SF 2876

3rd Engrossment - 92nd Legislature (2021 - 2022) Posted on 04/07/2022 11:19am

A bill for an act
relating to health and human services; granting the commissioner of human services
temporary authority to reinstate waivers and modifications to certain human services
programs; granting the commissioner of health temporary emergency authority to
grant certain COVID waivers; exempting certain rate increases from a contingent
appropriation requirement; establishing a temporary staffing pool; appropriating
money; amending Laws 2021, First Special Session chapter 7, article 16, section
28.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Laws 2021, First Special Session chapter 7, article 16, section 28, is amended
to read:

Sec. 28. CONTINGENT APPROPRIATIONS.

Any appropriation in this act for a purpose included in Minnesota's initial state spending
plan as described in guidance issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
for implementation of section 9817 of the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 is
contingent upon approval of that purpose by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services new text begin ,
except for the rate increases specified in article 11, sections 12 and 19 new text end . This section expires
June 30, 2024.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment.
new text end

Sec. 2. new text begin COMMISSIONER OF HEALTH; TEMPORARY EMERGENCY
AUTHORITY.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Temporary emergency authority granted. new text end

new text begin The commissioner of health
is granted temporary emergency authority as described in and limited by this section. The
temporary emergency authority granted to the commissioner may only be used to grant
individual or blanket state waivers.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Individual or blanket waivers permitted. new text end

new text begin Temporary individual or blanket
waivers may be granted to waive requirements in the following statutes and rules provided
a granted waiver does not adversely affect resident or patient care or quality of the services:
new text end

new text begin (1) Minnesota Statutes, chapter 144, for hospitals relating to hospital construction
moratorium or bed capacity restrictions, except that no individual or blanket waiver may
be granted that will result in construction or other physical alterations of a hospital that
cannot be removed at the expiration of the waiver;
new text end

new text begin (2) Minnesota Statutes, chapters 144 and 144A, for nursing homes relating to bed
moratorium, permitting an increase of licensed bed capacity only and no expansion of
medical assistance certification to new or existing layaway and nonlayaway beds, and the
notice timeline requirements for residents who are transferred or discharged as a response
to COVID-19; and
new text end

new text begin (3) Minnesota Statutes, chapters 144 and 144A, and Minnesota Rules, chapters 4640
and 4658, for hospitals and nursing homes relating to licensing fees. On the waiver
application form, the hospital or nursing home seeking a waiver must attest that the fee
waiver is needed due to hardship.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Notice. new text end

new text begin (a) No later than 48 hours after an individual wavier or blanket waiver
under this section goes into effect, the commissioner must provide written notice of the
waiver to the appropriate ombudsman, if any, and to the chairs and ranking minority members
of the legislative committees with jurisdiction over the Department of Health.
new text end

new text begin (b) A waiver issued or granted under this section must be posted on the Department of
Health's website within 48 hours after being issued or granted and must include a
plain-language description of the waiver.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Expiration of waivers. new text end

new text begin Any waiver granted by this section expires on June 30,
2022. This subdivision does not apply to nursing home transfer and discharge waivers if
necessary federal approval is not obtained prior to June 30, 2022.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment.
new text end

Sec. 3. new text begin REINSTATEMENT AND EXTENSION OF COVID-19 PROGRAM
WAIVERS AND MODIFICATIONS.
new text end

new text begin The commissioner of human services may reinstate waivers and modifications to human
services programs as described in this section that were issued by the commissioner pursuant
to the governor's Executive Order 20-12, including any amendments to the waivers and
modifications. The waivers and modifications may remain in effect until June 30, 2022,
except CV03 and CV04 may remain in effect until June 30, 2023. The following waivers
and modifications to human services programs may be reinstated:
new text end

new text begin (1) CV03: allowing oral or written signatures by applicants on applications for public
assistance programs;
new text end

new text begin (2) CV04: allowing oral or written permission from public assistance program participants
for the Department of Human Services to contact third parties to verify reported information;
new text end

new text begin (3) CV11: allowing video conferencing in monthly foster care visits by a child's
caseworker when:
new text end

