Legislative Session Begins on Monday!!!

Legislative Session Update
March 26, 2010

Let the games begin!

LEGISLATIVE SESSION:

The legislative session officially starts on Monday, March 29^th at noon and ends at 6:00 on Monday, June 21^st.

DHH’s BUDGET:

The House Appropriations Committee has already met to hear testimony on House Bill 1 (the state budget). Included in HB 1 for the Office for Citizens with Developmental Disabilities (OCDD) AND the Office of Aging and Adult Services (OAAS) are:

· Privatization of state run community homes

· Consolidation of North east and North west Services and Supports Centers

· Plans to reduce the number of individuals living in state run developmental centers by 20%

· 3.1% cuts to community based providers

· Addition of 150 New Opportunities Waiver slots

· $61 Million cut from PCS-LTC services

PUBLIC TESTIMONY:

The House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to hear public testimony on Tuesday, March 30^th and Wednesday, March 31^st. I will be there to testify in opposition to HB 1 with testimony that will focus on the devastating CUMULATIVE effects of all of the cuts to community based providers over the past 18 months. If you would like to testify and share information on the impact that the cuts have had to your specific agency OR to the people you serve, then please feel free to join me at the capitol. If you can’t be at the capitol next week, but have a specific story to tell, then please call or email me and I would be happy to share your story with our legislators.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATES:

I am in the process of reviewing all of the bills for this legislative session. I will post periodic legislative updates to The Arc’s Legislative Policy Blog at http://thearclapolicy.blogspot.com/ . You can access The Arc’s Legislative Policy Blog at any time to see the most recent legislative reports from The Arc of Louisiana.

2008 Legislative Summary

The Arc of Louisiana
2008 Regular Session Summary

House Bill 1 – Fannin
Final budget resulted in sufficient funds to:
· Maintain current rates for Medicaid Waiver Services and Community Homes/ICFMR’s
· Provide for phase in of 2025 additional NOW waiver slots
· Restore 25% cut made in 2005 to Early Steps program
It has been signed by the Governor and is now Act 19.

House Bill 670 – Williams: Recreates the Center of Excellence for autism spectrum disorders in OCDD. It has been signed by the Governor and is now Act 154.

House Bill 958 – Foil: Requires health insurance coverage of the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders in individuals under age 17. Was signed by the Governor last week and is now Act 648.

House Bill 1098 – Katz: Provides for a consolidated license for Home and Community-based Services providers. Includes requirements for a line of credit of $50,000, Worker’s Compensation, General Liability Insurance, deemed status for providers who achieve accreditation from a national accrediting organization and transfer of authority for licensing substitute family care agencies from DSS to DHH. It has been signed by the Governor and is now Act 839.

House Bill 1224 – Nowlin: Places a moratorium on new applications for licensure for personal care attendant service agencies, respite car service agencies, and supervised independent living programs. Signed by the Governor and is now Act 328.

House Bill 1273 – Speaker Tucker: Authorizes DHH to develop and implement cost control mechanisms for the Long Term Personal Care Services Program and the New Opportunities Waiver. Turned into a resolution and adopted by the House and Senate.

House Bill 1341 – Speaker Tucker: Provides relative to certain relatives of a recipient serving as direct support workers. Signed by the Governor and is now Act 333.

Senate Bill 237 – Thompson: Creates the crime of physical abandonment of an aged or disabled person by a caregiver. Has been signed by the Governor and is now Act 177.

HCR 217 – Speaker Tucker: Urges and requests the Department of Labor, the DHH, and the Louisiana Community and Technical College System to study and design a plan for recruitment and retention of Direct Support Workers. This resolution has been filed with the Secretary of State’s office.