HOUSE FILE 2129

BY  WINCKLER, THEDE, LYKAM, LENSING, GASKILL, MASCHER, ABDUL-SAMAD, T. TAYLOR, HEDDENS, KRESSIG, KAJTAZOVIC, HANSON, KEARNS, GAINES, H. MILLER, WITTNEBEN, WESSEL-KROESCHELL, and HUNTER

A BILL FOR

An Act authorizing additional applications for risk pool assistance for purposes of funding county mental health and disability services for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2011, and including effective dates.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  RISK POOL APPLICATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2011-2012.  All moneys remaining following the distributions made pursuant to 2011 Iowa Acts, chapter 129, section 43, shall be credited to and remain in the risk pool created in the property tax relief fund pursuant to section 426B.5 for expenditure as provided by law. Notwithstanding section 426B.5, subsection 2, paragraph “d”, and 2011 Iowa Acts, chapter 129, section 43, subsection 2, paragraph “c”, a county may apply to the risk pool board for assistance from the risk pool for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2011, in accordance with this section. The dates specified in this section shall apply in lieu of the dates in section 426B.5, subsection 2, and the temporary funding increase provided to counties for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2009, through the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Pub. L. No. 111-5, shall be disregarded. However, the other basic eligibility requirements for risk pool assistance and all other requirements in section 426B.5, subsection 2, shall remain applicable. A county’s application for risk pool assistance must be received by the department of human services within 10 calendar days of the enactment date of this section, the risk pool board shall make its final decisions concerning the acceptance or rejection of the applications for assistance within 15 working days of the final receipt date for applications, and the warrants providing the assistance to counties shall be issued within 15 working days of the date the risk pool board’s funding decisions are issued.
    Sec. 2.  EFFECTIVE UPON ENACTMENT.  This Act, being deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
EXPLANATION
   This bill authorizes applications for and expenditures from the risk pool in the property tax relief fund for purposes of county mental health and disability services for FY 2011-2012.
   Code section 426B.5, subsection 2, establishes the risk pool within the property tax relief fund to provide assistance to counties in funding adult mental health, mental retardation, and developmental disabilities services. The risk pool is administered by the department of human services. Under 2011 Iowa Acts, chapter 129, section 43, distributions were made to counties to address waiting lists for such services. The bill authorizes counties to apply to the risk pool for assistance remaining from the distributions.
   Basic eligibility and other requirements for risk pool assistance under Code section 426B.5, other than date requirements specified by the bill and disregard of the temporary federal assistance provided through the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, remain applicable. The following basic eligibility requirements apply: the county complies with reporting requirements, the county levied the maximum authorized for the fiscal year, and the county’s ending balance in the fiscal year that commenced two years prior to the fiscal year of application, after disregarding the temporary federal assistance, was equal to or less than 20 percent of the county’s actual gross expenditures for that fiscal year.
   Under Code section 426B.5, risk pool assistance shall only be made available to address one or more of the following circumstances:
   (1) Continuing support for mandated services.
   (2) Avoiding the need for reduction or elimination of critical services when the reduction or elimination places consumers’ health or safety at risk.
   (3) Avoiding the need for reduction or elimination of a mobile crisis team or other critical emergency services when the reduction or elimination places the public’s health or safety at risk.
   (4) Avoiding the need for reduction or elimination of the services or other support provided to entire disability populations.
   (5) Avoiding the need for reduction or elimination of services or other support that maintain consumers in a community setting, creating a risk that the consumers would be placed in more restrictive, higher cost settings.
   The bill provides for the following dates to be used relating to the assistance authorized by the bill: a county’s application for risk pool assistance must be received by the department of human services within 10 calendar days of the enactment date of the bill, the risk pool board shall make its final decisions concerning the acceptance or rejection of the applications for assistance within 15 working days of the final receipt date for applications, and the warrants providing the assistance to counties shall be issued within 15 working days of the date the risk pool board’s funding decisions are issued.
   The bill takes effect upon enactment.