BACK TO WORK AT THE STATE CAPITOL

Legislators break records and work Fridays to get done in 80 days.

Budget cuts, government reorganization, texting while driving, and tax credits are the hot topics of the 2010 legislative session that started on January 11. Legislators returned with optimism despite looking at a $500 million budget shortfall and an election just 10 months away.

As a cost-saving measure, legislators have shortened the session’s calendar this year from 100 days to 80 days. Shortening the session will save about $40,000 a day (so they’ll save $800,000 by ending early).  If things go as planned, the session will end its work on March 31. A shorter session dramatically impacts the rate legislation is taken up and debated. More issues will fall to the wayside, and others may simply not be discussed as carefully as some would like.

Look for quick action this year on many issues. Legislators have already jumped into school budget reform, sending three education bills to the Governor’s desk after the first week of session.  Senators have started the ball rolling on a massive 252-page government reorganization bill, getting it ready for Senate debate next week.

Along with a shorter session comes an accelerated timetable for moving legislation. Deadlines will come faster, so legislation needs to move faster in order to stay alive. Here are a few deadlines to note:

• Friday, February 12 – Bills need to be voted out of committee by the end of the day, or they can no longer be debated. There are exceptions – bills that spend money or involve taxes are exempt. We consider all bills that do not get voted out of committee to be “dead.” This deadline is called the “First Funnel.”
  
  
• Friday, March 5 – Bills have just three short weeks after the first cut-off date to make it through the “Second Funnel” deadline. Bills need to be voted out of one chamber (either House or Senate), and then out of committee in the other chamber. If a bill fails to make through this second committee process, it is “dead” and cannot be debated. The only way to revive a bill is by asking a legislator to offer it as an amendment to another bill. Again, tax and budget bills are exempt from this rule.
   
• Wednesday, March 31 – The “final” day of session – the 80th day. While legislators may still go a bit longer, they won’t be getting paid and they’ll be working without administrative staff.

• See the full session timetable here.

BUDGET DOMINATES GOVERNOR'S ANNUAL ADDRESS

Governor Culver focused his third Condition of the State Address on the accomplishments of his Administration, and the challenges it faces to keep the state’s budget balanced as state revenues continue their decline in the wake of a national recession. 

Every year, the Governor launches the legislative session with a speech to legislators. The focus is always the budget – highlighting what he wants to fund, and how he wants to fund it.  This year, the Governor talked broadly about priorities, but the detail won’t be coming until Tuesday, January 26. 

• You can read and watch the Governor’s Condition of the State speech online here.
• You can review the Governor’s budget after January 26 online here.

OTHER CAPITOL NEWS

The House Human Resources Committee used its third meeting of the year to pass out last year’s mental health parity bill (HF 234 ). The bill requires insurance companies to treat mental illness and substance abuse just as they would a physical illness - any mental illness.   Rep. Mark Smith and Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell hope to develop a bipartisan compromise to expand insurance coverage of mental health treatment.  Because a compromise has not yet been reached, the committee voted out a committee amendment that will strike all language.

The amendment (H-8024) states the intent of the legislature to require health insurance coverage for costs of mental health conditions, including substance abuse. However, legislators will have to vote on the amendment during full House debate.  Rep. Janet Petersen (D-Des Moines) also requested a companion parity bill in the House Commerce Committee, which she chairs.  The bill (HSB 590) is identical to HF 234 (before the amendment).

The House Veterans Affairs Committee is working on a bill (HF 2123) that would give judges the authority to have a combat veteran who commits a crime evaluated to determine if the crime was the result of PTSD, substance abuse, or other psychological problem stemming from combat service.  If a connection is found, the court is allowed to place the veteran in a mental health or substance abuse facility with a history of sucessfully treating these disorders.  Rep. Tymeson, a Brigadier General in the National Guard, sponsored the bill.

