The 2018 Legislative Session is constitutionally mandated to adjourn by midnight, Monday, May 21st. This leaves just over two weeks for the Legislature and Governor to come to a final agreement on everything from additional funding, taxes, bonding and more, including proposals to stop the 7% cut to DWRS rates. As we move closer to that date, we anticipate that Conference Committees will begin meeting in earnest to hash out differences in bills passed by each body.
House passes HHS Omnibus - Fully Funds the 7% Cut
The House passed its version of the Health and Human Service Omnibus bill last Tuesday and fully funded the 7% cut. The House also includes funding to cover the state and federal dollars of the 7% until federal approval can be obtained from CMS and changes the inflationary adjustment from every 5 years to every 2 years. This language is what was included in the Best Life Alliance legislation and is what ARRM and other coalition member’s support going into Conference Committee.
ARRM’s Policy Bill Passes off the Senate Floor
On Wednesday, ARRM’s Policy Bill was officially passed off the Senate floor with a vote of 65-0. As we previously reported, the bill was amended in Committee with additional language and does not match the version of the bill moving through the House. We are hoping the House will take up their language next week and we will be able to work out the differences between the two bills through a Conference Committee prior to the end of session.
To ensure the important provisions within our bill continue to move forward, we were able to successfully add the language into both the Senate Finance Omnibus bill and the House Health and Human Service Omnibus bill.
Keep Watching your Email for Future Actions
As the end of session nears, please remain vigilant of any future actions we need members to take in order to support our efforts to Stop the Cut! Thank you for all you have done to get us this far, we will continue to keep you posted as things move forward.
-- Sara Grafstrom, Director of Member Advocacy and Government Relations