Committee halts public comment, approves bill to require reports from Arkansas disability nonprofit

Rep. Jack Ladyman, R-Jonesboro, presents a bill to the House Committee on Public Health, Welfare and Labor on Feb. 11, 2025. The bill would require Disability Rights Arkansas, a federally funded nonprofit, to provide reports to the Legislature. (Mary Hennigan/Arkansas Advocate)
Legislation to require a disability advocacy group to supply reports to the Legislature earned initial approval from Arkansas lawmakers Tuesday.
Separately, the House Committee on Public Health, Welfare and Labor also sent the governor's Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies Act on to the full House for consideration.
Under Rep. Jack Ladyman's House Bill 1382, Disability Rights Arkansas (DRA) would be mandated to provide reports to subcommittees of the Arkansas Legislative Council for review, even though the independent nonprofit doesn't receive state funding.
'They have no oversight by the state of Arkansas, while they provide services to our most vulnerable citizens,' Ladyman, a Jonesboro Republican, told the House committee on public health. 'They do good work in a lot of areas, but some people they serve think they exhibit government overreach in some of the areas that they work in.'
DRA is an independent, federally funded nonprofit. It was established in 1980 as a result of then-Gov. David Pryor's previous compliance with Congress' Public Law 94-103. The organization provides free services such as advocacy and litigation, referrals and investigations into institutional abuse and neglect cases.
Katrina Robertson testified in support of Ladyman's bill and said that as the parent and guardian of her disabled son, Noah, she is the decision-maker for the 21-year-old, who has the cognitive ability of a 4-year-old.
Adopted by Robertson at age nine, she said Noah 'exhibited complex behaviors — challenging behaviors — mainly due to the abuse and neglect that he had suffered.' She said finding a system that worked for her family was difficult and included crisis intervention by the police, stays in the hospital, a homeless shelter and multiple allegations of abuse.
Robertson said she didn't hear from DRA, even during the allegations, until she posted on social media 'in desperation.' But DRA then seemed most interested in assessing whether Noah's treatment was grounds for a lawsuit, and an attorney suggested residential care would strip Robertson's son of his dignity, she testified.
About three years ago, Robertson said she transported Noah from jail to the Booneville Human Development Center, where he remains surrounded by his peers and works a 14(c) wage program job, which provides paid employment for workers with disabilities in Arkansas. Robertson said her son enjoys the congregate living environment and he even has a girlfriend — or maybe three, each of whom don't know about the other, Robertson said.
'It is impossible to claim that care within a facility is worse than care in the community unless both are subject to the same levels of scrutiny,' Robertson said.
The Arkansas Department of Human Services operates five human development centers where children and adults can receive services and long- or- short-term placements. According to a DHS description of the Booneville location, residents can join in a rug weaving program, paper recycling or custodial and food service training opportunities.
DRA Executive Director Tom Masseau testified against HB 1382 and told the committee that the Legislature already has access to the reports it produces.
Masseau said he was willing to attend any legislative committee meeting to answer questions or discuss DRA, but legislating the nonprofit's reporting requirements would lead to broad implications for other nonprofits in Arkansas.
'There's no other private, nonprofit organization in this state that has their organization named specifically in statute to come before a special committee to present information that's already readily available with no required action from the committee,' said Masseau, who has led the nonprofit since 2013. '…What slippery slope are we going to go down if there's a few individuals who are unhappy with the work that we're doing on advocacy?'
Masseau said it is 'demoralizing' to see the effort put into current reports and watch the Board of Developmental Disability Services take little or no action.
Republican Reps. Aaron Pilkington of Knoxville and Ryan Rose of Van Buren pushed back on Masseau's testimony and questioned how providing the same reports to a different entity would result in more work.
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Rose suggested the reports would lead to increased transparency and ultimately lead to recommendations of how to better life for Arkansans with disabilities.
Rep. Mary Bentley, R-Perryville, said she was concerned that Masseau wasn't happy with the bill.
'This will give us an opportunity to be targeted, to make effective policy decisions, for us to get together and hear what's going on, to discuss the report [and] bring different policymakers into the room,' she said. 'I would say that you should be delighted with this bill. I think this will help disabled Arkansans greatly.'
While Masseau agreed with lawmakers that it's important for the message of the nonprofit to be heard, he disagreed with the reporting mandate and maintained that the bill was an overstep, as he said it would affect other organizations.
Shortly before Pilkington fast-tracked the committee to vote on the bill without hearing any remaining speakers who signed up to testify, Rep. Wayne Long, R-Bradford, asked if Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders could abolish the DRA.
Long didn't receive a certain answer before the vote, in which Rep. Denise Ennett, D-Little Rock, was one of few who voted against the bill.
'I, too, have a son with multiple disabilities, and DRA does great work throughout the state of Arkansas,' Ennett said. '…I feel like this is a one-sided argument mandating a nonprofit to make reports when they have repeatedly said that the reports are made available. I feel like it's government overreach.'
The bill will head to the full House next.
Members of the House committee on public health also voted Tuesday to advance the 'Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies Act' after some concerns about a section regarding alleged medical injuries during childbirth.
House Bill 1427 from Pilkington is identical to Senate Bill 213 sponsored by Sen. Missy Irvin, R-Mountain View. The proposed legislation acts on Sanders' promise to prioritize improved maternal health outcomes for the lowest-class Arkansans.
Under a $45 million annual price tag, the legislation would establish presumptive Medicaid eligibility for pregnant Arkansans, offer reimbursements for doulas and community health workers and establish pregnancy-related Medicaid coverage for specific treatments. It does not expand Medicaid coverage for postpartum mothers from 60 days to 12 months after birth, a federal option that all other states have taken action on.
State lawmakers aim to tackle Arkansas' maternal health crisis with new legislation
Though Ladyman was the only legislator heard Tuesday to vote against the bill in committee, several asked questions about limiting allegations for medical injuries during childbirth until the minor's fifth birthday.
Paul Byrd, a Little Rock-based attorney, spoke against the bill because of his concerns about the same section.
'A neuropsychological exam is very hard to perform on a child until they're five years old,' Byrd said. '…Even if you get one, then you gotta have a couple years to track and have another one to see the progression.'
Byrd recommended the bill be amended to change the age limitation to include a two-year window after the child turns five, but the sponsors of the bill refused to pull down the bill.
A number of people spoke in favor of the HB 1427, including a representative from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the Arkansas Chapter of American Academy of Pediatrics.
The bill will head to the full House next.
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Axios

29 minutes ago

• Axios

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