Mid-Session Report
Tracking the Consortium for Citizens
with
Disabilities’ legislative priorities
by Steve Larson
The Arc of Minnesota
Last fall the Consortium for
Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), which includes over 100 organizations
representing persons with disabilities, worked to develop their legislative
agenda for the 2007 session. This article will highlight the status
of those legislative priorities.
Session Overview
The Senate
and House are about to wrap up their work on their Omnibus Bills
and will be sending those bills to conference committees whose
responsibility will be to reconcile any differences and send back
to the Senate and House for final approval by May 21st when the legislature
will adjourn.
The House and Senate Education spending bills, approved by the beginning
of the week of March 26th, were very different, both in amounts of
money spent and where the money would be spent.
Both bills call for
spending upwards of $800 million on education, and both call for
more revenues to fund their education proposals. The House has
called for an income tax increase on the wealthiest Minnesotans;
the Senate Tax Committee is developing its own proposal to raise
income taxes. Both houses have also expressed interest in raising
revenue by cutting tax breaks for companies with foreign operations
and applying stricter enforcement against tax evaders.
Status of CCD Priorities
This
analysis will be divided into four categories:
1. Senate and House
agree
2. Senate only has language and/or funding
3. House only has language and/or funding
4. Not in either Omnibus bill
Senate and House Agree
By
having agreement, it means there is a great chance these items will
be included in the final conference committee bills:
• Service
Provider Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA). The Senate provides a
3.25% increase and the House provides a 3% increase.
• Repeal Supplementary Security Income (SSI) and Housing penalties
for Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) families.
• Mental Health Initiative—similar funding amounts but some
difference in policy implementation.
• House eliminates Medicare co-payments above $12 a month and
the Senate eliminates all co-payments
• Assistive Technology funding for regional collabor-atives and
for low-interest loans
• Statewide Quality Assurance System for waiver recipients. Funding
to develop a statewide survey.
• Remembering with Dignity
• Licensing and certification for CADI/TBI providers
• Minnesota Council on Disability – removes sunset
The governor’s
proposal had a 2% COLA, so both the Senate and House have increased
that amount. Both the Senate and House are spending approximately
half of their new money on the COLAs. This is a substantial commitment
by the legislature but still falls short of what was hoped for
by all parties.
Senate Only
• MA and GAMC co-pays—this proposal eliminates co-pays over
a 2½ year period.
• Family Caregivers—funds a family tax credit for up to
$1,200 a year.
House Only
• MA Income and Asset standard increase (HF 784)
• Self Directed Supports/Sheltered needy housing payment (HF911)
• Developmental Disabilities Waiting List – provides an
additional 200 slots on 7/1/08
• Parent Fees – $100 credit off of monthly fee and flexible
account language
• Self-Advocates of Minnesota
• Medical Assistance for Employed Persons with Disabilities (MA-EPD)
• Dental Study
• Options Too
• Disability Linkage Line
CCD Priorities Not in Either
Omnibus Bill
• Managed Care Ombudsman staff increase.
Once the Senate and House pass their Omnibus Bills, the bills will
be referred to Conference Committees. The committees are usually
made up of ten members: five from the Senate and five from the House.
The chairs of the respective budget committees will co-chair the
conference committees; once they start meeting they rotate who chairs
every other day.
This is an important time to thank our legislators for their commitment
to funding for services for persons with disabilities. They need
your support and encouragement so they can continue to focus on our
priorities until the end of the session.
Our next major opportunity to lobby on behalf our legislative priorities
will be when the members of the conference committees are named.
If you belong to an advocacy organization, please stay in touch with
their public policy staff to find out who is named to the conference
committees. Or go to the CCD Web site at www.mnccd.org for further
action steps. ![]()
