Public Policy Committee Minutes
June 7, 2007

GUESTS
Cathy Allen
Thomas Ballard
chuck Beatty
Bob Butler
Nestor Melnyk
Eric Rathburn
Tim Tobin
Cheyenne Wilson

STAFF
Pam Carter
Paul Jarvis

Bettie Meadows
Tammy Waller
David Zwyer

Call to Order:
Chair Adams called the meeting to order at 4:46 p.m. Mary Butler moved the minutes be accepted without changes. Ruben Garcia seconded the motion. No further discussion was offered. The minutes were approved by a voice vote.

Group Reports:
Shelley Papenfuse reported for the Ohio Olmstead Task Force (OOTF). The OOTF sent a letter to leaders of the House and Senate regarding the changes in the state budget that limits ready access for Ohio Legal Rights Service. OOTF members also participated in the Medicaid Buy-In event in the Ohio Statehouse. Leaders of OOTF also met with Robin Harris, Governor Ted Strickland’s policy advisor on health and human services issues. They discussed Medicaid Buy-In, the rebalancing of long-term care through the Money Follows the Person grant.

David Zwyer reported that the NACDD Policy Team has not met very much recently, but expect activities to pick up in the future regarding the reauthorization of the DD Act. A meeting is scheduled to occur during the upcoming Technical Assistance Conference in Washington D.C.

Committee Legislative Update:
Mary Butler reported for the Community Living Committee. The committee considered a call to action in support of HR 1809, legislation that would eliminate the “in-the-home” restriction for mobility devices covered under Medicare. Paul Jarvis stated that he has received permission from the author of the action alert to duplicate the alert on CapWiz and distribute among the DD Centers for Public Policy.

Mary Butler moved that a letter of support for HR 1809 be drafted and sent to members of Ohio’s congressional delegation. Richard Steinbrunner seconded the motion. No further discussion took place on the motion. A voice vote was taken and the motion passed. There were no abstentions.

Mary Butler also reported the Community Living Committee spent a considerable amount of time discussing public policy issues in this month’s meeting. They received updates from Paul Jarvis on the work of the Visitability Strategy Group, House Bill 129 (teleconference bill), and SB 88/HB 208 (regional transit authority bill).

Mary Butler moved that a position paper in support of the Visitability Strategy Group’s efforts to establish visitibility requirements in the residential building code be drafted. Peter Keiser seconded the motion. No further discussion took place on the motion. A voice vote was taken and the motion passed. There were no abstentions.

Mary Butler requested that position papers developed on the regional transit authority legislation be posted on DD Council’s website.

Jane Novick reported for the Health & Employment Committee. She stated that public policy issues were not really discussed, but updated the committee on the status of Medicaid Buy-In in the state operating budget. She also indicated that the dental hygienist bills are still pending. Paul Jarvis added that the dental hygienist bill was scheduled for a vote but was pulled at the supporters request in order to work on some possible amendments. The Ohio Dental Association is opposed to the legislation and is seeking to present their side of the issue with Council, if possible. They will provide Council with copies of their testimony to the House Health Committee.

Mary Butler inquired about a low-cost dental clinic closing in the Akron/Canton Area. Jane Novick responded that she did not have information on that issue. She indicated that results from the dental health survey were beginning to come in. Paul Jarvis indicated that the final results would be available at next month’s Council meeting.

Richard Steinbrunner sought clarification on an existing grant by Council regarding the Dental Replication project. David Zwyer and Paul Jarvis stated the grant was in its final year.

Staff Legislative Update:
Paul Jarvis provided an update on House Bill 119, the state operating budget. At the current time, the Medicaid Buy-In language that Council supports is contained in the budget. The Senate has also removed the language pertaining to the Special Education Scholarship Pilot Program, which was inserted into the budget by the Ohio House. A new issue was identified regarding the funding of new ICF/MR beds, which the department is seeking to fix.

House Bill 129 has been slowed down due to objections/concerns raised by the Ohio Newspaper Association. Representative Evans and interested parties are attempting to work through the issues.

House Bill 208, a bill to allow local governments to opt-out of a regional transit authority, received testimony earlier in the month. DD Council submitted a position paper on the issue and also had one of the DD Council Centers for Public Policy provide opponent testimony. Paul is working with the representative from the Ohio Public Transit Association to coordinate future efforts.

Senate Bill 165 was introduced to require County Boards of MR/DD to include two individuals who are eligible to receive county board services. The leadership development committee will discuss the issue further.

