The Senate Human Services Committee voted 6-0 to give House Bill 1066 a “do pass” recommendation after hearing from Jim Fleming, interim director of the Vocational Rehabilitation program at the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

HHS asked the committee to authorize a compensation rate limited to participants in the Senior Community Service Employment Program, a federally funded training program for low-income North Dakotans age 55 and older. "It is one of those odd situations where we are asking for your permission to spend more money so we can save yet even more money," Fleming told the committee, adding the change would allow North Dakota to fully utilize federal grant dollars rather than refunding unused funds.

The bill would set an initial $12-per-hour rate for CSEP participants while giving HHS rulemaking authority to adjust the rate later. Fleming said the department receives a $480,000 annual federal allotment for CSEP under the Older Americans Act and that federal regulations require that participants be paid the applicable minimum wage. He told the committee that with the federal minimum wage as the threshold, states with higher prevailing wages can better use CSEP funds because training pay approaches entry-level wages and participation rises.

Fleming described how limited participation and low weekly training hours reduce the share of federal funds available for administrative costs (currently capped at 13% of total expenditures), forcing the state to cover administrative expenses when the cap is not met. "We are not asking for additional funds to operate CSEP. To the contrary, it'll actually save the state money because it will reduce the risk of the state needing to pay a share of the cost of administering CSEP," Fleming said.

Committee members asked how the $7.8 million referenced in testimony relates to CSEP. Fleming said the $7.8 million is North Dakota's Older Americans Act allotment for multiple aging programs; operating CSEP is one condition of receiving those federal funds. Senators also questioned why the change was limited to CSEP rather than a statewide minimum-wage increase; Fleming said the bill originally used the phrase "minimum wage" but the House amended it to create a program-specific compensation rate to avoid broader political controversy.

Fleming told the committee that HHS currently employs three temporary CSEP coordinators and that higher pay should increase participation and hours worked per participant. He said the department will monitor participation and wages and could use rulemaking to adjust the rate if needed. The committee passed the bill on a 6-0 vote. The committee named a senator to carry the bill to the floor.

Votes at a glance

House Bill 1066 — Do pass recommendation, 6-0 (Senator Lee: Aye; Senator Weston: Aye; Senator Roers: Aye; Senator Hogan: Aye; Senator Van Osteen: Aye; Senator Clemens: Aye).