CSAC Bulletin Article

Budget Activity on IHSS

March 8, 2018

The Senate and Assembly Health and Human Services Budget Subcommittee hearings are getting underway and In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) will be on the agenda for both houses over the course of the next week. The Senate Budget Subcommittee #3 hearing is today and the Assembly Budget Subcommittee #1 hearing is on Wednesday, March 14.

As with the Governor’s January budget proposal, the budget subcommittees are not anticipated to propose changes to the new IHSS funding structure that was included in the 2017-18 budget, but will examine overall implementation of these new provisions. CSAC will testify at the hearings to update the subcommittees on the implementation and outlook for the new County maintenance of effort (MOE), highlight the continued need for the reopener provision in order to revisit this funding structure in 2019-20 and identify a sustainable solution on IHSS funding, and share our support for the ongoing conversations to develop a new budgeting methodology for county administrative costs for the IHSS program.

In addition, current budget year trailer bills, AB 110 and SB 120, were recently amended to include IHSS clean-up language on the wage supplement, which is a specified amount that can be negotiated in addition to the IHSS county provider wage. Both bills have recently passed the respective budget committees and AB 110 has now passed the full Legislature and is anticipated to be signed into law soon. CSAC is supportive of these changes and testified in support at the budget committee hearings. Our advocacy efforts resulted in ensuring that language on subsequent applications of the wage supplement was consistent with our original understanding. This outcome protects some pending collective bargaining agreements and helps avoid future costs for counties that utilize the wage supplement.

The clean-up language outlines that the wage supplement will be subsequently applied when the state minimum wage equals or exceeds the county provider wage absent the wage supplement amount. The amendments also clarify that a wage supplement can only be added to the highest wage paid in the county since June 30, 2017, with an exception for these provisions for those agreements submitted prior to January 1, 2018. This clean-up will resolve the outstanding issues on wage supplement implementation and allow the State to move forward on providing the vital official guidance that counties need regarding how these provisions will work and how to calculate potential individual county costs for wage and benefit changes.

Please visit the CSAC IHSS page for all the latest information.

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