Week two of the legislative session saw ARRM’s priorities start to get acted upon.
On Wednesday, February 21, the Senate Human Service Committee heard testimony on Senate File 3736, ARRM’s legislation that would require a uniform set of standards across the state for approval or denial of assistive technology and the inclusion of technology costs in the direct care compensation thresholds. ARRM staff Sara Grafstrom and Alaina Gallagher presented the bill and answered questions from committee members. In the end, the bill was laid over for possible inclusion in the Human Service Omnibus bill. The Department has indicated possible adjustments they would like to see to the language, ARRM staff will be meeting with them this coming week for further discussion.
During the same committee hearing, important discussions were had about the ICS service and recent changes announced by the Department of Human Services, as well as a presentation from the Department on the status of the Acute Care Transition work. ARRM Board of Directors member Josh Berg provided testimony and important provider feedback during both discussions.
THIS WEEK
Looking ahead to this next week, many of ARRM’s legislative priorities will receive their first hearing. A full schedule of bills and the date they will be heard can be found below:
· Monday, February 26:
o House Human Service Policy Committee
§ HF 3711: Allowing for Out of Home Respite for Children in an unlicensed setting.
§ HF 3938: Prohibiting cities from requiring rental licenses for group homes
§ HF 3835: Allowing for some indirect time to be billed to the IHS tiered services
o Senate Human Service Committee
§ SF 3733: Allowing for SLFs currently supporting 5 or 6 individuals to convert to a CRS
§ SF 3734: Modifications to 245D
· Wednesday, February 28:
o House Human Service Policy Committee
§ HF 3907: $5 million in grant dollars to support providers in expanding services supporting individuals living in their own home.
§ HF 3712: Delaying the Family Foster Care Rate Tiers and establish a task force to review the proposed rates and make recommendations.
§ HF 3939: Allowing for SLFs currently supporting 5 or 6 individuals to convert to a CRS.
§ HF 3940: Setting statewide standards for the approval of assistive technology and allowing technology costs to be counted toward the direct care compensation thresholds.
HOW CAN YOU GET INVOLVED?
As we gear up for these important hearings, showing legislators the strong support behind each provision will be critical. If your organization is impacted by any of these pieces of legislation and you are willing to reach out directly to your legislator or submit a letter of support, please reach out to me directly for more information on how you can be involved.
Please reach out with any questions.
--Sara Grafstrom, Senior Director of State and Federal Policy