Senate Bill sb0118e2

    SB 118                                        Second Engrossed



  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 program for personal care attendants for

  6         spinal cord injury victims permanent; providing

  7         criteria for participation in the program;

  8         providing an effective date.

  9  

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

11  

12         Section 1.  Section 413.402, Florida Statutes, is

13  amended to read:

14         413.402  Personal care attendant pilot program.--The

15  Florida Association of Centers for Independent Living shall

16  develop a pilot program to provide personal care attendants to

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

18  association shall develop memoranda of understanding with the

19  Department of Revenue, the Brain and Spinal Cord Injury

20  Program in the Department of Health, the Florida Medicaid

21  program in the Agency for Health Care Administration, the

22  Florida Endowment Foundation for Vocational Rehabilitation,

23  and the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation of the

24  Department of Education.

25         (1)  Persons eligible to participate in the pilot

26  program must:

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

28  disabled due to a traumatic spinal cord injury;

29         (b)  Have been determined eligible for training

30  services from the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation of the

31  Department of Education; and


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    SB 118                                        Second Engrossed



 1         (c)  Either:

 2         1.  Live in a nursing home; or

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

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

 5  community-based waiver program targeted to persons with brain

 6  or spinal cord injuries.

 7         (2)  The association shall develop a training program

 8  for training persons selected to participate in the pilot

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

10  personal care attendant.

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

12  Florida Endowment Foundation for Vocational Rehabilitation,

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

14  candidates to be trained as personal care attendants.

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

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

17  and to operate as a fiscal intermediary through which payments

18  are made to individuals performing services as personal care

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

20  Administration shall seek any federal waivers necessary to

21  implement this provision.

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

23  Endowment Foundation for Vocational Rehabilitation, shall

24  develop a training program for personal care attendants.

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

26  Endowment Foundation for Vocational Rehabilitation, shall

27  establish procedures for selecting persons eligible under

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

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

30  of Vocational Rehabilitation of the Department of Education,

31  shall assess the selected participants and make


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    SB 118                                        Second Engrossed



 1  recommendations for their placement into appropriate

 2  work-related training programs.

 3         (7)  The association, in cooperation with the

 4  Department of Revenue, the Brain and Spinal Cord Injury

 5  Program in the Department of Health, the Florida Medicaid

 6  program in the Agency for Health Care Administration, a

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

 8  judicial circuits counties participating in the pilot program,

 9  the Florida Endowment Foundation for Vocational

10  Rehabilitation, and the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation

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

12  implementation of the pilot program.

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

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

15  the House of Representatives the implementation plan for the

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

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

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

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

20  specific legislative action to the contrary.

21         Section 2.  Section 413.4021, Florida Statutes, is

22  amended to read:

23         413.4021  Pilot Program participant county selection;

24  tax collection enforcement diversion program.--The Department

25  of Revenue, in coordination with the Florida Association of

26  Centers for Independent Living and the Florida Prosecuting

27  Attorneys Association, shall select judicial circuits four

28  counties in which to operate the pilot program. The

29  association and the state attorneys' offices in Duval County

30  and the four pilot program counties shall develop and

31  implement a tax collection enforcement diversion program,


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    SB 118                                        Second Engrossed



 1  which shall collect revenue due from persons who have not

 2  remitted their collected sales tax. The criteria for referral

 3  to the tax collection enforcement diversion program shall be

 4  determined cooperatively between the state attorneys' offices

 5  in those counties and the Department of Revenue.

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

 7  percent of the revenues collected from the tax collection

 8  enforcement diversion program shall be deposited into the

 9  operating account of the Florida Endowment Foundation for

10  Vocational Rehabilitation, to be used to implement the

11  personal care attendant pilot program.

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

13  deposited into the operating account of the Florida Endowment

14  Foundation for Vocational Rehabilitation.

15         (3)  The Revenue Estimating Conference shall annually

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

17  tax collection enforcement diversion program.

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

19  Florida, is amended to read:

20         Section 3.  There is appropriated from the Brain and

21  Spinal Cord Injury Program Trust Fund to the Florida Endowment

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

23  in nonrecurring funds for fiscal year 2002-2003 for

24  development of the personal care attendant pilot program under

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

26  the pilot program judicial circuits counties and the Fourth

27  Judicial Circuit Duval County deposited with the Florida

28  Endowment Foundation for Vocational Rehabilitation shall be

29  used to repay the $250,000 to the Brain and Spinal Cord Injury

30  Program Trust Fund.

31         Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.


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