Austin disability advisory panel proposes Medicaid expansion, vocational alternatives and polling accessibility as 2027 priorities

Chair Kelly told members the City of Austin's government relations office asked for legislative priorities for the 2027 state and federal sessions and proposed several initial items for the committee's consideration. "Protect and expand Medicaid, including home services," she said, and listed vocational programs as alternatives to subminimum-wage employment, polling-place accessibility, and independent-living programs as other priorities.

Members were reminded the request is time sensitive and that suggested priorities must be submitted by the end of the month. Chair Kelly asked members to email proposed items so staff can forward them to the government relations office. "If you want to get it on the list, we need it by the end of the month," she said.

Committee members asked whether recommendations would be for the upcoming year; Chair Kelly clarified the priorities would be for the coming legislative cycle and that suggested items could be submitted by email to Nakeba. No formal vote was recorded on the list of priorities during the meeting; the committee agreed to collect suggestions and return with finalized recommendations.