BILL ANALYSIS Corrections Committee S.B. 569 By: Moncrief (Hightower) 05-16-95 Committee Report (Unamended) BACKGROUND Hospice began in the United States in 1977 to provide a caring environment to meet the physical and emotional needs of terminally ill patients. The emphasis of hospice is on the palliative care for a dying patient rather than curative medical treatment. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice reported 1,505 HIV-positive prisoners and 267 inmates with AIDS incarcerated at the end of September 1994. In 1988, 142 prisoners were HIV-positive, 17 with AIDS. In 1991, the legislature passed a law to channel special needs offenders out of the prison system so they would have access to federally-funded programs which would allow them to enter facilities appropriate for their treatment. Inmates who had committed capital offenses, however, were not eligible for this program. A recent study conducted at the California Correctional Medical Facility in Vacaville, California, revealed that the cost for hospice was $100 per bed compared to $600 per bed for acute care in the hospital. PURPOSE As proposed, S.B. 569 authorizes the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to provide direct hospice services for terminally ill inmates and certain defendants confined in facilities operated by the department. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Chapter 493, Government Code, by adding Section 493.014, as follows: Sec. 493.014. CARE OF TERMINALLY ILL INMATES. (a) Authorizes the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (department) to provide direct hospice services for terminally ill inmates and defendants confined in facilities operated by the department or to contract with a licensed hospice for the provision of those services. (b) Defines "hospice" and "hospice services." SECTION 2. Amends Section 142.003(a), Health and Safety Code, to exempt the department from having to be licensed under this chapter. Deletes existing Subdivision (18). SECTION 3. Effective date: September 1, 1995. SECTION 4. Emergency clause. SUMMARY OF COMMITTEE ACTION S.B. 569 was considered by the Committee on Corrections in a formal meeting on May 16, 1995. The bill was reported favorably, without amendment, with the recommendation that it do pass and be printed, by a record vote of 6 ayes, 0 nays, 0 pnv, and 3 absent.