The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand and Seven.

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An Act MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2007 TO PROVIDE FOR SUPPLEMENTING CERTAIN EXISTING APPROPRIATIONS AND FOR CERTAIN OTHER ACTIVITIES AND PROJECTS.

Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purposes, which are forthwith to make supplemental appropriations for fiscal year 2007 and to make certain changes in law, each of which is immediately necessary to carry out those appropriations or to accomplish other important public purposes, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public convenience.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. To provide for supplementing certain items in the general appropriation act and other appropriation acts for fiscal year 2007, the sums set forth in section 2 are hereby appropriated from the General Fund unless specifically designated otherwise in this act or in those appropriation acts, for the several purposes and subject to the conditions specified in this act or in those appropriation acts, and subject to the laws regulating the disbursement of public funds for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007. These sums shall be in addition to any amounts previously appropriated and made available for the purposes of those items.

SECTION 2.

JUDICIARY

Committee for Public Counsel Service

0321-1520 $4,133,657

Trial Court

0330-0102 $500,307

0330-3200 $3,600,000

SECRETARY OF THE Commonwealth

0521-0000 $815,624

SHERIFFS

Franklin Sheriff's Department

8910-0108 $546,303

Essex Sheriff's Department

8910-0619 $752,012

OFFICE OF THE State COMPTROLLER

Office of the State Comptroller

1599-3384 $3,620,000

EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE

Bureau of State Office Buildings

1102-3302 $1,314,303

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS

Department of Conservation and Recreation

2820-9005 $581,000

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS

Highway Department

6030-7201 $8,000,000

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Department of Public Health

4590-0915 $1,799,000

Department of Social Services

4800-0038 $7,007,359

4800-0041 $8,547,306

Department of Mental Retardation

5930-1000 $1,593,525

Department of Veterans' Services

1410-0400 $1,054,000

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY

County Corrections

8910-0000 $17,000,000

Department of State Police

8100-0000 $211,000

Department of Fire Services

8324-0000 $267,000

Department of Correction

8900-0001 $4,923,877

SECTION 2A. To provide for certain unanticipated obligations of the commonwealth, to provide for an alteration of purpose for current appropriations, and to meet certain requirements of law, the sums set forth in this section are hereby appropriated from the General Fund unless specifically designated otherwise in this section, for the several purposes and subject to the conditions specified in this section, and subject to the laws regulating the disbursement of public funds for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007. These sums shall be in addition to any amounts previously appropriated and made available for the purposes of those items.

EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE

Office of the Secretary

1599-1001 For a reserve to provide grants to dairy farmers based upon a distribution formula developed by the department of agricultural resources; provided, that the department of agricultural resources shall file the distribution plan with the executive office for administration and finance and the house and senate committees on ways and means by July 31, 2007 $3,600,000

1599-1005 For a reserve to support the emergency needs of an emergency shelter with a twenty-eight bed capacity contracted with the department of transitional assistance $100,000

1599-4229 For a reserve to meet the fiscal year 2007 and 2008 costs of salary adjustments and other economic benefits authorized by the collective bargaining agreement between the Berkshire sheriff and the Berkshire County Sheriff's Office Employees' Association, and to meet the fiscal year 2007 and 2008 costs of salary adjustments and other economic benefits necessary to provide equal adjustments and benefits to employees employed in confidential positions which otherwise would be covered by this agreement; provided, that the personnel administrator, with the approval of the secretary of administration and finance, shall determine such adjustments and benefits for such confidential employees in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement then in effect which otherwise would cover these positions; and provided further, that the secretary may transfer from the sum appropriated in this item to other items of appropriation and allocations thereof for fiscal year 2007 and 2008 amounts that are necessary to meet these costs where the amounts otherwise available are insufficient for the purpose, in accordance with a transfer plan which shall be filed in advance with the house and senate committees on ways and means $454,350

