1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to human services; modifying use of personal 
  1.3             sick leave benefits; establishing an Internet-based 
  1.4             caregiver support program; establishing a home care 
  1.5             tax credit; requiring a telehome care study; 
  1.6             appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 2004, 
  1.7             sections 181.9413; 256B.0911, subdivision 3; 
  1.8             256B.0917, by adding subdivisions; proposing coding 
  1.9             for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 290. 
  1.10  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.11     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 181.9413, is 
  1.12  amended to read: 
  1.13     181.9413 [SICK OR INJURED CHILD CARE LEAVE BENEFITS; USE TO 
  1.14  CARE FOR CERTAIN RELATIVES.] 
  1.15     (a) An employee may use personal sick leave benefits 
  1.16  provided by the employer for absences due to an illness of or 
  1.17  injury to the employee's child, spouse, sibling, parent, 
  1.18  grandparent, or stepparent for such reasonable periods as the 
  1.19  employee's attendance with the child may be necessary, on the 
  1.20  same terms upon which the employee is able to use sick leave 
  1.21  benefits for the employee's own illness or injury.  This section 
  1.22  applies only to personal sick leave benefits payable to the 
  1.23  employee from the employer's general assets. 
  1.24     (b) For purposes of this section, "personal sick leave 
  1.25  benefits" means time accrued and available to an employee to be 
  1.26  used as a result of absence from work due to personal illness or 
  1.27  injury, but does not include short-term or long-term disability 
  2.1   or other salary continuation benefits. 
  2.2      <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective August 1, 2005, 
  2.3   and applies to sick leave used on or after that date. 
  2.4      Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 256B.0911, 
  2.5   subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  2.6      Subd. 3.  [LONG-TERM CARE CONSULTATION TEAM.] (a) A 
  2.7   long-term care consultation team shall be established by the 
  2.8   county board of commissioners.  Each local consultation team 
  2.9   shall consist of at least one social worker and at least one 
  2.10  public health nurse from their respective county agencies.  The 
  2.11  board may designate public health or social services as the lead 
  2.12  agency for long-term care consultation services.  If a county 
  2.13  does not have a public health nurse available, it may request 
  2.14  approval from the commissioner to assign a county registered 
  2.15  nurse with at least one year experience in home care to 
  2.16  participate on the team.  Two or more counties may collaborate 
  2.17  to establish a joint local consultation team or teams. 
  2.18     (b) The team is responsible for providing long-term care 
  2.19  consultation services to all persons located in the county who 
  2.20  request the services, regardless of eligibility for Minnesota 
  2.21  health care programs. 
  2.22     (c) For applicants for a credit under section 290.0676, the 
  2.23  team must certify in accordance with procedures established by 
  2.24  the commissioner that the care provided by the caregiver: 
  2.25     (1) qualifies as personal care assistant services under 
  2.26  section 256B.0627, subdivision 4; 
  2.27     (2) is needed and provided in person on a daily basis; 
  2.28     (3) is appropriate based on the service recipient's needs 
  2.29  and is likely to delay or avoid transferring the person to an 
  2.30  out-of-home placement; and 
  2.31     (4) has been given a score using the caregiver burden scale 
  2.32  under section 256B.0917, subdivision 6b. 
  2.33     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 256B.0917, is 
  2.34  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  2.35     Subd. 6a.  [INTERNET-BASED CAREGIVER SUPPORT PROGRAM.] The 
  2.36  Minnesota Board on Aging shall develop and implement an 
  3.1   Internet-based caregiver support program.  The goal of the 
  3.2   program shall be to provide family caregivers with the 
  3.3   information and tools needed to self-manage, plan, purchase, 
  3.4   coordinate, monitor, and evaluate the day-to-day activities and 
  3.5   care outcomes of family members to whom they provide care.  The 
  3.6   program must complement Internet-based information services that 
  3.7   are currently available.  The program must include the following 
  3.8   components: 
  3.9      (1) direct connectivity to statewide systems, including, 
  3.10  but not limited to, Senior LinkAge Line, MinnesotaHelp.info, 
  3.11  RXConnect, and long-term care consultation and to vendors and 
  3.12  providers of goods and services, including, but not limited to, 
  3.13  respite care, coach services, pharmaceutical vendors, medical 
  3.14  supply vendors, grocers, personal care vendors, and electronic 
  3.15  assistive technology vendors; 
  3.16     (2) access to online resources, including connectivity to 
  3.17  daily living and clinical monitoring devices and audio and 
  3.18  visual contact between the care recipient, the caregiver, 
  3.19  services providers, and others for tracking or conducting 
  3.20  service visits, care meetings, and other service provision; 
  3.21     (3) message boards related to caregiver news, information, 
  3.22  and events; 
  3.23     (4) data collection, including surveys, and reporting and 
  3.24  registration functions as required by state and federal 
  3.25  programs; and 
  3.26     (5) an individual data profile accessible by designated 
  3.27  parties to view, add, share, or edit information as needed to 
  3.28  support informal caregiving. 
