FDDC: Capitol Update * Volume 12 * Issue 5

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March 7, 2012 * Volume 12 * Issue 5

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Announcement From

The Florida Developmental Disabilities Council

Budget News

House Budget Committee Chair Grimsley and Senate Budget Committee Chair JD resolved all outstanding items in the General Appropriations Act and Implementing Bill on Monday, March 5, 2012. They will continue to meet over the next several days to resolve outstanding issues related to conforming bills.

Budget Conference Highlights:

The following are final budget conference figures:

Health and Human Services

$875 million for individuals on the Developmental Disabilities Home and Community Based Services (DD/HCBS) Waiver $20 million for the DD/HCBS deficit$6.8 million more to keep the Early Steps program

Transportation

$5 million more dollars for Transportation Disadvantaged

The Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Budget Proposal for FY 2012-2013

15% across-the-board reduction in the Adults with Disabilities (AWD) program - ($1,763,556) Elimination of the Bureau of Rehabilitation and Reemployment Services (BRRS) Injured Worker Program resulting in a loss of 27 FTEs. Approximately $223,000 is left in the Workers' Compensation Administration Trust Fund to allow for the payment of anticipated BRRS program expenditures such as leave payout and payment of unemployment compensationWorkload Increase includes 7 FTES and $416,971 for the VR program (to assist with administration for injured workers)

Conforming Bills

The Council has been told that legislative budget staffers are working on conforming bills using language from SB1990, SB1516C3 and HB7137 (See below). We will be working with Senator and Senator Joe Negron as well as Representative Grimsley and Representative Matt Hudson to ensure that safeguards are in place as the iBudget is rolled out. These safeguards include:

Limiting cost plan reductions to a maximum of 25%. Current statute allows reductions of up to 50%. Individuals have already undergone cost plan reviews during this past year that have resulted in many cost plan reductions. In addition, individuals and families are adjusting to the ramifications of other cost-containment reductions. A 50% reduction in any one year to any individual's cost plan is too high. . Ensuring that the IBudget is rolled out consistently for everyone on the DD/HCBS Waiver and that it includes informal and formal reviews, and benchmarks that determine when an individual is eligible for an adjustment allocation. The i-Budget is designed to provide consistency for individuals with similar characteristics and similar needs. The process for determining if additional services are needed

should have some basis for ensuring individuals with similar needs and characteristics receive similar levels of additional services.Access to services that are not just for health and safety. A very important feature of the iBudget, as it relates to individuals and families, is the flexibility to use their iBudget funding amount in the way they believe will best meet their needs. The current language allows the flexibility only relative to meeting health and safety needs. The Waiver services are designed to prevent institutionalization and assist individuals to live as independently as possible. The flexibility should also apply to these Waiver services.

SB1990 (formerly PCB 7096)

Relating to Developmental Disabilities by Budget

Former Proposed Committee bill and now Conforming bill on Developmental Disabilities requires that the Agency for Persons with Disabilities review a waiver support coordinator's performance to ensure the support coordinator meets or exceeds criteria established by the Agency. It also provides that funds appropriated to the Agency shall be allocated through the iBudget system. The Council is tracking this bill because it may replace SB 1516 (see below).

The Council wants to amend this bill to include safeguards that will protect individuals with developmental disabilities as the iBudget is rolled out. These amendments include an identified procedure for determining cost plan adjustments, and a cap of 25% for cuts in an individual cost plan in any one year. The Council also remains concerned about the availability of services that will integrate individuals into the community.

