S.B. No. 714
AN ACT
1-1 relating to the provision of nutrition for women, infants,
1-2 children, and the indigent.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Chapter 32, Health and Safety Code, is amended by
1-5 adding Section 32.021 to read as follows:
1-6 Sec. 32.021. REQUIREMENTS REGARDING THE WOMEN, INFANTS AND
1-7 CHILDREN PROGRAM. (a) The department shall require that any
1-8 agency, clinic, organization, or other entity that contracts with
1-9 the Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children
1-10 provide the services supported by that program during the evening
1-11 hours or on Saturdays as provided by Subsection (b).
1-12 (b) If the entity described in Subsection (a) operates:
1-13 (1) 32 or more hours each week, then the clinic shall
1-14 be open at least one weekday evening for a minimum of two hours in
1-15 excess of normal working hours or on Saturdays for a minimum of
1-16 three hours;
1-17 (2) only selected hours within a week during two or
1-18 more days a month, then for each month the clinic shall be open at
1-19 least one weekday evening for a minimum of two hours in excess of
1-20 normal working hours or on a Saturday for a minimum of three hours;
1-21 or
1-22 (3) only on one day a month or less frequently, then
1-23 in one month out of every three the clinic shall be open at least
2-1 one weekday evening for a minimum of two hours in excess of normal
2-2 working hours or on a Saturday for a minimum of three hours.
2-3 (c) The department, in administering the Supplemental Food
2-4 Program for Women, Infants and Children, shall adopt guidelines for
2-5 the granting of waivers from the requirement of Subsection (a).
2-6 (d) To obtain a waiver, a clinic shall submit a written
2-7 justification to the department explaining the extraordinary
2-8 circumstances involved and identifying the time frame needed for
2-9 their resolution.
2-10 (e) If an entity required by this section to maintain
2-11 extended hours provides other maternal and child health services,
2-12 the department shall require that the entity also make those
2-13 services available during the extended hours.
2-14 SECTION 2. Chapter 33, Human Resources Code, is amended by
2-15 adding Section 33.024 to read as follows:
2-16 Sec. 33.024. SUMMER FOOD SERVICE PROGRAM. (a) In this
2-17 section:
2-18 (1) "Agency" means the Central Education Agency.
2-19 (2) "Field office" means a field office of a special
2-20 nutrition program administered by the department.
2-21 (3) "Summer program" means the Summer Food Service
2-22 Program.
2-23 (b) The department and the agency shall develop a plan to
2-24 ensure that by June 15, 1997, children residing in school districts
2-25 in which 60 percent or more children are eligible for free or
3-1 reduced-price meals will have access to the summer program. The
3-2 plan shall provide a time line for implementation effective the
3-3 summer of 1994 through June 15, 1997. The department and the
3-4 agency shall each designate a person on their respective
3-5 administrative staffs who shall be charged with coordinating
3-6 activities pursuant to this requirement.
3-7 (c) The agency shall provide to the department, in October
3-8 following each school year, a listing of those school districts
3-9 which had at least:
3-10 (1) 90 percent of children in the district eligible
3-11 for free or reduced-price meals during the 1992-1993 school year;
3-12 (2) 80 percent of children in the district eligible
3-13 for free or reduced-price meals during the 1993-1994 school year;
3-14 (3) 70 percent of children in the district eligible
3-15 for free or reduced-price meals during the 1994-1995 school year;
3-16 and
3-17 (4) 60 percent of children in the district eligible
3-18 for free or reduced-price meals during the 1995-1996 school year
3-19 and each school year thereafter.
3-20 (d) By November 30 of each year, the department and the
3-21 agency shall jointly notify the following of their joint
3-22 responsibility to provide or arrange for the provision of a summer
3-23 program the following summer:
3-24 (1) each listed school district that does not have a
3-25 summer program sponsor in the district; and
4-1 (2) nutrition program field offices.
4-2 (e) School district facilities shall be utilized for the
4-3 summer program unless:
4-4 (1) the district provides documentation, verified by
4-5 the department and the agency, showing that the cost to the
4-6 district exceeds the funds available for the summer program; or
4-7 (2) the Department of Human Services verifies that the
4-8 program will operate at adequate alternative facilities.
4-9 (f) Each notified school district shall respond to the
4-10 department and the agency no later than January 31 of the following
4-11 year and either indicate its intent to operate a summer program in
4-12 the following summer or request a waiver of the requirement to
4-13 operate a summer program, as provided by Subsection (g).
