Legislative session has begun and we are moving a million miles per second. As many of you might know, the Adult Family Home Council only has three primary items on the agenda this legislative session and that’s our CBA, Health Insurance and Language Access Pilot Program. All three legislative items are budget items so there won’t be any public hearings right now. However, we will be sure to provide you with updates every other Friday on how far along we are to getting the health insurance and language access in the budget (Our CBA is already in the budget).
In the meantime, we are closely monitoring bills that will affect adult family home providers, residents and their workers in some way (listed below). Currently there are two bills we encourage you to sign in “Pro” for, HB 1568 and HB 1694. Both bills address the HCA Certification process and the way we can improve it in order to bring more workers into long-term care settings and address the workforce shortage. Scroll down to the bottom to find the bill and click on “Note Position” to note your “Pro” position for the legislative record. The PDF link attached also provides step-by-step instructions on how to submit a pro or con testimony. Both the PDF and the website will be updated every Wednesday or Thursday with new statues for each bill. Feel free to join our Adult Family Home Council Advocacy Page to get more frequent updates.
Please note, you can only submit your testimony for bills with public hearings. You cannot submit a testimony for bills with executive sessions. However, you can click on the “Watch Hearing” link to watch the hearing session. The same can be done for public hearings.
If you want to testify in person or virtual for any particular bill, please reach out to me at amina@adultfamilyhomecouncil.org and I would be happy to provide you with as much assistance as possible to prepare you for when you testify.
Step-By Step Instructions on How to Submit a Pro or Con Testimony: https://adultfamilyhomecouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/How-To-Submit-Pro-Testimony.pdf
2023 Bills Of Interest For Adult Family Homes
BILL | TITLE | BRIEF DESCRIPTION | SPONSOR | POSITION | BILL STATUS |
ADULT FAMILY HOMES | |||||
SB 5147 | AFH Air Conditioning | Expanding the use of Air Conditioning in Adult Family Homes. | Senator Mullet | Support | Referred to Ways & Means |
HB 1265 | AFH Property Tax Exemption | Establishing a property tax exemption for Adult Family Homes that serve people with intellectual or developmental disabilities owned by a nonprofit. | Representative Ramos | Support | Executive Session:Passed out of Committee |
SB 5302 | AFH Property Tax Exemption | Establishing a property tax exemption for Adult Family Homes that serve people with intellectual or developmental disabilities owned by a nonprofit. | Senator Mullet | Support | Executive Session:February 7, 202310:30AMWATCH HEARING |
RESIDENTS | |||||
HB 1128 | Personal Needs Allowance | Raising the residential personal needs allowance from $75 to $100. | Representative Bateman | Support | Passed Chamber Of OriginReferred to Senate Human Services |
SB 5183 | Personal Needs Allowance | Raising the residential personal needs allowance from $75 to $100. | Senator Liias | Support | Referred to Ways & Means |
HB 1127 | Adult Abuse Registry | Developing a process in rule by which the department may remove individuals from the vulnerable adult abuse registry. | Representative Bateman | Support | Referred to Human Services, Youth, & Early Learning |
SB 5665 | Hospitals/Guardianship | Allowing courts to order appropriate discharge and transition to long-term care services or residence for an individual in a hospital during the pendency of a guardianship process | Senator Wagoner | Support | Referred to Law & Justice |
LONG-TERM CARE WORKERS | |||||
SB 5278 | HCA Certification | Implementing audit recommendations to reduce barriers to home care aide certifications. | Senator Wilson, L. | Support | Public Hearing:January 26, 202310:30AMWATCH HEARING |
HB 1568 | Long-Term Care Professionals | Concerning the credentialing of certified health care professionals providing long-term care services. | Representative Chambers | Support | Public Hearing:February 8, 20231:30PMNOTE POSITIONWATCH HEARING |
SB 1694 | Home Care Workforce Shortage | Addressing home care workforce shortages | Representative Alvarado | Support | Public Hearing:February 10, 20238:00AMNOTE POSITIONWATCH HEARING |
