Representative Frank Burns told said that he’s been receiving a lot of feedback on House Bill 1650 from his constituents over the last few weeks. He says it was their concern that prompted him to join the fight. 

Burns wants his district to know that their voices have been heard. He said, “I want the people of this community to know that I’ve got their backs and we’re prepared to fight this until the end.”

The bill calls for the closure of the remaining 4 state care facilities for the intellectually disabled. It claims that it will save money and it can be best for the care of those who live there to be out in the community.

Representative Kerry Benninghoff is the author of the bill. He says this comes in response to the governor’s abrupt closure to the center in Hamburg. He say’s he’s trying to prevent that from happening again without proper hearings and input.

He explained, “My legislation serves as the catalyst to have an open dialogue that is transparent to everybody and let’s all stakeholders have a say in what’s going on.”

Burns believes it’s too dangerous to propose a closure without going through due diligence first.

He said, “We need to hear from the families of the residents. We need to hear from the people that work here. We need to hear from the administrators. If this is a cost saving measure, show me the savings. I want to see how much this could possibly save. To what point do we put the people at that center at risk?”

Neither representative believes that a closure is imminent. The bill current sits in the House Health Committee. Last week, support group president and family member of someone who lives in the Ebensburg center spoke out against the bill.