HCS HB 2036 -- ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR ELDERLY SERVICES

SPONSOR:  Nance

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass by consent" by the Special
Committee on Senior Citizen Advocacy by a vote of 10 to 0.

This substitute requires the Department of Health and Senior
services to equitably distribute to each area agency on aging any
funds appropriated by the General Assembly that are in addition
to the annual budget appropriation for nutrition, transportation,
or home-delivered meal services for the elderly, pursuant to
rules established by the department.

FISCAL NOTE:  No impact on state funds in FY 2009, FY 2010, and
FY 2011.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that the bill allows the special
needs of individual senior centers to be funded directly through
an appropriation of the General Assembly instead of going through
the funding formula of the area agencies on aging.

Testifying for the bill was Representative Nance.

OPPONENTS:  There was no opposition voiced to the committee.

OTHERS:  Others testifying on the bill say that the General
Assembly has, in recent years, allocated additional money
directly to senior service providers for nutrition services for
the elderly in direct violation of state law because the funding
was not allocated through the intrastate funding formula.  By
removing the statute, it will prevent the General Assembly from
violating the law.  The bill may create earmarking of funds to a
particular area agency on aging instead of allocating to all
agencies.

Testifying on the bill were Jean Leonatti; Dave Sykora; Glenda
Hoffmeister; Helen Coller; and Department of Health and Senior
Services.

Missouri House of Representatives
94th General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated October 15, 2008 at 3:11 pm