BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 4074

By: Hunter

Public Health

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

According to a recent report to the legislature by the Statewide Behavioral Health Coordinating Council, Texas has the second highest amount of suicide deaths of any state in the country. The state must do more to improve suicide prevention efforts. H.B. 4074 seeks to do so by requiring the council to create a subcommittee focused on suicide prevention through the use of relevant collected data and by including suicide prevention efforts among the required components of the council's behavioral health strategic plan.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 4074 amends the Government Code to require the Statewide Behavioral Health Coordinating Council to include statewide suicide prevention efforts in its five-year statewide behavioral health strategic plan.

H.B. 4074 requires the council to create a suicide prevention subcommittee to focus on statewide suicide prevention efforts using information collected by the council from available sources of suicide data reports. The subcommittee must establish guidelines for the frequent use of those reports in carrying out the council's purpose regarding suicide prevention and must establish a method for identifying how suicide data reports are used to make policy. The bill authorizes public or private entities that collect information regarding suicide and suicide prevention to provide suicide data reports to Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) staff designated by the executive commissioner of HHSC to receive those reports.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2021.