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BUDGET HEARINGS CONTINUE WTH HUMAN SERVICES AGENCIES
The House and Senate Appropriations committees continued their budget hearings with the state agencies the week of Feb. 25, focusing on the Governor's FY 2019-2020 budget request for departments with oversight of key health and human services programs.
The House heard from Dr. Rachel Levine, secretary of the Department of Health, and Jen Smith, secretary of the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs, during a joint hearing. Regarding the opioid epidemic, Smith said the department has received $110 million from the federal government to fight the opioid crisis, and 40 percent of that has been distributed to local communities. Committee chair Stan Saylor (R-York) suggested more alternative treatment courts are needed to address the issue as well. Preventing substance abuse of all types, including concerns related to opioids, heroin, cocaine, prescription drugs and alcohol, is a county priority for 2019.
Rep. Jim Struzzi (R-Indiana) also noted that he has heard from the Armstrong/Indiana/Clarion Drug and Alcohol Task Force, commenting they are doing great work but are concerned about potential discussions to eliminate the Behavioral HealthChoices carve out. Smith agreed that the carve out has allowed many counties to stand up innovative and successful programs over the years, but also felt that there are some valid arguments for how fee-for-service models have created challenges for integrated care, so it is important to try to address any problems without necessarily making changes to the carve out the only solution.
Human Services Secretary Teresa Miller also appeared before both the Senate and House on consecutive days. During the Senate hearing, former county commissioner Sen. Judy Schwank (D-Berks) noted the challenges of funding county nursing homes, and asked if there are increased Medicaid rate reimbursements in the Governor's proposal. Miller indicated there are not. The committee also engaged in a discussion regarding Act 40 of 2018, which included language requiring Pennsylvania to seek federal approval to move the Medical Assistance Transportation Program (MATP) to a statewide or regional full-risk brokerage model. Miller responded that the request for applications was issued in December, with a proposal conference in January and applications now due by March 19. Several legislators encouraged the department to be aware of possible issues that may occur during the transition that could impact services for individuals.
Before the House Appropriations Committee, Miller also discussed the county child welfare system, noting that her agency wants to improve technology so that there is just one system that would better enable counties to share information with each other. In addition, the department plans to propose regulations that would change the caseworker-to-family ratio from 1:30 to 1:10 over the next three fiscal years. Human services funding and system reform is one of counties' top 2019 priorities.
Both the House and Senate will conclude budget hearings the week of March 4. The House returns to session on March 11, and both chambers are in Harrisburg the following week. Additional details about the Governor's budget proposal, including a line-item analysis of impacts to counties, can be found on CCAP's Budget News webpage.
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GOVERNOR SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER FOR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COMMAND CENTER
On Feb. 19, the Governor signed off on his first executive order of the year, to create the Keystone Economic Development and Workforce Command Center, as promised during his FY 2019-2020 budget address earlier in the month. The Command Center is part of several proposed initiatives to address workforce and economic development.
Under the executive order, the Command Center is designed to strengthen the commonwealth's workforce by expanding collaboration between government and the private sector, focused on addressing skill gaps and worker shortages. Its tasks will include recommending coordinated workforce and economic development best practices and identifying workforce barriers and key workforce areas of greatest need. Additionally, the Command Center is tasked with reviewing and, where appropriate, implementing recommendations from the Auditor General's 2019 audit of the state's workforce development system.
The executive committee of the Command Center includes representatives from the private sector, specifically the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, the AFL-CIO and the Team Pennsylvania foundation, as well as the secretaries of the departments of State, Community and Economic Development and Labor and Industry. Representatives from the Auditor General's office, the State Workforce Development Board, and the departments of Education, Human Services, Agriculture and Corrections are also included as part of the Center.
The Command Center is part of a broader plan of workforce and education proposals outlined in the Governor's budget proposal, together referred to as the Statewide Workforce, Education, and Accountability Program (SWEAP). The proposed program also includes early childhood development and parent support initiatives and continued investment in education and career training.
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PA FARM BILL ANNOUNCED
On Feb. 14, Gov. Wolf announced his Pennsylvania Farm Bill proposal, which aims to provide support and continued investments in the commonwealth's agriculture industry. The proposal is based on the six-point strategic plan unveiled at the 2018 Penn State Ag Progress Days in response to ongoing changes in the marketplace, and builds off recommendations in a report on economic impacts and future trends in the agriculture industry released earlier in 2018.
The PA Farm Bill proposal would allocate $24 million in additional funding, which would be used to develop new resources for agriculture business development and succession planning, establish a new Pennsylvania Agricultural Business Development Center, and create more processing capabilities. In addition, the proposal would add a Center for Animal Agriculture Excellence to mirror the existing Center for Dairy Excellence, and enhance funding for market opportunities through the PA Preferred program.
Funding would also be available to enhance the growth of the organics industry and support urban agriculture. The proposal would further increase awareness of opportunities in the state's agricultural workforce and create a Pennsylvania Rapid Response Readiness Disaster Account to allow for quick response to agricultural disasters, such as threats from the spotted lanternfly infestation.
In addition to funding, the Governor called for removing regulatory burdens and strengthening the state's agricultural business climate by incentivizing best management practices through a mix of grants, low-interest loans and tax credits.
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WATERS OF THE U.S REGULATIONS OPEN FOR COMMENT
The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers have officially released a new proposed definition of "Waters of the U.S.," a key phrase used in the federal Clean Water Act to determine what waters fall under federal oversight as opposed to state oversight. The definition would replace a controversial 2015 rule, which has been challenged in several federal courts and is now in effect in only 22 states, including Pennsylvania; regulations from the 1980s are in effect in the other 28 states. As a result, in 2017 President Trump issued an executive order requiring the EPA and the Corps to review and reconsider the rule.
The newly proposed definition would create six categories of regulated waters, including traditional navigable waters, tributaries, certain ditches, certain lakes and ponds, impoundments, and adjacent wetlands. The proposal also clarifies that waters such as groundwater, features that are only wet during rainfall events, and storm water control features do not fit under the definition either, a matter of applicability which had not been clearly understood under the 2015 rule.
The EPA will accept public comments until April 15, 2019. The proposed rule, fact sheets, an economic analysis and other resources are available at www.epa.gov/wotus-rule. The National Association of Counties has also provided a policy brief that can be found at www.naco.org by searching Waters of the U.S.
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CENSUS 2020 COMMISSION CREATED
CCAP will be part of the Governor's Census 2020 Complete Count Commission, created to support the commonwealth's efforts to achieve a complete and accurate census count in the next decennial census, which will be conducted on April 1, 2020.
The effort, led by Norman Bristol Col὚n of the Department of Community and Economic Development, comprises a wide variety of stakeholder organizations, including other local government associations along with education, news media and labor groups, as well as community-focused non-profits, religious and diversity-focused organizations.
The goal of the Commission is to recommend methods and policies to facilitate a successful census, including implementation of strategies to reach hard-to-count populations and hard-to-enumerate areas. A full and accurate census count is critical, as it impacts the number of congressional seats for the state, the distribution of $800 billion in federal funding throughout the nation, and demographic data widely used by the public and private sectors.
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VOTING MATTERS
CCAP members will elect the two CCAP representatives to the NACo Board of Directors at the business meeting to be held during Tuesday's closing session of the CCAP Spring Conference. The Conference takes place March 24-26 at the Hilton Harrisburg, and features meetings of standing policy committees, which any CCAP member may attend and observe, and numerous educational sessions.
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