1599-4230 For a reserve to meet the fiscal year 2007 and 2008 costs of salary adjustments and other economic benefits authorized by the collective bargaining agreement between the Berkshire sheriff and the Berkshire County Sheriff's Office Communications Center, and to meet the fiscal year 2007 and 2008 costs of salary adjustments and other economic benefits necessary to provide equal adjustments and benefits to employees employed in confidential positions which otherwise would be covered by this agreement; provided, that the personnel administrator, with the approval of the secretary of administration and finance, shall determine such adjustments and benefits for such confidential employees in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement then in effect which otherwise would cover these positions; and provided further, that the secretary may transfer from the sum appropriated in this item to other items of appropriation and allocations thereof for fiscal year 2007 and 2008 amounts that are necessary to meet these costs where the amounts otherwise available are insufficient for the purpose, in accordance with a transfer plan which shall be filed in advance with the house and senate committees on ways and means $18,088

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY

Office of the Secretary

8000-0054 For municipal police officer grants administered by the secretary of public safety and security to be expended for, but not limited to, targeted police hiring, training and related costs $4,000,000

8100-0111 For a grant program to be known as the “Senator Charles E. Shannon, Jr. Community Safety Initiative”, to be administered by the executive office of public safety and security, to support regional, multi-disciplinary approaches to combat gang violence through coordinated programs for prevention and intervention, coordinated law enforcement, including regional gang task forces and regional crime mapping strategies, focused prosecutions, and reintegration strategies for ex-convicts; provided, that the secretary of public safety and security shall distribute grant funds through a competitive grant program that gives preference to applications that: (1) demonstrate high levels of youth violence, gang problems and substance abuse in a region; (2) demonstrate a commitment to regional, multi-jurisdictional strategies to deal with those community safety issues including, written commitments for municipalities, law enforcement agencies, community-based organizations and government agencies to work together; (3) clearly outline a comprehensive plan for municipalities to work with law enforcement, community-based organizations and government agencies to address gang activity; (4) make a written commitment to match grant funds with a 25 per cent match provided either by municipal or private contributions; and (5) identify a local governmental unit to serve as fiscal agent; provided further, that clusters of municipalities, in partnership with nonprofit organizations and other agencies, including district attorney’s offices, shall be eligible to apply for these funds; provided further, that those funds shall be considered one-time and grants awarded to public agencies shall not annualize into fiscal year 2008 and beyond; provided further, that administrative costs for successful grant applications shall not exceed 3 per cent of the value of the grant; provided further, that no grants shall be awarded to the department of state police; provided further, that no grant funds shall be expended on food or beverages; provided further, that the executive office of public safety and security shall publish guidelines and an application for the competitive portion of the grant program not later than August 15, 2007 and that awards shall be made to applicants not later than December 15, 2007; and provided further, that the executive office of public safety and security may expend not more that $100,000 of the sum appropriated in this item for its costs in administering this program $11,000,000

SECTION 2B. To provide for supplementing certain intragovernmental chargeback authorizations in the general appropriation act and other appropriation acts for fiscal year 2007, to provide for certain unanticipated intragovernmental chargeback authorizations, to provide for an alteration of purpose for current intragovernmental chargeback authorizations, and to meet certain requirements of law, the sums set forth in this section are hereby authorized from the Intragovernmental Service Fund for the several purposes specified in this section or in the appropriation acts, and subject to the provisions of law regulating the disbursement of public funds for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007. These sums shall be in addition to any amounts previously authorized and made available for the purposes of those items.

OFFICE OF THE State COMPTROLLER

Office of the State Comptroller

1599-2040 $3,000,000

SECTION 2C.I. For the purpose of making available in fiscal year 2008 balances of appropriations which otherwise would revert on June 30, 2007, the unexpended balances of the maintenance appropriations listed below, not to exceed the amount specified below for each item, are hereby re-appropriated for the purposes of and subject to the conditions stated for the corresponding item in section 2 of the general appropriation act for fiscal year 2007. However, for items which do not appear in section 2 of the general appropriation act, the amounts in this section are re-appropriated for the purposes of and subject to the conditions stated for the corresponding item in section 2 or 2A of this act or in prior appropriation acts. Amounts in this section are re-appropriated from the fund or funds designated for the corresponding item in section 2 of the general appropriation act; but for items which do not appear in section 2 of the general appropriation act, the amounts in this section are re-appropriated from the fund or funds designated for the corresponding item in section 2 or 2A of this act or in prior appropriation acts. The sums re-appropriated in this section shall be in addition to any amounts available for these purposes.

