This last week was a busy one for the ARRM team. In total, we presented at a total of ten bill hearings, both in the Senate and the House, and continue to make positive movement on our legislative priorities. In addition to the hearings, the other big news of the week was the February forecast being released. Here’s a quick summary of all those things, and what to expect this week.
February Forecast
The February forecast was released on Thursday, February 29th. This is the forecast that the Governor and legislature will use to set spending targets for any supplemental spending they pass this session. The overall surplus grew from $2.4 billion to $3.7 billion, however, the structural imbalance in the out years remains.
House Hearings
· HF 3711: Our bill to allow for Out of Home Respite in an un-licensed setting for children was heard in the Human Service Policy Committee on Monday. Tyler Langefield with Accra testified along with ARRM staff in support of the bill. The bill was passed out of committee and sent to Human Service Finance. ARRM continues to work with the Department on pieces of the bill specific to background studies and we are anticipating amending the language when we receive another hearing.
· HF 3938: ARRM’s bill that would exempt group homes from needing a city rental license was heard in the Human Service Policy Committee on Monday. Along with ARRM staff, ARRM Board member Josh Berg with Accessible Space testified in support of the legislation. Many legislators spoke in support of the bill while both The League of MN Cities and Metro Cities submitted letters of opposition to the bill. The bill was passed out of committee and sent to State Government and Finance for another hearing.
· HF 3835: ARRM’s proposal that would allow for certain activities to be billed as indirect time received its first hearing. Larissa Beck with Reach for Resources provided testimony with ARRM staff. The bill was passed out of committee and sent to Human Service Finance.
· HF 3907: ARRM’s language that requests $5 million in grants for providers to increase their capacity to support people moving out of congregate settings and into their own homes was heard on Wednesday in Human Service Policy. ARRM Board President, Stacy Roe of Mains’l Services, testified to the bill along with ARRM staff. The bill was passed out of committee and sent to Human Service Finance.
· HF 3712: Our bill to delay the Family Foster Care rate tiers and create a taskforce to study the proposed rates received its first hearing and sent to Human Service Finance.
· HF 3939: ARRM’s bill that would transition 14 SLFs to CRS licensed homes was also heard in the Human Service Policy on Wednesday. The bill was sent to Human Service Finance with no questions from committee members.
· HF 3940: ARRM staff, Alaina Gallagher presented ARRM’s technology bill that would require lead agencies to follow state-set guidelines and meet approval or denial timelines was heard in Human Service Policy. The bill was passed out of committee and sent to Human Service Finance.
Senate Hearings
· SF 3733: ARRM’s bill that would transition 14 SLFs to CRS licensed homes was also heard on Monay in Human Servies. The bill was laid over for possible inclusion in the Human Service Omnibus bill.
· SF 3737: ARRM’s bill that makes changes to 245D was heard in Human Services. During the hearing, section 6 of the bill was removed. This language would have removed training on restraints from 245D, given the duplicative nature of the training with what is required through the Positive Support Rule. Through discussions with the advocacy community, they requested that we leave the language in 245D, and we agreed. ARRM Board member, Shannon Bock of CCRI participated in the hearing and provided important information on our changes to medication administration. The bill was laid over for possible inclusion in the Human Service Omnibus bill.
· SF 3809: ARRM’s bill that would allow Out of Home Respite in an unlicensed setting for children was heard on Wednesday in Human Services. Jon Nelson from RSI provided testimony in support of the bill, along with ARRM staff. The bill received positive support from committee members and was passed out of committee and sent to Health and Human Services for an additional hearing.
What’s happening this week?
· In the House, ARRM has three bills scheduled for a hearing this week:
o HF 3941: ARRM’s bill that makes changes to 245D will be heard in Human Service Policy on Monday.
o HF 3907: ARRM’s Own Home Provider capacity building grants bill will be heard in Human Service Finance on Tuesday.
o HF 3835: ARRM’s Indirect billing language will be heard in Human Service Finance on Tuesday.
· In the Senate. ARRM has two bills scheduled for a hearing this week:
o SF 3839: ARRM’s bill to exempt group homes from city rental license regulations is scheduled in Human Services on Monday.
o SF 3841: ARRM’s bill to delay the Family Foster Care Rate Tiers and create a task force to study the rates is scheduled in Human Services on Wednesday.
Please reach out with any questions.
--Sara Grafstrom, Senior Director of State and Federal Policy