Senate Bill sb0118

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    Florida Senate - 2003                                   SB 118

    By Senator Wise





    5-88A-03

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to persons with disabilities;

  3         amending ss. 413.402, 413.4021, F.S., and s. 3

  4         of chapter 2002-286, Laws of Florida; making

  5         the pilot program for personal care attendants

  6         for spinal cord injury victims permanent;

  7         providing criteria for participation in the

  8         program; providing an appropriation; providing

  9         an effective date.

10  

11  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

12  

13         Section 1.  Section 413.402, Florida Statutes, is

14  amended to read:

15         413.402  Personal care attendant pilot program.--The

16  Florida Association of Centers for Independent Living shall

17  develop a pilot program to provide personal care attendants to

18  persons who are eligible pursuant to subsection (1). The

19  association shall develop memoranda of understanding with the

20  Department of Revenue, the Brain and Spinal Cord Injury

21  Program in the Department of Health, the Florida Medicaid

22  program in the Agency for Health Care Administration, the

23  Florida Endowment Foundation for Vocational Rehabilitation,

24  and the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation of the

25  Department of Education.

26         (1)  Persons eligible to participate in the pilot

27  program must:

28         (a)  Be at least 18 years of age and be significantly

29  disabled due to a traumatic spinal cord injury;

30  

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2003                                   SB 118
    5-88A-03




 1         (b)  Have been determined eligible for training

 2  services from the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation of the

 3  Department of Education; and

 4         (c)  Either:

 5         1.  Live in a nursing home; or

 6         2.  Have moved out of a nursing home within the

 7  preceding 180 days due to participation in a Medicaid home and

 8  community-based waiver program targeted to persons with brain

 9  or spinal cord injuries.

10         (2)  The association shall develop a training program

11  for training persons selected to participate in the pilot

12  program that will prepare each person to manage his or her own

13  personal care attendant.

14         (3)(a)  The association, in cooperation with the

15  Florida Endowment Foundation for Vocational Rehabilitation,

16  shall develop a program to recruit, screen, and select

17  candidates to be trained as personal care attendants.

18         (b)  The services of a nurse registry licensed pursuant

19  to s. 400.506 may be utilized to recruit and screen candidates

20  and to operate as a fiscal intermediary through which payments

21  are made to individuals performing services as personal care

22  attendants under the pilot program. The Agency for Health Care

23  Administration shall seek any federal waivers necessary to

24  implement this provision.

25         (4)  The association, in cooperation with the Florida

26  Endowment Foundation for Vocational Rehabilitation, shall

27  develop a training program for personal care attendants.

28         (5)  The association, in cooperation with the Florida

29  Endowment Foundation for Vocational Rehabilitation, shall

30  establish procedures for selecting persons eligible under

31  subsection (1) to participate in the pilot program.

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    Florida Senate - 2003                                   SB 118
    5-88A-03




 1         (6)  The association, in cooperation with the Division

 2  of Vocational Rehabilitation of the Department of Education,

 3  shall assess the selected participants and make

 4  recommendations for their placement into appropriate

 5  work-related training programs.

 6         (7)  The association, in cooperation with the

 7  Department of Revenue, the Brain and Spinal Cord Injury

 8  Program in the Department of Health, the Florida Medicaid

 9  program in the Agency for Health Care Administration, a

10  representative from the state attorney's office in each of the

11  judicial circuits counties participating in the pilot program,

12  the Florida Endowment Foundation for Vocational

13  Rehabilitation, and the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation

14  of the Department of Education, shall develop a plan for

15  implementation of the pilot program.

16         (8)  No later than March 1, 2003, the association shall

17  present to the President of the Senate and to the Speaker of

18  the House of Representatives the implementation plan for the

19  pilot program, a timeline for implementation, estimates of the

20  number of participants to be served, and cost projections for

21  each component of the pilot program. The pilot program shall

22  be implemented beginning July 1, 2003, unless there is

23  specific legislative action to the contrary.

24         Section 2.  Section 413.4021, Florida Statutes, is

25  amended to read:

26         413.4021  Pilot Program participant county selection;

27  tax collection enforcement diversion program.--The Department

28  of Revenue, in coordination with the Florida Association of

29  Centers for Independent Living and the Florida Prosecuting

30  Attorneys Association, shall select judicial circuits four

31  counties in which to operate the pilot program. The

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    Florida Senate - 2003                                   SB 118
    5-88A-03




 1  association and the state attorneys' offices in Duval County

 2  and the four pilot program counties shall develop and

 3  implement a tax collection enforcement diversion program,

 4  which shall collect revenue due from persons who have not

 5  remitted their collected sales tax. The criteria for referral

 6  to the tax collection enforcement diversion program shall be

 7  determined cooperatively between the state attorneys' offices

 8  in those counties and the Department of Revenue.

 9         (1)  Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 212.20, 50 25

10  percent of the revenues collected from the tax collection

11  enforcement diversion program shall be deposited into the

12  operating account of the Florida Endowment Foundation for

13  Vocational Rehabilitation, to be used to implement the

14  personal care attendant pilot program.

15         (2)  The pilot program shall operate only from funds

16  deposited into the operating account of the Florida Endowment

17  Foundation for Vocational Rehabilitation.

18         (3)  The Revenue Estimating Conference shall annually

19  project the amount of funds expected to be generated from the

20  tax collection enforcement diversion program.

21         Section 3.  Section 3 of chapter 2002-286, Laws of

22  Florida, is amended to read:

23         Section 3.  There is appropriated from the Brain and

24  Spinal Cord Injury Program Trust Fund to the Florida Endowment

25  Foundation for Vocational Rehabilitation the sum of $250,000

26  in nonrecurring funds for fiscal year 2002-2003 for

27  development of the personal care attendant pilot program under

28  s. 413.402, Florida Statutes. The initial $50,000 from each of

29  the pilot program judicial circuits counties and the Fourth

30  Judicial Circuit Duval County deposited with the Florida

31  Endowment Foundation for Vocational Rehabilitation shall be

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    Florida Senate - 2003                                   SB 118
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 1  used to repay the $250,000 to the Brain and Spinal Cord Injury

 2  Program Trust Fund.

 3         Section 4.  The sum of $50,000 is appropriated from the

 4  General Revenue Fund annually from recurring funds to the

 5  office of the circuit court administrator in each judicial

 6  circuit participating in the tax collection enforcement

 7  diversion program to pay expenses of participating in the

 8  program.

 9         Section 5.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.

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11            *****************************************

12                          SENATE SUMMARY

13    Makes permanent the pilot program for the provision of
      personal care assistants to certain persons disabled due
14    to traumatic spinal cord injuries. Provides for the
      program to be conducted across participating judicial
15    circuits. Provides an appropriation to participating
      circuits.
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