Guest guest Posted April 6, 2008 Report Share Posted April 6, 2008 From: k.ross@...To: vsequenzia@..., svenjr1@...Sent: 4/6/2008 9:25:46 P.M. Eastern Daylight TimeSubj: Leg Rpt 5 Legislative Report #5 on Developmental Disabilities Prepared for the Autism Society of Florida By Kingsley Ross Summary: The fifth week of the 2008 regular session focused both on appropriations and the bills which provide health insurance coverage for children with autism (HB 1291 and SB 2654). Committees in both the House and Senate continued to refine their Appropriations Acts for next FY 08-09. Action during week 5: This week’s action included Autism Awareness Day and a number of people interested in autism rallied at the Capital to share their experiences with legislators. Governor Crist’s Task Force on Autism Spectrum Disorders also met for the first time this week. The Task Force was formed by executive order in March and includes individuals such as Dan Marino and Ven Sequencia (see attached). The focus of the first meeting was primarily organizational. The House’s Policy and Budget Council held an all day meeting on Thursday and voted out the House’s FY 08-09 Appropriations Act. There are no significant changes in the recommended appropriations for APD from the reductions that were reported last week. The House did reverse itself earlier in the week and allowed the use of non-recurring funds to provide eye glasses, hearing aids, and dentures for the needy. Also, part of this move is a provision that will let the Governor, in conjunction with the Legislative Budget Commission, utilize additional non-recurring funds if the state’s revenue continues to decline next fiscal year. One of the more significant actions during the Thursday meeting was a House vote that effectively delayed further expansion of Medicaid reform until 2010. As the law currently reads, however, no additional permission may be needed from the legislature to expand Medicaid reform after that date. The Senate HHS Appropriations Committee also voted out its portion of the Appropriations Act which, as reported last week, reduces APD’s budget by $80.3 million or a 7.1% cut. At the Governor’s request, the Senate restored funds for medically needy and several other programs that were scheduled to be eliminated or severely curtailed. Parents, individuals with autism and advocates spent much of the week talking to Representatives and Senators about the need to pass HB 1291 and SB 2654. SB2654 passed the Health Policy Committee on April 1st but the House version has yet to be heard in the Health Council. Meetings were held with House Speaker Marco Rubio, Representative Bean and others emphasizing the need to help parents provide the therapies and other assistance their children need. Numerous stories were told of the sacrifice that parents were making to give their children a chance at a normal life. The meeting with Speaker Rubio was arranged by Cristina & Dr. Gabrial Canales from Dade and Speaker Rubio expressed insight into the issues. On Friday he created a Select Committee on Autism and Developmental Disorders with the intent of the committee making a report by April 15th and Bean’s council taking up legislation ASAP. Anticipated events in week 5: Next week, the House and the Senate will both take up their respective Appropriations Act on the floors of both chambers. Once these are passed, a conference committee will be formed to work out their differences. The House’s Select Committee on Autism and Developmental Disorders will also be meeting for the first time. Action Needed. Continue sending messages to the six legislators listed below. The core message needs to be “People with developmental disabilities have already lost enough. Find a better wayâ€. You should personalize your message, if at all possible, and not use mass mailing/communicating tools that generate identical email to multiple people. Mass mail is now being openly discarded as it comes in so this technique, which has worked well in the past, is no longer as effective. Personalized email, calls and regular mail are best. The individuals who should receive these messages are: Speaker Marco Rubio 420 Capitol 402 S. Monroe St. Tallahassee, FL 32399-1300 marco.rubio@... Pres. Ken Pruitt 409 Capitol 404 S. Monroe St. Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100 pruitt.ken.web@... Rep. Ray Sansom 418 Capitol 402 S. Monroe St. Tallahassee, FL 32399-1300 ray.samson@... Sen. Jeff Atwater 406 SOB 404 S. Monroe St. Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100 atwater.jeff.web@... Rep. Bean 200 HOB 402 S. Monroe St. Tallahassee, FL 32399-1300 aaron.bean@... Sen. Durell Peaden 222 SOB 404 S. Monroe St. Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100 peaden.durell.web@... Background Analysis: Some cracks in the "we won’t spend any of the rainy day funds" mantra began to develop last week with both the House and Senate restoring funds for variety of programs aimed at the medically needy. However, both bodies are still resisting doing anything to enhance revenues. Both bodies are being confronted with the consequences of what they are proposing and how much it will affect the state’s ability to serve children and others for whom the state has a special responsibility. These include individuals with disabilities and dependent children. In addition, the Democrats are continuing to speak out about the revenue leaks that exist. For instance, Sen. Rich held a press conference to point out that there were three “loop holes†that could generate one billion dollars and not affect the state’s overall economy. A new publicity campaign by disability advocates will also begin next week. This one will focus on the responsibility of legislators to lead in times of crisis. The effort to expand health insurance coverage for children with autism has been a 9 year struggle with the House being the consistent bottle neck. This year the bill is again moving well in the Senate and the House is again reluctant to mandate coverage. However, unlike in the past, there seems to be an inclination to do something in the House. The question is what. When a question was proposed to Speaker Rubio about whether he wanted this to be part of his legacy, he declined to embrace the concept. The move to create a Select Committee fits with the inclination to do something but the hour is late so it remains to be seen how much can get done. The first meeting of the Select Committee is currently scheduled for April 8 at 6:00 p.m. and may be video streamed on the web. Check on this link on the day of hearing to find out: http://www.myfloridahouse.com/Sections/HouseCalendar/broadcast.aspx. 