It was standing room only today at the hearing on SB 566, the Community Attendant Worker Act, before the Senate Committee on Public Health and Welfare. SB 566 would require the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services (SRS) to conduct a study on the status and working conditions of workers who provide attendant care for persons in home and community based waiver programs. The study would be funded from the federal Money Follows the Person Grant or from the federal Systems Transformation Grant.
So many supporters of the bill packed the hearing room that some conferees couldn't squeeze throught the crowd to get to the podium and had to give their testimony form where they were. Before the hearing had ended the crowd of supporters had overflowed into the hall outside.
SRS Secretary Jordan testified in favor of the bill and said the agency already had the funding they needed to do the study. Amog the many other conferees who testified in favor of SB 566 were Senate Minority Leader Tony Hensley, the chief sponsor of the bill, members of CAAN and TILRC Executive Director Mike Oxford.
The Committee Chair Senator Barnett, the Vice-Chair Senator Vicki Schmidt and the Committee Ranking Minority Member Senator Haley all seem favorably disposed to the bill and the hope is that they wwill quickly work the bill and pass it favorably out of committe on to the full Senate.