Effective Date: July 1, 2012

02/10/12 SENATE Filed

02/16/12 SENATE Filed (Formerly PCB 7096)

SENATE Placed on Calendar, on 2nd reading

02/23/12 SENATE Read Second Time; Read Third Time; Passed (Vote: 39 Yeas / 0 Nays); Requests House concur or failing to concur appoint conference committee

HOUSE in Messages

02/27/12 HOUSE Received; Referred to Calendar; Read Second Time; Amendment Adopted (986707); Read Third Time; Passed (Vote: 88 Yeas / 23 Nays); Refused to concur, acceded to request for conference committee

SENATE in returning messages

SB 1516C3 by Negron

General for Agency for Persons with Disabilities

SB 1516, as introduced, addressed a number of provisions relating to Florida Statute 393 and the Developmental Disabilities Home and Community Based Services Waiver. It outlined eligibility requirements based on citizenship and state residency. It required the Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) to promote partnerships and collaborative efforts to enhance the availability of non-Waiver services. The bill revised provisions relating to eligibility under the Medicaid Waiver re-design and provides criteria for calculating a client's initial iBudget.

Amendments added to SB 1516 in its first committee improved the bill; however, the Council continued to have major problems with the bill. It appeared to narrow the responsibility of APD to just health and safety issues, revised the implementation of the iBudget to operationalize the new narrower scope of responsibility, and had no language ensuring Waiver recipients a meaningful day or quality of life.

APD recently proposed amendments to SB 1516C1 and a draft strike-all bill that appeared to address the main concerns of the Council. CS/SB 1516 was heard in the Senate Health Regulation Committee on Thursday, February 9th. Three of the proposed amendments were added and the strike-all bill with all the proposed amendments may be heard this week in Senator Negron's committee. The three proposed amendments will further improve the bill by removing the health and safety identified services and priority for the iBudget and adding 'maximizing independence' as a clear responsibility of APD. The strike-all bill emerged as a slightly modified version of the strike-all the Council was shown. While the current version addressed many concerns of the Council, the Council wants to amend the bill with safeguards that will protect individuals with developmental disabilities while the

iBudget is rolled out.

These amendments include an identified procedure for determining cost plan adjustments, and a cap of 25% for the amount of cuts in an individual cost plan. The Council also remains concerned about the availability of services that will integrate individuals into the community.

Effective Date: July 1, 2012

01/17/12 SENATE Referred to Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; Health Regulation; Budget

01/25/12 SENATE Favorable with CS by Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; 6 Yeas, 0 Nays

01/31/12 SENATE Temporarily Postponed by Health Regulation

02/09/12 SENATE Favorable with CS by Health Regulation; 7 Yeas, 0 Nays

02/14/12 SENATE Sub referred to Budget Subcommittee on Health and Human Services Appropriations

02/28/12 SENATE Favorable with CS by Budget Subcommittee on Health and Human Services Appropriations; 7 Yeas, 0 Nays

03/02/12 SENATE Committee Substitute Text (C3) Filed

SENATE Now in Budget

03/05/12 SENATE Withdrawn from Budget

03/06/12 SENATE Placed on Special Order Calendar for 03/08/12

Similar-HB 7137(formerly PCB HHS 12-05)

Relating to Agency for Persons with Disabilities by Health & Human Services Committee. The Council wants to amend this bill with safeguards that will protect individuals with developmental disabilities while the iBudget is rolled out. These amendments include an identified procedure for determining cost plan adjustments, and a cap of 25% for the amount of cuts to an individual cost plan. The Council also remains concerned about the availability of services that will integrate individuals into the community.

02/28/12 HOUSE Referred to Calendar

Bills

SB 144 by

Seclusion and Restraint of Students with Disabilities in Public Schools

The bill originally required that manual physical restraint be used only in an emergency when there is an imminent risk of serious injury or death to the student or others. This bill was temporarily postponed in the Children, Families and Elder Affairs committee after three approved amendments by Senator Storms were added. The biggest change was the deletion of all of the imminent risk of harm language. The bill now reads that restraint may be used to protect students or property.

The bill prohibits the use of manual physical restraint by school personnel who are not certified to use district-approved methods for applying restraint techniques and requires that each school medically evaluate a student after the student is manually physically restrained. The bill also prohibits school personnel from placing a student in seclusion and provides requirements for the use of time-out. The bill requires a school district to report its training and certification procedures to the Department of Education.