SECRETARY OF THE Commonwealth

0521-0000 $815,624

EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE

Executive Office for Administration and Finance

1599-1001 $3,600,000

1599-4229 $454,350

1599-4230 $18,088

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF HOUSING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Department of Workforce Development

7002-0012 $4,400,000

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY

Executive Office of Public Safety and Security

8000-0054 $4,000,000

8100-0111 $11,000,000

SECTION 3. Section 18H½ of chapter 6A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2004 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 4, the words "December 31, 2007" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- June 30, 2008

SECTION 4. Chapter 118E of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 23, as amended by section 28 of chapter 58 of the acts of 2006, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 23. As used in this section, health care insurer, health insurer and health insurance shall include, but not be limited to, any health insurance company, health maintenance organization, group or non-group health plan, self-insured plan, service benefit plan, managed care organization, pharmacy benefit manager, or other public or private third party that is, by statute, contract, agreement, or arrangement legally responsible for payment of a claim for health care benefits.
Notwithstanding any general or special law, rule or regulation to the contrary, the division shall be subrogated to the rights of any recipient of medical assistance pursuant to this chapter and may take any and all actions available to such recipient to secure benefits under any policy issued by any health care insurer that is or may be liable to pay for health care benefits obtained by a recipient of medical assistance to the extent of any health care benefits provided by the division on behalf of said recipient or said recipient's dependents. A health care insurer shall reimburse the division for any health care benefits provided by the division on behalf of a recipient of medical assistance, and shall not reduce the amount of the total reimbursement by any division payment, provided that any part of the total that is a reimbursement for a division payment shall not exceed the amount actually paid by the division.
No health care insurer shall require written authorization from the recipient before honoring the division's rights pursuant to this section. A health care insurer shall respond to any inquiry by the division about a claim for payment for any health care benefits and may not deny any claim for payment for any health care benefits solely on the basis of the date of submission of the claim, the type of format for the claim form, or a failure to present proper documentation at the point of sale that is the basis of the claim, if the claim is submitted by the division within a 3-year period beginning on the date on which the service was furnished, and if any action by the division to enforce its rights with respect to a claim is filed within 6 years after the submission of the claim to the health insurer.
A recipient of medical assistance or any person legally obligated to support and have actual or legal custody of a recipient of medical assistance shall inform the division of any health insurance available to such recipient upon initial application and redetermination for eligibility for assistance and shall make known the nature and extent of any health insurance coverage to any person or institution that provides medical benefits to the recipient or his or her dependent.

