HF 3

as introduced - 92nd Legislature (2021 - 2022) Posted on 03/25/2021 07:32pm

A bill for an act
relating to state government; appropriating money for long-term protection and
support, temporary staffing, emergency housing services, isolation spaces, and
housing support.

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

ARTICLE 1

LONG-TERM CARE

Section 1. new text begin COMMISSIONER OF HEALTH; LONG-TERM CARE PROTECTION
AND SUPPORT ACTIVITIES; APPROPRIATIONS.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin COVID-19 testing and vaccinations in long-term care
facilities. new text end

new text begin $2,108,000 in fiscal year 2021 is appropriated from the general fund to the
commissioner of health for:
new text end

new text begin (1) contracts for teams to provide COVID-19 test specimen collection and vaccination
services to long-term care facilities; and
new text end

new text begin (2) activities of staff at the State Emergency Operations Center to support COVID-19
testing and vaccination in long-term care facilities, including but not limited to scheduling
and logistics management of specimen collection and vaccination teams and laboratory
services, monitoring contract performance, providing technical assistance and coordination
support to long-term care facilities seeking testing or vaccinations, and acting as liaisons
to long-term care stakeholders.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin COVID-19 testing for certain Department of Health staff. new text end

new text begin $333,000 in fiscal
year 2021 is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner of health to conduct
COVID-19 tests, in a manner consistent with federal testing requirements for nursing
facilities, on Department of Health regulatory staff who are required to enter long-term care
facilities to perform regulatory functions.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Nurse triage line. new text end

new text begin $480,000 in fiscal year 2021 is appropriated from the general
fund to the commissioner of health for a contract for a nurse triage line that reports
COVID-19 test results to residents and staff of certain long-term care facilities and responds
to questions from these facilities.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Staffing support to prevent COVID-19 transmission in long-term care
facilities. new text end

new text begin $631,000 in fiscal year 2021 is appropriated from the general fund to the
commissioner of health for contracts with infection control nurses and health care worker
monitoring staff for activities to prevent COVID-19 transmission in long-term care facilities.
Activities include but are not limited to assessing the infrastructure and capacity of long-term
care facilities to prevent COVID-19 transmission, providing technical assistance to prevent
transmission, contacting health care workers exposed to COVID-19, and assisting with
communications with health care workers exposed to COVID-19.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Infection control strike teams. new text end

new text begin $888,000 in fiscal year 2021 is appropriated
from the general fund to the commissioner of health to establish and deploy four five-person
infection control strike teams to long-term care facilities in the state experiencing an outbreak
of COVID-19 to provide targeted infection control support and advice to these facilities.
Infection control strike teams must be equipped with protocols for infection prevention and
control, methods to identify staffing solutions, local communication plans, and protocols
to assess facility needs and assist with supply procurement. Infection control strike teams
must coordinate with local public health departments and regional health care coalitions on
staffing and acquiring personal protective equipment.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Appropriation availability; cancellation. new text end

new text begin The appropriations under this section
are onetime appropriations and are available until 60 days after the expiration of the
peacetime emergency declared under Minnesota Statutes, section 12.31, due to COVID-19,
or June 30, 2021, whichever occurs earlier. Any unexpended amounts that are not obligated
by that date cancel to the general fund.
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. 2. new text begin COMMISSIONER OF HUMAN SERVICES; TEMPORARY STAFFING
POOL; APPROPRIATION.
new text end

new text begin (a) $2,000,000 in fiscal year 2021 is appropriated from the general fund to the
commissioner of human services to contract with third-party staffing entities, for the
contracted third-party staffing entities to recruit, hire, train, and employ a temporary staffing
pool. These temporary staff, at the request of the commissioner, may be deployed to
long-term care facilities and other group residential facilities and programs experiencing a
COVID-19-related staffing crisis on or after the effective date of this section. These
temporary staff must be provided at no cost to the facility or program receiving the temporary
staff.
new text end

new text begin (b) Members of the temporary staffing pool described in this section are not state
employees.
new text end

new text begin (c) The commissioner must coordinate the activities described in this section with the
commissioner of health, the commissioner of the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, and
the State Emergency Operations Center to appropriately prioritize locations to deploy
contracted temporary staff for up to 14 days. The commissioner must give priority for
deploying staff to facilities and programs with the most significant staffing crises.
new text end

new text begin (d) A facility or program may seek assistance 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.
new text end

new text begin (e) As a condition of receiving staffing assistance from the temporary staffing pool, a
facility or program must provide employees a total of at least 80 hours of paid leave, prorated
for part-time employees, to be used if the employee must isolate or quarantine due to
COVID-19 infection or exposure, except as provided in paragraph (f). Paid leave provided
under this paragraph must be paid at the employee's regular salary or wages.
new text end

new text begin (f) An employee who has exhausted emergency paid sick leave provided under the
federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act is not entitled to paid leave under paragraph
(e). A facility or program shall not require an employee to use the employee's existing paid
or unpaid leave in lieu of the paid leave provided under paragraph (e), unless the facility or
program:
new text end

new text begin (1) already provides additional paid leave that is for the purpose of the paid leave provided
under paragraph (e);
new text end