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2012.

The Council is supporting this bill.

09/08/11 SENATE Referred to Education Pre-K - 12; Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; Budget

01/30/12 SENATE Favorable by Education Pre-K - 12; 5 Yeas, 0 Nays

02/09/12 SENATE Temporarily Postponed by Children, Families, and Elder Affairs pm, 401 S

02/16/12 SENATE Temporarily Postponed by Children, Families, and Elder Affairs

Similar House Companion HB 1467 by

01/12/12 HOUSE Referred to K-20 Innovation Sub-committee; PreK-12 Appropriations Sub-committee; Education Committee

SB 1826C1 by Gardener

General Developmental Disabilities

The bill requires that health care providers provide pregnant women with current information about the conditions that are tested for in a prenatal test, the accuracy of such tests, and resources for obtaining support services for such conditions, including information and support services regarding Down syndrome and other prenatally diagnosed conditions. The bill establishes a prenatal advocacy council within the Department of Health. The bill requires that each school provide information regarding the M. McKay Scholarship Program upon the enrollment of a dependent child of a member of the United States Armed Forces. The bill also requires that each regional autism center in Florida provide coordination and dissemination of local and regional information regarding available resources for services for children who have developmental disabilities, not just autism or autistic-like

disabilities. The committee substitute adds a pilot program for supported employment scholarships creating a two-year program to provide for scholarships to certain students who have disabilities.

Effective Date: July 1, 2012.

The Council will be neutral on this bill.

01/17/12 SENATE Referred to Health Regulation; Budget

01/31/12 SENATE Favorable with CS by Health Regulation; 7 Yeas, 0 Nays

02/01/12 SENATE Committee Substitute Text (C1) Filed

02/03/12 SENATE Now in Budget

SENATE Sub- referred to Budget Sub-committee on Health and Human Services Appropriations

02/23/12 SENATE Withdrawn from Budget Subcommittee on Health and Human Services Appropriations; Budget

SENATE Placed on Calendar, on 2nd reading

Compare -

HB 1371 by Boyd

01/12/12 HOUSE Referred to Health & Human Services Quality Sub-committee; K-20 Innovation Sub-committee; Appropriations Committee; Health & Human Services Committee

HB 1263 - Relating to Department of Health by Hudson

03/02/12 SENATE In Messages

SB 554 by Ring

Disability Awareness

The bill requires that each district school board provide disability history and awareness instruction in all K-12 public schools. The bill requires the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) to assist in creating the curriculum for the disability history and awareness instruction. The bill requires the Department of Education to establish a Disability History and Awareness Advisory Council and provides for the membership of the Council.

Effective Date: Upon becoming a law.

The Council voted to support the bill and suggests to the sponsor that presenters could also be family members, and that the bill could be just as effective with less bureaucracy and responsibility for FDOE. Duties could be addressed at the local school district level.

11/02/11 SENATE Referred to Education Pre-K - 12; Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; Budget

01/09/12 SENATE Favorable with CS by Education Pre-K - 12; 6 Yeas, 0 Nays

01/25/12 SENATE temporarily postponed by Children, Families, and Elder Affairs

02/09/12 SENATE Favorable with CS by Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; 4 Yeas, 1 Nay

02/10/12 SENATE Committee Substitute Text (C2) Filed

02/13/12 SENATE Now in Budget

02/14/12 SENATE Sub referred to Budget Subcommittee on Education Pre-K - 12 Appropriations

SENATE Now in Budget Subcommittee on Education Pre-K - 12 Appropriations

Identical - HB 589 by

11/15/11 HOUSE Referred to K-20 Competitiveness Sub-committee; PreK-12 Appropriations Sub-committee; Education Committee

SB 434 by Rich

Independent Living

The bill provides protections for children in foster care who are in middle and high school to enable them to receive a quality education and participate in extracurricular and enrichment activities. The bill includes provisions relating to school stability, transfers, transportation, attendance, and identification of an education advocate. The bill also specifies requirements for the Department of Children and Family Services (DCF or department), its community-based care (CBC) providers, and caregivers relating to the education of children in foster care, including those with disabilities, and requires the development of a transition plan. The Council is supporting this bill.

