February 2008

HB2896 - Increase public assistance grants to account for cost of living.

Sponsored by Rep. Darneille, HB2896 directs DSHS to annually increase general assistance and TANF grant levels to recipients of the program at a rate equal to the annual percentage increase in the consumer price index for all urban consumers as reported by the bureau of labor statistics of the US Dept. of Labor. HB2896 was referred to the Early Learning and Children's Services Committee but has not been scheduled for a hearing. What a TANF grant will pay for has been steadily decreasing. In 1983 it paid for 63% of a . . .