1-1 By: Ellis, Moncrief, Zaffirini S.B. No. 714
1-2 (In the Senate - Filed March 9, 1993; March 10, 1993, read
1-3 first time and referred to Committee on Health and Human Services;
1-4 April 21, 1993, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
1-5 Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 6, Nays 0; April 21, 1993,
1-6 sent to printer.)
1-7 COMMITTEE VOTE
1-8 Yea Nay PNV Absent
1-9 Zaffirini x
1-10 Ellis x
1-11 Madla x
1-12 Moncrief x
1-13 Nelson x
1-14 Patterson x
1-15 Shelley x
1-16 Truan x
1-17 Wentworth x
1-18 COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 714 By: Ellis
1-19 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-20 AN ACT
1-21 relating to the provision of nutrition for women, infants,
1-22 children, and the indigent.
1-23 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-24 SECTION 1. Chapter 32, Health and Safety Code, is amended by
1-25 adding Section 32.021 to read as follows:
1-26 Sec. 32.021. REQUIREMENTS REGARDING THE WOMEN, INFANTS AND
1-27 CHILDREN PROGRAM. (a) The department shall require that any
1-28 agency, clinic, organization, or other entity that contracts with
1-29 the Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children
1-30 provide the services supported by that program during the evening
1-31 hours or on Saturdays as provided by Subsection (b).
1-32 (b) If the entity described in Subsection (a) operates:
1-33 (1) 32 or more hours each week, then the clinic shall
1-34 be open at least one weekday evening for a minimum of two hours in
1-35 excess of normal working hours or on Saturdays for a minimum of
1-36 three hours;
1-37 (2) only selected hours within a week during two or
1-38 more days a month, then for each month the clinic shall be open at
1-39 least one weekday evening for a minimum of two hours in excess of
1-40 normal working hours or on a Saturday for a minimum of three hours;
1-41 or
1-42 (3) only on one day a month or less frequently, then
1-43 in one month out of every three the clinic shall be open at least
1-44 one weekday evening for a minimum of two hours in excess of normal
1-45 working hours or on a Saturday for a minimum of three hours.
1-46 (c) The department, in administering the Supplemental Food
1-47 Program for Women, Infants and Children, shall adopt guidelines for
1-48 the granting of waivers from the requirement of Subsection (a).
1-49 (d) To obtain a waiver, a clinic shall submit a written
1-50 justification to the department explaining the extraordinary
1-51 circumstances involved and identifying the time frame needed for
1-52 their resolution.
1-53 (e) If an entity required by this section to maintain
1-54 extended hours provides other maternal and child health services,
1-55 the department shall require that the entity also make those
1-56 services available during the extended hours.
1-57 SECTION 2. Chapter 33, Human Resources Code, is amended by
1-58 adding Section 33.024 to read as follows:
1-59 Sec. 33.024. SUMMER FOOD SERVICE PROGRAM. (a) In this
1-60 section:
1-61 (1) "Agency" means the Central Education Agency.
1-62 (2) "Field office" means a field office of a special
1-63 nutrition program administered by the department.
1-64 (3) "Summer program" means the Summer Food Service
1-65 Program.
1-66 (b) The department and the agency shall develop a plan to
1-67 ensure that by June 15, 1997, children residing in school districts
1-68 in which 60 percent or more children are eligible for free or
2-1 reduced-price meals will have access to the summer program. The
2-2 plan shall provide a time line for implementation effective the
2-3 summer of 1994 through June 15, 1997. The department and the
2-4 agency shall each designate a person on their respective
2-5 administrative staffs who shall be charged with coordinating
2-6 activities pursuant to this requirement.
2-7 (c) The agency shall provide to the department, in October
2-8 following each school year, a listing of those school districts
2-9 which had at least:
2-10 (1) 90 percent of children in the district eligible
2-11 for free or reduced-price meals during the 1992-1993 school year;
2-12 (2) 80 percent of children in the district eligible
2-13 for free or reduced-price meals during the 1993-1994 school year;
2-14 (3) 70 percent of children in the district eligible
2-15 for free or reduced-price meals during the 1994-1995 school year;
2-16 and
2-17 (4) 60 percent of children in the district eligible
2-18 for free or reduced-price meals during the 1995-1996 school year
2-19 and each school year thereafter.
2-20 (d) By November 30 of each year, the department and the
2-21 agency shall jointly notify the following of their joint
2-22 responsibility to provide or arrange for the provision of a summer
2-23 program the following summer:
2-24 (1) each listed school district that does not have a
2-25 summer program sponsor in the district; and
2-26 (2) nutrition program field offices.
2-27 (e) School district facilities shall be utilized for the
2-28 summer program unless:
2-29 (1) the district provides documentation, verified by
2-30 the department and the agency, showing that the cost to the
2-31 district exceeds the funds available for the summer program; or
2-32 (2) the Department of Human Services verifies that the
2-33 program will operate at adequate alternative facilities.