A health care insurer shall not take into account that an individual is eligible for or is receiving benefits from the division when enrolling an individual or issuing a policy or agreement covering the individual, or administering or renewing a policy or agreement, or when making any payment for health care benefits to the individual or on behalf of the individual; nor shall any policy or agreement issued, administered, or renewed by a health care insurer contain any provision denying or reducing health care benefits to an individual who is eligible for or is receiving benefits from the division.
A provider of medical assistance pursuant to this chapter shall determine whether any recipient for whom it provides medical care or services which are or may be eligible for reimbursement pursuant to this chapter is a subscriber or beneficiary of a health insurance plan. The division shall be the payor of last resort and a provider shall request payment for medical care or services it provides from a health insurer which is or may be liable for the medical care or services so provided prior to requesting payment from the division.
Payment by the division pursuant to the medical assistance programs established pursuant to this chapter shall constitute payment in full; subsequent to any such payment a provider may not recover from any health insurer an amount greater than the amount so paid by the division for any service for which the division is to be the payor of last resort.
Notwithstanding any general or special law or rule or regulation to the contrary, all holders of health insurance information, including, but not limited to, health insurers doing business in the commonwealth, all private and public entities who employ individuals in the commonwealth, and all agencies of the commonwealth, shall provide sufficient information to the division, or in the case of those agencies, shall make other arrangements mutually satisfactory to both agencies, to enable the division: (a) to identify whether any of the following persons are or could be beneficiaries under any policy of insurance in the commonwealth: (i) persons applying for or receiving medical assistance or benefits pursuant to this chapter or health services through an agency under the executive office of health and human services, and (ii) persons for whom hospitals and community health centers claim reimbursement payments from the Health Safety Net Fund, established pursuant to section 35 of chapter 118G; and (b) to determine the nature of the coverage that is or was provided, including cost, scope, terms, periods of coverage, and any identifying name, address or number of the policy of insurance. All public and private entities who employ individuals in the commonwealth shall provide, when requested by any employee applying for or receiving benefits provided by the division, written information to the employee describing the availability of health insurance, if any, provided by or through the employer. The failure of an employer to provide an employee with the information shall not be grounds for denial of benefits by the division.
The division may, after notice and opportunity for hearing, garnish the wages, salary, or other employment income of, and shall, with the assistance of the department of revenue pursuant to section 3 of chapter 62D, withhold amounts from state tax refunds to, any person who: (a) is required by court or administrative order to provide coverage of the costs of health services to a child who is eligible for medical assistance pursuant to this chapter; (b) has received payment from a third party for the costs of those services to the child; but (c) has not used the payments to reimburse either the other parent or guardian of the child or the provider of the services, to the extent necessary to reimburse the division for expenditures for those costs.

SECTION 5. Subsection (b) of section 31 of chapter 118G of the General Laws, inserted by section 1 of chapter 268 of the acts of 2006, is hereby amended by striking out the third, fourth and fifth sentences and inserting in place thereof the following 4 sentences:- In addition, personal care attendants shall be treated as state employees solely for the purposes of sections l7A and 17G of chapter 180. Personal care attendants shall not be considered public employees or state employees for any purpose other than those set forth in this paragraph. The PCA quality home care workforce council is the employer, as defined by and solely for the purposes of, chapter 150E and sections 17A, 17G and 17J of chapter 180 and deductions under sections 17A, 17G and 17J may be made by any entity authorized by the commonwealth to compensate personal care attendants through the MassHealth personal care attendant program. Personal care attendants shall not be eligible for benefits through the group insurance commission, the state board of retirement or the state employee workers' compensation program.

SECTION 6. Subsection (d) of section 32 of chapter 118G, as so inserted, is hereby amended by striking out the words "The council" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- Subject to appropriation, the chairperson of the council with the council's approval.

SECTION 7. The definition of "Employer" in section 1 of chapter 150E of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2004 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following sentence:- In the case of personal care attendants as defined in section 28 of chapter 118G, the employer shall mean the personal care attendant quality home care workforce council or its designee.

SECTION 8. Section 7 of chapter 150E, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word "sheriff", in line 8 and line 23, the following words:-, the personal care attendant quality home care workforce council.

SECTION 9. Section 9 of chapter 61 of the acts of 2002 is hereby amended by striking out the figure "2007." and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 2008.

SECTION 10. Section 2A of chapter 58 of the acts of 2006 is hereby amended by striking out item 4000-0301 and inserting in place thereof the following item:-

4000-0301 For the costs of MassHealth provider and member audit and utilization review activities including, but not limited to, eligibility verification, disability evaluations, provider financial and clinical audits and other initiatives intended to enhance program integrity; provided, that $150,000 shall be expended for MassHealth auditing within the office of the state auditor $1,350,000

SECTION 11. Item 0321-1510 of section 2 of chapter 139 of the acts of 2006 is hereby amended by striking out the words “provided, that not more than $1,000,000 of the sum appropriated in this item may be expended for services rendered before fiscal year 2007” and inserting in place thereof the following words:— provided, that not more than $2,500,000 of the sum appropriated in this item may be expended for services rendered before fiscal year 2007

SECTION 12. Item 0321-1520 of section 2 of chapter 139 of the acts of 2006 is hereby amended by striking out the words "provided, that not more than $500,000 of the sum appropriated in this item may be expended for services rendered before fiscal year 2007 " and inserting in place thereof the following words: - provided, that not more than $1,068,670 of the sum appropriated in this item may be expended for services rendered before fiscal year 2007.

