HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4469        FILED ON: 9/21/2021

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No.         

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Jack Patrick Lewis, (BY REQUEST)

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act promoting information sharing among nonprofit service providers.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4469        FILED ON: 9/21/2021

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The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)

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An Act promoting information sharing among nonprofit service providers.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Chapter 6A of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 16CC the following section:-

Section 16DD. (a) As used in this section the following terms shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:

“Nonprofit service provider”, a charitable corporation constituting a public charity organized pursuant to chapter 180 or a nonprofit or charitable organization or an individual branch or division of a nonprofit or charitable organization exempt from taxation under section 501(c)3 of the federal Internal Revenue Code that provides social services, including, but not limited to: housing, food insecurity, child care, education, fuel assistance, substance abuse services, mental health assistance, job training, English language education, literacy education, transportation, financial literacy, elder services and immigration services.

“Personal data”, as defined in section 1 of chapter 66A.

“Shared client data bank” or “data bank”, a single centralized, shared repository of nonprofit service provider client information; provided, that no client information in the data bank shall be a public record as defined in clause Twenty-sixth of section 7 of chapter 4.

“State authority”, as defined in section 1 of chapter 29.

(b) There shall be a fee, to be determined by the secretary of health and human services, payable by a nonprofit service provider at the time of application for a grant program or loan administered by a state agency or state authority. The fee shall be deposited in the Healthy Communities Trust Fund established in section 2LLLLL of chapter 29.

(c) A nonprofit service provider shall only be eligible for a state contract to provide services, grants or loans administered by a state agency or state authority, including but not limited to any programs included in the general appropriation act, if they are a member of the shared client data bank.

(d) The executive office of health and human services shall establish and implement a shared client data bank. The data bank shall enable clients of nonprofit service providers to submit a standardized application for services through a centralized internet website, nonprofit service provider or the data bank. A client may designate a preference for nonprofit service providers from which to receive services.

The secretary shall provide the client with a data bank identification card for use at nonprofit service providers within 30 days of receiving the client’s information. A nonprofit service provider shall accept a data bank identification card for the purposes of verification for services provided by the nonprofit, except where prohibited by federal law.

(e) Upon the client’s written, informed consent, the data bank may provide client personal data to nonprofit service providers that are members of the bank. The data bank shall protect client information in accordance with state and federal laws regarding personal data, including but not limited to chapter 66A.

SECTION 2. Chapter 29 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 2KKKKK, as inserted by section 1 of chapter 254 of the acts of 2020, the following section:-

Section 2LLLLL. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Healthy Communities Trust Fund, hereafter referred to as the fund. The fund shall provide, without prior appropriation, funds to support the shared client data bank for nonprofit service providers, as provided in section 16DD of chapter 6A.

There shall be credited to the fund revenues received from fees paid by nonprofit service providers at the time of application for a grant program or loan administered by a state agency or state authority. The secretary of health and human services shall administer the fund.

No expenditure from the fund shall cause the fund to be in deficiency at the close of a fiscal year. Monies deposited in the fund that are unexpended at the end of the fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund and shall be available for expenditure in the subsequent fiscal year.

The secretary of health and human services shall deposit all revenue received pursuant to subsection (b) of section 16DD of chapter 6A into the fund. Annually, not later than October 1, the secretary of health and human services shall report to the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate, the house and senate committees on ways and means, the joint committee on housing, the joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities and the joint committee on mental health, substance abuse and recovery on the fund’s activity.