  3.29     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 256B.0917, is 
  3.30  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  3.31     Subd. 6b.  [DUTIES WITH RESPECT TO HOME CARE CREDIT; 
  3.32  APPLICATIONS.] (a) The commissioner shall develop by December 1, 
  3.33  2005, a caregiver burden scale to score applicants for the home 
  3.34  care credit under section 290.0676.  The score shall measure 
  3.35  hours per week of care provided, the volume and types of 
  3.36  assistance provided, and other criteria determined by the 
  4.1   commissioner to be pertinent.  
  4.2      (b) Each caregiver applying for a credit under section 
  4.3   290.0676 must apply to the commissioner.  The commissioner shall 
  4.4   rank applicants on the score developed under paragraph (a).  The 
  4.5   commissioner shall limit approvals under this paragraph in order 
  4.6   to keep the credit payments under section 290.0676 within the 
  4.7   limits of appropriations made specifically for this purpose. 
  4.8      (c) In each calendar year, the commissioner shall accept 
  4.9   until February 15 applications for a caregiver burden scale 
  4.10  score for the previous calendar year.  By March 15 of each 
  4.11  calendar year, the commissioner must issue approvals for credits 
  4.12  under section 290.0676, based on each applicant's score on the 
  4.13  scale and the appropriations available for credits.  The 
  4.14  commissioner may develop procedures to delegate to appropriate 
  4.15  organizations the responsibility to assign burden scale scores 
  4.16  to applicants. 
  4.17     (d) The commissioner shall be exempt from chapter 14 for 
  4.18  purposes of this subdivision. 
  4.19     Sec. 5.  [290.0676] [MINNESOTA HOME CARE CREDIT.] 
  4.20     Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] The terms used in this 
  4.21  section have the following meanings unless otherwise provided 
  4.22  for by text. 
  4.23     Subd. 2.  [CAREGIVER.] "Caregiver" means an individual who 
  4.24  provides unpaid assistance on a daily basis that qualifies as 
  4.25  personal care assistant services under section 256B.0627, 
  4.26  subdivision 4, to a service recipient in either the individual's 
  4.27  home or the service recipient's home. 
  4.28     Subd. 3.  [SERVICE RECIPIENT.] "Service recipient" means an 
  4.29  individual age 65 or older who: 
  4.30     (1) is the spouse, parent, stepparent, sibling, 
  4.31  stepsibling, child, stepchild, grandparent, or stepgrandparent 
  4.32  of the taxpayer; 
  4.33     (2) resides other than in a setting licensed or registered 
  4.34  by the commissioner of health or human services; and 
  4.35     (3) has been screened by a county long-term care 
  4.36  consultation team and determined by that team to be eligible for 
  5.1   placement in a nursing home. 
  5.2      Subd. 4.  [CREDIT ALLOWED.] (a) An individual is allowed a 
  5.3   credit against the tax imposed by this chapter equal to $200 for 
  5.4   each month during the tax year that the individual is a 
  5.5   caregiver for a service recipient.  The maximum credit in a tax 
  5.6   year shall be $2,400. 
  5.7      (b) The commissioner shall require individuals claiming the 
  5.8   credit to certify that the individual and the service recipient 
  5.9   satisfy all the requirements of this section. 
