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- STATE BUDGET STALEMATE, BILLS LANGUISH
- NY BACKGROUND CHECK LAW AMENDMENT
- FEDERAL FAMILY OPPORTUNITY ACT/MONEY FOLLOWS THE PERSON
- FEDERAL MEDICAID REFORM
STATE BUDGET STALEMATE, BILLS LANGUISH
It appears that the State Legislature will end its session next week without passing a budget, unable to compromise and find a solution to the court ordered increase in education aid for NYC. There are a host of other bills left undone, but there is still hope that they may get addressed. One of those outstanding issues is the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) implementation bill. In order for NY to access the millions set aside for new voting machines and education, NY must pass such a bill. While both sides agree with the concepts of reform, neither house can agree on the specifics.
As is usually the case in the State Legislature, there are also those bills that suddenly come alive and get rammed through at the last minute. NYSACRA will keep you posted on any last minute developments. The tentative agreement for now is to pass a six-week extender to get through the summer, while the Legislators technically “stay on-call”, but in reality, each of them is up for reelection, so they are unlikely to come back.
NY BACKGROUND CHECK LAW AMENDMENT
An amendment to the Background Check Law will be introduced next week and passed. It has OMR acting as the conduit for the info, and OMR may pay the fee as well. However, an agency will receive only a summary of the background report, and they simply will be told yes or no, whether they can hire the person. Failure to comply can result in the loss of your operating certificate. This new law will cover new volunteers as well as new employees, but is not retrospective. The new law will supersede the existing law, and take effect April 1, 2005. NYSACRA will provide a more detailed analysis when the bill is printed.
FEDERAL FAMILY OPPORTUNITY ACT/MONEY FOLLOWS THE PERSON
The Family Opportunity Act (H.R. 1811)—includes provisions to authorize the Money Follows the Person (MFP) demonstration. The U.S. House is expected to vote on the bill Monday, June 21st under the suspension calendar—meaning that the bill is non-controversial and requires only 2/3 support for passage.
FEDERAL MEDICAID REFORM
U.S. Senate Finance Chairman Grassley (R-IA) and Ranking Minority Member Baucus (D-MT) sent a letter June 16th to CMS Administrator McClellan expressing their continued questions regarding the Administration’s use of the waiver authority under Section 1115 of the Social Security Act to approve fundamental changes to the Medicaid program. They urged CMS to inform the Finance Committee of the status and content of any proposals under development.
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