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A bill to be entitled

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An act relating to the personal care attendant program;

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amending s. 413.402, F.S.; revising provisions governing a

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program to provide personal care attendants for persons

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who have disabilities; requiring the Florida Endowment

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Foundation for Vocational Rehabilitation to enter into an

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agreement with the Florida Association of Centers for

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Independent Living to administer a program to provide such

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attendants to persons who have severe and chronic

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disabilities; naming the program the "James Patrick

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Memorial Work Incentive Personal Attendant Services

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Program"; providing for payment for the administration of

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the program; removing a provision requiring interagency

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memoranda of agreement; revising eligibility requirements

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for participation in the personal care attendant program;

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removing provisions concerning the training, selection,

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and recruitment of personal care attendants; providing for

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training of program participants concerning hiring and

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managing an attendant; providing for the adoption and

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revision of program policies and procedures by the

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association in cooperation with an oversight group;

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providing for membership in the oversight group; amending

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s. 413.4021, F.S.; increasing the percentage of revenues

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collected from persons who fail to remit sales tax which

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is deposited in the operating account of the Florida

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Endowment Foundation for Vocational Rehabilitation to

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administer the program; deleting a provision requiring

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that the Florida Endowment Foundation for Vocational

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Rehabilitation select an entity to administer the program;

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providing for automatic enrollment in the program for

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certain persons; providing an effective date.

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

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     Section 1.  Section 413.402, Florida Statutes, is amended to

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read:

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     413.402 Personal care attendant program.--The Florida

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Endowment Foundation for Vocational Rehabilitation shall enter

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into an agreement with the Florida Association of Centers for

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Independent Living to administer the James Patrick Memorial Work

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Incentive Personal Attendant Services, in conjunction with the

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Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Program in the Department of Health,

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shall develop a Program to provide personal care attendants to

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persons who have severe and chronic disabilities of all kinds and

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who are eligible under pursuant to subsection (1). Effective July

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1, 2008, the Florida Association of Centers for Independent

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Living shall receive 15 percent of the funds to be deposited with

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the Florida Endowment Foundation for Vocational Rehabilitation

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pursuant to ss. 320.08068(4)(d) and 413.4021(1) to administer the

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program. association and the Department of Health shall jointly

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develop memoranda of understanding with the Department of

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Revenue, the Florida Medicaid program in the Agency for Health

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Care Administration, the Florida Endowment Foundation for

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Vocational Rehabilitation, and the Division of Vocational

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Rehabilitation of the Department of Education.

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     (1) In order to be Persons eligible to participate in the

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program, a person must:

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     (a) Be at least 18 years of age, be a legal resident of

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this state, and be significantly and chronically disabled due to

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a traumatic spinal cord injury;

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     (b) Require a personal care attendant for assistance with

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or support for at least two activities of daily living as defined

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in s. 429.02, as determined by a physician or psychiatrist

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bathing, dressing, bowel and bladder management, and

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transportation;

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     (c) Require a personal care attendant in order to accept a

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job or maintain substantial gainful employment; and

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     (d) Be able to acquire hire and direct supervise a personal

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care attendant.; and

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     (e) Meet one of the following requirements:

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     1. Live in a nursing home;

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

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180 days due to participation in a Medicaid home and community-

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based waiver program targeted to persons with brain or spinal

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cord injuries; or

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     3. Presently be employed but, because of a loss of a

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caregiver, will lose employment and potentially return to a

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nursing home.

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     (2)(a) The association, in cooperation with the Department

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of Health and the Florida Endowment Foundation for Vocational

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Rehabilitation, shall develop a program to recruit, screen, and

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select candidates to be trained as personal care attendants.

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

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

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to operate as a fiscal intermediary through which payments are

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made to individuals performing services as personal care

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attendants under the program. The Department of Health and the

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Agency for Health Care Administration shall seek any federal

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waivers necessary to implement this provision.

