BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1595|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1595
Author: Chesbro (D)
Amended: 8/14/14 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE : 4-0, 6/24/14
AYES: Beall, DeSaulnier, Liu, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 5/23/14 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT : State Council on Developmental Disabilities
SOURCE : State Council on Developmental Disabilities
DIGEST : This bill broadly rewrites the statutory
responsibilities of the State Council on Developmental
Disabilities (SCDD), including restructuring the role and scope
of the states 13 area boards, to comply with the requirements of
the federal Administration on Intellectual and Developmental
Disabilities (AIDD), which has designated the SCDD as being at
high risk and limited access to its $6.5 million grant.
Additionally, this bill revises the authorization for the
Department of Developmental Services (DDS) to contract with SCDD
for advocacy services within its state developmental centers and
makes other conforming changes.
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Senate Floor Amendments of 8/14/14 clarify the structure of the
SCDD, establish a process to transition staff and make
chaptering amendments to prevent conflict with SB 856 (Senate
Budget and Fiscal Review Committee, Chapter 30, Statutes of
2014).
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Establishes the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services
Act, which states that California is responsible for providing
an array of services and supports sufficiently complete to
meet the needs and choices of each person with developmental
disabilities, regardless of age or degree of disability, and
at each stage of life and to support their integration into
the mainstream life of the community.
2.Under the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of
Rights Act of 2000 (DD Act) establishes in federal law the
AIDD with funding to state councils on developmental
disabilities to engage in advocacy, capacity building and
systemic change.
3.Creates the SCDD as an authority independent of any single
state service agency to advocate for persons with
developmental disabilities, tasks the Governor with appointing
all 31 members and designates the groups they must represent,
including area board members, and specific terms of service.
4.Establishes that statutes creating the SCDD and its area
boards are intended by the Legislature to secure full
compliance with the requirements of the DD Act.
5.In order to comply with federal requirements, requires the
SCDD to serve as the state planning council responsible for
developing and monitoring implementation of the "California
Developmental Disabilities State Plan," and to perform a
number of additional specified duties.
6.Establishes 13 local area boards on developmental disabilities
to conduct the local advocacy, capacity building, and systemic
change activities required by the federal DD Act, and attaches
those boards to the SCDD for administrative purposes only.
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Establishes specific duties and defines the composition of the
area boards, as specified.
7.Requires that prior to recommending the establishment of new
geographic boundaries, the SCDD to hold a public hearing
within any existing area board geographic area affected by the
proposed change and then submit to the Governor and the
Legislature any recommended changes in area board boundaries.
This bill:
1.Rewrites statute related to the SCDD and area boards to
clarify that the area boards are not independent entities but
are regional offices of the SCDD, including:
A. Replaces references to area boards throughout the
statute with references to SCDD.
B. Removes the statutory structure of the area boards,
including their composition, required meeting frequency and
duties.
C. Removes the responsibility of area boards to advocate on
behalf of individuals with developmental disabilities,
including the authority to pursue legal remedies and the
authority to appoint legal representatives on behalf of
consumers.
D. Removes the authority of the Governor to appoint members
of each area board.
E. In place of area boards, establishes SCDD regional
advisory committees as of December 31, 2014, requires the
committees operate according to policies and procedures
that may be established by the SCDD.
1.Maintains the responsibility of the SCDD, as required in
federal law, by mirroring federal language, re-stating the
federal purpose for the SCDD, and defining the SCDD's
responsibilities with the scope of federal law, including:
A. Serve as an advocate for individuals with developmental
disabilities and, through SCDD members, staff, consultants,
and contractors and grantees, conduct advocacy, capacity
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building, and systemic change activities.
B. Develop and implement the state plan in accordance with
requirements issued by the United States Secretary of
Health and Human Services.
C. Monitor and evaluate implementation of the plan.
D. Serve as the agency responsible for planning for the
provision of federal funds by completing specified
activities, including issuing grants.
1.Underscores the autonomy of the SCDD from the Governor and
Legislature, including:
A. Revises the hiring practices of SCDD staff to require
the SCDD chairperson to appoint the executive director and
the executive director to appoint all other staff, as
specified.
B. Deletes the requirement that the Governor appoint
members representing the area boards to the SCDD as well as
seven at large members and instead requires that 20 of the
31 voting members be non-agency members who reflect the
socioeconomic, geographic, disability, racial and ethnic
and language diversity of the state.