SECTION 13. Item 0810-0021 of section 2 of chapter 139 of the acts of 2006 is hereby amended by striking out the figure "$2,656,033" and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- $2,806,033.

SECTION 14. Item 4000-0320 of section 2 of chapter 139 of the acts of 2006 is hereby amended by inserting, after the words "rendered in the current fiscal year", the following words:- ; provided further, that for the purpose of accommodating discrepancies between the receipt of retained revenues and related expenditures, the department may incur expenses and the comptroller may certify for payment amounts not to exceed the lower of this authorization or the most recent revenue estimate as reported in the state accounting system.

SECTION 15. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the chief justice for administration and management may transfer funds from items 0330-0101, 0330-0102, 0330-0103, 0330-0104, 0330-0105, 0330-0106 and 0330-0107 to items 0330-0101, 0330-0102, 0330-0103, 0330-0104, 0330-0105, 0330-0106 and 0330-0107. The chief justice shall provide written notification to the house and senate committees on ways and means of any such transfers of funds within 30 days of the transfer.

SECTION 16. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the executive office of health and human services may release the names and home addresses of personal care attendants to the American Arbitration Association for the purposes of section 31 of chapter 118G and chapter 150E of the General Laws.

SECTION 17. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, there shall be established a dairy farm revitalization task force which shall consist of the following members: 1 farming representative who shall be appointed by the governor; 1 member from the milk processing community who shall be appointed by the governor; 1 representative of the Massachusetts Dairy Farmers Association who shall be appointed by the governor from a list of 6 names submitted by the Massachusetts Dairy Farmer Association; 1 representative of the Massachusetts Cooperative Milk Producers Federation, Inc, who shall be appointed by the Governor from a list of 6 names submitted by the Massachusetts Cooperative Milk Producers Federation, Inc; the secretary of the executive office of energy and environmental affairs, or his designee; 2 members who shall be appointed by the secretary of the executive office of energy and environmental affairs; the commissioner of the department of agricultural resources, or his designee; 1 member who shall be appointed by the commissioner of the department of agricultural resources; the commissioner of the division of energy resources, or his designee; the commissioner of the department of public health, or his designee; 3 members of the house of representatives, 2 of whom shall be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives and 1 of whom shall be appointed by the minority leader of the house of representatives; 3 members of the senate, 2 of whom shall be appointed by the president of the senate and 1 of whom shall be appointed by the minority leader of the senate. The task force shall be chaired jointly the secretary of the executive office of energy and environmental affairs and by the commissioner of the department of agricultural resources, or their designees.

The task force shall investigate short long term solutions to preserving and strengthening the dairy farm industry in the Commonwealth. Said investigation shall include methods to promote the innovation in, and the revitalization of, the Massachusetts dairy farming community, including without limitation, investigating the impact of increased fixed costs borne by the dairy farming community including, but not limited to, fuel prices, healthcare and insurance; promoting locally produced milk; and promoting alternative and renewable energy uses for farmers. The task force shall report its findings together with legislation, if any, to the clerks of the senate and house of representatives, to the chairs of the joint committee on environment, natural resources and agriculture, and the senate and house committees on ways and means no later than October 1, 2007.

SECTION 18. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the secretary of health and human services may authorize transfers from items 4000-0430, 4000-0600, 4000-0620, 4000-0700, 4000-0860, 4000-0870, 4000-0875, 4000-0880, 4000-0890, 4000-0891, 4000-0895, 4000-0990, 4000-1400, and 4000-1405 of section 2 of chapter 139 of the acts of 2006 to item 4000-0500 of section 2 of chapter 139 for the purposes of reducing any deficiency in item 4000-0500, but the sum of these transfers shall not exceed $230,000,000, and any such transfer shall take place not later than June 30, 2007.