Insurance companies will have to pay for children’s hearing aides and related services under a bill (HSB 223) passed out of the House Commerce Committee on Thursday, January 21. 

Finally, Rep. Polly Bukta, a Democrat representing Clinton, and Rep. Christopher Rants, a Republican from Sioux City who is running for Governor, have joined the ranks of legislators who have decided not to seek re-election. There are now 6 legislators that have decided to call it quits after this year (Sen. Roger Stewart, Rep. Mark Kuhn, Rep. Kent Sorenson, and Rep. Jodi Tymeson).  

STATE GOVERNMENT REORGANIZATION MOVES FAST

Lawmakers spent this summer looking at state government – how agencies are organized, buy things, hire people, supervise employees, communicate and report on activities, and deliver services. At the same time, the Governor hired a consultant with experience in government efficiency to recommend ways to reorganize government to increase efficiency and save money.   The Governor implemented the recommendations he could without legislative approval. You can find links to these reports here.

• Closes the Mt. Pleasant Mental Health Institute (MHI), and transfers residents to other state MHIs or community options by June 30, 2011.  Estimated FY11 Savings: $1.3 million
   
• Allows state agencies to explore the use of four-day workweek (10-hour days) for state employees and more telecommuting.  This might mean less access to state workers on days off but access beyond the 9 to 5 workday. Estimated FY11 Savings: Undetermined
   
• Directs Medicaid to restrict the prescriptions for mental health drugs not on the Preferred Drug List (PDL). Doctors would only be able to prescribe up to three days supply of drugs, rather than the current 30-day limit.  This limits access to the higher priced drugs, but brings the policy on this in line with current federal Medicare policies. Estimated FY11 Savings: $156,000
   
• Requires DHS to adopt rules to place chemically unique mental health drugs on the non-preferred drug list, but require prior authorization if the drug company does not give the state supplemental rebates.  Drugs without supplemental rebates could be more difficult to prescribe.  Estimated FY11 Savings: $400,000
   
• Phases out the Family Support Subsidy Program by ending all new enrollments. The program will end after all families have left the program.  Families currently on the waiting list would be told the program is no longer accepting new enrollments.  Legislators say 71% of the people in the program also receive services under a Home & Community Based Services (HCBS) waiver program, so they would not lose all services.  The program is averaging about 38 families leaving the program each year. Families of children with disabilities that do not meet Medicaid income guidelines will be most impacted by the elimination of this program. Estimated FY11 savings: $355,000
   
• Realigns the duties of the MH/MR/DD/BI Commission, and renames it the “Mental Health and Disability Services Commission.”  These changes were requested by the Commission to streamline their duties, and supported by DHS because it more appropriately reflects the resources available to provide staff support. Estimated FY11 Savings: Undetermined
   
• Allows DHS to establish new service areas and field offices.  The service areas were fixed in Iowa law in 2002, and any changes to them must be done by the Legislature. This change gives DHS the ability to adjust service area boundaries as needed, without legislative approval. If you receive services from a DHS field office, your travel time may be impacted (either making your trip shorter or longer depending on where you live). Estimated FY11 Savings: Undetermined
   
• Creates a False Claims Act to allow the state to collect more money if someone commits Medicaid fraud.  The state would now be able to collect three times the amount of the false claim, plus all legal costs.  Estimated FY11 Savings: Undetermined
   
• Changes the way Area Education Agencies (AEAs) are organized, and brings them under the Department of Education rather than governed by locally appointed boards.  This section was heavily amended before passing out of committee this week, so watch the website for more information.  AEAs are responsible for the delivery of special education services around the state, so changes here could impact the delivery of services to children with special education needs. Estimated FY11 Savings: Undetermined
   
• Reorganizes the Department of Human Rights to decrease administrative costs, increase accountability for results, and more appropriately reflect its mission as an advocacy agency.  The seven divisions (including Persons with Disabilities and Deaf Services) are consolidated into a single Division of Community and Advocacy Services.  There will be an Office on the Status of Persons with Disabilities and an Office of Deaf Services in the new structure.  Estimated FY11 Savings: Undetermined
   
