PRINTER'S NO. 1109
No. 1007 Session of 1981
INTRODUCED BY E. Z. TAYLOR, PITTS AND VROON, MARCH 25, 1981
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND WELFARE, MARCH 25, 1981
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of October 20, 1966 (3rd Sp.Sess., P.L.96,
2 No.6), entitled "An act relating to mental health and mental
3 retardation; authorizing county programs and amending,
4 revising and changing the laws relating thereto and making an
5 appropriation," further providing for grants to counties or
6 administrative units.
7 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
8 hereby enacts as follows:
9 Section 1. Clause (5) of section 509, act of October 20,
10 1966 (3rd Sp.Sess., P.L.96, No.6), known as the "Mental Health
11 and Mental Retardation Act of 1966," is amended to read:
12 Section 509. State and County Grants and Payments.--The
13 department, subject to the provisions of section 503, shall have
14 the power, and its duty shall be:
15 * * *
16 (5) In the event that sufficient funds to pay the full
17 amount of the grants to which the counties may be entitled under
18 the provisions of this [section] act have not been appropriated,
19 [to distribute State funds among the counties by a formula
1 reasonably designed to achieve the objectives of this act,
2 provided however, that in such event the counties' financial
3 obligations under this act shall be reduced in accordance with
4 the same formula and] the counties shall be required to provide
5 only those services for which sufficient funds are available.
6 Section 2. The act is amended by adding a section to read:
7 Section 509.1. Per Capita Bases of Grants.--(a) Beginning
8 in the grant year 1982, the department shall disburse grants to
9 counties or administrative units on a per capita basis, as
10 hereinafter provided. For such purposes, the 1981 annual grant
11 shall be used as the minimal base grant.
12 (b) The per capita disbursement figure shall be obtained by
13 dividing the total 1981 annual grants by the population of the
14 Commonwealth for such year as determined by the United States
15 Census Bureau. The resulting per capita figure shall be
16 multiplied by the population of the county or administrative
17 unit to ascertain its new grant status. For the year 1982,
18 eighty percent of such figure shall be allocated to such county
19 or administrative unit on the per capita basis; for the year
20 1983, ninety percent, and for the year 1984, one hundred
21 percent. After 1981, all moneys shall be allocated on a per
22 capita basis.
23 (c) Until 1984, and thereafter when one hundred percent per
24 capita distribution of the grant year base is achieved, the
25 department shall use appropriations remaining after the eighty
26 percent and ninety percent per capita allocations to give
27 deficiency grants to counties or administrative units that
28 suffer losses based on the base year grant and subsequent loss
29 of population or to distribute increases to counties or
30 administrative units which gain moneys based on their subsequent
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1 increase in population. In the event sufficient funds are not
2 appropriated to cover both deficiencies and increases, budgetary
3 deficiencies and mandated increases shall be equally distributed
4 on a per capita basis.
5 (d) Until 1984 or until the counties or administrative units
6 under their per capita entitlement receive their per capita
7 entitlement the department shall not authorize increases beyond
8 cost-of-living increases, as the United States Cost-of-Living
9 Council or its successor has determined, to those counties or
10 administrative units above their per capita entitlement. In
11 those counties or administrative units receiving increases, the
12 department shall first add the increase to the previous year's
13 grant and after adding those amounts together, apply a cost-of-
14 living increase to the total amount. Deficiency allocations may
15 be made at a greater rate to counties or administrative units
16 below their per capita entitlements.
17 Section 3. Subsection (b) of section 511 of the act, is
18 amended to read:
19 Section 511. Interim Grants for Mental Health and Mental
20 Retardation Services.--* * *
21 (b) Such grants, whose amounts shall be calculated [in
22 accordance with a formula to be determined by the department,]
23 on a per capita basis, shall terminate with respect to a
24 particular county, or combination of counties, on the approval
25 of the initial plan for a mental health and mental retardation
26 program or on the deadline for the establishment of all such
27 programs, as provided in section 512, whichever is earlier.
28 Section 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
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