General Bills Monday, February 15th: At 3:00, the House Education Committee with hear HB 329, “Establish the Students with Special Needs Equal Opportunity Act.” Click here to read this bill. This bill would establish a fund called the “Montana Special Needs Equal Opportunity Education Savings Account Program” where funds would be deposited for parents to use for private education of their children with disabilities. The bill does not establish standards for the provision of special education services by private educational institutions, nor does it prohibit them from discriminating on the basis of disability. The sponsor is Rep. Sue Vinton and the hearing will be in room 137. Click here for the contact information for the House Education Committee. House Human Services Also at 3:00, the House Human Services Committee will hear HB 291 “Requiring coverage of amplification devices, services for kids with hearing loss.” Click here to read this bill. This would require private insurance plans to cover these services for children with hearing loss. It is sponsored by Rep. Moffie Funk, it will be heard in room 152. The House Human Services Committee will also hear HB 341, “Require that Medicaid appropriations be used only for Medicaid expenditures.” Click here to read this bill. This bill would address the issue of reversion of appropriated but unspent Medicaid funds to the general fund. The sponsor is Rep. Matt Regier and will be heard in room 152. Tuesday, February 16th: At 9:00 the Senate Business and Labor Committee will hear SB 186 “Revising definition of services related to public procurement contracts.” Click here to read this bill. This is sponsored by Sen. Freidel and will be heard in room 422. Click here for the contact information for the Senate Business and Labor Committee. Wednesday, February 17th: At 8:00, the House Judiciary Committee will hear HB 351 “Revise disability parking laws.” Click here to read this bill. This would require that a disability parking space be “maintained free of any obstructions, including but not limited to snow, shipping pallets, and shopping carts.” The sponsor is Rep. Ron Marshall and will be heard in room 137. Click here for the contact information for the House Judiciary Committee. At 3:00, the House Human Services Committee will hear HB 328 “Provide guidelines for assessing language development in deaf children.” Click here to read this bill. It provides requirements for evaluating and assessing language and literacy development, the selection of language-specific evaluation and assessment tools, and providing for an annual report about the “language and literacy development of deaf and hard-of-hearing children.” This is sponsored by Rep. Connie Keogh and will be heard in room 152. Click here for the contact information for the House Human Services Committee. Friday, February 19th: At 9:00, the Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee will hear SB 217, “ Revise laws relating to psychiatric collaborative care.” Click here to read this bill. The bill revises the mental health parity act to include coverage of services provided through the psychiatric collaborative care model, which means the: “evidence-based, integrated behavioral health service delivery method in which care: (a) is delivered by a primary care team consisting of a primary care provider and a care manager who work in collaboration with a psychiatric consultant, including but not limited to a psychiatrist; (b) is directed by the primary care team; (c) includes structured care management with regular assessments of clinical status using validated tools and modification of treatment as appropriate; and (d) involves regular consultations between the psychiatric consultant and the primary care team to review the clinical status and care of patients and to make recommendations. The bill is sponsored by Senator Jason Small and will be heard in room 422. This committee will also hear SB 216, “Revise laws relating to insurance parity compliance reporting.” Click here to read this bill. The bill requires health insurance issuers to provide parity compliance reporting. This bill is also sponsored by Senator Jason Small and will be heard in room 422. Click here for the contact information for the Senate Business and Labor Committee. At 3:00, the House Human Services Committee will hear HB 296 “Establish grant program and other uses of DD general fund appropriation.” Click here to read this bill. This bill would direct any “general fund money appropriated in a general appropriations act to match federal funds for services provided under the Medicaid comprehensive home and community-based services waiver for people with developmental disabilities may be used only for . . . waiver services” or a grant program for entities that provide developmental disability services. The grants may be used for “(a) acquisition, renovation, or maintenance of community-based facilities; (b) staff training that exceeds the minimum training levels established by the department; (c) staff retention and recruitment efforts, including but not limited to lump-sum payments based on: (i) acceptance of employment; (ii) longevity in employment; or (iii) the complexity of the care provided; (d) payment for medical equipment needed by a person with developmental disabilities but not covered by Medicaid; and (e) other purposes involving community-based facilities or community-based services as established by the department by rule.” This is sponsored by Rep. Mary Caferro and will be heard in room 152. Click here for the contact information for the House Human Services Committee. | 
