Human Services Bills that Passed

Topic:
HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE; LEGISLATION; LEGISLATIVE PROCEDURE;
Location:
HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE;

OLR Research Report


June 14, 2004		2004-R-0495
HUMAN SERVICES BILLS THAT PASSED

By: Helga Niesz, Principal Analyst Robin Cohen, Principal Analyst

You asked (1) which Human Services Committee bills were enacted into law this session, (2) which Human Services bills, even though they did not pass, were incorporated in some fashion in other bills that passed, and (3) which bills from other committees that Human Services reported favorably passed or were incorporated in other bills that passed.

Table 1 shows the seven bills raised by the Human Services Committee that directly became public acts. Table 2 shows the bills that contained subject matter raised by Human Services committee bills, which was then incorporated into another bill (most often the “DSS Implementer,” which became PA 04-248 or the “OPM Implementer,” which became PA 04-2, May Special Session (MSS). Table 3 shows the bills sent from other committees, which the Human Services committee approved and which either passed directly or whose subject matter was added to other bills. In the charts, we list the original bill number, the Public Act (PA) number, section numbers for large bills, and the title or, where needed, a brief description of the provision.

Table 1: Human Services Raised Bills That Were Enacted

*Originated As Bill #*	*Enacted As* *PA #*	*Title or Brief Explanation of Concept*
322	04-90	AAC Board of Education and Services for the Blind
414	04-16	AAC Technical Revisions to the Human Services Statutes
5041	04-6	AAC Use of Medicare Prescription Discount Cards in the ConnPACE program
5196	04-63	AAC Assignment of State Employees to the Office of the Court Monitor for DCF
5198	04-12	AAC the Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities
5483	04-73	AAC Transitionary Rental Assistance
5508	04-76	AAC Revisions to the General Statutes Necessitated by the Elimination of the General Assistance Program

Table 2: Human Services Bill Subject Matter Incorporated in Other Bills that Passed

*Originated As Bill #*	*Enacted As* *PA #*	*Title or Brief Explanation of Concept*
324	04-216 § 50 (the budget)	Allocates TANF high performance bonus money to various programs
326	04-258 §§ 15-18 (the DSS Implementer)	Reopens the state-funded legal immigrant programs to new applicants who are excluded from federal programs
457	04-258 § 44	Restoration of certain social service programs/services and repeal of cost sharing—final act restores most but not all cuts (for example, does not restore presumptive and continuous eligibility)
458; 5040 § 11	04-258 § 37	Requires DSS to open enrollment for the child care subsidy program and modifies the program’s priorities
555	04-2, May Special Session (MSS) (the OPM Implementer) § 105	Private provider increases–—implementer language requires OPM and certain state agency heads to report on differences between private and state provider payments ($ in budget)
5040 § 4	04-5	Allows DSS commissioner more flexibility in granting interim rates to nursing homes facing bankruptcy or other financial difficulties compared to 2003 legislation
5040 § 5	04-2, MSS, § 84	Expands coverage of adult rehabilitation services under Medicaid
5040 § 7	04-258, § 27	Treatment of child support income for Temporary Family Assistance (TFA) families
5040 § 9	04-258 § 25	Conforms Children’s Trust Fund Council personnel statute to current practice
5040 § 17	04-16, § 4	Conforms the statute concerning payments for indigent burials with current practice
5041 § 2	04-258 § 7	Carves out pharmacy services in Medicaid managed care
5041 § 3	04-258 § 4	Creates a managed care pilot for up to 500 people eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid (the “dually eligible”)
5041 § 6, also 5192	04-258 § 11	Repeals the 2003 ConnPACE estate recovery provision, which was never implemented
5041 § 7	04-258 § 1	Increases Medicaid rates for chronic disease hospitals
5041 § 8	04-258 § 3 (modified by PA 04-2, MSS, § 34)	Increases Medicaid inpatient hospital rates
5041 § 10	04-258 § 9	Establishes a three-month look-back for State-Administered General Assistance (SAGA) medical assistance applicants
5041 § 13	04-258 § 10	Lowers pharmacy dispensing fee for state medical assistance programs
5041 § 14	04-258 § 2	Increases Medicaid rates for intermediate care facilities for the mentally retarded (ICF-MRs)
5041 § 15	04-2, MSS, § 86	Original bill freezes state reimbursement rates for residential care homes, but final version increases it.
5041 § 16	04-258 §§ 5, 6	Sets a combined overall limit of 75 participants in two private assisted living pilot programs. Prior law had set separate limits of 50 for the Medicaid-funded pilot and 25 for the purely state-funded pilot
5041 § 18	04-258, § 13; 04-2, MSS, § 35	Timing of first TFA benefit
5041 § 19	04-258 § 26	Expedited procedures for Veterans Home and Hospital to apply for a license as a nursing home or assisted living facility
5193	04-2, MSS, § 106	An Act Concerning Legislative Oversight of the Federal Waiver Application process (original provisions did not pass, but a related one-year prohibition on DSS agreeing to any federal Medicaid waiver that involves limiting the usual 50% federal cost sharing as a condition of approval for the waiver was included in the OPM Implementer)
5195 (also Aging SB 9)	04-258 § 12	Repeals the 2003 ConnPACE asset test provision
5462 (only personal care assistance provisions, similar to Aging’s 5007)	04-258 §§ 40-41	Creates a state-funded personal care assistance pilot program until June 30, 2006 for up to 100 seniors eligible for the state’s elderly home care program that allows them to choose and hire their own attendant and requires DSS to apply for a federal waiver to include the pilot in the Medicaid-funded portion of the home care program.
5617 § 2	04-258 § 9	Repeals SAGA medical assistance prescription copayments

