PCPA is pleased to coordinate district lobby month during January. The recommended prime days for scheduling district legislative visits are during the weeks of January 9 – 20, 2006. Please register your appointment with the PCPA office as soon as possible by contacting Melissa DiSanto Simmons, director of legislative affairs (melissa@paproviders.org or 717-657-7078). This enables the association to track all of the efforts being undertaken by members. PCPA is aware that some members make arrangements to visit legislators during the months of February and March as it better suits schedules. The association would like to know abut those plans as well.
PCPA
Releases Two Legislative Analyses
PCPA’s Legislative Affairs Committee (LAC) has prepared analyses of
legislation addressing systemic under-funding of the mental health/mental
retardation/drug and alcohol (MH/MR/D&A) system. House Bill 1813 provides
for an allocation of funds utilizing a national inflationary index annually
for MH/MR programs. Its companion bill is Senate Bill 1006. Senate Bill 727,
whose companion bill is House Bill 1649, establishes the Drug and Alcohol
Treatment and Prevention (DATP) Fund and provides for the deposit of a portion
of the liquor tax into the fund as well as use of the fund. An analysis for
House Bill 1813 (inflationary index) and Senate Bill 727 (dedicated alcohol
tax) are attached.
Talking
Points for House Bill 1813 and Senate Bill 727
Talking points for speaking with legislators and staff at the local level
help ensure that all participants are covering the same topics in similar
fashion. This allows the full legislature to hear similar issues from constituents
in their local districts. The focus of PCPA’s district lobby day is
on the individual provider and how individual organization issues correlate
to those faced in the state budget. Suggested talking points relative to House
Bill 1813 and Senate Bill 727 are below.
- Fiscal year 2004/05 was the third year in a row that the administration did not include a cost-of-living adjustment ( COLA) in its proposed state budget.
- The legislature included a 2% COLA in the FY 2004/05 budget which did not reach many providers (discuss your own organization’s situation).
- The administration proposed a 2% COLA in the FY 2005/06 budget and it was included in the final budget. However, upon further inspection, it is not on all service line-items resulting in a net increase of much less than 2%.
- House Bill 1813 (and Senate Bill 1006) would allow for an annual automatic inflationary adjustment for MH/MR programs. The inflationary adjustment would be based upon a mechanism known as the Home Health Market Basket Index (HHMBI).
- Senate Bill 727 (and House Bill 1649) would establish a secure funding source for D&A services, assure that the commonwealth does not lose a significant revenue source, and have the alcohol industry and state demonstrate a commitment to assist citizens who have problems with the product they produce and promote. Within the legislation is a mechanism to provide for significant annualized increases to D&A funding based on the sale of alcohol. Should a separate inflationary index bill become necessary for D&A programs, PCPA will revisit the issue with the legislature, committee staff, and stakeholders.
Coming
Tomorrow…
Talking points to help members highlight business areas within individual
organizations.