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     (3) The Florida Association of Centers for Independent

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Living association and the Department of Health, in cooperation

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with the Florida Endowment Foundation for Vocational

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Rehabilitation, shall provide develop a training to program

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participants on hiring and managing a personal care attendant

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and, in cooperation with the oversight group described in

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paragraph (b), adopt and revise the policies and procedures

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governing the personal care attendant program and the training

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program.

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     (b) The oversight group shall include, but need not be

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limited to, a member of the Florida Association of Centers for

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Independent Living, a person who is participating in the program,

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and one representative each from the Department of Revenue, the

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Department of Children and Family Services, the Division of

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Vocational Rehabilitation in the Department of Education, the

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Medicaid program in the Agency for Health Care Administration,

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the Florida Endowment Foundation for Vocational Rehabilitation,

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and the Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Program in the Department of

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Health program for personal care attendants.

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     (4) The association, in cooperation with the Department of

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Health and the Florida Endowment Foundation for Vocational

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Rehabilitation, shall establish procedures for selecting persons

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eligible under subsection (1) to participate in the program.

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     (5) The association, in cooperation with the Department of

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Revenue, the Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Program in the

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Department of Health, the Florida Medicaid program in the Agency

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for Health Care Administration, a representative from the state

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attorney's office in each of the judicial circuits participating

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in the program, the Florida Endowment Foundation for Vocational

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Rehabilitation, and the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation of

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the Department of Education, shall develop a plan for

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implementation of the program.

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     (6) The Department of Health shall establish an oversight

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workgroup for the personal care attendant program to oversee the

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implementation and administration of the program. The workgroup

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shall be composed of one representative from the Brain and Spinal

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Cord Injury Program in the Department of Health, one

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representative from the Department of Revenue, one representative

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from the Florida Medicaid Program in the Agency for Health Care

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Administration, one representative from the Florida Endowment

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Foundation for Vocational Rehabilitation, one representative from

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the Florida Association of Centers for Independent Living, one

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representative from the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation of

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the Department of Education, and two members who are persons with

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traumatic spinal cord injuries or are family members of persons

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with traumatic spinal cord injuries.

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     Section 2.  Subsections (1) and (2) of section 413.4021,

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Florida Statutes, are amended to read:

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     413.4021  Program participant selection; tax collection

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enforcement diversion program.--The Department of Revenue, in

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coordination with the Florida Association of Centers for

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Independent Living and the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys

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Association, shall select judicial circuits in which to operate

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the program. The association and the state attorneys' offices

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shall develop and implement a tax collection enforcement

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diversion program, which shall collect revenue due from persons

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who have not remitted their collected sales tax. The criteria for

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referral to the tax collection enforcement diversion program

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shall be determined cooperatively between the state attorneys'

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offices and the Department of Revenue.

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

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of the revenues collected from the tax collection enforcement

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diversion program shall be deposited into the operating account

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of the Florida Endowment Foundation for Vocational

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Rehabilitation, to be used to administer the personal care

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attendant program and to contract with the state attorneys

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participating in the tax collection enforcement diversion program

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in an amount of not more than $50,000 for each state attorney.

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     (2)  The program shall operate only from funds deposited

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into the operating account of the Florida Endowment Foundation

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for Vocational Rehabilitation. The Florida Endowment Foundation

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for Vocational Rehabilitation shall select the entity to

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administer the personal care attendant program.

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     Section 3. Notwithstanding any other law, each person

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enrolled in the personal care attendant program under s. 413.402,

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Florida Statutes, on June 30, 2008, and each person enrolled in

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the pilot personal care attendant program in Lake, Orange,

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Osceola, and Seminole Counties as authorized in Specific

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Appropriation 340, chapter 2006-25, Laws of Florida, on June 30,

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2008, is automatically eligible for and enrolled in the personal

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care attendant program, as amended by this act on July 1, 2008.

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     Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.