C. Grants the SCDD full authority on the use of its funds
for implementation of the state plan, to the extent
provided for in the federal DD Act.
D. Requires the SCDD to be the sole entity responsible for
conducting activities necessary to develop and implement
the state plan on developmental disabilities in the various
regions of the state and requires the state plan to be
responsive to the needs of the state's diverse communities,
as specified.
1.Provides a list of activities that the board may do, in its
discretion, if the activities fit within the state plan,
instead of requiring specified activities, including:
A. Supporting and conducting advocacy activities on a local
and statewide basis, including: self-advocacy, education of
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policymakers, supporting new approaches to serving
individuals with developmental disabilities, supporting
geographically based outreach activities, and others.
B. Appointing an authorized representative for individuals
to assist the person in expressing his/her desires and
making decisions when the person has requested a
representative be appointed.
C. Conducting public hearings and forums and the evaluation
and issuance of public reports on the programs identified
in the state plan, as may be necessary to carry out the
duties of the SCDD.
D. Reviewing and commenting on pertinent portions of the
proposed plans and budgets of all state agencies, as
defined.
E. Promoting systems change and implementation by reviewing
the policies and practices of publicly funded agencies
serving persons with developmental disabilities to
determine if programs are meeting their obligations, under
local, state, and federal laws.
Comments
According to the author's office, this bill will make the
changes in state law necessary to come into compliance with the
federal DD Act, which is administered by the AIDD. In this way,
the author's office writes, the bill will provide for the
continued funding and operation of the SCDD and its regional
offices.
On November 22, 2013, the AIDD limited the SCDD's access to its
federal grant until California demonstrates that it will come
into compliance with the federal law that funds the SCDD. This
bill restructures the scope of the SCDD to comply with federal
law, removing state oversight of many of its functions including
the ability of the Governor to appoint regional board directors
and eliminates prescriptive language in state statute, including
requiring a specified number of regional boards.
AIDD . The federal AIDD is responsible for administering the DD
Act, which provides the federal authority for and funds the
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SCDDs in all states. In federal fiscal year 2011-12, federal
funding to the SCDDs was nearly $75 million. According to a
fact sheet on the AIDD's Web site, the 56 SCDDs are federally
funded, self-governing organizations charged with identifying
the most pressing needs of people with developmental
disabilities in their states or U.S. territories. SCDDs are
committed to advancing public policy and systems change that
help individuals gain more control over their lives by promoting
self-determination, integration, and inclusion, according to the
AIDD.
Federal law directs each SCDD members to be appointed by a
state's Governor, and more than 60% of a SCDD's membership to
consist of individuals with developmental disabilities or their
family members. SCDDs are directed to focus on empowering
individuals through activities that teach self-advocacy skills
and support self-determination by the creation of five-year
plans to address one or more of seven specified goals. States
must spend a minimum of 70% of their federal funding to address
their plan objectives.
Concerns with California's structure . Federal law requires the
state's grant to be administered by the SCDD free from
interference from the state. While the Governor is charged with
appointing members of the SCDD, the state's prescription of the
number of area boards, Governor's appointment of those area
board directors and other prescriptive language in statute is at
odds with the federal requirements. Also at odds with the
federal AIDD are any statutorily required duties of the SCDD
which are not provided under federal grant funding, such as the
Employment First Initiative. Although the Initiative is in line
with the state's plan and the federal goals, the requirement in
state statute for the SCDD to convene the committee and issue an
annual report has concerned the AIDD.
In 1994, again in 2006 and in 2013, federal reviewers expressed
concern with inconsistencies in the Lanterman Act and the
federal DD Act, and provided recommendations to the SCDD to
ensure compliance with the DD Act.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/18/14)
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State Council on Developmental Disabilities (source)
Alameda County Developmental Disabilities Council
Alpha Resource Center of Santa Barbara
Arc of Ventura County
Autism Society of Los Angeles
California Supported Living Network
Developmental Disabilities Area Boards 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,12, and 13
Disability Rights California
Family Resource Centers Network of California
San Diego Regional Center
San Diego Unified School District
United Cerebral Palsy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 5/23/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon,
Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley, Dababneh,
Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier,
Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell,
Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer,
Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor,
Medina, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Olsen, Pan, Patterson,
Perea, John A. Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bonilla, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Melendez,
Nestande, V. Manuel Pérez, Vacancy
JL:k 8/18/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****
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