Table 3: Bills from Other Committees which Human Services Approved that Passed

or were Added to Another Bill

*Originated As Bill #*	*Enacted As PA #*	*Title or Brief Explanation of Concept*
4 (Aging)	04-158	AAC Services Provided by the Long-Term Care Ombudsman in Managed Residential Communities and the Patients' Bill of Rights for Residents of Nursing Homes and Chronic Disease Hospitals. Senate Amendment A added the Long-term Care Ombudsman provisions, which were originally in SB 10.
8 (Aging)	04-101	AAC the Procurement of Canadian Prescription Drugs and the Use of Medicare Prescription Drug Discount Cards Under the ConnPACE Program. Senate Amendment A made some adjustments to PA 04-6, the Medicare drug discount card act.
129 (Judiciary)	04-159	AAC Regional Probate Court Services for Children's Matters.
295 (Program Review)	04-258 (DSS Implementer) §§ 8, 28 (modified by 04-2, MSS § 41)	AA Implementing the Recommendations of the Legislative Program Review and Investigations Committee Relative to Pharmacy Benefits. This bill did not pass, but some of its preferred drug list and nursing home drug return provisions were incorporated into the DSS Implementer (PA 04-258) and the OPM Implementer (PA 04-2, May Special Session)
298 (Children)	04-53	AAC Health Insurance for Adoptive Parents.
300	04-88	AAC Special Study Foster Care.
303 (Children)	04-258 § 19	AAC Reporting On Children Placed In Out-Of-State Residential Facilities.
308 (Children)	04-48	AAC Notification of Child Neglect Reports.
314 (Children)	04-89	AAC Reports on Adjudicated Youth in the Care of the Department of Children and Families.
576 (Government Administration and Elections)	04-166	AAC Regulations by the Department of Social Services.
5008 (Aging)	04-104	AAC Replacement of Lost or Stolen Prescription Drugs Under the ConnPACE Program.
5163 (General Law)	04-233	AAC Funeral And Burial Plot Allowances.
5190 (Housing)	04-258 § 14	AAC the Opening of Waiting Lists for Federal Section 8 Housing Vouchers. Bill did not pass, but was incorporated in the DSS Implementer
5366 (Children)	SA 04-5	AA Establishing a Plan of Community-Based Services for Adolescent Females Involved in the Juvenile Court System.
5367 (Children)	04-216	AAC Supportive Housing for At-Risk Families.
5488 (Public Safety)	04-237	AA Revising the State Building Code for Substantial Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Concerning Main Entrances in Places of Public Assembly.
5564 (Judiciary)	04-152	AA Prohibiting the Placement of Female Juvenile Offenders at the Connecticut Juvenile Training School.

HN: ro