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Guest guest Posted April 6, 2008 Report Share Posted April 6, 2008 From: k.ross@...To: vsequenzia@..., svenjr1@...Sent: 4/6/2008 9:25:46 P.M. Eastern Daylight TimeSubj: Leg Rpt 5 Legislative Report #5 on Developmental Disabilities Prepared for the Autism Society of Florida By Kingsley Ross Summary: The fifth week of the 2008 regular session focused both on appropriations and the bills which provide health insurance coverage for children with autism (HB 1291 and SB 2654). Committees in both the House and Senate continued to refine their Appropriations Acts for next FY 08-09. Action during week 5: This week’s action included Autism Awareness Day and a number of people interested in autism rallied at the Capital to share their experiences with legislators. Governor Crist’s Task Force on Autism Spectrum Disorders also met for the first time this week. The Task Force was formed by executive order in March and includes individuals such as Dan Marino and Ven Sequencia (see attached). The focus of the first meeting was primarily organizational. The House’s Policy and Budget Council held an all day meeting on Thursday and voted out the House’s FY 08-09 Appropriations Act. There are no significant changes in the recommended appropriations for APD from the reductions that were reported last week. The House did reverse itself earlier in the week and allowed the use of non-recurring funds to provide eye glasses, hearing aids, and dentures for the needy. Also, part of this move is a provision that will let the Governor, in conjunction with the Legislative Budget Commission, utilize additional non-recurring funds if the state’s revenue continues to decline next fiscal year. One of the more significant actions during the Thursday meeting was a House vote that effectively delayed further expansion of Medicaid reform until 2010. As the law currently reads, however, no additional permission may be needed from the legislature to expand Medicaid reform after that date. The Senate HHS Appropriations Committee also voted out its portion of the Appropriations Act which, as reported last week, reduces APD’s budget by $80.3 million or a 7.1% cut. At the Governor’s request, the Senate restored funds for medically needy and several other programs that were scheduled to be eliminated or severely curtailed. Parents, individuals with autism and advocates spent much of the week talking to Representatives and Senators about the need to pass HB 1291 and SB 2654. SB2654 passed the Health Policy Committee on April 1st but the House version has yet to be heard in the Health Council. Meetings were held with House Speaker Marco Rubio, Representative Bean and others emphasizing the need to help parents provide the therapies and other assistance their children need. Numerous stories were told of the sacrifice that parents were making to give their children a chance at a normal life. The meeting with Speaker Rubio was arranged by Cristina & Dr. Gabrial Canales from Dade and Speaker Rubio expressed insight into the issues. On Friday he created a Select Committee on Autism and Developmental Disorders with the intent of the committee making a report by April 15th and Bean’s council taking up legislation ASAP. Anticipated events in week 5: Next week, the House and the Senate will both take up their respective Appropriations Act on the floors of both chambers. Once these are passed, a conference committee will be formed to work out their differences. The House’s Select Committee on Autism and Developmental Disorders will also be meeting for the first time. Action Needed. Continue sending messages to the six legislators listed below. The core message needs to be “People with developmental disabilities have already lost enough. Find a better wayâ€. You should personalize your message, if at all possible, and not use mass mailing/communicating tools that generate identical email to multiple people. Mass mail is now being openly discarded as it comes in so this technique, which has worked well in the past, is no longer as effective. Personalized email, calls and regular mail are best. The individuals who should receive these messages are: Speaker Marco Rubio 420 Capitol 402 S. Monroe St. Tallahassee, FL 32399-1300 marco.rubio@... Pres. Ken Pruitt 409 Capitol 404 S. Monroe St. Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100 pruitt.ken.web@... Rep. Ray Sansom 418 Capitol 402 S. Monroe St. Tallahassee, FL 32399-1300 ray.samson@... Sen. Jeff Atwater 406 SOB 404 S. Monroe St. Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100 atwater.jeff.web@... Rep. Bean 200 HOB 402 S. Monroe St. Tallahassee, FL 32399-1300 aaron.bean@... Sen. Durell Peaden 222 SOB 404 S. Monroe St. Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100 peaden.durell.web@... Background Analysis: Some cracks in the "we won’t spend any of the rainy day funds" mantra began to develop last week with both the House and Senate restoring funds for variety of programs aimed at the medically needy. However, both bodies are still resisting doing anything to enhance revenues. Both bodies are being confronted with the consequences of what they are proposing and how much it will affect the state’s ability to serve children and others for whom the state has a special responsibility. These include individuals with disabilities and dependent children. In addition, the Democrats are continuing to speak out about the revenue leaks that exist. For instance, Sen. Rich held a press conference to point out that there were three “loop holes†that could generate one billion dollars and not affect the state’s overall economy. A new publicity campaign by disability advocates will also begin next week. This one will focus on the responsibility of legislators to lead in times of crisis. The effort to expand health insurance coverage for children with autism has been a 9 year struggle with the House being the consistent bottle neck. This year the bill is again moving well in the Senate and the House is again reluctant to mandate coverage. However, unlike in the past, there seems to be an inclination to do something in the House. The question is what. When a question was proposed to Speaker Rubio about whether he wanted this to be part of his legacy, he declined to embrace the concept. The move to create a Select Committee fits with the inclination to do something but the hour is late so it remains to be seen how much can get done. The first meeting of the Select Committee is currently scheduled for April 8 at 6:00 p.m. and may be video streamed on the web. Check on this link on the day of hearing to find out: http://www.myfloridahouse.com/Sections/HouseCalendar/broadcast.aspx. 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