| 18 | | - | (a) The Department of Social Services shall prepare and routinely update state medical services and public assistance manuals. The pages of such manuals shall be consecutively numbered and indexed, containing all departmental policy regulations and substantive procedure, written in clear and concise language. Said manuals shall be published online by the department and linked to the eRegulations System. All policy manuals of the department, as they exist on May 23, 1984, including the supporting bulletins but not including statements concerning only the internal management of the department and not affecting private rights or procedures available to the public, shall be construed to have been adopted as regulations in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54. After May 23, 1984, any policy issued by the department, except a policy necessary to conform to a requirement of a federal or joint federal and state program administered by the department, including, but not limited to, the state supplement program to the Supplemental Security Income Program, shall be adopted as a regulation in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54. Not later than ten days prior to implementing any new guidelines contained in a provider bulletin issued by the department that are not being adopted as regulations in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, the department shall release such guidelines to (1) all appropriate provider types enrolled in the department's provider enrollment system that are listed in the provider bulletin as the formal recipients of such provider bulletin and that are affected by the new guidelines contained in the bulletin, as determined by the department, and (2) any provider or person who has signed up to receive electronic notification of provider bulletins on an Internet web site maintained by or on behalf of the department. The ten-day-notice period shall not apply if the bulletin contains guidelines that must be implemented immediately to (A) address a health, safety or program integrity concern, as determined by the Commissioner of Social Services, (B) comply with federal requirements for one or more department programs, (C) implement one or more corrections, clarifications or updates to a previously issued provider bulletin, or (D) ensure savings targets contained in the budget are achieved. |
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| 30 | + | (a) The Department of Social Services shall prepare and routinely update state medical services and public assistance manuals. The pages of such manuals shall be consecutively numbered and indexed, containing all departmental policy regulations and substantive procedure, written in clear and concise language. Said manuals shall be published online by the department and linked to the eRegulations System. All policy manuals of the department, as they exist on May 23, 1984, including the supporting bulletins but not including statements concerning only the internal management of the department and not affecting private rights or procedures available to the public, shall be construed to have been adopted as regulations in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54. After May 23, 1984, any policy issued by the department, except a policy necessary to conform to a requirement of a federal or joint federal and state program administered by the department, including, but not limited to, the state supplement program to the Supplemental Security Income Program, shall be adopted as a regulation in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54. The department shall release to providers and the general public any available information on (1) guidelines concerning department-administered programs that are not being adopted as regulations in accordance with chapter 54, and (2) changes in the law or regulations governing department programs. Not later than sixty days prior to implementing any such guidelines, law or regulations, or as soon as practicable, the department shall release such information to (A) the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to human services, (B) any provider who requests electronic notification of bulletins on the department's Internet web site, and (C) any person who has signed up on the eRegulations System to receive alerts about proposed department regulations. The sixty-day-notice period shall not apply in the event that the information concerns guidelines that must be implemented immediately to (i) address a health or safety concern, as determined by the Commissioner of Social Services, or (ii) comply with federal requirements for department programs. |
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