Thanks to The Arc Maryland for this comprehensive report on all legislation, funding, and policy matters relating to developmental disabilities. An additional report from the Maryland Association of Community Services is available here and from the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council click here.


Legislative Review of the 436 Session
Sine Die Edition

The Maryland General Assembly completed its work for the 2016 Legislative Session and adjourned Sine Die at midnight on April 11, 216.  Nearly 3, 288 bills were introduced this session - 1173 originated in the Senate and 1,644 originated in the House. The Arc Maryland, in partnership with the DD Coalition and the Governmental Affairs representatives from each local chapter, tracked, or testified on over 50 bills that would have had varying impacts on individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families.

The session was exciting, challenging, and productive. Key issues included the state budget, ABLE Act, Waiting List, Equal Employment Act to phase out the use of subminimum wage certificates, education rights, and disability rights. Beginning with the start of the session on January 13, key bills have passed and on their way to the Governor for signature: ABLE Act, Equality Employment Act, IEP Translation Bill and nondiscrimination in guardianship and parenting solely based on the disability of the parent or guardian.
 
The Governor's FY2017 budget is very positive for the Developmental Disabilities Administration with a $71M (6%) increase. The additional funding includes $35.7M to fully fund the direct support staff wage initiative, funding to support people in emergency and crisis situations, and transitioning youth services. It also includes funding to continue supporting people who started receiving services in FY2016.
 
A major disappointment was Senate Bill 413/HB1499 -Developmental Disabilities - Crisis Resolution Funding for 110 of the highest priority need and urgency on the DDA Waiting List. People with developmental disabilities and their families are in crisis and desperately need the services that would have been provided with passage of this legislation. This legislation would have provided $3.5 million in the budget for ongoing services to individuals in the "crisis resolution category" of the waiting list for developmental disabilities services. SB 413 passed the Senate. Despite a flood of calls during the final weekend and day of the session to House Speaker Michael Busch and HGO Chair Peter Hammen, the bill died in the House Health & Government Operations Committee without going to vote.
 
We wish to thank the hundreds of families, advocates, and members who brought the collective voice and face of our constituency to the forefront during budget hearings, bill hearings, calendar day, and Developmental Disabilities Day "Equal Rights & Opportunities." Our grassroots is incomparable.
 
Legislative Wrap-Up
 
In September 2015, The Arc Maryland Governmental Affairs Committee presented its 2016 Legislative Goals and Platform and was adopted by the Board of Directors. Following is a summary of the results in each of the key topics.

FAMILY SUPPORTS & COMMUNITY LIVING
 
HB420/SB417 - Individuals with Disabilities - Minimum Wage and Community Integration (Ken Capone Equal Employment Act) 
The Arc's Position: Support
Status: Passed
 
This bill prohibits 14 (c) certificates for subminimum wage from being authorized in Maryland; work activity centers and sheltered workshops from paying less than minimum wage to employees with disabilities by October 1, 2020.The median earnings in Maryland in 2014 of a worker with a disability was $27,072, while the median earnings of a worker without a disability was $40,583.  Under current law, 40 non-profits organizations in Maryland currently hold 14 (c) certificates and are eligible to pay 3,469 workers subminimum wages. The legislation requires the Department of Disabilities and the Developmental Disabilities Administration in partnership with stakeholders to develop and implement a plan to phase out the use of a subminimum wage to an employee with a disability by October 1, 2020. The plan must include benchmarks, tracking outcomes and recommendations for needed funding and resources with recommendations provided annually to the Governor and legislature. The bill is on its way to the Governor for signature.

HB431 /SB355 - 
Maryland Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Program - Establishment
The Arc's Position: Support
Status: Passed

House Bill 431 and Senate Bill 355 establishes the Maryland ABLE Program to help people with disabilities save for disability-related expenses. This bill requires the College Savings Plans of Maryland (CSPM) Board, in consultation with the Maryland Department of Disabilities (MDOD), to establish, administer, manage, and promote the Maryland ABLE Program.

The money in the account can be used to cover medical/dental care, education, housing, transportation, obtaining employment, assistive technology, community based supports and will not affect eligibility for federal means-tested programs such as Medicaid and SSI. Anyone can contribute to the ABLE account, but the total contributions can only be is $14,000/year. Money saved in a Maryland ABLE account that meets Federal and State requirements is tax exempt. Governor Hogan has committed $745,000 for start-up costs. The ABLE Program should be operational no later than October 2017.The Governor signs the bill in law on April 12.
 
