Since its enactment as part of last year's budget (section 329 of chapter 26 of the acts of 2003), efforts were underway almost immediately to rescind the expanded power. First, bills were introduced in the State House to either repeal the new law (SD 2232) or reduce its overall impact (SB 2173).

This past spring, a stopgap measure was enacted by the Legislature that extended the effective date of the new law for one year - from nursing home patients dying on or after July 1, 2003 to those dying on or after this July 1. Then recently, opponents of the new law successfully included a provision in the FY05 Budget (Section 167) that would repeal it and allow the state only to recover its costs from a deceased's probate estate.

Unfortunately, Governor Romney vetoed that provision. But the door was finally shut on the state's expanded power of estate recovery when the Legislature voted overwhelmingly to override the veto.

What this means is that the state can only recover from a deceased's probate estate. It can not recoup its nursing home costs from property that a deceased owned jointly or with a retained life estate.

"After our first report on this issue in the July Voice, we received calls from members who were naturally concerned that the estate plans, which they had made, may have been rendered useless by the law enacted last year," according to Legislative Chairman Bill Hill. "I'm certainly pleased that we can now report that the expanded power has been abolished and their plans should continue to be effective."