Latonya Reeves Freedom Act of 2021
Latest action · Dec 16, 2021 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedDec 16, 2021
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Latonya Reeves Freedom Act of 2021
This bill prohibits government entities and insurance providers from denying community-based services to individuals with disabilities that require long-term service or support that would enable such individuals to live in the community and lead an independent life.
Specifically, these entities may not discriminate against such individuals in the provision of community-based services by such actions as imposing prohibited eligibility criteria, cost caps, or waiting lists or failing to provide a specific community-based service. Additionally, community-based services must be offered to individuals with such disabilities prior to institutionalization. Institutionalized individuals must be notified regularly of community-based alternatives.
The bill requires the Department of Justice to issue regulations requiring government entities and insurance providers to offer community-based long-term services to individuals with such disabilities who would otherwise qualify for institutional placement. Government entities must ensure sufficient availability of affordable, accessible, and integrated housing that is not a disability-specific residential setting or a setting where services are tied to tenancy.
Regulations shall also (1) require government entities and insurance providers to perform self-evaluation on current services, policies, and practices and concerning compliance with requirements of this bill; and (2) require government entities to submit a transition plan. The bill provides funds for FY2022 for the Department of Health and Human Services to provide technical assistance with respect to transition plans.
The bill allows civil actions by individuals subjected to, or about to be subjected to, a violation of its requirements.
Cosponsors 22
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Dec 16, 2021 to Dec 21, 2022; 4 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I-VT | Bernard Sanders | Original | Dec 16, 2021 |
| D-MT | Jon Tester | Original | Dec 16, 2021 |
| D-IL | Tammy Duckworth | Original | Dec 16, 2021 |
| D-MN | Tina Smith | Original | Dec 16, 2021 |
| D-NJ | Cory A. Booker | Feb 15, 2022 | |
| D-CO | John W. Hickenlooper | Mar 15, 2022 | |
| D-NM | Ben Ray Luján | May 9, 2022 | |
| D-MA | Elizabeth Warren | May 9, 2022 | |
| D-RI | Jack Reed | May 9, 2022 | |
| D-NY | Kirsten E. Gillibrand | May 18, 2022 | |
| D-MN | Amy Klobuchar | Jun 6, 2022 | |
| D-MA | Edward J. Markey | Jun 13, 2022 | |
| D-NH | Jeanne Shaheen | Jun 13, 2022 | |
| D-RI | Sheldon Whitehouse | Jun 23, 2022 | |
| D-HI | Mazie K. Hirono | Sep 29, 2022 | |
| D-PA | Robert P. Casey Jr. | Nov 16, 2022 | |
| D-WI | Tammy Baldwin | Nov 28, 2022 | |
| D-NY | Charles E. Schumer | Dec 13, 2022 | |
| D-MI | Debbie Stabenow | Dec 13, 2022 | |
| D-NJ | Robert Menendez | Dec 19, 2022 | |
| D-NM | Martin Heinrich | Dec 21, 2022 | |
| D-OR | Ron Wyden | Dec 21, 2022 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee | Referred Dec 16, 2021 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Dec 16, 2021Introduced in Senate
- Dec 16, 2021Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 1193 | Latonya Reeves Freedom Act of 2023 | Reintroduced Bill | Apr 19, 2023 |
| HR 6860 | Latonya Reeves Freedom Act of 2022 | Related bill | Nov 1, 2022 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to prohibit discrimination against individuals with disabilities who need long-term services and supports, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Latonya Reeves Freedom Act of 2021
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues.
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Appropriations
- Civil actions and liability
- Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
- Community life and organization
- Department of Health and Human Services
- Department of Justice
- Disability and health-based discrimination
- Disability and paralysis
- Disability assistance
- Employment and training programs
- Executive agency funding and structure
- Health care costs and insurance
- Health care coverage and access
- Health programs administration and funding
- Home and outpatient care
- Housing for the elderly and disabled
- Housing supply and affordability
- Intergovernmental relations
- Long-term, rehabilitative, and terminal care
- Low- and moderate-income housing
- Medicaid
- State and local government operations
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Dec 16, 2021Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
