Amend CSSB 1655 (Senate committee printing) by adding the following appropriately numbered SECTION to the bill and renumbering subsequent SECTIONS of the bill accordingly:

SECTION ____.  DISBURSEMENT OF SYSTEM BENEFIT FUND BALANCE. (a) The amount of $50.4 million is appropriated out of the system benefit fund for the two-year period beginning on the effective date of this Act to the Health and Human Services Commission to provide the state's share of the cost of expanding the categories of persons eligible to enroll in the Medicaid program to the maximum extent allowed for receipt of federal matching funds under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Pub. L. No. 111-148) as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Pub. L. No. 111-152).

(b)  It is the intent of the legislature that, as soon as possible after the effective date of this Act and using amounts appropriated in Subsection (a) of this section, the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission shall take all necessary actions authorized by law to expand eligibility for enrollment in the Medicaid program beginning January 1, 2014, including notifying appropriate federal agencies of that expanded eligibility.

ELLIS

DAVIS

WEST