| R 205 |
| 2018 -- S 2669 SUBSTITUTE A Enacted 05/01/2018 |
| S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N |
| CREATING A SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION TO STUDY AND EVALUATE THE IMPACT OF "PROJECT SUSTAINABILITY" IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND |
| Introduced By: Senators DiPalma, Seveney, Coyne, Calkin, and Goldin |
| Date Introduced: March 20, 2018 |
| WHEREAS, In 2012, the Rhode Island General Assembly enacted legislation to |
| implement "Project Sustainability" within the Rhode Island Department of Behavioral |
| Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities, and Hospitals (BHDDH); and |
| WHEREAS, The goal of the Project was to bring predictability, efficiency, and |
| transparency to the way in which the state pays for services for the developmentally disabled; and |
| WHEREAS, Project Sustainability implemented a nationally recognized tool, the |
| Supports Intensity Scale (SIS) in order to establish a new rate structure; and |
| WHEREAS, Recently, BHDDH migrated to the SIS-A tool in order to assess its clients; |
| now, therefore be it |
| RESOLVED, That a special legislative commission be and the same is hereby created |
| consisting of nineteen (19) members: three (3) of whom shall be members of the Senate, not more |
| than two (2) from the same political party, to be appointed by the President of the Senate; one of |
| whom shall be the Secretary of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS), or |
| designee; one of whom shall be the Medicaid Director of the EOHHS, or designee; one of whom |
| shall be the Director of the BHDDH, or designee; one of whom shall be the BHDDH Director of |
| the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD), or designee; one of whom shall be the |
| BHDDH Finance Director of the DDD, or designee; one of whom shall be the BHDDH Consent |
| Decree Coordinator, or designee; one of whom shall be the Executive Director of the Community |
| Provider Network of Rhode Island (CPNRI), or designee; one of whom shall be the President of |
| Our Providers Council, or designee; one of whom shall be the Executive Director of the Rhode |
| Island Disability Law Center, or designee; one of whom shall be the BHDDH Associate Director |
| of the DDD, or designee; one of whom shall be Director of the Paul V. Sherlock Center on |
| Disabilities, or designee; one of whom shall be the Director of the Rhode Island Developmental |
| Disability Council, or designee; one of whom shall be the Chairperson of Rhode Island Families |
| Organized for Reform Change and Empowerment (RI FORCE), or designee; and three (3) of |
| whom shall be provider representatives with relevant systems or fiscal expertise, to be appointed |
| by the President of the Senate. |
| In lieu of any appointment of a member of the legislature to a permanent advisory |
| commission, a legislative study commission, or any commission created by a General Assembly |
| resolution, the appointing authority may appoint a member of the general public to serve in lieu |
| of a legislator, provided that the majority leader or the minority leader of the political party which |
| is entitled to the appointment consent to the member of the general public. |
| The purpose of said commission shall be to study and evaluate the impact of Project |
| Sustainability and make recommendations for improvements in its implementation, including, but |
| not limited to, the rate payment methodology. |
| Forthwith upon passage of this resolution, the members of the commission shall meet at |
| the call of the President of the Senate and organize and shall select, from among the legislators, a |
| chairperson. Vacancies in said commission shall be filed in like manner as the original |
| appointment. |
| The membership of said commission shall receive no compensation for their services. |
| All departments and agencies of the state shall furnish such advice and information, |
| documentary and otherwise, to said commission and its agents as is deemed necessary or |
| desirable by the commission to facilitate the purposes of this resolution. |
| The Joint Committee on Legislative Services is hereby authorized and directed to provide |
| suitable quarters for said commission; and be it further |
| RESOLVED, That the commission shall report its findings and recommendations to the |
| Senate no later than March 1, 2019, and said commission shall expire on June 30, 2019. |
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| LC005099/SUB A |
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