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The Arc Maryland's Weekly Legislative Update
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For the Week of March 11 - 15, 2019
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What Happened Last Week?
Governmental Affairs Committee Chairperson, Bea Rodgers testified on behalf of The Arc Maryland in support of the recommended appropriation for DDA in the Senate Budget and Taxation subcommittee on Thursday last week. Here she is, seated next to Harold Benson, a parent from The Arc Howard County who spoke about the importance of DSP consistency in his daughter's life.
Bea highlighted the history Developmental Disabilities services and the unfortunate deterioration of our system's funding over time while mandates have increased. She urged the Health and Human Services Subcommittee to recommend full funding of the Governor's DDA budget with no delays.
This hearing came on the heals of the Senate Finance Committee's decision to advance the Fight for $15 bill with amendments to substantially restore funding for DD Community Services. As we continue the "Fight for our Lives" we ask members and friends of The Arc to please contact their Senators TODAY and ask them to support the recommendations of the Finance Committee. Please see the graphic for the percentages that are in the amended version of the Senate FF $15 bill (SB280).
To find your Senator, please click HERE!
The Senate will begin deliberations on the Fight for $15 bill in session this evening, but a vote is
not
expected today. As such, we will NOT be gathering in Annapolis tonight as previously planned.
The vote is likely to take place at the beginning of this week however, so we urge everyone to contact their Senators TODAY and ask them to support the Finance Committee amendment to restore the above percentages to the bill for DD Community Services!
Please let them know how important DD Services are to you and that without this funding we will not survive!
As you make your calls, and if you have not already done so, please thank members of the Senate who worked particularly hard to restore our funding to the bill. It truly matters that they know YOU know who was responsible for getting DD back in the bill with rate increases each year that ensure we don't lose ground and will give us a chance at survival (as well as a little recovery) as the Minimum Wage phases in. Thank...
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Other Announcements!
Registration is now OPEN for
The Arc Maryland Annual State Convention
and Awards Banquet!
For more information on the Convention, Sponsorship and Presenting Opportunities, and Scholarships to attend, please click HERE.
To nominate someone for one of The Arc Maryland's Annual Awards, please click HERE. Nominations close soon so please submit yours asap!
The deadline to register to attend WDSD has been extended to Friday, March 15! If you are a parent, a person with Down syndrome, a provider or friend, we hope you will join us on March 21st in Annapolis! Proclamations from the Governor, the Senate and House Delegation will be followed by a lunch celebration. Please contact Greg Snyder from Maryland Catholic Conference
HERE to register!
We highly recommend you pre-purchase parking for the day. The link for Gotts Garage (the nearest garage is
HERE.
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*For a key to the committee abbreviations, please
click here
or see
the end of this Newsletter* for full committee names and the hearing schedules.
Click on the bill numbers below to link to each bill!
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SB 125:
Budget Bill (FY2020)
- DECISION
-Developmental Disabilities Administration Proposed Budget-
Making the proposed appropriations contained in the State Budget for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020, in accordance with Article III, Section 52 of the Maryland Constitution; etc.
Status:
Decisions announced Tuesday at 11 a.m. in the Senate Health and Human Services Subcommittee (William Amoss Room, 4th Floor)
Position:
Support
Additional Notes: The proposed FY2020 Budget includes an increase of
$1,299,451,407 for the Developmental Disabilities Administration budget with the following breakdown to fund anualization of existing services or new services:
$12,320,521 for Transitioning Youth (young adults exiting high school) - Projected to support 590 people.
$816,833 for Emergency Placements - Projected to support 31 people in Residential, Day, Personal Services, and Individual Support Services (average placement of 6 months).
$5,103,521 for Waiting List (Crisis Resolution) - Projected to support 173 people in crisis to receive Residential, Day, Supported Employment, Self-Directed, Personal, and Individual Support Services (6 to 8 months average placement).
$1,494,170 for Waiting List Equity Fund - Projected to support 38 people (with the oldest caregivers on the list).
$1,184,723 for DSS age-outs - Projected to support 40 people aging out of DSS.
$5,138,169 for Low Intensity Support Services (LISS)
$10,000,000 for the Community Supports Waiver - to provide continued funding for non-residential services in the community for the original 400 slots at a cap of $25,000 per year per individual.
$4,800,000 for the Family Supports Waiver - to provide funding for children under 21 and their families to secure supplemental, wraparound services to those provided by the Maryland State Department of Education. This will fund the original 400 slots at a cap of $12,000 per year per individual.
$250,000 for Post-Secondary Education Program to develop post-secondary education programs for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
$42,531,483 for a DD Community Services rate increase of 3.5%
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HB 1197: Task Force on Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder
Establishing the Task Force on Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder; providing for the composition, cochairs, and staffing of the Task Force; prohibiting a member of the Task Force from receiving certain compensation, but authorizing the reimbursement of certain expenses; requiring the Task Force to study certain matters; requiring the Task Force to report its findings to the Governor, the Developmental Disabilities Administration, and certain committees of the General Assembly on or before December 1, 2019; etc.
Status: Hearing Monday, 3/11 at 2 PM in HGO
Position:
Support
Additional Notes: There is so much more to be done to study the supports we have in place in Maryland for children and Adults with Autism and what is needed to ensure full access to education and community life for adults. There have been task forces in the past but recommendations were either not fully implemented or unfunded and are now out of date. We must develop a plan for the growing numbers of people with ASD in Maryland to ensure equal rights and access for all.
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HB 1029: Correctional Services - Restrictive Housing- Limitations
Requiring the managing official of a correctional facility to ensure that each inmate in restrictive housing receives a certain notice and is provided a certain review process, appeal information, and copies of certain documents, files, and records under certain circumstances; requiring that an inmate be provided with a certain evaluation, techniques, and opportunities prior to placement in restrictive housing; providing for levels of sanctions for certain infractions by an inmate; etc.
