FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 24, 2020
MEDIA CONTACT: Julie Rabinowitz, Director of Policy and Communication, 207-292-2722 ext. 102, Julie@mainepbp.com

$6 Million Welfare Program will sign over titles for new cars and used cars no older than 2015 with fewer than 70K miles within 90 days to TANF participants looking for work

AUGUSTA—Maine People Before Politics (MPBP) has reviewed the Mills Administration’s Request for Proposals for the $6 million “Working Cars for Working Families” program. The RFP was made available on July 22, 2020 by the state’s Division of Procurement Services.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ RFP (202006105) provides more insight into how the Mills Administration will transfer the titles of new and used cars worth more than $10,000 dollars to welfare participants who have paid about $600 toward the cost by that point in their participation in the program.

MPBP called this program a “non-starter” for Maine’s taxpayers earlier this month, when it urged Mainers to sign its petition to request that DHHS hold a public hearing on the draft rules. In four days over the July Fourth holiday weekend, MPBP collected more than 480 signatures, which it submitted to DHHS on July 5, 2020.  As a result, DHHS has announced that a virtual public hearing will be held Monday, August 10, from 1 to 4 p.m. and has extended the public comment period until August 20 at 5 p.m.

“Despite the extension of the public comment period and the legal requirement that DHHS address the comments and publicly indicate whether or not they will make revisions to the rules in response to specific comments, the Mills Administration has issued the RFP for the program, which requires bidders to submit proposals that comply with the final rule,” stated Julie Rabinowitz, director of policy and communication for Maine People Before Politics. “This is a blatant indication that the Mills Administration has no intention of modifying or addressing the serious concerns about this program’s operation arising from the draft rules.”

Rabinowitz stated: “The program’s proposed rules specify very few of the requirements DHHS included in the RFP—in other words, there is no statutory or regulatory standard for the Working Cars for Working Families program’s operations outlined in the RFP. Therefore, the RFP is a true reflection of what the Mills Administration’s desires. Frankly, what Governor Mills’s DHHS plans to roll out should alarm anyone concerned about fiscal responsibility and accountability in Maine’s welfare programs. The contract length exceeds the statutory authorization of the program, there is no requirement that the winner of the contract buys cars from Maine’s new or used car dealers, and there are no limits on the value or types of cars that can be transferred to participants.”

In fact, the RFP does the opposite of putting parameters on the kinds of vehicles that the program can provide to ensure that they meet the “affordable and reliable” statutory requirement. Instead, the program can provide new or used vehicles that meet only minimum specifications, not maximum. The cars provided to welfare participants must be 2015 or newer models, must have fewer than 70,000 miles, must get 25 miles to the gallon, and the car must be covered by a two-year  maintenance warranty that will assure the car can pass state inspection and excludes only tire and wiper wear and damage from neglect or accidents.

“Now it is obvious why the draft rules did not include parameters to ensure that the vehicle would be affordable for participants to maintain: the participants will not be paying for any maintenance, it will all be taken care of under a warranty paid for by the taxpayers,” stated Rabinowitz.

Under the draft rules, the eligible TANF participant must pay a $300 down payment and then $100 payment for the 24-month program period, with no restriction on how long the participant must keep the car after “graduating” from the program. Once participants have been provided their vehicles, the RFP requires they receive their vehicle’s title within 90 days.

An informal MPBP review of used card prices meeting the minimum conditions outlined in the RFP—a 2015 vehicle with fewer than 70,000 miles, revealed average starting prices of about $12,000. MPBP first revealed the release of the car welfare program’s proposed rules in its June 17 Facebook post. MPBP’s public comments detail a long list of problems with the draft rules.