The Joint Appropriations Committee met this morning to begin discussions on final amendments to the General Appropriations bill, HB1300.  The committee deliberated for a short period of time and then recessed so that the House and the Senate could address a few of the remaining items on their respecitve calendars.  The last two major items that AARP is watching is the restoration of the $650,000 for the Elderly and Disabled Tax Credit program, which was reduced to $1 in the Senate, and an amendment to provide some level of increase to Medicaid providers in the state.   We've seen amendments to increase the provider payments anywhere from .5% to 3% although it's unlikely that 3% is in the cards since the price tage is over $26M in state and federal dollars.  The Joint Appropriations committee is scheduled to continue their work early this afternoon and we'll know more then about our final legislative priorities. 

Until then...

The Joint Appropriations committee has been meeting off and on throughout the day and as of this minute, they are in the middle of a nearly three hour stint without so much as a break for a glass of water.  We've been following several amendments that have been proposed by the Bureau of Finance and Management to the final General Appropriations bill.  There were 62 amendments on the list today and all of those amendments are restorations of previous proposed budget cuts, amendments to cover new stimulus spending or amendments for pending legislation.  In total, there are over $356M in appropriations amendments.  Some of the restorations and stimulus amendments that AARP is following and supports are:

--Restoration of Medicaid Cuts to adult dental services, chiropractic services and case management services ($5.88M)

--Federal stimulus grant dollars for elderly nutrition ($500,000)

--Federal stimulus grant dollars for the implementation of Health Information Technologies in our state's health care delivery system ($5M)

--Federal  stimulus grant dollars for capital purchase and improvement for public transit systems both urban and rural ($3M)

--Federal stimulus grant dollars for weatherization of distressed low-income homes ($22M)

Tomorrow, the Joint Appropriations committee will consider not restoration/stimulus legislation and AARP is hopeful that the committee will take up an amendment to increase Medicaid provider payments.  We are aware that there are several amendments that have been drafted to achieve this at different funding levels.  There was some hope that the Legislature would finish their appropriations work by tomorrow evening but that is seeming less and less possible at this time.  Looks like we'll be here through the end of the week...

Until tomorrow...

The Capitol is abuzz as the end of the regular session is close at hand.  Several of AARP's priority items around the appropriations process are getting the support of the Legislature, including the adult dental services in Medicaid and the Elderly and Disabled Tax Refund program.  However, the biggest hurdle yet remains...increased funding for Medicaid provider payments.  On Wednesday morning, the Joint Appropriations committee will be considering amendments to the General Appropriations bill.  Our intent is to have an amendment attached to the final General bill to increase Medicaid provider payments but negotiations are in the early stages and no agreement has been reached.  We imagine that the horse trading will go on until the last hours of the session and we'll try to provide more updates as more is known.  We will also provide a rundown of legislative successes on our state webpage following the close of the 2009 Legislative Session so stay tuned for a comprehensive look back at session. 

Until tomorrow...

Light days on Wednesday and Thursday gave way to big news on Friday with the revised budget projections for FY2009 and FY2010.  Unfortunately, the news wasn't good.  The revenue changes from March 2009 to March 2010 are projected to be $38M in the red and the difference between the enacted FY2009 budget last legislative session and the actual revenues as of March 6th are also roughly $38M in the red.  And while these are large numbers on a year to year basis, the biggest loss was reserved for the first two months of this year when projections for FY2010 dropped $18M between the Governor's revised budget in January and the updated revenue projections on Friday.

After a storm-shortened week last week, the Legislature is back in full swing with a considerable amount of action revolving around some hot button issues and the appropriations process.

Crossover Day has come and passed so we're definitely on the home stretch.  Since most of AARP's priority bills had passed previously, there was little drama for us over the last several days.  

Our focus remains on finding a way to fund our state's Medicaid program in these very difficult fiscal times. There still is no absolute agreement as to which priorities are going to get funded in the final General Appropriations bill but several items zeroed out in the Governor's revised budget have already made great strides getting restored.  The Birth to 3 program has already all but secured their funding for FY2010 through a massive grassroots effort.  The SD Arts Council still is slated to get zero dollars in FY2010 after a vote to restore the money was taken on the House floor and fell 3 votes short.  Sponsors have already stated that this legislation will be reconsidered and there is probably a good chance it gets the three votes needed to be restored.  Medicaid funding, however, remains a mystery and there have been no commitments in either direction as to whether it will be restored or remain cut in the final bill.  The House Working Group on the Stimulus did not meet another time this week as scheduled due to the cancellation of work due to the impending storm on Thursday across the state; thus, no further direction has been provided to the Legislature on the contents of the stimulus bill as it pertains to Medicaid.  We continue to inform the media about the importance of Medicaid funding for our state's health and long term care delivery systems and are asking all of our volunteers and members to contact their local legislators to have them commit to, at the very least, restoring the adult dental care and case management programs as well as providing an inflationary payment increase for providers of Medicaid services.  

To contact legislators while they are in Pierre, you can use AARP South Dakota's Advocacy Hotline at 1-800-456-6521 to connect through to the Capitol to leave a message for your local legislators.  You can also go to www.legis.state.sd.us  and click on "Contact Information" on the lower left side to send an email to your local legislator if you prefer.  Since the Legislature has cancelled work for Thursday and Friday was a scheduled day off, we'll be back next week as we countdown the last 10 days of session when things get really interesting around the halls of the Capitol.