new text begin (i) there is a declaration of a federal or state emergency that prohibits or strongly
discourages person-to-person contact for public health reasons; and
new text end

new text begin (ii) there is a person in the foster care household with a confirmed or suspected case of
COVID-19. For purposes of this clause, "suspected case of COVID-19" means a person
who is exhibiting the signs and symptoms of COVID-19 and has either been tested for
COVID-19 and is waiting for test results or has not been tested for COVID-19;
new text end

new text begin (4) CV23: waiving mandatory direct contact supervision requirements to allow
case-by-case decisions to permit certain individuals to work without supervision while that
individual's background studies are being processed, as permitted under federal law and
regulation, and allowing the transition from name and date of birth studies of Minnesota
records only, for both existing studies and studies that may be initiated during the transition
period, to fingerprint-based background studies to resume on a schedule established by the
commissioner and published on the department's website. Waiver provisions permitting the
return to background studies of Minnesota records only for providers who are currently
transitioned to fingerprint-based studies shall not be reinstated;
new text end

new text begin (5) CV53: allowing qualified professionals to provide required in-person oversight of
personal care assistance workers via two-way interactive telecommunications for all program
participants who receive personal care assistance services; and
new text end

new text begin (6) CV89: allowing program participants to give oral, written, or expressed approval of
documents related to long-term services and supports that typically require in-person
signatures.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment except
for clauses (5) and (6), which are effective retroactively from September 1, 2021.
new text end

Sec. 4. new text begin CHILD CARE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM PAYMENT DURING
TEMPORARY CLOSURES FOR HEALTH CONCERNS RELATED TO COVID-19.
new text end

new text begin (a) The commissioner of human services may pay child care assistance to a child care
provider through June 26, 2022, when:
new text end

new text begin (1) children are not attending child care because the child care provider has temporarily
closed an entire program due to health concerns related to COVID-19; or
new text end

new text begin (2) a provider chooses to reduce or not charge fees for non-CCAP families because of
closed or absent days due to health concerns related to COVID-19.
new text end

new text begin (b) Child care assistance payments during temporary closures related to COVID-19 are
limited to up to eight weeks total per child care provider through June 26, 2022. A child
care provider must report any closure to the commissioner of human services prior to
submitting a request for payment under this section.
new text end

new text begin (c) A child care provider that receives a child care assistance payment under this section
and that charges or charged fees to families because of closed or absent days due to health
concerns related to COVID-19, through June 26, 2022, shall not collect the amount charged
from families receiving child care assistance for days that the provider receives a payment
under this section.
new text end

new text begin (d) Child care assistance program payments made to a provider for absent or closed days
are considered income for purposes of applying for a child care stabilization financial
hardship grant established pursuant to Laws 2021, First Special Session chapter 7, article
14, section 21, subdivision 4, paragraph (c).
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective retroactively from November 1, 2021,
except paragraph (d) is effective the day following final enactment.
new text end

Sec. 5. new text begin TEMPORARY MODIFICATIONS OF CHILD CARE CENTER STAFF;
DISTRIBUTION REQUIREMENTS.
new text end

new text begin (a) The commissioner of human services may temporarily suspend child care center
staff distribution requirements under Minnesota Rules, part 9503.0040, subpart 2, item D,
until June 30, 2022.
new text end

new text begin (b) A licensed child care center, except as allowed under Minnesota Rules, part
9503.0040, subpart 2, item B, must have at least one person qualified as a teacher on site
at all times when a child is in care at the licensed child care center. There must be a staff
person who is at least 18 years of age with each group of children, except as allowed under
Minnesota Rules, part 9503.0034, subpart 1.
new text end

new text begin (c) A licensed child care center must have a staff person on site who is responsible for
overseeing the operation of the daily activities of the program, ensuring the health and safety
of the children, and supervising staff. The on-site staff person is not required to meet the
qualifications of a director.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment.
new text end

