Legislative Update
Local Nursing Home Funding
Funding was recently disbursed in the first of two payments for local nursing homes, thanks to HF 3342, which passed unanimously through the House in May. The bill was a $300 million package of nursing home funding. Over half of the funds, $173 million, went to direct payments to nursing homes. The direct payments were based off a $225,000 flat rate, and an additional $4,016.51 per bed. The total payment is the base rate plus the number of beds multiplied by the per-bed rate. The direct payments will be made in yearly installments: August 1, 2023, and August 1, 2024. The August 1, 2023, payments have been made.
House Republicans fought hard all session to get this much-needed funding to local nursing homes, though the majority party stalled efforts until the last weeks of the legislative session.
Our local nursing home,?Sterling Park, will receive a total payment of $385,661, with half disbursed this past August 1, and the other half to be disbursed August 1, 2024.
School Resource Officers
There has been a lot in the news lately about the new law passed by Democrats this session affecting the ability of school resource officers to do their jobs effectively to keep students, teachers, and school staff safe. There was a change made this session that bans certain physical holds used by school resource officers in aggressive or violent situations, using confusing and conflicting language that will make everyone less safe.?
With school starting this week and next for students across the state, House Republicans have called for a special session to address this issue. Multiple school districts have lost their school resource officers since the confusion in the law came to light, and more will continue to lose them until this law is changed. We need to make keeping students, teachers, and staff safe a priority and fix this law as soon as possible.
I would encourage those who are concerned about this issue to contact the governor's office and ask that he call a special session to fix this law for the sake of safety in our schools.
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