LAW ENFORCEMENT & CRIMINAL JUSTICE

HB0022
/SB0147 - Ethan Saylor Alliance for Self-Advocates as Educators - Membership and Duties - Community Inclusion Training Oversight
The Arc's Position: Support
Status: Passed

House Bill 22 and Senate Bill 147, similar to SB848 introduced last session, requires the Steering Committee of the Ethan Saylor Alliance for Self-Advocates as Educators to review, or to request the alliance to review, the content and monitor the implementation of the training objectives and curriculum adopted by the Police Training Commission for a community inclusion program. The review must be conducted at least every four years but may be conducted more frequently at the request of the Police Training Commission. he Arc takes a firm position that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities should be included in the implementation and oversite of training offered to law enforcement.  We believe that this law will continue to empower self-advocates to have an active role both on the implementation and oversite of the trainings offered.  The Governor signs the bill into law on April 12.
 
EDUCATION & CHILDREN SERVICES

HB0085 - Education - Children With Disabilities - Support Services - Parental Notification
The Arc's Position: Support 
Status: Passed

This legislation requires that the parents of a child with a disability at the initial evaluation meeting be provided with written information that the parents may use to contact local school system early intervention and special education family support services staff members, and a brief description of the services that they provide.
 
SB0077 - Human Resources - Transition Planning for Foster Youth
The Arc's Position: Support
Status: Passed

Senate Bill 77 would lower the age from 16 years to 14 at which a juvenile court must hold a permanency planning hearing. The hearing determines the services needed to assist a child in transitioning from foster care to successful adulthood. The bill also requires a juvenile court at each guardianship review hearing for a child at least age 14 to determine the services needed to assist the child to make the transition from placement to successful adulthood. This bill replaces former references to "independent living" with "successful adulthood."

HB 551Education - Children with Disabilities - Individualized Education Program Mediation: 
The Arc's Position: Support
Status: Passed

House Bill 551 requires IEP teams to provide parents of a child with a disability with an oral and written explanation of the parent's right to request mediation, contact information, including a telephone number, and information regarding pro bono representation; and requires the State Department of Education to make a staff member available to assist parents in understanding specified mediation processes.
 
SB0421/HB0086 - Special Education - Translations of Individualized Education Programs or Individualized Family Service Plans - Native Language
The Arc's Position: Support
Status: Passed

This bill authorizes the parents of a child with a completed individualized education program (IEP) or individualized family service plan (IFSP) to request that the IEP or IFSP be translated into the parents' native language, if that language is spoken by more than 1% of students in the local school system
 
By December 1, 2016, the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) must report on whether there are economies of scale that can be used to lessen the financial impact of this bill and how the needs of students whose parents speak a native language spoken by less than 1% of the local school system student population can be addressed.
 
SB0950 - Education - Students With Disabilities - Study of Parental Consent in the Individualized Education Program Process
The Arc's Position: Support
Status: Passed Both House and Senate with differing amendments. Died in Conference Committee on sine die

This Legislation establishes a workgroup that must review and make recommendations regarding parental consent (and its definition) and parental participation provisions of special education statutes and regulations in place in other states, including data and information regarding the effectiveness of these provisions.  The workgroup must discuss the legal and policy ramifications for obtaining written parental consent before an individualized education program (IEP) team may (1) enroll the student in an alternative education program that does not issue or provide credits toward a high school diploma; (2) identify the student for the alternate assessment aligned with the State's alternate curriculum; (3) use restraint or seclusion to correct the student's behavior; (4) reduce or terminate the amount of instructional or related services provided to the student; or (5) initiate a change in the student's educational placement.

HB1191 - Task Force to Study an Online Program for Paraprofessionals Assisting Students With Autism
The Arc's Position: Support
Status: Held in Committee

This bill would have established a Task Force to Study an Online Program for Paraprofessionals Assisting Students with Autism.  The bill was introduced due to an investigation of abuse and educational neglect in a classroom for students with autism in Harford County.
 
SB0465 - Community Colleges Tuition Waiver for Disabled Individuals Requirements
The Arc's Position: Support
Status: Passed 

SB465 repeals the requirement that any student financial aid, other than a student loan, received by a specified disabled student must be applied first to pay the student's tuition prior to receiving an exemption from the payment of tuition at community colleges. Under current law any student financial aid, other than a student loan, received by the student must be applied first to pay the student's tuition.  The waiver must apply to the difference, if any, between the charge for tuition and the financial aid award, not including a student loan, which the student receives.

HB0781 - Education - Assessments - Reporting of Aggregate Results
The Arc's Position: Oppose
Status: Died in Committee
 
This bill would have prohibited the Maryland State Department of Education from including the scores of students with disabilities or English language learners when calculating or reporting any aggregate results of the assessment aligned with the Maryland College and Career Ready Standards (i.e. the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) assessments).  The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires states to ensure that all children with disabilities are included in all general State and district-wide assessment programs, including, with appropriate accommodations and alternate assessments, if necessary, as indicated in their respective Individualized Education Programs.
 
