DPHHS Legislative Information
The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services proposed the following 30 bills to the 2005 Legislature, which convened January 3 and adjourned April 21. To learn more about these bills, please visit the Legislature's LAWS Web site.
(HB = House Bill; SB = Senate Bill)
| HB 32 | HB 80 | HB 88 | HB 117 | HB 127 | HB 183 |
| HB 196 | HB 197 | HB 216 | SB 33 | SB 41 | SB 42 |
| SB 49 | SB 52 | SB 60 | SB 71 | SB 82 | SB 86 |
| SB 94 | SB 101 | SB 110 | SB 112 | SB 113 | SB 119 |
| SB 120 | SB 121 | SB 127 | SB 137 | SB 139 | SB 150 |
Click here for legislative presentations and handouts not related to specific bills.
HB 32Revise vital statistics statutes
This bill would eliminate conflicts in vital records statutes. It would eliminate the requirement that local registrars retain certificate copies if certificates are filed electronically, and it would allow a new birth certificate to be issued for a foreign person adopted in Montana regardless of citizenship. (Became law)
HB 80
Allow the Child Support Enforcement Division to interact with tribal IV-D programs
This bill would revise laws relating
to the enforcement of child support to allow referrals to and from other
programs administered under Title IV-D of the federal Social Security
Act, including tribal programs. (Became law)
HB 88
Eliminate requirement for simplified application form for children's health
programs
This bill would repeal a law requiring
the department to use a simplified application form and process to determine
eligibility for children to receive certain health insurance, including
that provided under the Children's Health Insurance Plan (CHIP), as well
as certain other medical assistance or benefits. (Became
law)
HB 117
Provide flexibility in establishing asset transfer look-back and penalty periods
in determining eligibility for Medicaid
This bill would give the director of
the department discretion to seek waivers of federal law concerning ineligibility
for Medicaid long-term care in situations where an applicant or recipient
or his/her spouse disposes of assets for less than fair market value
in order to qualify for benefits. (Died)
HB 127
Revise definition of "seriously developmentally disabled"
This bill would amend the legal definition
of "seriously developmentally disabled" for the purposes of civil commitment.
It would remove the criterion of near total care. (Became
law)
HB 183
Medicaid waiver proposal affecting seriously emotionally disturbed children
This bill would allow the department
to seek a federal Home and Community-based Services Waiver of the Medicaid
state plan to increase flexibility in providing services for seriously
emotionally disturbed children. (Became law)
HB 196
Power of attorney fiduciary notice
This bill would spell out the fiduciary responsibility
of an agent to a principal in the statutory form used to create power of attorney.
(Became law)
HB 197
Increase elder abuse penalties
This bill would amend the Montana Elder and
Persons with Developmental Disabilities Abuse Prevention Act, making it a felony
to purposely or knowingly abuse, sexually abuse, or neglect an older person
or a person with a developmental disability. It would also make it a misdemeanor
for a first offense of negligently abusing or neglecting such a person. (Became
law)
HB 216
Revise laws concerning child support
This bill would revise the laws regarding the
child support enforcement program to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
It would:
- Clarify access by the department to a party's financial and employment records;
- Allow the department to establish a medical support order independent of a child support order;
- Extend the life of a warrant for distraint from 90 to 120 days;
- Allow an agreement for service by electronic means of an order requiring enrollment;
- Provide priority for withholding child support and medical support; and
- Allow attachment of crime victims compensation for the payment or maintenance of child support. (Became law)
SB 33
Eliminate unified budget requirement for Interagency Coordinating Council
This bill would delete a statutory requirement
that the Interagency Coordinating Council for State Prevention Programs
prepare and present a unified budget to the Legislature. (Became
law)
SB 41
Medicaid funding principles
This bill would require the department and
the Legislature to consider the following funding principles when considering
changes in Medicaid policy or reduction in services:
- Protect those persons who are most vulnerable and most in need, as defined by a combination of economic security and medical circumstances;
- Give preference to the elimination of an entire Medicaid program or service rather than sacrificing the quality of care for several programs or services by diluting funding; and
- Give priority to retaining services that protect life, alleviate severe pain, and prevent significant disability. (Became law)
SB 42
Clarify system of care and service area authority for children's mental health
This bill would clarify and reconcile
the duties of the Children's System of Care Planning Committee and a
Service Area Authority Board for the development of policies, plans,
and budgets for the delivery of mental health services to children. (Became
law)
SB 49
Revise confidentiality laws as they relate to child protective services
This bill would waive the confidentiality
rights of a person responsible for a child's welfare if that person makes
public statements regarding any child abuse or neglect action involving
the child. It would allow the department to respond to public statements
with fact-specific information regarding the case. (Sponsor: McGee) (Died)
SB 52
Preadmission screening authority for the Montana State Hospital
This bill would require prior authorization
for emergency detention at the Montana State Hospital for adults with
serious mental illnesses. It would also provide for the development of
local plans to prevent inappropriate admissions to the state hospital.
