FEDERAL

Appropriations

With the end of fiscal year 2019 looming, the Senate continues to struggle to pass its spending bills for 2020. To avoid a government shutdown, both houses of Congress will need to pass a continuing resolution (CR) before October 1. The House has passed a CR measure which funds the federal government through November 21, 2019.

Autism

The Autism Collaboration, Accountability, Research, Education and Support (CARES) Act is set to expire on September 30. The House passed a bill (H.R. 1058) over the summer to reauthorize these programs that fund autism and developmental disability research, surveillance and education programs within two federal agencies. The Senate has yet to begin the reauthorization process. Due to a “hard sunset provision” within the Autism CARES Act, efforts short of reauthorization would make continuing programs after the end of September unlikely.

Family Support

The RAISE Family Caregiving Advisory Council recently held its first meeting. The council is charged with providing recommendations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services on effective models of both family caregiving and support to family caregivers, as well as improving coordination across federal government programs.  Click on the link to learn more about this Council’s efforts and its voting members.

Food Insecurity

On July 24, the Administration issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that would cut current eligibility for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a program also known as food stamps which helps low-income individuals and families including an estimated 11 million individuals with disabilities. This proposal would eliminate states’ flexibility to determine eligibility and thereby cut off SNAP benefits for 3.1 million individuals. This change will also eliminate eligibility for free school meals for the children in those families. Individuals interested in commenting on these proposed changes must have submitted them by September 23.

STATE

Legislative Budget and Medicaid Transformation  

The state continues to operate under last year’s budget. As a reminder, the approved legislative budget was sent to the Governor who vetoed the budget bill because Medicaid expansion was not included. In an unexpected turn on September 11, House Speaker Tim Moore called a surprise vote on a motion to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s June veto of the state budget bill for fiscal years 2020 and 2021. The vote took place without meaningful debate and with 64 of the House’s 120 members ready and able to vote. At this point, the Senate has not taken up the issue for a vote. The House and Senate are now both in recess through the end of September.

Earlier this week the House had HB 655 on its calendar. This bill is the North Carolina Health Care for Working Families, which would extend Medicaid coverage, with co-pays and work requirements, to people who are currently not eligible. The bill was re-referred to Rules Committee so is stalled for now.

The lack of movement on the budget or HB 655 affects the ability of the Department of Health and Human Services to move forward with Medicaid transformation. The implementation of phase 1 of the Standard Plan has been delayed until February 2020, which is when phase 2 is scheduled to begin. So, we will have a single statewide implementation as opposed to two phases. The implementation date could be delayed again, depending on the legislative process around the budget.

Redistricting

Earlier this month, a panel of three Superior Court judges unanimously struck down 2017 House and Senate maps giving lawmakers two weeks, until Sept. 18, to draw new districts in “full public view” without the use of election data. The three-judge panel found they used unconstitutional partisan gerrymandering to harm Democrats when they created the 2017 legislative maps. Redistricting committees from both chambers met and lawmakers mostly agreed to use baseline maps from an expert for the plaintiffs in Common Cause v. Lewis, the litigation dictating the process, and submitted these to the court. Parties to the plaintiffs, Common Cause, have until October 4 to provide any objections to the maps and supply any alternative maps.