The General Assembly also is working on several bills in both chambers to strengthen training requirements for foster parents and to beef up background checks of foster care providers. The legislation stems from the murder of Marcus Feisel in the Cincinnati area.

Paul Jarvis reported that several Council members have submitted letters to targeted members of Congress seeking support of an increase in federal funding for state developmental disabilities councils.

Paul Jarvis reported that results from the dental health survey continue to come in. He will compile as complete a report as possible to the committee next month.

The governor’s office has hired a new executive assistant that will work with Robin Harris and cover disabilities issues. Amy Rohling McGee has been selected for the position and Paul knows Amy.

Paul also reported that Colette Adams testified before the Senate Finance and Financial Institutions Committee on the budget. While most of the items contained in the budget were good, Colette, on behalf of Council, raised concerns with an amendment that was recently inserted that would allow school districts in Cuyahoga County to create joint taxing districts in order to pay for services for behavioral health and autism for their students. Colette encouraged other members of Council to communicate Council’s position on this issue with their state senator within the next 24 hours.

Richard Steinbrunner asked what the status of the meal freeze was for Council. David Zwyer responded that the freeze had been lifted with new restrictions in place. According to the Governor’s executive order, Council would be exempt from the restrictions because its funds are received from the federal government.

Tim Tobin provided an update on the budget changes to the Ohio Legal Rights Service “ready access”. By working with supporters of the budget language, OLRS was able to reach a compromise that didn’t negatively impact their ability to obtain records. They also used the opportunity to make other changes to the statute that their board was interested in pursuing. On behalf of OLRS, Tim thanked Council and other organizations for offering their support to help get the language changed.

Cathy Allen commented that she witnessed Colette’s testimony before the Senate committee and the chair was very complimentary of her testimony.

Colette Adams encouraged members of the committee who were interested in Senate Bill 165, legislation that expands county board of MR/DD membership by two, to attend the Leadership Development Committee. Ruben Garcia commented that People First of Ohio had been working on the issue. Courtney Jordan indicated that she did not believe the issue was on the Leadership Development Committee’s agenda. Mary Butler asked that staff do a better job communicating with chairman about the committee’s agendas.

New Business:
Jane Novick announced that she had obtained a copy of an article in the paper that featured a 17-year-old boy with cerebral palsy who was attending college. Representative Dianna Fessler is featured in the article.

Chuck Beatty reported on an issue within the Mason City School District where the mother of a child who is on an IEP and has behavior problems was called by the school district and asked to remove the child from the school grounds while the school was being toured by prospective students. Beatty reported that the school did not want others to see this student because of their disability.

Paul Jarvis gave a report on the status of the National Conference of State Legislators conference that will occur in August in Boston. Working with other state councils, an exhibit booth will feature materials from Ohio and co-sponsoring councils and will have a Boston Tea Party theme to attract legislators and staff to the booth. Paul will be attending the conference and manning the exhibit hall booth.

Chair Adams indicated that a competitive grant review panel would need to be appointed prior to a notice of funds available being issued later in the month. Paul Jarvis stated that he would try to hold the panel following the October business meeting of Council, scheduled for October 5th, 2007. Mary Butler, Shelley Papenfuse and Michael Schroeder were appointed. Peter Keiser was appointed as an alternate and Cathy Allen and Eric Rathburn were selected as outside experts.

Chair Adams also asked committee members to consider volunteering for grant review panels being held in November. Several members volunteered.

State Plan Language:
Chair Adams brought forth the plan language for the DD Council Legislative Event(s). Paul Jarvis reviewed the proposed changes to the plan language. The changes incorporated in the draft the committee considered included a reduction in the CR02 performance target (based on a clarification from ADD) and a requirement that the grantee be responsible for scheduling legislative meetings.

Jane Novick moved that the draft plan language be adopted. Richard Steinbrunner seconded the motion. A brief discussion took place about how the event would be billed and whether to require all signage associated with the event to be equal. No amendments to the draft plan language were moved or adopted by the committee. A voice vote was taken and the motion passed. Ruben Garcia and Todd Gatewood abstained.

With no further business before the committee, Ruben Garcia moved that the committee adjourn. Michael Schroeder seconded the motion. Without objection the committee adjourned at 6:14 p.m.

| Home | Calendar of Events | Grants and NOFAs | Links | Publications and Products | Site Map | What's New |