"I could live in a nursing home right now, but I choose to live and work in my community," James Steed, shown here, told lawmakers. He said he's on the Aged and Disabled Waiver due to physical disability, but has friends and people he works with who are on the DD waiver. Many have cognitive impairments, he said, and the Aged and Disabled Waiver wouldn't provide the services they need; they'd end up having to go into institutions, he said.

Joe Raiden of Moscow, who described himself as a "self-advocate," told the committee, "Just because you make the cuts to services doesn't mean the needs go away." He said, "They continue to balance the state budget on the backs of people with disabilities. ... If these cuts go through, we're going back 30 years." He said he remembers when he was a child and people with disabilities like him weren't welcome in schools, and instead were "hidden away ... where we will be out of sight and out of mind." Raiden said he feared HB 221 would return the state to those times.

Robbi Barrutia, executive director of the State Independent Living Council and a former state lawmaker, also testified against HB 221. "We do not believe that the proposed cuts will provide cost savings to the state of Idaho," she told lawmakers. The proposed age 45 "retirement" age from DD services is particularly problematic, she said.