new text begin (2) compensates the employee in an amount equal to or greater than the employee's
regular salary or wages; and
new text end

new text begin (3) provides paid leave that is in addition to the regular amount of paid leave provided
to the employee under the facility's or program's regular leave policies or applicable collective
bargaining agreement.
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) registered housing with services establishments, including those subject to assisted
living title protection and those not subject to assisted living title protection;
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 any other law to the contrary, the commissioner may allocate funding
to maintain and extend existing contracts for temporary staffing entered into using
coronavirus relief funds awarded under 2020 Legislative Advisory Commission order
numbers 49 and 87. The commissioner may also allocate funding to enter into new contracts
with eligible entities under Minnesota Statutes, section 12.36, and may allocate funding for
the costs of training, testing, and personal protective equipment needed for temporary staff
deployed in the temporary staffing pool. The commissioner may use up to 6.5 percent of
this appropriation for the commissioner's costs related to administration of this program.
new text end

new text begin (i) This is a onetime appropriation and is available until June 30, 2021, or 60 days after
the expiration of the peacetime emergency declared under Minnesota Statutes, section 12.31,
due to COVID-19, whichever occurs earlier. Any unexpended amounts that are not obligated
by that date cancel to the general fund.
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

ARTICLE 2

HOUSING SERVICES

Section 1. new text begin APPROPRIATION; EMERGENCY SERVICES.
new text end

new text begin (a) $9,000,000 in fiscal year 2021 is appropriated from the general fund to the
commissioner of human services for emergency services grants under Minnesota Statutes,
section 256E.36. Grant money may be used to:
new text end

new text begin (1) provide housing that promotes health and safety or to isolate homeless individuals
exposed to COVID-19 or who are experiencing a respiratory illness, including grant money
to provide additional shelter space, to purchase vouchers for the cost of a motel or hotel
room, or to fund other housing options. Vouchers for the cost of a motel or hotel room must
not be issued to motels or hotels that receive funding from another source for the cost of
the same motel or hotel room for the same date;
new text end

new text begin (2) purchase hygiene, sanitation, and cleaning supplies to comply with Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention guidance on sanitation and personal protective equipment;
and
new text end

new text begin (3) hire staff necessary to protect the health and wellness of program recipients, to
increase the number of persons served, or to provide staffing when workers are quarantined
or cannot work because they are caring for someone with COVID-19.
new text end

new text begin (b) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the commissioner of human services
may allocate money to programs, providers, and organizations providing or seeking to
provide services to individuals experiencing homelessness through a single fiscal agent
chosen by the commissioner of human services.
new text end

new text begin (c) Grant applicants must describe how the applicants intend to use grant money for the
purposes listed in paragraph (a), clauses (1) to (3). Grant money may be used by grant
recipients for the activities listed in paragraph (a), clauses (1) to (3).
new text end

new text begin (d) This is a onetime appropriation and is available until June 30, 2021, or until 60 days
after expiration of the peacetime emergency declared by the governor in an executive order
that relates to the infectious disease known as COVID-19, whichever occurs earlier. Any
unexpended amounts that are not obligated by that date shall cancel to the general fund.
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. 2. new text begin APPROPRIATION; ISOLATION SPACES.
new text end

new text begin (a) $4,306,000 in fiscal year 2021 is appropriated from the general fund to the
commissioner of human services to establish and maintain isolation spaces for suspected
or confirmed COVID-19-positive individuals who are experiencing homelessness or who
cannot safely isolate at home and who do not require a hospital level of care.
new text end

new text begin (b) The commissioner of human services may enter into contracts or directly purchase
goods or services necessary to provide isolation spaces or services related to establishing
or maintaining such spaces. The commissioner of human services may enter into contracts
under this paragraph with local units of government as defined in Minnesota Statutes, section
4A.07, subdivision 1, paragraph (a); tribal governments; and nonprofit organizations.
new text end

new text begin (c) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the commissioner of human services
may:
new text end

new text begin (1) allocate funding to maintain and extend existing contracts for isolation spaces entered
into with Coronavirus Relief Funds awarded as a result of 2020 Legislative Advisory
Commission order number 48; and
new text end

new text begin (2) enter into new contracts with eligible entities under Minnesota Statutes, section
12.36.
new text end

new text begin (d) This is a onetime appropriation and is available until June 30, 2021, or until 60 days
after expiration of the peacetime emergency declared by the governor in an executive order
that relates to the infectious disease known as COVID-19, whichever occurs earlier. Any
unexpended amounts that are not obligated by that date shall cancel to the general fund.
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 APPROPRIATION; HOUSING SUPPORT.
new text end

new text begin (a) $4,235,000 in fiscal year 2021 is appropriated from the general fund to the
commissioner of human services to increase room and board rates under Minnesota Statutes,
chapter 256I, by 10.7 percent for purposes of maintaining access to room and board, including
activities necessary to comply with federal and state health and safety guidance in response
to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a onetime appropriation.
new text end

new text begin (b) Prior to July 1, 2021, providers must submit documentation to the commissioner of
human services demonstrating increased funding was used for needs related to COVID-19
for the time period during which the money appropriated under this section was expended.
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