| 1 | 1 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . No. 4625 |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | ________________________________________ |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, May 13, 2024. |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | The committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities, to |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | whom were referred the petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 103) of |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | Joan B. Lovely, Sal N. DiDomenico, Angelo J. Puppolo, Jr., Michael O. |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | Moore and other members of the General Court for legislation relative to |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | persons with developmental disabilities, the petition (accompanied by bill, |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | Senate, No. 122) of Susan L. Moran, Joanne M. Comerford, Michael O. |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | Moore and Mathew J. Muratore for legislation to support children with |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | neonatal abstinence syndrome and the petition (accompanied by bill, |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | House, No. 207) of James J. O'Day and others relative to persons with |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | developmental disabilities, reports recommending that the accompanying |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | bill (House, No. 4625) ought to pass. |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | For the committee, |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | JAY D. LIVINGSTONE. 1 of 3 |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | FILED ON: 5/2/2024 |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4625 |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | (2023-2024) |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | An Act relative to persons with developmental disabilities. |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | of the same, as follows: |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | 1 SECTION 1. Section 74 of Chapter 3 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | 2Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting the following section:- |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | 3 SECTION 2. (a) There shall be a special commission entitled the special commission on |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | 4services for persons over age 21 with a developmental disability to study and make |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | 5recommendations concerning the availability of agency services for persons with developmental |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | 6disabilities over the age of 21 in the commonwealth. |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | 7 (b) The commission shall: (1) examine the commonwealth’s current definition of “person |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | 8with a developmental disability” and compare it with the federal definition; (2) engage and listen |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | 9to the experiences and service needs of individuals over 21 with diagnoses that do not currently |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | 10fall under the definition of “person with a developmental disability” in the commonwealth; (3) |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | 11evaluate the availability of services for these populations in the commonwealth, (4) foster inter- |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | 12agency collaboration on delivery of services, and (5) make recommendations for meeting the |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | 13service needs of this population. 2 of 3 |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | 14 (c) The commission shall consist of the following: the co-chairs of the joint committee on |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | 15children, families and persons with disabilities or designees, who shall serve as co-chairs; the co- |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | 16chairs of the joint committee on mental health, substance use and recovery or designees; the |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | 17commissioner of the department of developmental services or a designee; the commissioner of |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | 18the department of mental health or a designee; commissioner of the department of transitional |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | 19assistance or a designee; secretary of health and human services or a designee; director of |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | 20masshealth or a designee; 4 persons to be appointed by the commission co-chairs, who shall be |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | 21representatives of community-based organizations representing populations impacted by |
|---|
| 49 | 49 | | 22diagnoses not currently included in the commonwealth’s definition of developmental disability, |
|---|
| 50 | 50 | | 23including but not limited to fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, spina bifida, |
|---|
| 51 | 51 | | 24familial dysautonomia, potocki-lupski syndrome, and williams-syndrome, and at least 1 of whom |
|---|
| 52 | 52 | | 25shall have lived experience with one or more of these diagnoses. |
|---|
| 53 | 53 | | 26 (d) The commission shall: (1) solicit information and input from service providers, |
|---|
| 54 | 54 | | 27families, educational institutions, and any other parties or entities the commission deems |
|---|
| 55 | 55 | | 28appropriate; review the definition of “person with a developmental disability” in other states, |
|---|
| 56 | 56 | | 29including coverage for conditions “closely related” to intellectual disability and/or |
|---|
| 57 | 57 | | 30developmental disability; (2) identify the service needs of the populations with diagnoses that do |
|---|
| 58 | 58 | | 31not currently fall under the definition of “person with a developmental disability” in the |
|---|
| 59 | 59 | | 32commonwealth; (3) identify the availability and capacity of agencies in the commonwealth to |
|---|
| 60 | 60 | | 33provide services to these populations, including identifying the gaps in services; (4) study and |
|---|
| 61 | 61 | | 34make recommendations for inter-agency resources and services in order to best maximize |
|---|
| 62 | 62 | | 35existing state resources available to meet the service needs of populations with diagnoses that do |
|---|
| 63 | 63 | | 36not currently fall under the definition of “person with a developmental disability” in the 3 of 3 |
|---|
| 64 | 64 | | 37commonwealth; (5) provide budget estimates for provision of services to these populations; (6) |
|---|
| 65 | 65 | | 38develop recommendations to measure and evaluate whether service needs are being met for |
|---|
| 66 | 66 | | 39populations with diagnoses that do not currently fall under the definition of “person with a |
|---|
| 67 | 67 | | 40developmental disability” in the commonwealth; and (7) other recommendations as the |
|---|
| 68 | 68 | | 41commission may deem appropriate. |
|---|
| 69 | 69 | | 42 (e) Members of the commission shall be named and the commission shall commence its |
|---|
| 70 | 70 | | 43work within 60 days of the effective date of this act. The commission shall file a report of its |
|---|
| 71 | 71 | | 44findings and recommendations, including, but not limited to, any draft legislation, budget |
|---|
| 72 | 72 | | 45estimates, regulations or administrative procedure necessary to meet the service needs of |
|---|
| 73 | 73 | | 46populations with diagnoses that do not currently fall under the definition of “person with a |
|---|
| 74 | 74 | | 47developmental disability” in the commonwealth to the state secretary, the clerks of the senate |
|---|
| 75 | 75 | | 48and house of representatives, the joint committee on children, families and persons with |
|---|
| 76 | 76 | | 49disabilities and the executive office of health and human services, not more than 1 year after the |
|---|
| 77 | 77 | | 50effective date of this act. |
|---|