(a) The Commissioner of Social Services shall submit an application for a federal waiver or renewal of such waiver of any assistance program requirements, except such application pertaining to routine operational issues, and any proposed amendment to the Medicaid state plan to make a change in program requirements that would have required a waiver were it not for the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, P.L. 111-148, and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, P.L. 111-152 to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to human services and appropriations and the budgets of state agencies prior to the submission of such application or proposed amendment to the federal government. Not later than thirty days after the date of their receipt of such application or proposed amendment, the joint standing committees shall: (1) Hold a public hearing on the waiver application, or (2) in the case of a proposed amendment to the Medicaid state plan, notify the Commissioner of Social Services whether or not said joint standing committees intend to hold a public hearing. Any notice to the commissioner indicating that the joint standing committees intend to hold a public hearing on a proposed amendment to the Medicaid state plan shall state the date on which the joint standing committees intend to hold such public hearing, which shall not be later than sixty days after the joint standing committees’ receipt of the proposed amendment. At the conclusion of a public hearing held in accordance with the provisions of this section, the joint standing committees shall advise the commissioner of their approval, denial or modifications, if any, of the commissioner’s waiver application or proposed amendment. If the joint standing committees advise the commissioner of their denial of the commissioner’s waiver application or proposed amendment, the commissioner shall not submit the application for a federal waiver or proposed amendment to the federal government. If such committees do not concur, the committee chairpersons shall appoint a committee of conference which shall be composed of three members from each joint standing committee. At least one member appointed from each joint standing committee shall be a member of the minority party. The report of the committee of conference shall be made to each joint standing committee, which shall vote to accept or reject the report. The report of the committee of conference may not be amended. If a joint standing committee rejects the report of the committee of conference, that joint standing committee shall notify the commissioner of the rejection and the commissioner’s waiver application or proposed amendment shall be deemed approved. If the joint standing committees accept the report, the committee having cognizance of matters relating to appropriations and the budgets of state agencies shall advise the commissioner of their approval, denial or modifications, if any, of the commissioner’s waiver application or proposed amendment. If the joint standing committees do not so advise the commissioner during the thirty-day period, the waiver application or proposed amendment shall be deemed approved. Any application for a federal waiver, waiver renewal or proposed amendment submitted to the federal government by the commissioner, pursuant to this section, shall be in accordance with the approval or modifications, if any, of the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to human services and appropriations and the budgets of state agencies.

(b) The Commissioner of Social Services shall annually, not later than December fifteenth, notify the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to appropriations and the budgets of state agencies and the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to human services of potential Medicaid waivers and amendments to the Medicaid state plan that may result in a cost savings for the state. The commissioner shall notify the committees of the possibility of any Medicaid waiver application or proposed amendment to the Medicaid state plan that the commissioner is considering in developing a budget for the next fiscal year before the commissioner submits such budget for legislative approval.

(c) Thirty days prior to submission of an application for a waiver from federal law, renewal of such waiver or proposed amendment to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly under subsection (a) of this section, the Commissioner of Social Services shall publish a notice that the commissioner intends to seek such a waiver or waiver renewal, or submit a proposed amendment to the federal government in the Connecticut Law Journal and on the Department of Social Services’ Internet web site, along with a summary of the provisions of the waiver application or the proposed amendment and the manner in which individuals may submit comments. The commissioner shall allow thirty days for written comments on the waiver application or proposed amendment prior to submission of the application for a waiver, waiver renewal or proposed amendment to the General Assembly under subsection (a) of this section and shall include all written comments with the waiver, waiver renewal application or proposed amendment in the submission to the General Assembly.

(d) The commissioner shall include with any waiver application or proposed amendment submitted to the federal government pursuant to this section: (1) Any written comments received pursuant to subsection (c) of this section; and (2) a complete transcript of the joint standing committee proceedings held pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, including any additional written comments submitted to the joint standing committees at such proceedings. The joint standing committees shall transmit any such materials to the commissioner for inclusion with any such waiver application or proposed amendment.

(P.A. 85-505, S. 1, 21; P.A. 93-221, S. 2; 93-262, S. 1, 87; 93-435, S. 59, 95; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 00-2, S. 13, 53; P.A. 07-83, S. 1; P.A. 09-8, S. 1; P.A. 11-44, S. 144; P.A. 15-154, S. 1; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 17-2, S. 159.)

History: P.A. 93-221 amended Subsec. (a) by reducing the amount of time the appropriations and human services committees have to advise the commissioner from 30 to 15 days and made such advice voluntary, and deleting provisions re decisions by conference committee and added Subsec. (c) requiring the commissioner of income maintenance to publish notice of the waiver along with a summary of its provisions and to seek public written comments prior to its submission to the general assembly; P.A. 93-262 and 93-435 authorized substitution of commissioner and department of social services for commissioner and department of income maintenance, effective July 1, 1993; Sec. 17-2k transferred to Sec. 17b-8 in 1995; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 00-2 amended Subsec. (a) to increase the amount of time the appropriations and human services committees have to advise the commissioner from 15 to 30 days, effective July 1, 2000; P.A. 07-83 amended Subsec. (a) by making technical changes, requiring joint standing committees having cognizance of matters re human services and appropriations to hold public hearing on commissioner’s waiver application, substituting “shall” for “may” re committees’ responsibility to advise commissioner of their approval, denial or modifications, if any, of the waiver application, establishing committee procedures re advising commissioner, including establishment of committee of conference when joint standing committees do not act in concurrence, and requiring that commissioner’s waiver application be submitted in accordance with approval or modifications, if any, of committees, amended Subsec. (b) by making a technical change, and added Subsec. (d) re items required to be included with waiver application, effective July 1, 2007; P.A. 09-8 made a technical change in Subsec. (a); P.A. 11-44 added provisions re commissioner’s submission of proposed amendment to Medicaid state plan and public hearings on the proposed amendment, and made conforming and technical changes, effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 15-154 amended Subsec. (a) to add provisions re waiver renewal applications and amended Subsec. (c) to add provisions re waiver renewal applications, add provision re 30-day notice period, replace “fifteen days” with “thirty days” re comment period and add provision re notice publication on department’s Internet web site, effective July 1, 2015; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 17-2 amended Subsec. (b) to replace provision re commissioner to notify appropriations and human services committees of possibility of applying for federal waiver or submitting proposed amendment to federal government with provisions re commissioner to annually notify appropriations and human services committees of potential Medicaid waivers and amendments to Medicaid state plan that may result in cost savings and of possibility of waiver application or proposed amendment commissioner is considering, effective October 31, 2017.