IN THIS ISSUE:
- Appropriations conferees get to work; Advocates step up campaign for community services
- Action Alert: Texans with disabilities are tired of waiting!
- May 12th election is important to people with disabilities and seniors!
- DADS Issues Service Delivery System Design Final Report
- Get the latest legislative news! Join the DPC conference call!
Appropriations conferees get to work; Advocates step up campaign for community services
It was a family affair at the Texas Capitol over the weekend as kids with disabilities, their parents and other advocates packed a Sunday afternoon work session focused on funding for home and community-based services. Families hoped the children would serve as reminders of those who are behind the numbers associated with the waiting lists for Medicaid waiver services. Children make up the majority of the approximately 87,000 people waiting for waiver services.
Sunday’s session followed the first meeting of the full Appropriations Conference Committee last Thursday. Conferees did not take up health and human services budget issues then, but are expected to any day now. Committee members are charged with resolving the differences between the appropriations bills passed by the House and Senate.
From the disability community’s perspective, one of the most important issues on the table is the fate of the waiting lists for Medicaid waiver services. Currently, the House appropriations bill has NO funds to reduce the waiting lists. The Senate would only reduce the lists by 10 percent over the biennium. At that rate, it will take 20 years for the waiting lists to go away.
Senator Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, one of the conferees and long-time friend of the disability community, has vowed to work hard to convince colleagues to commit enough funds to reduce the waiting lists by a full 20 percent over the next biennium. This would put the state on course of eliminating the lists in 10 years.
There’s been great response to the action alert in our last issue; but if you haven’t had a chance to contact the conference committee members, there’s still time! See the blue box below for more information and a link to the Texas Action Center.
Conference Committee membership:
Senate Conferees: Steve Ogden, R-Bryan; Kip Averitt, R-Waco; Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock; John Whitmire, D-Houston; and Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo.
House Conferees: Warren Chisum, R-Pampa; Dan Gattis, R-Georgetown; Ryan Guillen, D-San Diego; Lois Kolkhorst. R-Brenham; and Sylvester Turner, D-Houston.
Texans with disabilities are tired of waiting!
URGENT NEED FOR CALLS TO CONFERENCE COMMITTEE MEMBERS!
The fate of thousands of Texans with disabilities who are on waiting lists to receive Medicaid waivers for home and community-based services is in the hands of the Appropriations Conference Committee. There is an URGENT NEED for advocates to IMMEDIATELY contact Conference Committee members. If you haven’t already done so, take action now by logging on to the Texas Action Center!
The Disability Policy Consortium has a position statement about ending the waiting lists and increasing community-based services as important keys to the community for Texans with disabilities.
Several helpful comparison charts are available online:
- The Center for Public Policy Priorities has developed a helpful chart detailing the differences between the House and Senate appropriations bills that the Conference Committee must resolve.
- The Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS) has just released a chart detailing the differences between HB1 and SB1.
- The Legislative Budge Board also has a chart: House Bill 1, General Appropriations Bill Summary of Differences Between House and Senate Versions
Don’t forget to vote! May 12th election is important to people with disabilities and seniors!
If you missed early voting, it’s really important to get to the polls on Election Day—Saturday, May 12. This election is particularly important for homeowners who are seniors or have disabilities. The state ballot includes a constitutional amendment that will fix a property tax problem stemming from legislation passed in 2005. It seems the 79th Texas Legislature forgot about the homestead exemption for people with disabilities and seniors in its property tax cut legislation; so when the one-third reduction went into effect for everybody else in 2006, those populations were excluded!
Advocates are beating the bushes to get folks to the polls May 12, asking them to vote FOR the amendment which will appear on the ballot like this:
"The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for a reduction of the limitation on the total amount of ad valorem taxes that may be imposed for public school purposes on the residence homesteads of the elderly or disabled to reflect any reduction in the rate of those taxes for the 2006 and 2007 tax years."
DADS Issues Service Delivery System Design Final Report
Nearly two years in the making, the final report outlining DADS’ new service delivery design is available to the public. Launched in 2005, the design project is an effort to align the services, supports, policies and procedures of three separate agencies that were merged to create DADS. That merger was part of a massive health and human services reorganization mandated by the 78th Texas Legislature.
report outlines “consensus recommendations” in three key areas: access and intake, provider services and regulatory services. The recommendations were developed by the Public Consulting Group working with several stakeholders, including many DPC members.
67-page report is available online
Get the Latest Legislative News! Join the DPC Conference Call!
Make plans now to participate in the upcoming DPC Educational Conference Call scheduled for Friday, May 18, beginning at 12:00 p.m. (noon), Austin time.
You can participate in one of two ways:
- In person at the Advocacy, Inc.’s state headquarters (7800 Shoal Creek Blvd., Suite 171-E, in Austin).
- Toll-free conference call. (Call-in number will be relayed when you RSVP.)
During the hour-long conference call, the DPC standing committees (Long-term Services and Supports, Housing, Education, Employment and Health Care) will talk about current policy issues of concern to Texans with disabilities and their families. We’ll also cover the latest news coming out of the 80th Texas Legislature and what advocates are doing in the final days of the session.
Please RSVP for the call by contacting Toni Byrd, DPC Project Coordinator at (512) 371-1783 or toni@dpctexas.org. She’ll send the agenda and call-in information prior to the event.
About the Disability Policy Consortium
The DPC is made up of a diverse assortment of disability advocacy groups that have joined forces to advance the rights, inclusion and independence of Texans with disabilities. Each member organization contributes its unique perspective and resources to the collective effort to promote effective public policy for a variety of issues important to people with disabilities and their families.
Let your friends know about the Texas Action Center:
Tell-a-friend!
[Send email to the Disability Policy Consortium]
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