(Died)
SB 60
Revise limitation on critical-access hospital beds
This bill would allow the department
to adopt by administrative rule the number of beds that a critical-access
hospital may have, not to exceed the number allowed by federal law. It
also would eliminate the limit on the number of acute-care inpatient
beds that a critical-access hospital may have. (Became
law)
SB 71
Extend use of tobacco settlement money for health and human services
This bill would permanently put into
law temporary provisions enacted by the 58 th Montana Legislature to
allow the use of tobacco settlement money to fund health and human services
programs administered by the department. It would require an ongoing
transfer from a state special revenue account to the prevention and stabilization
account. (Died)
SB 82
Revise definition of "intermediate care facility" for purposes of the utilization
fee on resident bed days
The bill would revise the definition
of "intermediate care facility" to include facilities for the mentally
retarded that are in compliance with the federal standards for Medicaid
participation. The law currently covers licensed intermediate care facilities
for the developmentally disabled. The bill would also increase the utilization
fee from 5 to 6 percent. (Became law)
SB 86
Define terms for implementation of the federal Indian Child Welfare Act
The bill also would clarify the role
of a qualified expert witness in cases involving Indian children in proceedings
subject to the Indian Child Welfare Act. (Became
law)
SB 94
Revise service of process in child protective service cases
This bill would amend the requirements for service
of process under laws relating to child abuse and neglect cases. It would
allow county attorneys' offices more flexibility in the method they choose
to serve some petitions. (Became law)
SB 101
Require registration of youth residential therapeutic programs
This bill would define "residential therapeutic
schools or programs" and provide for their registration. It also would
provide for the calculation of school funding and tuition and transportation
rates for students of residential therapeutic schools or programs, and
it would require the department to develop and present recommendations
on licensure to the 2007 Legislature. (Died)
SB 110
Medicaid HIFA and 1115 demonstration waiver authority
This bill would implement certain recommendations
of the Montana Public Health Advisory Council to provide for improved
coverage of the health care and related needs of particular groups of
individuals. It would authorize Health Insurance Flexibility and Accountability
(HIFA) demonstration initiatives and other demonstration projects if
and when specific federal Medicaid laws are waived. (Became
law)
SB 112
Revise guardianship law
This bill would authorize a full guardian to
petition for a dissolution of marriage or legal separation on behalf of the
ward. It also would require a district court to hold a hearing to determine
whether the dissolution would be in the ward's best interest. (Died)
SB 113
Clarify county attorneys' responsibility for guardianship
This bill would require county attorneys
to petition for guardianship of incapacitated individuals at the request
of the department. (Died)
SB 119
Revise child protective service laws
This bill would revise laws related to child
protective services and adoption to comply with federal regulations and an
attorney general's opinion. It would clarify who may be appointed as a guardian
ad litem, and it would authorize a foster care review committee or a citizen
review board to conduct a permanency hearing subject to approval by a court.
(Became law)
SB 120
Make permanent a hospital tax on inpatient days
This bill would revise and extend the
utilization fee on hospital facilities for inpatient bed days. It also
would include critical-access facilities in the definition of "hospital." (Became
law)
SB 121
Revise laws governing charges by the Montana State Hospital for care of individuals
convicted of crimes
This bill would allow the department
to charge residents of Montana State Hospital and certain other institutions
for care provided at those institutions if the residents were sent to
the institutions after being found not guilty of a criminal violation
by reason of mental defect. Current state law requires the department
to pay for care in such cases. (Became law)
SB 127
Medicaid home and community-based services
This bill would facilitate the implementation
of certain recommendations of the Montana Public Health Advisory Council regarding
home and community-based services funded through Medicaid. The bill would:
- Authorize preadmission screening of individuals needing long-term care, as well as annual reviews of their status;
- Remove an inappropriate application of Medicaid state plan authority to home and community-based services; and
- Require home and community-based services to report the cost of care for individuals living in assisted living facilities. (Became law)
SB 137
License tattoo and body-piercing businesses
This bill would allow the department and local
boards of health to license and regulate tattoo and body-piercing establishments.
It would:
- Grant rulemaking authority regarding standards for sanitation and safety, licensing, and enforcement procedures;
- Provide for injunctions, civil actions, prosecution, and civil and criminal penalties for violations of tattoo and body-piercing laws;
- Provide for the denial and cancellation of licenses;
- Provide for inspections and investigations by health authorities; and
- Create an account in the state special revenue fund for the department to use in administering the laws. (Became law)
SB 139
Review and modification of child support orders
This bill would eliminate the requirement
that the Child Support Enforcement Division register Montana district
court child support orders with the department before beginning the administrative
modification process. It also would:
- Clarify the criteria for reviewing support orders in the absence of substantial changes of circumstances;
- Clarify the remedy if a party refuses to produce the requested financial information; and
- Eliminate a mandatory mediation session and certain service of process requirements. (Became law)
SB 150
Cost-sharing for community-based Medicaid services
This bill would authorize the department
to require recipients of community-based Medicaid services to share in
the cost of those services based on their ability to pay. (Died)
Page last updated: 01/17/2007
