September 19, 2003
1:00 PM – 2:30 PM EDT

Welcome/Annoucements/Review Agenda
Chair Sharon Lassar opened the meeting timely followed by the roll call.

Roll Call & Confirmation of Quorum (6) - taken by Program Analyst Inez E. De Jesus.

• Quorum= 6
• Total Members Present=6

Panel Members Present:

• Linda Bader, Chesterfield, MO
• Nancy L. Ferree, FL, Designated Federal Official (DFO)
• Yvonne Gallegos-Bodle, Oxnard, CA
• Elizabeth Brodbine Ghoniem, Winchester, MA, Vice-Chair
• Sharon Lassar, Miami, FL, Chair
• Joseph Meissner, Cleveland, OH

Members Not Present

• Mary Balmer, Chapel Hill, NC
• Delford Jones, Griffith, IN
• Kenneth Logan, Blue Springs, MO
• Sharon Stetz, Salt Lake City, UT (Excused-At Area 6 Meeting)
• Bruce Twomley, Juneau, AK (Excused-At Area 6 Meeting)

MLI Program Owner(s):

• Unavailable due to Hurricane Isabel
  Washington D.C. Area Federal Offices Closed

TAP Staff:

• Inez E. De Jesus (Program Analyst/Scribe)

Guest(s):

• Kimberly Chin, Center of Budget & Policy

Review/Approve Meeting Minutes of August 22, 2003
Panel Member Gallegos-Bodle brought to the committee's attention, typo on bottom of page 2, second bullet, correct word should be “where” and not “were taxes are not as important….”

Committee agreed that once Analyst De Jesus makes the correction, the minutes would be recorded as approved as amended.

Report on ESL Initiative (Attachment #1)
Committee member Linda Bader began her presentation by sharing where she found the model she used in creating the ESL Tax Compliance Class outline. She also expressed appreciation for the assistance she received from Program Director Sally Sandy from the Parkway Area Adult Education & Literacy Program in St. Louis, MO.

The link to view the model used:

1. Go to irs.gov
2. Under “Contents” click on “Individual”
3. Then Click on “Student”
4. Understanding your Taxes
5. Teacher's site
6. Teacher's Homepage
7. Three quarters down the page, blue area, “The How & Why's of Taxes”
8. Then it is broken down to the “Teacher's Lesson Plan,” “Students Lesson Plan,” etc.
9. The tax form 1040EZ was used as a model.

Linda Bader inquired if kiosks should be mentioned in the final report and DFO Ferree affirmed that it would be appropriate to capture the information since originally the committee had considered looking into kiosks and how they tied in with the MLI objectives.

Linda also shared that the outline created is geared to the middle group of ESL (English as a Second Language) individuals and not the advanced or beginners. The objective is to make the ESL individual familiar with what will happen if he/she does not file a tax return, as well as the consequences of being given incorrect information if filing separately. Vice-Chair Elizabeth Brodbine-Ghoniem assisted in providing suggestions to Ms. Bader.

The committee agreed that the “Outline for ESL/Tax Compliance Class” recommendation be forwarded/elevated to the MLI Program Owners, and suggested that Ms. Bader acknowledge the teacher, Sally Sandy, who assisted her on the report. This is a perfect example of the panel obtaining grassroots input. It was also recommended that a short bio of Ms. Sandy be included in the outline/final proposal.

Ms. Bader welcomed from the panel any last minute suggestions be sent to her before she finalizes the recommendation. The committee expressed gratitude towards Ms. Bader and Ms. Sandy for their excellent efforts.

Review of MLI TAP Committee Annual Report
Chair Lassar referenced the 2 documents she had sent out to all the previous day requesting comments back from the committee. These are:

1. The TAP MLI Assessment (Attachment #2)
2. The TAP MLI Annual Report (Attachment #3)

Chair Lassar realized that many might not have had the time to review, but would appreciate if feedback is provided to her by no later than Thursday, September 25, 2003 so that she may submit these reports timely.

Regarding the TAP MLI Assessment, Chair Lassar referenced the “Overall Grading” portion of the report and intentionally left out the “Chair's” rating. Request was made that the members send their individual Chair rating to Inez and Inez will coordinate the total average. ( Action required by all)

This also led to in depth discussion to whether providing specific and candid feedback instead of a grade would be more appropriate. Although there were some problems in the beginning, these have been corrected, specifically the delivery issues after promise was made by Program Owner.

Chair also addressed that since the Joint Committee requires that the assessment be one page only, she in addition prepared the TAP MLI Annual Report in order to capture the entire committees' activities. She apologized in case she left anything out, and again requested that feedback be provided to her at the most earliest convenience by each panel member.

Committee Assignments & Leadership Changes Commencing at October 2003 Meeting
Chair shared that during the upcoming Annual TAP Conference, members will have the opportunity to change issue committees if they so desire. Chair Lassar stated that she plans on remaining with the MLI issue committee, but would like to step down as Chair. Therefore, the selection of a new chair will be added to the agenda for the next meeting. (Action required by Analyst/DFO)

New Business/Report from Program Owner
Due to Hurricane Isabel in the Mid-Atlantic States area, the IRS National Office was closed on this date. (It was later learned that Program Owner(s) had power outrages and therefore not able to participate on this call)

News from the Staff
DFO Ferree referenced the upcoming Annual TAP Conference meeting in D.C., and stated that all travel arrangements have been made and if there are any concerns to please contact their respective area TAP Staff for assistance. DFO Ferree expressed that she hoped everyone was planning on attending.

Based on questions asked, a brief overview of the agenda was shared with the committee.

The MLI Issue Committee will be having an open meeting on Friday, October 3, 2003, from 1:30 pm- 4:30 pm ET. The general agenda for the conference is still in draft form but would be sent out to all prior to the meeting date. There will be breakout sessions whereby members will be attending workshops of their choice.

Chair Lassar also shared that each committee would be require to make a 10-minute presentation/review of what was accomplished during the past year.

The following members committed to assist by speaking on behalf of the MLI Issue Committee:

1. Linda Bader- on ESL Program
2. Joe Meissner- on LITC connection.

Panel Member Meissner asked if public participation would be allowed, and DFO Ferree said that according to the Federal Register Notice, written comments will be accepted. Mr. Meissner advised that one of the Low Income Tax Clinic representative that attended the MLI face-to-face meeting in Miami will be attending the upcoming TAP Conference.

Public Participation/Input
Ms. Kimberly Chin from the Center of Budget and Policy Priorities questioned: “How do you advocate for ESL individuals?” and was referred to the TAP website for information as well as to contact Program Analyst De Jesus for additional information.

Closing Assessment
Chair reminded everyone to please provide her with feedback by September 25, 2003 and that next meeting will be in D.C. TAP Annual Conference from October 2-4, 2003.