Status:
Hearing on Tuesday, 3/12 at 1 PM in JUD
Additional Notes:
This bill limits the length of time someone with disabilities could be placed in segregated housing to 15 days with exceptions. We know that people with I/DD have been disproportionately segregated in corrections for years. Some for the most minor administrative infractions that may have happened as a result of the person's disability (i.e. "failure to follow instructions"). Please read the following report with recommendations from Disability Rights Maryland:
Beyond Incarceration: Lock Down for Persons with Disabilities.
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HB 775: Correctional Services - Maryland Correctional Institution for Women - Reforms
Stating the intention of the General Assembly that the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services implement certain reforms at the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women; and stating the intention of the General Assembly that certain reforms comply with the recommendations of Disability Rights Maryland's report, "Segregation and Suicide: Confinement at the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women" and be implemented as soon as possible after the effective date of the Act.calls for adopting the position of the National Commission on Correctional Health Care, and to prohibit use of seg for individuals with serious disabilities. (The bill goes on to recommend a lot more but this is an area of focus for Del. Bartlett who introduced the bill. The bill also prohibits use of seg for pregnant women, unless medically necessary - eg the infirmary is isolated and meets definitions of segregation.)
Status: Hearing Tuesday 3/12 at 1 PM in JUD
Position:
Support
Additional Notes: The bill calls for adopting the position of the National Commission on Correctional Health Care, and to prohibit use of segregation for individuals with serious disabilities. Furthermore, the bill prohibits use of segregation for pregnant women, unless medically necessary - for example, the infirmary is isolated and meets definitions of segregation. To Read DRM's report with recommendations upon which this bill is based, please click HERE
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SB 948:
Criminal Law- Assault in the Second Degree- School Employee
Prohibiting a person from intentionally causing physical injury to another if the person knows or has reason to know that the other is an employee of a public or private preschool, elementary school, or secondary school; and providing penalties for a violation of the Act of imprisonment not to exceed 10 years or a maximum fine of $5,000 or both.equiring each
Status: Hearing Thursday, 3/14 at 12 PM in Senate JPR
Position: Oppose with Letter of Information
Additional Notes: Due to what we know from our work with the Coalition to Reform School Discipline and Commission on Restorative Practices, and what we know from the School to Prison Pipeline report, it is likely this practice would have disproportionately severe impacts/outcomes for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
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Bill Tracker
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(Click on the bill number in the chart to see the full bill)
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Hearing Schedule
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March 11
HGO - 2
:00 P
M, Room 241
HB 832: Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Home- and Community-Based Waiver Services - Prohibition on Denials
HB 1009: Home- and Community-Based Services Waivers - Alterations (Laurie's Law)
HB 1197: Task Force on Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder
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March 12
Senate:
Health and Human Services Subcommittee - 11:00 AM, Floor 4, William Amoss Room
Developmental Disabilities Administration Budget Decision
House of Delegates:
JUD - 1
:00 P
M, Room 101
HB 1001: Correctional Services - Restrictive Housing - Reporting by Correctional Units and Requirements Relating to Minors
HB 1029: Correctional Services - Restrictive Housing- Limitations
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March 13
Senate:
B&T - 1:00 PM, Room 3 West, Miller
SB 492:
Investment in Job Skills Act of 2019
FIN - 1:00 PM, Room 2 East, Miller
SB 699:
Public Safety- 9-1-1 Emergency Telephone System (Carl Henn's Law)
SB 700: Home- and Community-Based Services Waivers - Alterations (Laurie's Law)
EHEA- 1:00 PM, Room 2 West, Miller
SB 915:
Public School Students - Vision Services and the Vision for Maryland Program
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March 14
Senate:
FIN - 1:00 PM, Room 3 East, Miller
SB 550: Food Stamp Program- Minimum Benefit for Disabled Individuals- State Supplement
JPR - 12:00 PM, Room 2 East, Miller
SB 948: Criminal Law - Assault in the Second Degree - School Employee
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March 15
Senate:
FIN - 1:00 PM, Room 3 East, Miller
SB 839:
Labor and Employment - Criminal Record Screening Practices (Ban the Box)
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March 19
House of Delegates:
APP - 1:00 PM, Room 121
SB 181: Criminal Law - Electronic Harassment and Bullying (Grace's Law 2.0)
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March 20
Senate:
FIN
- 1:
00 PM, Room 3 East, Miller
SB 953: Health Care Facilities - Hospitals and Related Institutions - Discrimination Protections
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March 21
House:
W&M
- 1:
00 PM, Room 131
SB 465: Nonpublic Schools - Fire Drill Requirements - State Fire Prevention Code
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Please note: the following abbreviations identify the legislative committees in the Maryland General Assembly.
House of Delegates
- Appropriations Committee - APP
- Economic Matters Committee - EMC
- Environment and Transportation Committee - E&T
- Health and Government Operations Committee - HGO
- Judicial Committee - JUD
- Ways and Means Committee - W&M
Senate
- Budget & Taxation Committee - B&T
- Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee - EHEA
- Finance Committee - FIN
- Judicial Proceedings Committee - JPR
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The Arc Maryland Public Policy Team
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Ande Kolp, Executive Director
Bea Rodgers, Governmental Affairs Committee Chair
Laura Carr, Board President and Governmental Affairs Liaison
Grace Williams, Assistant Director of Public Policy and Advocacy
Edward Willard, Policy Analyst
Lori Scott, Liaison to the Education Advocacy Coalition
Want to join our Governmental Affairs Committee? Call Luc Chausse at 410-571-9320 for more information.
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