1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to human services; establishing a rental 
  1.3             housing program; expanding the current pilot program 
  1.4             for homeless adults; requiring an evaluation; 
  1.5             appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 1996, 
  1.6             section 256I.04, subdivision 3, and by adding a 
  1.7             subdivision. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 256I.04, 
  1.10  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  1.11     Subd. 3.  [MORATORIUM ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF GROUP 
  1.12  RESIDENTIAL HOUSING BEDS.] (a) County agencies shall not enter 
  1.13  into agreements for new group residential housing beds with 
  1.14  total rates in excess of the MSA equivalent rate except:  (1) 
  1.15  for group residential housing establishments meeting the 
  1.16  requirements of subdivision 2a, clause (2) with department 
  1.17  approval; (2) for group residential housing establishments 
  1.18  licensed under Minnesota Rules, parts 9525.0215 to 9525.0355, 
  1.19  provided the facility is needed to meet the census reduction 
  1.20  targets for persons with mental retardation or related 
  1.21  conditions at regional treatment centers; (3) to ensure 
  1.22  compliance with the federal Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act 
  1.23  alternative disposition plan requirements for inappropriately 
  1.24  placed persons with mental retardation or related conditions or 
  1.25  mental illness; (4) up to 80 beds in a single, specialized 
  1.26  facility located in Hennepin county that will provide housing 
  2.1   for chronic inebriates who are repetitive users of 
  2.2   detoxification centers and are refused placement in emergency 
  2.3   shelters because of their state of intoxication~~.~~, and planning 
  2.4   for the specialized facility must have been initiated before 
  2.5   July 1, 1991, in anticipation of receiving a grant from the 
  2.6   housing finance agency under section 462A.05, subdivision 20a, 
  2.7   paragraph (b); or (5) notwithstanding the provisions of 
  2.8   subdivision 2a, for up to ~~180~~ 230 supportive housing units in 
  2.9   Anoka, Dakota, Hennepin, or Ramsey county for homeless adults 
  2.10  with a mental illness, a history of substance abuse, or human 
  2.11  immunodeficiency virus or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.  
  2.12  For purposes of this section, "homeless adult" means a person 
  2.13  who is living on the street or in a shelter ~~or is evicted from a~~ 
  2.14  ~~dwelling unit~~ or discharged from a regional treatment center, 
  2.15  community hospital, or residential treatment program and has no 
  2.16  appropriate housing available and lacks the resources and 
  2.17  support necessary to access appropriate housing.  At least 70 
  2.18  percent of the supportive housing units must serve homeless 
  2.19  adults with mental illness, substance abuse problems, or human 
  2.20  immunodeficiency virus or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome who 
  2.21  are about to be or, within the previous six months, has been 
  2.22  discharged from a regional treatment center, or a 
  2.23  state-contracted psychiatric bed in a community hospital, or a 
  2.24  residential mental health or chemical dependency treatment 
  2.25  program.  If a person meets the requirements of subdivision 1, 
  2.26  paragraph (a), and receives a federal ~~Section 8~~ or state housing 
  2.27  subsidy, the group residential housing rate for that person is 
  2.28  limited to the supplementary rate under section 256I.05, 
  2.29  subdivision 1a, and is determined by subtracting the amount of 
  2.30  the person's countable income that exceeds the MSA equivalent 
  2.31  rate from the group residential housing supplementary rate.  A 
  2.32  resident in a demonstration project site who no longer 
  2.33  participates in the demonstration program shall retain 
  2.34  eligibility for a group residential housing payment in an amount 
  2.35  determined under section 256I.06, subdivision 8, using the MSA 
  2.36  equivalent rate.  Service funding under section 256I.05, 
  3.1   subdivision 1a, will end June 30, 1997, if federal matching 
  3.2   funds are available and the services can be provided through a 
  3.3   managed care entity.  If federal matching funds are not 
  3.4   available, then service funding will continue under section 
  3.5   256I.05, subdivision 1a.  
  3.6      (b) A county agency may enter into a group residential 
  3.7   housing agreement for beds with rates in excess of the MSA 
  3.8   equivalent rate in addition to those currently covered under a 
  3.9   group residential housing agreement if the additional beds are 
  3.10  only a replacement of beds with rates in excess of the MSA 
  3.11  equivalent rate which have been made available due to closure of 
  3.12  a setting, a change of licensure or certification which removes 
  3.13  the beds from group residential housing payment, or as a result 
  3.14  of the downsizing of a group residential housing setting.  The 
  3.15  transfer of available beds from one county to another can only 
  3.16  occur by the agreement of both counties. 
  3.17     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 256I.04, is 
  3.18  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  3.19     Subd. 4.  [RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.] The commissioner of 
  3.20  human services shall develop a rental assistance program for 
  3.21  participants in the Minnesota supportive housing demonstration 
  3.22  program authorized by subdivision 3, paragraph (a), clause (5).  
  3.23  Tenant payments for rent will be no more than 30 percent of 
  3.24  their adjusted income as defined by the United States Department 
  3.25  of Housing and Urban Development for the Section 8 program.  The 
  3.26  maximum amount of rental assistance shall be the difference 
  3.27  between 30 percent of the participant's adjusted income and the 
  3.28  fair market rent established for 210 one-bedroom apartments and 
  3.29  20 three-bedroom apartments by the federal Department of Housing 
  3.30  and Urban Development.  The supportive housing demonstration 
  3.31  program with rental assistance shall be evaluated by an 
  3.32  independent evaluator to determine the effectiveness of the 
  3.33  program in serving its formerly homeless disabled clientele in a 
  3.34  cost-effective manner.  The evaluation report shall be submitted 
  3.35  to the commissioner of human services no later than December 31, 
  3.36  1998. 
  4.1      Sec. 3.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  4.2      $....... is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  4.3   commissioner of human services, for the fiscal year ending June 
  4.4   30, 1999, for purposes of the evaluation required by section 2.