2-34 (f) Each notified school district shall respond to the
2-35 department and the agency no later than January 31 of the following
2-36 year and either indicate its intent to operate a summer program in
2-37 the following summer or request a waiver of the requirement to
2-38 operate a summer program, as provided by Subsection (g).
2-39 (g) A waiver under Subsection (f) may be granted by the
2-40 department and the agency, to a school district if:
2-41 (1) the district demonstrates to the department and
2-42 the agency that:
2-43 (A) there are fewer than 100 children in the
2-44 district currently eligible for free or reduced-price meals;
2-45 (B) transportation remains an insurmountable
2-46 obstacle despite consultation by the district with public transit
2-47 providers;
2-48 (C) the district is unable to operate a summer
2-49 program due to renovation or construction within the district and
2-50 an appropriate alternative provider or site is not available; or
2-51 (D) the district is unable to operate a summer
2-52 program due to other extenuating circumstances and an appropriate
2-53 alternative provider or site is not available; and
2-54 (2) the district works with the field offices to
2-55 identify other persons and agencies in the district who were
2-56 contacted as potential providers or sites for the summer program.
2-57 (h) If the school district has requested a waiver under
2-58 Subsection (f) and has been unable to provide a list of possible
2-59 sponsors to the department, the field offices shall continue
2-60 efforts to locate an alternative sponsor for the summer program.
2-61 (i) The department, in consultation with the agency, shall
2-62 publish rules and procedures for obtaining a waiver under
2-63 Subsection (f). A waiver shall be for a one-year period.
2-64 (j) The department and the agency shall provide to the 74th
2-65 Legislature and 75th Legislature biennial reports which shall
2-66 include a listing of school districts identified as described in
2-67 Subsection (c) which have become sponsors of a summer program. The
2-68 report shall also include a listing of identified school districts
2-69 that failed to satisfy the requirements of this section.
2-70 SECTION 3. Chapter 33, Human Resources Code, is amended by
3-1 adding Section 33.025 to read as follows:
3-2 Sec. 33.025. NUTRITION EDUCATION AND OUTREACH FOR THOSE
3-3 ELIGIBLE FOR FOOD STAMPS. (a) The department shall develop and
3-4 implement a plan of operation to provide nutrition education and
3-5 outreach to persons eligible for food stamps.
3-6 (b) The plan of operation for education and outreach shall:
3-7 (1) ensure that low-income consumers are provided with
3-8 informational materials that include but are not limited to
3-9 information on:
3-10 (A) food budgeting for low-income consumers;
3-11 (B) purchasing and preparing low-cost
3-12 nutritional meals;
3-13 (C) basic nutrition and healthy foods;
3-14 (D) the benefits of the food stamp program;
3-15 (E) the availability of food stamps;
3-16 (F) the eligibility requirements for food
3-17 stamps; and
3-18 (G) the application procedures for receiving
3-19 food stamps;
3-20 (2) identify a target population for the informational
3-21 activities, which may include:
3-22 (A) recipients of the Supplemental Food Program
3-23 for Woman, Infants and Children;
3-24 (B) families which have children who are
3-25 eligible for the free or reduced-price meals programs;
3-26 (C) recipients of commodity surplus foods;
3-27 (D) senior citizens attending nutrition sites
3-28 and participating in nutritional activities;
3-29 (E) clients of emergency food pantries;
3-30 (F) farm workers or migrants; and
3-31 (G) others who may benefit from the information
3-32 including but not limited to senior citizens, persons with
3-33 disabilities, and working poor families;
3-34 (3) identify geographical areas, if any, which
3-35 specifically will be targeted; and
3-36 (4) ensure that all informational activities are
3-37 multilingual and available in accessible alternative formats.
3-38 (c) The department shall submit the plan of operation to the
3-39 Food and Nutrition Service of the United States Department of
3-40 Agriculture for approval, making the department eligible for
3-41 reimbursement for 50 percent of the cost of the informational
3-42 activities.
3-43 (d) The department shall cooperate with other state agencies
3-44 that currently operate nutrition education programs.
3-45 (e) The department shall enlist the assistance of pro bono
3-46 public relations firms where available.
3-47 SECTION 4. The Texas Department of Health, in administering
3-48 the Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children,
3-49 shall adopt a deadline by which the requirements of Section 32.021,
3-50 Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act, shall be met.
3-51 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
3-52 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-53 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-54 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-55 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
3-56 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
3-57 passage, and it is so enacted.
3-58 * * * * *
3-59 Austin,
3-60 Texas
3-61 April 21, 1993
3-62 Hon. Bob Bullock
3-63 President of the Senate
3-64 Sir:
3-65 We, your Committee on Health and Human Services to which was
3-66 referred S.B. No. 714, have had the same under consideration, and I
3-67 am instructed to report it back to the Senate with the
3-68 recommendation that it do not pass, but that the Committee
3-69 Substitute adopted in lieu thereof do pass and be printed.
3-70 Zaffirini,
4-1 Chair
4-2 * * * * *
4-3 WITNESSES
4-4 No witnesses appeared on S.B. No. 714.