  5.10     (c) An individual may claim only one credit in any tax year.
  5.11  Only one credit may be claimed for each service recipient in any 
  5.12  tax year. 
  5.13     (d) For a nonresident or part-year resident, the credit 
  5.14  must be allocated based on the percentage calculated under 
  5.15  section 290.06, subdivision 2c, paragraph (e). 
  5.16     Subd. 5.  [CREDIT LIMITATIONS.] (a) Eligibility for the 
  5.17  credit in subdivision 4 is limited to persons with total 
  5.18  household income, as defined in section 290A.03, subdivision 5, 
  5.19  that does not exceed the maximum household income level eligible 
  5.20  for a refund under section 290A.04, subdivision 2. 
  5.21     (b) Eligibility for the credit in subdivision 4 is limited 
  5.22  to persons who have been approved by the commissioner of human 
  5.23  services under section 256B.0917, subdivision 6b. 
  5.24     (c) The credit in subdivision 4 is reduced to $100 for any 
  5.25  month in which a service recipient receives more than four hours 
  5.26  per day on average of federal, state, or county-funded home care 
  5.27  services as specified in section 256B.0627, subdivision 2. 
  5.28     Subd. 6.  [CREDIT REFUNDABLE.] If the amount of the credit 
  5.29  under this section exceeds the individual's tax liability under 
  5.30  this chapter, the commissioner shall refund the excess amount to 
  5.31  the claimant. 
  5.32     Subd. 7.  [CAREGIVER TRAINING.] For each year in which a 
  5.33  credit is claimed under this section, the caregiver must attend 
  5.34  at least eight hours of (1) caregiver training, education, or 
  5.35  counseling, or (2) caregiver support group sessions. 
  5.36     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective for taxable 
  6.1   years beginning after December 31, 2004. 
  6.2      Sec. 6.  [TELEHOME CARE STUDY.] 
  6.3      (a) The commissioner of human services, in consultation 
  6.4   with the commissioner of health, shall convene a work group to 
  6.5   study and make recommendations on integrating within the home 
  6.6   health care delivery system the delivery of home health care 
  6.7   services via an interactive telecommunications system and 
  6.8   monitoring technologies to homebound patients with chronic 
  6.9   illness or disabilities.  The study shall examine the 
  6.10  effectiveness of video conferencing, Internet access, and 
  6.11  physiological monitoring within a home health care setting in 
  6.12  terms of cost, accessibility, health outcomes, and provider and 
  6.13  patient satisfaction.  The study shall: 
  6.14     (1) identify limitations and barriers and recommend 
  6.15  possible solutions to providing telehome care, including 
  6.16  provider reimbursement; patient and provider recruitment and 
  6.17  training; equipment and technology access and support; and 
  6.18  patient privacy; 
  6.19     (2) identify possible populations that may benefit from 
  6.20  in-home monitoring and education; 
  6.21     (3) identify best-practices guidelines, policies, and 
  6.22  standards for telehome care; 
  6.23     (4) assess the status of current projects providing 
  6.24  telehome care in Minnesota; and 
  6.25     (5) identify partnership models and collaboration potential 
  6.26  for delivering quality telehome care delivery system. 
  6.27     (b) The work group shall include representatives of health 
  6.28  care providers, hospitals, educators, researchers, home health 
  6.29  care providers, and home health care recipients. 
  6.30     (c) The commissioner shall submit a report to the 
  6.31  legislature by January 15, 2006, on the results of the study, 
  6.32  including any recommendations on necessary legislative changes 
  6.33  in order to incorporate telehome care into the health care 
  6.34  delivery system. 
  6.35     Sec. 7.  [APPROPRIATIONS.] 
  6.36     (a) $....... is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  7.1   commissioner of human services for the biennium beginning July 
  7.2   1, 2005, for the purposes of section 2. 
  7.3      (b) $750,000 in fiscal year 2006 and $200,000 in fiscal 
  7.4   year 2007 is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  7.5   commissioner of human services for the purposes of section 3. 
  7.6      (c) $4,800,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  7.7   commissioner of revenue for the biennium beginning July 1, 2005, 
  7.8   for purposes of section 5.