Sec. 6. new text begin COMMISSIONER OF HUMAN SERVICES; TEMPORARY STAFFING
POOL; APPROPRIATION.
new text end

new text begin (a) The commissioner of human services shall establish a temporary emergency staffing
pool for congregate settings experiencing staffing crises. Vendor contracts may include
retention bonuses, sign-on bonuses, and payment for hours on call. The commissioner may
pay for necessary training, travel, and lodging expenses of the temporary staff. Contracts
for temporary staffing executed under this section: (1) should minimize the recruitment
away from providers' current workforces; and (2) may not be executed with an individual
until at least 30 days since the individual was last employed in Minnesota by one of the
types of facilities listed in paragraph (g).
new text end

new text begin (b) Temporary staff, at the request of the commissioner, may be deployed to long-term
care facilities and other congregate care residential facilities and programs experiencing an
emergency staffing crisis on or after the effective date of this section. Temporary staff must
be provided at no cost to the facility or program receiving the temporary staff.
new text end

new text begin (c) Members of the temporary staffing pool under this section are not state employees.
new text end

new text begin (d) The commissioner must coordinate the activities under this section with any other
impacted state agencies, to appropriately prioritize locations to deploy contracted temporary
staff.
new text end

new text begin (e) The commissioner must give priority for deploying staff to facilities and programs
with the most significant staffing crises and where, but for this assistance, residents would
be at significant risk of injury due to the need to transfer to another facility or a hospital for
adequately staffed care.
new text end

new text begin (f) A facility or program may seek onetime assistance per setting from the temporary
staffing pool only after the facility or program has used all resources available to obtain
temporary staff but is unable to meet the facility's or program's temporary staffing needs.
A facility or program may apply for temporary staff for up to 21 days. Applicants must
submit a proposed plan for ensuring resident safety at the end of that time period.
new text end

new text begin (g) Facilities and programs eligible to obtain temporary staff from the temporary staffing
pool include:
new text end

new text begin (1) nursing facilities;
new text end

new text begin (2) assisted living facilities;
new text end

new text begin (3) intermediate care facilities for persons with developmental disabilities;
new text end

new text begin (4) adult foster care or community residential settings;
new text end

new text begin (5) licensed substance use disorder treatment facilities;
new text end

new text begin (6) unlicensed county-based substance use disorder treatment facilities;
new text end

new text begin (7) licensed facilities for adults with mental illness;
new text end

new text begin (8) licensed detoxification programs;
new text end

new text begin (9) licensed withdrawal management programs;
new text end

new text begin (10) licensed children's residential facilities;
new text end

new text begin (11) licensed child foster residence settings;
new text end

new text begin (12) unlicensed, Tribal-certified facilities that perform functions similar to the licensed
facilities listed in this paragraph;
new text end

new text begin (13) boarding care homes;
new text end

new text begin (14) board and lodging establishments serving people with disabilities or disabling
conditions;
new text end

new text begin (15) board and lodging establishments with special services;
new text end

new text begin (16) supervised living facilities;
new text end

new text begin (17) supportive housing;
new text end

new text begin (18) sober homes;
new text end

new text begin (19) community-based halfway houses for people exiting the correctional system;
new text end

new text begin (20) shelters serving people experiencing homelessness;
new text end

new text begin (21) drop-in centers for people experiencing homelessness;
new text end

new text begin (22) homeless outreach services for unsheltered individuals;
new text end

new text begin (23) shelters for people experiencing domestic violence; and
new text end

new text begin (24) temporary isolation spaces for people who test positive for COVID-19.
new text end

new text begin (h) Notwithstanding Minnesota Statutes, chapter 16C, the commissioner may maintain,
extend, or renew contracts for temporary staffing entered into on or after September 1, 2020.
The commissioner may also enter into new contracts with eligible entities for temporary
staff deployed in the temporary staffing pool. The commissioner may use up to 6.5 percent
of this funding for the commissioner's costs related to administration of this program.
new text end

new text begin (i) The commissioner shall seek all allowable FEMA reimbursement for the costs of this
activity.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment.
new text end

Sec. 7. new text begin APPROPRIATION; TEMPORARY STAFFING POOL.
new text end

new text begin $1,029,000 in fiscal year 2022 is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner
of human services for the temporary staffing pool described in this act. This is a onetime
appropriation and is available until June 30, 2022.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment.
new text end