01/10/12 SENATE Read Second Time; Amendments adopted (465118, 965684, 878336, 641580, 191652, 565926, 651436, 743638); Read Third Time; Passed (Vote: 40 Yeas / 0 Nays); immediately Certified

01/11/12 SENATE In Messages

Identical - HB 417 by Glorioso

10/28/11 HOUSE Referred to Health & Human Services Access Subcommittee; Rulemaking & Regulation Sub-committee; Health Care Appropriations Sub-committee; Health & Human Services Committee

SB 282C1 by Wise

Health Care Transition Programs and Services for Adolescents and Young Adults Who Have Special Health Care Needs

The bill establishes the Florida Health and Transition Services (Florida HATS) program within the Division of Children's Medical Services Network in the Department of Health (DOH) to implement health care transition programs for adolescents and young adults who have special health care needs. The bill requires the program to provide technical assistance to communities, providers, and organizations. The bill also requires DOH to work with the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), the Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR), and community-based pediatric and adult health care providers to develop health care transition programs for adolescents and young adults who have special health care needs. Finally, the bill requires that at least one proposed health and transition services program be associated with each region of the Children's Medical Services Network. The

Committee Substitute (CS) limits the activities of the DOH with regard to health care transition programs and services for adolescents and young adults who have special health care needs to overseeing transitional services, not providing clinical services. The CS also removes several activities assigned to DOH in the original bill that had a fiscal impact.

The Council is supporting this bill.

10/04/11 SENATE Referred to Health Regulation; Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; Budget

02/09/12 SENATE Favorable with CS by Health Regulation; 7 Yeas, 0 Nays

02/10/12 SENATE Committee Substitute Text (C1) Filed

02/17/12 SENATE Favorable by - Children, Families, and Elder Affairs, 5 Yeas; 0 Nays.

02/23/12 SENATE Now in 03/05/12 SENATE Placed on Special Order Calendar for 03/07/12 Budget

SENATE Subreferred to Budget Subcommittee on Health and Human Services Appropriations

SENATE Now in Budget Subcommittee on Health and Human Services Appropriations

03/01/12 SENATE Withdrawn from Budget Subcommittee on Health and Human Services Appropriations; Budget

03/05/12 SENATE Placed on Special Order Calendar for 03/07/12

Identical - HB 279 by Logan.

10/17/11 HOUSE Referred to Health & Human Services Access Sub-committee; Health Care Appropriations Sub-committee; Health & Human Services Committee.

HB 951 by Jr.

Autism

This bill requires physicians to refer a minor to an appropriate specialist for screening for autism spectrum disorder under certain circumstances. It also requires certain insurers and health maintenance organizations to provide direct patient access to an appropriate specialist for screening or for evaluation or diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. This bill requires certain insurance policies and HMO contracts to provide a minimum number of visits per year for screening for, or evaluation or diagnosis of, autism spectrum disorder.

The Council is supporting this bill.

12/21/11 HOUSE Referred to Health & Human Services Access Sub-committee; Insurance & Banking Sub-committee; Appropriations Committee; Health & Human Services Committee

Identical- SB 162 by Ring.

09/08/11 SENATE Referred to Health Regulation; Banking and Insurance; Budget.

HB 991 Van Zant

Intellectual Disabilities

This bill is being filed for the third year. This time it has a House sponsor. The bill substitutes The Arc of Florida for Association for Retarded Citizens for purposes of certain proceedings relating to children. It substitutes the term "intellectual disability" for "mental retardation" and clarifies that the meaning of the terms "intellectual disability" or "intellectually disabled" are the same as the meaning of terms "mental retardation," "retarded," and "mentally retarded" for purposes of matters relating to criminal laws and court rules. It revises definitions relating to intermediate care facilities for the developmentally disabled to delete unused terms.

