February 20, 2009

Friday the 13th has long been associated with bad luck and dangerous omens.  That was certainly true this year in Santa Fe as new revenue projections made on that date showed that state income in the coming fiscal year (FY2010) will fall short of current state expenses by $575 million.  That's about 10% of the state’s budget.  The resulting cuts to state agency budgets that are likely to be made in HB 2 (the state budget bill) will be even deeper than previously estimated.  Services to people with disabilities are bound to be affected.

Fortunately, help is on the way from the federal “stimulus” legislation.  Medicaid, for example, may benefit in the coming year by $200 million or more, and the state is expected to receive over $1 billion in federal help during the few years covered by the package.  It’s not yet clear how much the state will receive for what (or when).  It seems likely that the legislature will adopt a very reduced budget for now and then return for a special session in a few months to revise the budget upwards based on the new federal funding.

The following bills have already passed in one chamber and have been sent on to the other for consideration:

HB 130 - Medicaid data reporting and accountability (Stewart)

HB 161 - Guardianship accountability and other reforms (O’Neill)

HB 212 - Repeal of “Guilty but Mentally Ill” (Chasey)

HJM 5 - Calling for a prompt ending to the Jackson lawsuit

SB 39 - Autism coverage in private insurance policies

Other important bills include:

H 270 Waiver provider rate increases.  Rep. Bobby Gonzales.  This bill would require the Department of Health to provide annual cost-of-living rate increases in the rates paid to developmental disabilities providers.   Passed HLC, pending in HCPAC.

H 372  DOH Budget requests to include COLAs.  Rep. Bobby Gonzales.  This bill would require DOH to ask for cost of living adjustments (COLAs) in its annual budget request to the legislature and the governor for payments to DD provider agencies for DD waiver, Family Infant Toddler, and State General Fund services.  Same as S 448.  HHGAC/HAFC.     

HJM 5  Bring an end to the Jackson case.  Rep. Miguel Garcia.  This memorial calls on P&A and the Department of Health to work together to bring the Jackson litigation to an end.  It claims that the case has caused DOH to issue rules that are burdensome to providers and assumes that if DOH didn’t have to spend $4 million per year on experts, monitoring, attorney fees and administrative costs it could use this money to give rate increases to provider agencies and serve more people in the DD waiver.  Passed the House; Senate committees pending.

HM 5  Vulnerable victims.  Rep. Gail Chasey.  This memorial asks the interim Courts, Corrections and Justice committee to hold hearings on the question of whether to establish a category in state law of “vulnerable victims”, and whether this category might include persons with developmental disabilities.  Perpetrators of crime against vulnerable victims might have their sentences lengthened.  HCPAC.

S 227   FIT funding formula. Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino.  This bill would create a formula for DOH to follow in order to determine how much funding to request for the FIT program each year.  The approach is based on the public school funding formula; however, this bill would affect only DOH’s budget request, not the distribution of whatever funds are actually provided for the FIT program each year.  SFC.

S 448   Requesting COLA increases.  Sen. Howie Morales.  Requires DOH to ask for cost of living adjustments (COLAs) in its annual budget request for payments to DD provider agencies for DD waiver, Family Infant Toddler, and State General Fund services.  Same as H 372.  SPAC/SFC.

H 21    Domestic partnerships. Rep. Mimi Stewart.  This bill would recognize and regulate domestic partnerships that allow unmarried adults to enjoy many of the legal benefits provided to married couples.  This bill has potential benefit for people with disabilities, such as the right to visit a partner in the hospital or make health-care decisions for an incapacitated partner.  Some adults with disabilities choose not to marry because doing so would cause a reduction in their SSI benefits; this bill would allow them to enter into a domestic partnership without jeopardizing those federal benefits.  Same as S 12.  HCPAC/HJC.

H 168  Restroom access.  Rep. Tom Anderson.  This bill would require a business to provide prompt access for a customer to an employee restroom in situations in which the customer has a medical condition, including an ostomy, when no customer restroom is immediately available and certain other conditions are met.  HBIC/HJC.

H 641 Requiring hybrid vehicles to produce sounds.  Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones.  This bill notes the difficulty that blind and visually impaired persons have in detecting the approach of hybrid vehicles, which sometime make little if any sound during operation. It would require that such vehicles make a minimum amount of sound when driven so that such persons could hear them coming on to streets or approaching intersections. HCPAC/HBIC.

S 12     Domestic partnerships.  Sen. Cisco McSorley.  Same as H 21.  This bill is stalled in SJC, where a vote to approve it failed on a 5-5 vote. 

S 232   GCD Adaptive Driving.  Sen. Tim Keller.  This bill would allow individuals who are enrolled in the adaptive driving program offered by the Governor’s Commission on Disability to drive accessible state vehicles as part of the training program.  Generally, only state employees can drive state cars.  Liability would be covered by considering such participants as state employees for this limited purpose.  Same as H 499.  Passed SPAC, pending in SCORC.

S 519   Municipal nuisance ordinances.  Sen. Michael Sanchez.  This bill would, among other things, clarify that the limits on fines and penalties for “red light camera” violations do not apply to citations for illegally parking in or blocking designated accessible parking spaces.  Such fines, when imposed as civil nuisance violations, would have to be between $250 and $500.  This bill addresses the same area of law as SB 101 (see listing under “Brain Injury Issues” above) but does not include earmarking of these fines to the Brain Injury Fund.  SJC/SFC.

SM 21 Safe driver task force.  Sen. Peter Wirth.  Calls on the Attorney General’s Office to convene a task force to look at the issue of drivers whose skills may deteriorate due to advanced age or disability, keeping in mind the barriers to independence and social mobility that can be created by loss of driving privileges.  The task force would include, among others, advocacy groups representing the interests of elders and persons with disabilities.  SRC/SCORC .

H 189  Alternative deaf teacher assessment.  Rep. Bobby Gonzales.  This bill allows teachers who are deaf or hard of hearing to be assessed for licensure through a “portfolio review” rather than a traditional assessment procedure.  Passed HCPAC; pending in HEC

H 584  Exemption from jury service.  Rep. Debbie Rodella.  This bill would clarify that a person with a disability could ask to be excused from jury service by submitting the request in writing with supporting documentation, rather than having to appear in person in court to request an exemption due to “extreme physical hardship”. HCPAC/HJC.

S 77     Stem cell research.  Sen. John Ryan.  This bill would allow research to take place in New Mexico using embryonic stem cells, provided that the only cells that could be used would come from frozen embryos that are no longer needed and would otherwise be disposed of.  The research holds promise for the treatment of spinal cord injuries and other disabling medical conditions.   Passed SPAC; pending in SJC.

SJR 12  Constitutional amendment to remove archaic and offensive language.  Sen. Howie Morales.  This bill proposes a constitutional amendment that would delete current language that prohibits “idiots and insane persons” from voting, and replace it with language referring to “incapacitated persons as restricted by statute”.  If passed by the legislature, the amendment would have to be approved by voters statewide in the next general election.  SRC/SJC.


If any of these issues are important to you, contact your legislator and let them know how these actions will affect you or your family.