Health and Government Operations panel approves six departmental bills, holds social-work compact for follow-up

The Health and Government Operations Committee, chaired by Delegate Jocelyn Pena-Melnyk, approved six departmental bills Friday and returned one — the Interstate Social Work Licensure Compact — to subcommittee for additional fiscal review.

The most substantive actions included passage of House Bill 36, which consolidates certain aging services into the Department of Aging and requires individualized transition plans and one-on-one counseling for seniors affected by the change, and House Bill 138, which expands eligibility for burial in state veterans cemeteries and prompted questions about the bill's fiscal note. The committee voted to hold House Bill 345, the Interstate Social Work Licensure Compact, and asked sponsors and the licensing board to return to subcommittee with details about a changed fiscal note and whether funds had been swept to the general fund.

House Bill 36, a departmental measure, replaces a statutory requirement that the Secretary of Aging develop congregate housing and assisted-living programs and instead requires the Department of Aging to develop, coordinate and administer a consolidated system providing similar services. An amendment adopted in committee specifies that the definition on the bill applies to area agencies on aging, requires the Department of Aging to engage stakeholders and to provide individualized transition plans and one-on-one counseling for individuals affected by…