or disapprove a proposed resolution within the 45-day review period, the proposed resolution shall be deemed Poverty and Opportunity: State Government Task Forces 4 approved. 2. The Task Force shall consist of twenty-five (25) members as follows: a. The Secretary of the Department of Education or his/her designee; b. The Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services or his/her designee; c. The Secretary of Labor or his/her designee; d.