The Council is supporting this bill.

12/28/11 HOUSE Referred to Health & Human Services Access Sub-committee; Criminal Justice Sub-committee; Health Care Appropriations Sub-committee; Health & Human Services Committee

Identical - SB 460 by Altman.

11/02/11 SENATE Referred to Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; Criminal Justice; Budget

02/09/12 SENATE Favorable with CS by Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; 5 Yeas, 0 Nays

02/10/12 SENATE Committee Substitute Text (C1) Filed.

The committee substitute reinstates the words "prior to" (instead of "before") to s. 440.49, F.S.

02/22/12 SENATE Favorable by Criminal Justice; 5 Yeas, 0 Nays

SENATE Now in Budget

02/23/12 SENATE Sub referred to Budget Subcommittee on Health and Human Services Appropriations

SENATE Now in Budget Subcommittee on Health and Human Services Appropriations

SB 1270C1 by

Relating to Dan Marino Foundation Florida Vocational College

This bill establishes the Dan Marino Foundation Florida Vocational College in Broward County as a residential post-secondary school for certain students who have developmental disabilities. The bill provides for funding for the school through the Department of Education subject to a specific one-time appropriation. The bill provides that the Dan Marino Foundation Florida Vocational College is a component of the delivery of public education within the Florida College System. An amendment was added to provide that foster children and children in the state protective services system will be able to attend. This was done by adding the word 'inclusionary' to a description of the college. Effective Date: July 1, 2012.

The Council will be neutral on this bill.

01/11/12 SENATE Referred to Higher Education; Budget

01/19/12 SENATE Favorable with CS by Higher Education; 5 Yeas, 1 Nay

01/24/12 SENATE Committee Substitute Text (C1) Filed

SENATE Now in Budget

01/25/12 SENATE Sub-referred to Budget Sub-committee on Higher Education Appropriations

SENATE Now in Budget Sub-committee on Higher Education Appropriations

Similar Bills -HB 0973 - by

12/21/11 HOUSE Now in K-20 Innovation Sub-committee

SB 1382C2 by and CS Sponsors: Budget, Children, Families, and Elder Affairs

Relating to Service Animals

This bill is the "Dawson and Caras Act." In addition to extending the use of service animals to a person with a psychological or neurological disability, the bill:

Creates definitions for "individual requiring assistance", "owner", and "service animal" relating to the use of service animals.Provides that if federal law, rule or agency requires a public accommodation to provide care, food, or a special location for an animal to relieve itself, that public accommodation must do so. Provides that a person, firm or corporation, may not deny or interfere with the renting, leasing, or purchasing of housing accommodations for an individual requiring assistance or a service animal trainer. Provides that an individual with a service animal is entitled to full and equal

advantages, facilities and privileges in all housing accommodations. Provides that a trainer of service animals has the same rights, privileges and liabilities as an individual requiring assistance as it relates to a service animal. Creates a new second-degree misdemeanor for any person who knowingly and fraudulently misrepresents himself or herself as a service animal trainer. The bill does not appear to have a fiscal impact on state or local government.

The bill provides an effective date of July 1, 2012.

01/13/12 SENATE Referred to Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; Budget

02/09/12 SENATE Favorable with CS by Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; 5 Yeas, 0 Nays

02/13/12 SENATE Now in Budget

02/14/12 SENATE Sub referred to Budget Subcommittee on Health and Human Services Appropriations

SENATE Now in Budget Subcommittee on Health and Human Services Appropriations

02/23/12 SENATE Recalled from Budget Subcommittee on Health and Human Services Appropriations

03/02/12 SENATE Favorable with CS by Budget; 21 Yeas, 0 Nays

03/05/12 SENATE Committee Substitute Text (C2) Filed

Similar Bills -HB 1077 by Kriseman

02/07/12 HOUSE Placed on Calendar, on 2nd reading

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