Aging Committee advances four long-term care measures, including background-check and COLA proposals

The Aging Committee voted Feb. 18 to advance four bills to the House floor, moving two study placeholders and two policy proposals that affect long-term care residents and staff.

Committee members voted to send HB 6772, a placeholder “study of the needs of senior citizens,” and SB 1177, another placeholder study of long-term care needs, to the floor. The committee also advanced HB 6774, concerning long-term care facility employee and volunteer background checks, and HB 6775, which would adjust long-term care residents’ personal needs allowances (PNA) and tie future increases to cost-of-living indexing.

The committee’s action came after brief debate on each measure. Representative Hughes moved HB 6772 to be placed on the House calendar; the clerk called the roll and the motion carried. On HB 6774, the committee adopted substitute language that retains background checks for employees and limits checks for volunteers to cases where volunteers will have direct access to patients. "The substitute language requires volunteers to submit a background check only if they will have direct access to patients," the chair said during floor discussion. Representative Case raised cost concerns about the scope of background checks and whether the bill requires fingerprint-based checks or a facility-level review. The chair responded that the bill looks at criminal history and a patient-abuse background search, including the registry of nurse aides maintained by the Department of Public Health and state and national criminal history records.

On HB 6775, committee debate focused on how to increase residents’ personal needs allowances, which committee members said are currently low. Senator Huang urged indexing PNA to cost-of-living changes rather than setting a single fixed increase, citing comparisons with other states and arguing that indexing would better preserve purchasing power: "The committee...made the decision to not make a finite number, but to tie it to cost of living indexing," Huang said. Members discussed whether sending the bill directly to the floor was the quickest route or whether routing it through appropriations would be more effective because it has budgetary implications.

All four measures were reported out of the committee to be placed on the House calendar. Some members pressed leadership and stakeholder groups to follow up with appropriations and other committees during upcoming public hearings; the committee announced additional public hearings on the issue and said votes would remain open until 3:00 p.m. after recess.

Votes at a glance

- HB 6772, An act concerning the study of the needs of senior citizens — motion to place on the House calendar (JF to floor). Motion moved by Representative Hughes; roll called. (Vote recorded in transcript: Senator Hockadell — yes; Representative Garibay — yes; Representative Fortier — yes; Senator Huang — yes; Representative Hughes — yes; Representative Pezzuto — no; Representative Napoli — yes.) Outcome: approved to be placed on the House calendar.

- HB 6774, An act concerning long-term care facility employee and volunteer background checks (LCO 4994) — motion to place on the House calendar (JF to floor) with substitute language limiting volunteer checks to those with direct patient access. (Roll-call votes recorded in transcript include: Senator Hockadell — yes; Representative Garibay — yes; Representative Fortier — yes; Senator Huang — yes; Representative Case — yes; Representative Hughes — yes.) Outcome: approved to be placed on the House calendar.

- HB 6775, An act concerning cost-of-living adjustments to long-term care facility residents’ personal needs allowance — motion to place on the House calendar. Debate centered on whether to send the bill directly to the floor or through appropriations and on indexing the allowance to cost-of-living changes. (Roll-call votes recorded in transcript include: Senator Hockadell — yes; Representative Garibay — yes; Representative Fortier — yes; Senator Huang — yes; Representative Balinski — yes; Representative Hughes — yes; Representative Pezzuto — yes; Representative Napoli — yes.) Outcome: approved to be placed on the House calendar.

- SB 1177, An act concerning a study of long-term care needs — motion to place on the House calendar (JF to floor), recorded as a placeholder. (Roll-call votes recorded in transcript include: Senator Hockadell — yes; Representative Garibay — yes; Representative Fortier — yes; Senator Waddell — yes; Representative Hughes — yes; Representative Pezzuto — no; Representative Napoli — yes.) Outcome: approved to be placed on the House calendar.

Nut graf: The votes advance bills that could change how long-term care facilities screen employees and volunteers and how much money residents can use for personal needs; the background-check substitute narrows the volunteer requirement to situations involving direct patient access, while the PNA bill seeks a path to steady increases through indexing.

Committee members and witnesses pressed for follow-up in appropriations and other committees given the fiscal implications; chairs asked leadership to raise awareness ahead of upcoming hearings. The committee announced further public hearings on this subject and scheduled its next meeting for March 4.

Ending: The committee recessed with votes left open until 3 p.m.; clerks and remote members completed additional roll-call confirmations after the recess.