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Committee advances bill to extend bed‑hold and vacancy timelines for two‑person group homes
Summary
The Health and Human Services Committee voted to report LD2117 out as amended. The bill extends certain bed‑hold and roommate‑search timelines for Section 21 two‑person homes (30→60 days for hospital bed‑hold; 90→120 days search with limited 60‑day extensions) and creates a limited exception for long‑term residents; CMS waiver approval was identified as necessary for federal match.
The Health and Human Services Committee on a voice vote moved LD2117 forward after adopting changes that would extend timelines governing vacancies in two‑person Section 21 group homes.
Sponsor Representative Melanie Saxs told the committee the resolve is narrowly tailored to give providers modest flexibility when a resident vacates a two‑person home because of hospitalization or other short‑term absences. "I provided the committee with the denial letter where the department said they had no flexibility because this is the rule," Saxs said, arguing the change would help a small, often rural population of residents and providers.
The amendment adopted in committee would: extend the hospital bed‑hold from 30 to 60 days; lengthen the provider search window from 90 to 120 days before a 30‑day eviction notice is issued; and allow the department, upon provider request, to grant up to two 60‑day extensions. The bill also permits additional extensions beyond those limits when a remaining resident has lived at the address for at least five years.
Betsy Hopkins, director of the Office of Aging and Disability Services, explained the ADA accommodation process and described current operational limits. Hopkins confirmed the department's counts cited in testimony — about 98 waiver members currently living alone and another 66 placements under review — and said many single placements represent individuals with higher support needs. "There's a higher staffing intensity when somebody's living alone," Hopkins said, noting cost and workforce consequences.
Committee members pressed the department on where residents would go if a roommate left and whether the state could be forced to place a resident without a suitable match. The department said its practice is to work with the individual's team and resource coordinators so a person would not be left without a place to go; members also discussed the possibility of using general fund dollars if CMS denies a waiver amendment needed for federal matching.
Abby Cyvers, DHHS government relations director, framed the fiscal tradeoffs: single occupancy can be less efficient across the waiver system because providers operate independently and vacancies across many small providers can raise overall costs. Committee discussion repeatedly returned to the need both to protect residents' homes and to account for federal waiver rules and fiscal impacts.
The committee instructed staff to draft language focused on (1) moving the 90‑day search to 120 days, (2) allowing limited extensions, and (3) applying a five‑year residency exemption. A motion that LD2117 "ought to pass as amended" carried on a voice vote. The department and sponsor were asked to clarify whether the change requires a CMS waiver amendment and what the funding fallback would be if federal approval were not obtained.
Next steps: committee staff will prepare amended draft language for technical review; the department will confirm CMS waiver requirements and the fiscal office will update cost estimates tied to final draft language.
