A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to direct the Department of health and human services to develop a public housing adult care home demonstration project allowing an adult care home to operate in association with a Public housing authority and to exempt aN adult care home operating under the project from the certificate of need requirement.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  The Department of Health and Human Services (Department) shall develop and implement the North Carolina Public Housing Adult Care Home Demonstration Project (Project). The purpose of the Project is to provide an adult care home, as defined in G.S. 131D‑2, for aged and disabled adults requiring 24‑hour supervision and assistance with personal care needs and who are currently residing in, or eligible for, public housing.  An entity qualified by the Department to operate an adult care home under the Project must be owned by, under contract with, or administered by a North Carolina Housing Authority as defined in G.S. 157‑3.  Notwithstanding G.S. 157‑9 or any other provision of law to the contrary, a public housing authority may operate an adult care home in accordance with this act.
SECTION 1.(b)  The Department of Health and Human Services shall monitor and evaluate the qualitative benefits and cost‑effectiveness of the Project authorized under Section 1 of this act.  The Department shall submit progress reports annually to the House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services, and the Senate Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services upon their convening, and shall also submit a copy of the report to the Fiscal Research Division of the Legislative Services Office.  The report shall indicate at a minimum the number of individuals served under the Project and the resulting cost savings to the State.
SECTION 1.(c)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, an adult care home being developed under the Project authorized in Section 1 of this act is exempt from the Certificate of Need requirements for adult care homes contained in Article 9 of Chapter 131E of the General Statutes.  All other requirements for licensure as an adult care home apply to an entity operating under the Project authorized in Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 2.  Section 1 of this act becomes effective July 1, 2009, and expires July 1, 2014. The remainder of the act is effective when it becomes law.