4-14 (g) A waiver under Subsection (f) may be granted by the
4-15 department and the agency, to a school district if:
4-16 (1) the district demonstrates to the department and
4-17 the agency that:
4-18 (A) there are fewer than 100 children in the
4-19 district currently eligible for free or reduced-price meals;
4-20 (B) transportation remains an insurmountable
4-21 obstacle despite consultation by the district with public transit
4-22 providers;
4-23 (C) the district is unable to operate a summer
4-24 program due to renovation or construction within the district and
4-25 an appropriate alternative provider or site is not available; or
5-1 (D) the district is unable to operate a summer
5-2 program due to other extenuating circumstances and an appropriate
5-3 alternative provider or site is not available; and
5-4 (2) the district works with the field offices to
5-5 identify other persons and agencies in the district who were
5-6 contacted as potential providers or sites for the summer program.
5-7 (h) If the school district has requested a waiver under
5-8 Subsection (f) and has been unable to provide a list of possible
5-9 sponsors to the department, the field offices shall continue
5-10 efforts to locate an alternative sponsor for the summer program.
5-11 (i) The department, in consultation with the agency, shall
5-12 publish rules and procedures for obtaining a waiver under
5-13 Subsection (f). A waiver shall be for a one-year period.
5-14 (j) The department and the agency shall provide to the 74th
5-15 Legislature and 75th Legislature biennial reports which shall
5-16 include a listing of school districts identified as described in
5-17 Subsection (c) which have become sponsors of a summer program. The
5-18 reports shall also include a listing of identified school districts
5-19 that failed to satisfy the requirements of this section. The
5-20 reports shall also include the costs, above federal funds, incurred
5-21 by the school districts and the state in order to comply with this
5-22 section.
5-23 SECTION 3. Chapter 33, Human Resources Code, is amended by
5-24 adding Section 33.025 to read as follows:
5-25 Sec. 33.025. NUTRITION EDUCATION AND OUTREACH FOR THOSE
6-1 ELIGIBLE FOR FOOD STAMPS. (a) The department shall develop and
6-2 implement a plan of operation to provide nutrition education and
6-3 outreach to persons eligible for food stamps.
6-4 (b) The plan of operation for education and outreach shall:
6-5 (1) ensure that low-income consumers are provided with
6-6 informational materials that include but are not limited to
6-7 information on:
6-8 (A) food budgeting for low-income consumers;
6-9 (B) purchasing and preparing low-cost
6-10 nutritional meals;
6-11 (C) basic nutrition and healthy foods;
6-12 (D) the availability of food stamps;
6-13 (E) the eligibility requirements for food
6-14 stamps; and
6-15 (F) the application procedures for receiving
6-16 food stamps;
6-17 (2) identify a target population for the informational
6-18 activities, which may include:
6-19 (A) recipients of the Supplemental Food Program
6-20 for Women, Infants and Children;
6-21 (B) families which have children who are
6-22 eligible for the free or reduced-price meals programs;
6-23 (C) recipients of commodity surplus foods;
6-24 (D) senior citizens attending nutrition sites
6-25 and participating in nutritional activities;
7-1 (E) clients of emergency food pantries;
7-2 (F) farm workers or migrants; and
7-3 (G) others who may benefit from the information
7-4 including but not limited to senior citizens, persons with
7-5 disabilities, and working poor families;
7-6 (3) identify geographical areas, if any, which
7-7 specifically will be targeted; and
7-8 (4) ensure that all informational activities are
7-9 multilingual and available in accessible alternative formats.
7-10 (c) The department shall submit the plan of operation to the
7-11 Food and Nutrition Service of the United States Department of
7-12 Agriculture for approval, making the department eligible for
7-13 reimbursement for 50 percent of the cost of the informational
7-14 activities.
7-15 (d) The department shall cooperate with other state agencies
7-16 that currently operate nutrition education programs.
7-17 (e) The department shall enlist the assistance of pro bono
7-18 public relations firms where available.
7-19 SECTION 4. The Texas Department of Health, in administering
7-20 the Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children,
7-21 shall adopt a deadline by which the requirements of Section 32.021,
7-22 Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act, shall be met.
7-23 SECTION 5. Agencies are not required to carry out duties
7-24 relating to this Act except to the extent that federal funds are
7-25 appropriated to agencies or are otherwise available.
8-1 SECTION 6. The importance of this legislation and the
8-2 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
8-3 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
8-4 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
8-5 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
8-6 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
8-7 passage, and it is so enacted.