PRINTER'S NO. 2386
No. 1813 Session of 2005
INTRODUCED BY KENNEY, BUNT, ALLEN, BARRAR, BASTIAN, BEBKO-JONES,
BELARDI, BELFANTI, BENNINGHOFF, BLAUM, BUXTON, CALTAGIRONE,
CAPPELLI, CAUSER, CORNELL, COSTA, CRAHALLA, CURRY, DALLY,
DENLINGER, DeWEESE, DIVEN, J. EVANS, FABRIZIO, FICHTER,
FLEAGLE, GEORGE, GINGRICH, GODSHALL, GOOD, GOODMAN, HALUSKA,
HANNA, HARHAI, HARPER, HERMAN, HESS, JAMES, JOSEPHS, KILLION,
LaGROTTA, LEDERER, LEVDANSKY, MAITLAND, MANN, MARKOSEK,
McCALL, McILHATTAN, MICOZZIE, MUNDY, MYERS, NAILOR, O'NEILL,
PETRARCA, PETRI, PHILLIPS, QUIGLEY, READSHAW, REICHLEY, ROSS,
RUBLEY, SAINATO, SAMUELSON, SANTONI, SCAVELLO, SHAPIRO,
STABACK, R. STEVENSON, E. Z. TAYLOR, J. TAYLOR, THOMAS, TRUE,
WALKO, WANSACZ, WATSON, WOJNAROSKI AND YUDICHAK,
JUNE 29, 2005
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES,
JUNE 29, 2005
AN ACT
1 Providing for the allocation of funds to county mental health
2 and mental retardation programs and for cost-of-living
3 adjustments and for the promulgation of rules and
4 regulations.
5 WHEREAS, The care of Pennsylvanians with mental illness and
6 mental retardation has been a core responsibility of State
7 government for more than a century; and
8 WHEREAS, The adoption of the Mental Health and Mental
9 Retardation Act of 1966 established a community-based system of
10 supports and services for people with mental disabilities; and
11 WHEREAS, Since 1966 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has
12 implemented a policy of de-institutionalization, shifting the
13 focus of care from large State-operated facilities to small,
1 community-based homes and services; and
2 WHEREAS, The community-based system today provides over $3
3 billion of services annually to hundreds of thousands of people
4 with mental illness or people with mental retardation; and
5 WHEREAS, The continued development and operation of this
6 community-based system of supports and services requires the
7 adoption by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania of a fiscal policy
8 that consistently supports said system; and
9 WHEREAS, The value of the State's funding for this community-
10 based system of supports and services has declined by over 33%
11 during the past ten years, resulting in a significant erosion in
12 the quality and quantity of services available through the
13 community system.
14 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
15 hereby enacts as follows:
16 Section 1. Short title.
17 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Community
18 Mental Health and Mental Retardation Program Services and
19 Supports Act.
20 Section 2. Definitions.
21 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
22 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
23 context clearly indicates otherwise:
24 "Department." The Department of Public Welfare of the
25 Commonwealth.
26 "Secretary." The Secretary of Public Welfare of the
27 Commonwealth.
28 Section 3. Allocation of funds.
29 At the beginning of each fiscal year, the secretary shall
30 allocate to county mental health and mental retardation programs
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1 an aggregate amount of funds not less than the aggregate amount
2 allocated to county mental health and mental retardation
3 programs in the prior fiscal year, plus the amount necessary to
4 provide full-year funding of all initiatives included in the
5 prior fiscal year's allocation, plus the amount necessary to
6 provide funds for a cost-of-living adjustment to assure the
7 health, safety and effective care of people served in the
8 community-based mental health and mental retardation system.
9 Section 4. Cost-of-living adjustment.
10 The cost-of-living adjustment shall be equal to the Home
11 Health Market Basket Index, or a successor index should this one
12 be renamed or otherwise modified, published in the Federal
13 Register for the prior Federal fiscal year, times the sum of the
14 aggregate amount allocated to counties in the prior fiscal year
15 plus the amount necessary to provide full-year funding of all
16 initiatives included in the prior fiscal year's allocation to
17 counties.
18 Section 5. Use of increased funds.
19 Funding allocated by the secretary to counties for a cost-of-
20 living adjustment shall only be utilized to increase the rates
21 or amounts of funding for existing community-based mental health
22 and mental retardation services.
23 Section 6. Administrative costs.
24 Notwithstanding any other provisions of this act, the
25 department shall annually increase all existing allocations made
26 to county mental health and mental retardation programs for the
27 purposes of administering such programs by the same cost-of-
28 living adjustment defined in section 4.
29 Section 7. Rules and regulations.
30 The department shall promulgate regulations necessary for the
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1 implementation of the provisions of this act within 90 days of
2 the effective date of this act.
3 Section 8. Effective date.
4 This act shall take effect December 1, 2006, or immediately,
5 whichever is later.
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