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The Legislative Budget Conference Committee discussions will begin next week to negotiate the differences between the Assembly and Senate actions and ultimately send a budget to the Governor before the June 15th deadline.
The Assembly Budget Subcommittee #1 took action last Tuesday on DDS items, including proposed rate increases. The committee proposed to reject the Governor’s May Revise of targeting specific services for an average 18% increase, and instead use the same total amount of increase proposed in the Governor’s May Revise of approximately $170 Million ($104 Million General Fund – meaning the amount the state must pay which combines with Federal dollars to make the total amount) and make it an across-the-board increase of about 5.7% starting January 1, 2020. This is in contrast to the Senate’s action which approved a motion to include a minimum of an 8% increase to all rates that otherwise would have less than an 8% increase as proposed in the Governor’s May Revise. Click here to see a table summarizing the differences between the Assembly and Senate budget actions.
Other items voted on and passed include:
– Restoration of social recreation and camp services
– Elimination of uniform holiday schedule
– Elimination of half-day billing
– $5M for safety net services for clients with mental health needs
These items were also approved by the Senate and will therefore (in theory) not be included in Conference Committee discussions. HOWEVER, last year some of these same items were approved by both houses but then were not included in the final budget sent to the Governor, presumably because they came back into negotiations when legislative leadership and then Governor Brown finalized the amount they would spend on DD items.
NOT included in the Assembly committee was the fix to the minimum wage “quirk”, which was passed in the Senate and would allow state minimum wage increases to also benefit providers in regions that are already higher than state minimum wage. This will then go to Conference Committee.
The Assembly and Senate both included trailer bill language regarding implementation of the rate study; however, the Assembly’s language was more comprehensive and would require the department by January 10, 2020 to submit a plan for systemwide rate reform, and declared that it is the intent of the Legislature that a phased-in implementation of the rate study begin no later than July 1, 2020 (read the full language on page 15 here).
All of our attention now goes to Conference Committee and the Governor. Undoubtedly, both the amount of an immediate rate increase and the trailer bill language requirements about implementation of the rate study in following year/s will be discussion items in Conference Committee. Advocates throughout the state are highly encourage to take action by contacting your local legislators and discussing the importance of increased funding for developmental services. Members of the Budget Conference Committee are:
Senator Holly J. Mitchell (D-Los Angeles), Chair
Senator John M. W. Moorlach (R-Costa Mesa)
Senator Jim Nielsen (R-Tehama)
Senator Richard D. Roth (D-Riverside)
Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley)
Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), Vice Chair
Assemblymember Chad Mayes (R-Yucca Valley)
Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento)
Assemblymember Jay Obernolte (R-Hesperia)
Assemblymember Shirley Weber (D-San Diego)
Jordan Lindsey, Executive Director, The Arc of California