Until next week...

The end to week six and start of week seven brings us to Crossover Day at the Legislature and the beginning of a big appropriations push over the next two and a half weeks. 

As part of the appropriations process, AARP testified in favor of HB 1237, which provides funding for the Sales and Property Tax Refund program for the Elderly and Disabled.  AARP testified to a need to revisit the income guidelines for the program which are adjusted in fits and starts over the years rather than taking a more consistent approach.  While no amendment was offered to take AARP's suggestion to baseline the income guidelines to the poverty line and automatically adjust them to the Social Security COLA, we are hopefully that the groundwork is being laid to address this issue in the future.  The bill did pass on the House floor 70-0 and is now headed over to the Senate.

AARP also attended the first meeting of the House Working Group on the Stimulus Monday night along with representatives from several groups including health care providers, educators, transportation officials, and other interested parties.  This first meeting was largely organizational in nature but AARP is hopeful that the Working Group will address the shortfalls in Medicaid funding for FY2010 that have been proposed as part of their discussions.  Their next meeting is Wednesday and we look forward to seeing the testimony that is to be provided by state department heads as to the impact of the stimulus bill on their individual budgets.  The Working Group wants to finish their discussions by Friday so they must be expecting this to be a very fast and efficient process.

On Tuesday, AARP will be meeting with the Pierre Area Retired Teachers Unit to discuss AARP legislative priorities this sesssion and answer any questions that members may have about the remaining schedule of the Legislature.

Until tomorrow...

As we sprint past the halfway mark of the session, we have come to Crossover Day, which signifies the day that bills must be dispensed with in their house of origin.  That means they either have to pass and get sent over to the other chamber or they meet their untimely, or timely depending on your perspective, demise.  As most of our legislative priorities have already made the Crossover, their was one particular bill on the calendar over the last two days that warranted our close attention.

HB 1237, the Sales and Property Tax Refund for the Elderly and Disabled, was heard on the floor of the House Monday evening.  AARP offered testimony in the Appropriations committee that this program fails to keep up with the most basic cost of living increases in Social Security so many of the participants in the program may become ineligible just simply for the fact that they received a few percent more in their check on a monthly basis.  AARP offered the recommendation that the program income requirements be baselined at 100% of the federal poverty line ($10,830 per year) and then indexed to the Social Security cost of living adjustment.  This would allow us to offer a permanent fix to an issue that the legislature has adjusted in fits and starts over the last two decades.  No amendment to this effect was offered on the floor but the bill passed 70-0.  It will now proceed to the Senate for consideration where AARP will again offer our suggestion to fix this program to serve our state's must financially and physcially disadvantaged residents.

AARP also attended the first meeting of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Stimulus that was created in the House to study the effect of the stimulus on several state budget areas.  There were several other organizations represenating the health care industry, education, transportation, and others at the meeting and while no considerable ground was made, they did set their second meeting for Wednesday, February 24th, when they will ask several Department heads to testify as to the impact of the stimulus on their budgets.  AARP is hopeful to use this working group process to highlight the issue of Medicaid benefit cuts and reductions that impact our health and long term care delivery systems.

On Tuesday, AARP will be meeting with the Pierre Area Retired Teachers Unit to provide a legislative update on this session's activities.  There are only 12 legislative days left and with lots of work left on the budget, the Legislature is set for many long hours ahead.

Until tomorrow... 

This morning in the House Health and Human Services Committee, AARP supported SB 109 and SB 20 to add uninsurable children to the state's high risk pool and to increase the lifetime maximum benefit to $2 million from $1 million currently.  The high risk pool is a last stop for individuals who have been deemed uninsurable by at least two insurance companies and while the premiums are extremely high to buy into the pool, there is at the very least coverage available for these high risk individuals.  This is a critical piece of our health care safety net and we supported similar proposals during the meetings of the Zaniya Task Force in 2007.  Both bill passed through the committee unanimously.

AARP also testified in favor of HB1237, which is a special appropriation for the Elderly and Disabled Tax Credit program.  This program provides tax relief to our state's most economically disadvantaged elderly and disabled individuals.  We applauded the Governor for preserving this program when so many other programs were cut after the revenue projections came in lower than expected at the beginning of this year.  This bill passed through House Appropriations unanimously with the South Dakota Health Care Association joining AARP in supporting this legislation.

Tomorrow is the end of week six and also a critical calendar day for the legislature as it is the last day that a bill can be smoked out on the floor.  As a reminder, smoking out is when a bill fails in committee but the sponsor believes he or she has the support of 1/3 of the chamber to take up the bill on the floor.  If there is support, the bill will be debated on the floor and every member would have a chance to register their vote on the issue.  Next Tuesday is the absolute last day for bills to pass through their house of origin and after that, the Appropriations process will really heat up.  As a reminder, you can utilize the AARP South Dakota Advocacy hotline to call your local legislator in Pierre and leave a message for them on any AARP issue that you may have an interest in.  That number is 1-800-456-6521.  Also, you can email them at legis.state.sd.us by clicking on the "contact information" link on the bottom left hand side of the page.

Until tomorrow...