• Directs Medicaid to develop a criteria to review claims made under the HCBS Waiver program, and requires prior approval for claims that exceed the median claim level.  Since the “median” is the halfway point in claims, half of the HCBS waiver claims would require prior approval.  This could potentially slow down the processing of claims and lead to more denials. Estimated FY11 Savings: $5.7 million ($6.9 million in FY12)
   
• Requires the Department of Human Services to develop a disease management program for children to help better control chronic diseases (like diabetes and asthma) and prevent more costly illnesses.  Estimated FY11 Savings: $2.7 million
   
• Strengthens state law to increase recoveries of improperly claimed Medicaid benefits and prevent ineligible individuals from receiving these benefits. It is illegal for individuals to transfer assets to another person for the sole purpose of qualifying for Medicaid.  By hiring additional staff to review possible Medicaid fraud, the state could collect assets owed and deter people from defrauding the State in the future. Estimated FY11 Savings: $586,000

NEW WEBSITE TOOL: Grassroots Action Center

Our new Grassroots Action Center gives you fast access.

We know advocacy is not your full time job.  Maybe not even a hobby.  We know that you are busy and do not always have the time or resources to track down the information you need to contact your elected officials.

We also know you have something to say.  We want you to be heard.  That is why ID Action and infoNET have created the online Grassroots Action Center, an easy-to-use tool that lets you contact your elected officials in less than a minute.  Here’s how it works.

Step One.  Go to the Action Center.  This is under our ADVOCATE tab (click on "take action now").

Step Two.  Sign in with your email address and zip code.  This tells the Action Center who you are.  The first time you use this tool, you need to verify your address and name. We need a street address or the system will not work (PO boxes will not work). You only need to do this once.

Step Three. You are now in the Action Center. You will be given the choice of advocating on a hot topic, or an issue of your choice.  Simply click on your choice.

Step Four. The system automatically finds your elected officials, and addresses and signs your email for you.  All you need to do is write your message (sometimes we’ll help you get started).  Then click “send.” 

Step Five.  You will now have the option of forwarding our Action Center to a friend.  This allows friends to use the action center to contact their elected officials.

Other Features

• You will get tips on writing your message.
  
  
• Sometimes we’ll start the message for you. Add your own personal twist to all emails.  
  
  
• Takes less than a minute (a few more if you write your own message).
  
  
• Works at the state AND federal level – send your ideas, thoughts, and concerns to legislators, Congress, Governor, and even President!
  
  
• No computer or Internet – go to your local library!

Just look for this symbol to access our Grassroots Advocacy Center!

Grassroots advocacy is action taken by people at home, rather than at the State Capitol in Des Moines, or our nation’s Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Grassroots advocacy is just as it sounds – growing from the ground up.  It is the most effective form of advocacy.  Real people, talking about real issues, directly to the people elected to represent them.  Grassroots advocacy takes many forms – maybe you’ve already tried some:

• Attending public forums
• Speaking up at town hall meetings
• Calling into a radio show
• Writing a letter to the editor in your local paper
• Calling or emailing your elected officials

INFONET BILL TRACKER

The infoNET bill tracking system lists bills that may be of interest to disability advocates.  More than 454 bills were introduced in the first two weeks of the legislative session - and more are on their way.  We are currently tracking 25 bills of interest to our readers - you can keep up on their status and watch for new additions here.

It is updated daily with new bills and changes in status.  The system allows you to print custom reports and organize bills by topic, bill number, status, or title. You can check bills according to your schedule and get the most updated information - not according to our schedule.

PUBLIC FORUMS & LEGISLATIVE TOWN HALL MEETINGS

GET THIS ISSUE IN PDF

Click here to view or print this issue in PDF.