Committee reviews CSBG plan, ADH rule changes, tobacco settlement report and AED availability

Lawmakers briefly reviewed several non-COVID items: a federal Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) state plan, ADH rule changes, the Tobacco Settlement Commission report and a Department of Education AED availability update.

Mark White and Mary Franklin of DHS summarized the CSBG plan, saying Arkansas expects roughly $9.9 million in CSBG funds for FY22-23, with 90 percent to be distributed to 15 community action agencies covering all 75 counties.

Laura Hsu, general counsel for the Department of Health, presented two rulemakings: updates to lead-based paint clearance levels to comply with forthcoming EPA requirements (public hearing scheduled) and rule changes implementing Act 345 of 2021 for the Arkansas Cancer Registry to remove Board-of-Health release approval and define "qualified researcher." No fiscal impact was reported and no public comments were recorded as of the hearing.

Matt Gilmore presented the Tobacco Settlement Commission's 2020 evaluation, noting COVID disrupted typical outreach and educational activities but that funding is carried forward when unspent unless tied to grant conditions.

Shariah McDonald of the Department of Education reported that every public school campus in Arkansas had an AED on file and more than 13,000 staff trained in CPR and first aid; the report noted three documented sudden cardiac arrest saves in the reporting period. McDonald said schools assign a staff person for monthly AED battery checks, though the department does not centrally track daily maintenance.

Committee also batched and assigned 22 Interim Study Proposals to subcommittees for review and adopted them for study without objections.

Provenance: CSBG, ADH rules, Tobacco Settlement, DOE AED reports and ISP batching (SEG 3262'SEG 3781).