SB0765 - CINA, Guardianship, Adoption, Custody, and Visitation - Disability of Parent, Guardian, Custodian, or Party
The Arc's Position: Support w/ Amendments
Status: Passed

This Legislation requires that in custody and visitation proceedings, the party alleging that the disability of the other party affects the best interest of the child bears the burden of proof.  If the burden of proof is met, the party who has a disability must have an opportunity to prove that "supportive parenting services" would prevent a finding that the disability affects the best interest of the child. The bill also alters the definition of "disability" in provisions of law regarding, guardianship, adoption, custody, and visitation proceedings to match Federal law.
 
HB1206 -  Education - PARCC Testing - Exemption for Children With Disabilities (Ben's Rule)
The Arc's Position: Oppose
Status: Died in Committee

HB 1204 would have exempted a child with a disability from taking a Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) assessment or its equivalent in a public school. Students with disabilities must take State and district-wide assessments, but can do so with accommodations and in some cases, alternative assessments. Federal and state law provides for the method of determining those accommodations and alternative assessments which must be in a student's IEP. The Committee was informed that this bill puts Maryland at risk for losing up to $203.4 million in federal IDEA Part B revenues and $204 million in federal ESEA Title I revenues authorized for FY 2017. 
 
 
HB1058 - Task Force to Review the Workload of Special Educators in the State 
The Arc's Position: Support w/amendments
Status: Died in Committee

This bill would have established a Task Force to Review the Workload of Special Educators. MSDE must provide staff for the task force.  By December 31, 2016, the task force must report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly.
 
SB1142 - State Department of Education - McArdle Early Intervention Scholarship Program
The Arc's Position: Oppose
Status: Withdrawn

Senate Bill 1142  establishes the McArdle Early Intervention Scholarship Program to provide early intervention services for young students with disabilities by authorizing the parent or guardian to (1) send the student with disabilities to a public school other than the public school to which the student is assigned (including a school in another local school system) or (2) use a scholarship awarded under the program to allow a student with disabilities to attend a private school for students with disabilities or with a specialized program for students with disabilities.  By providing scholarships for private special education placements, the state would be promoting more restrictive placements, a direct violation of the least restrictive environment provisions of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

HEALTH CARE & PREVENTION
 
SB0691/HB0644 - Public Health - Provision of Life-Preserving Health Care Services (Vulnerable Protection Act)
The Arc's Position: Monitor
Status: Died in Committee

This legislation would have prohibited a doctor to deny a life-preserving health care service to a patient on the basis of a view held by the practitioner or facility that extending the life of an elderly, disabled, terminally ill, economically disadvantaged, or mentally ill individual is of lower value than extending the life of an individual who is younger, not disabled, not terminally ill, not economically disadvantaged, or not mentally ill.  State law contains multiple provisions that prohibit a health care provider from refusing to provide treatment to a patient, regardless of the patient's status as elderly, disabled, terminally ill, economically disadvantaged, or mentally ill.

HB0715 - Early Identification of Autism Act
The Arc's Position: Support
Status: Died in Committee

House Bill 715 would have required health care practitioners, when providing a well-child examination at 18 and 24 months of age, to administer a standardized screening tool for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In addition to requiring insurance to provide coverage for the screening tool.

SB0297 - Health Insurance - Habilitative Services - Period of Time for Coverage
The Arc's Position: Support
Status: Passed 

Senate Bill 297 would update the definition of "habilitative services" to include services and devices, including occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech therapy, that help a child keep, learn, or improve skills and functioning for daily living. SB297 also clarifies a carrier must provide coverage of habilitative services for insureds and enrollees who are children until at least the end of the month in which the insured or enrollee turns age 19. The bill repeals the provision that a determination by a carrier denying a request for or payment for habilitative services on the grounds that a condition or disease is not a congenital or genetic birth defect is considered an adverse decision.

HB0404/Richard E. Israel and Roger "Pip" Moyer End-of-Life Option Act
The Arc's Position: Oppose
Status: Withdrawn

House Bill 404 and Senate Bill 418 would have created a process by which an individual may request and receive "aid in dying" from the individual's attending physician. The bill exempts, from civil or criminal liability, State-licensed physicians who, in compliance with specified safeguards, dispense or prescribe a lethal dose of medication following a request made by a "qualified individual." For the Developmental Disability community this legislation offered no safeguards and the collateral damage to people with I/DD would have been too devastating.


The Arc Maryland Public Policy Team
  Cristy Marchand, Executive Director; Poetri Deal, Director of Public Policy & Advocacy Community Services; Aaron Stephens, The Arc Maryland Public Policy Fellow and Deputy Director of The Arc of Frederick County

For a list of all bills followed by The Arc Maryland, click here 
or go to our website at www.thearcmd.org


 


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