1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to human services; establishing an additional 
  1.3             priority category for home and community-based waiver 
  1.4             services; continuing funding for certain persons using 
  1.5             the consumer-directed community supports service 
  1.6             option; amending Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 
  1.7             256B.0916, subdivisions 2, 6a. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 256B.0916, 
  1.10  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.11     Subd. 2.  [DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS; PARTNERSHIPS.] (a) 
  1.12  Beginning with fiscal year 2000, the commissioner shall 
  1.13  distribute all funding available for home and community-based 
  1.14  waiver services for persons with mental retardation or related 
  1.15  conditions to individual counties or to groups of counties that 
  1.16  form partnerships to jointly plan, administer, and authorize 
  1.17  funding for eligible individuals.  The commissioner shall 
  1.18  encourage counties to form partnerships that have a sufficient 
  1.19  number of recipients and funding to adequately manage the risk 
  1.20  and maximize use of available resources.  
  1.21     (b) Counties must submit a request for funds and a plan for 
  1.22  administering the program as required by the commissioner.  The 
  1.23  plan must identify the number of clients to be served, their 
  1.24  ages, and their priority listing based on: 
  1.25     (1) requirements in Minnesota Rules, part 9525.1880; 
  1.26     (2) unstable living situations due to the age or incapacity 
  2.1   of the primary caregiver; 
  2.2      (3) the need for services to avoid out-of-home placement of 
  2.3   children; ~~and~~ 
  2.4      (4) the need to serve persons affected by private sector 
  2.5   ICF/MR closures; and 
  2.6      (5) the need to serve persons whose consumer support grant 
  2.7   exception amount was eliminated in 2004. 
  2.8   The plan must also identify changes made to improve services to 
  2.9   eligible persons and to improve program management. 
  2.10     (c) In allocating resources to counties, priority must be 
  2.11  given to groups of counties that form partnerships to jointly 
  2.12  plan, administer, and authorize funding for eligible individuals 
  2.13  and to counties determined by the commissioner to have 
  2.14  sufficient waiver capacity to maximize resource use. 
  2.15     (d) Within 30 days after receiving the county request for 
  2.16  funds and plans, the commissioner shall provide a written 
  2.17  response to the plan that includes the level of resources 
  2.18  available to serve additional persons. 
  2.19     (e) Counties are eligible to receive medical assistance 
  2.20  administrative reimbursement for administrative costs under 
  2.21  criteria established by the commissioner.  
  2.22     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 256B.0916, 
  2.23  subdivision 6a, is amended to read: 
  2.24     Subd. 6a.  [STATEWIDE AVAILABILITY OF CONSUMER-DIRECTED 
  2.25  COMMUNITY SUPPORT SERVICES.] (a) The commissioner shall submit 
  2.26  to the federal Health Care Financing Administration by August 1, 
  2.27  2001, an amendment to the home and community-based waiver for 
  2.28  persons with mental retardation or related conditions to make 
  2.29  consumer-directed community support services available in every 
  2.30  county of the state by January 1, 2002. 
  2.31     (b) If a county declines to meet the requirements for 
  2.32  provision of consumer-directed community supports, the 
  2.33  commissioner shall contract with another county, a group of 
  2.34  counties, or a private agency to plan for and administer 
  2.35  consumer-directed community supports in that county. 
  2.36     (c) The state of Minnesota, county agencies, tribal 
  3.1   governments, or administrative entities under contract to 
  3.2   participate in the implementation and administration of the home 
  3.3   and community-based waiver for persons with mental retardation 
  3.4   or a related condition, shall not be liable for damages, 
  3.5   injuries, or liabilities sustained through the purchase of 
  3.6   support by the individual, the individual's family, legal 
  3.7   representative, or the authorized representative with funds 
  3.8   received through the consumer-directed community support service 
  3.9   under this section.  Liabilities include but are not limited 
  3.10  to:  workers' compensation liability, the Federal Insurance 
  3.11  Contributions Act (FICA), or the Federal Unemployment Tax Act 
  3.12  (FUTA). 
  3.13     (d) Persons receiving services under the home and 
  3.14  community-based waiver for persons with mental retardation or a 
  3.15  related condition using the consumer-directed community supports 
  3.16  service option as of March 1, 2004, shall not have their funding 
  3.17  for staff, day training and habilitation services, or other 
  3.18  medically necessary goods or services under that service option 
  3.19  reduced as a result of a new budget methodology implemented as 
  3.20  part of a statewide expansion of consumer-directed services for 
  3.21  waiver programs.  Services may be reduced when no longer needed 
  3.22  due to changing needs, such as improved functioning, improved 
  3.23  health, or technology enhancements if the change is documented 
  3.24  in the person's individual service plan under section 256B.092, 
  3.25  subdivision 1b.