H.B. No. 869
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to coordinated delivery of health and human services
1-3 programs.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 10, Article 4413(502), Revised Statutes,
1-6 is amended by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (e) to
1-7 read as follows:
1-8 (c) In developing a strategic health and human services plan
1-9 and plan updates under this section, the commissioner shall
1-10 consider:
1-11 (1) existing strategic plans of health and human
1-12 services agencies;
1-13 (2) the health and human services priorities and plans
1-14 submitted to the commissioner by governmental entities under
1-15 Subsection (e) of this section;
1-16 (3) facilitation of pending reorganizations or
1-17 consolidations of health and human services agencies and programs;
1-18 (4) <(3)> public comment, including comment documented
1-19 through public hearings conducted under Section 11 of this article;
1-20 and
1-21 (5) <(4)> budgetary issues, including projected agency
1-22 needs and projected availability of funds.
1-23 (e) The commissioner shall identify governmental entities
1-24 that coordinate the delivery of health and human services in
2-1 different regions, counties, and municipalities in the state and
2-2 shall request that each of these entities:
2-3 (1) identify the health and human services priorities
2-4 in the entity's jurisdiction and the most effective ways to deliver
2-5 and coordinate services in that jurisdiction;
2-6 (2) develop a coordinated plan for the delivery of
2-7 health and human services, including transition services that
2-8 prepare special education students for adulthood, in the entity's
2-9 jurisdiction; and
2-10 (3) make the information described by Subdivisions (1)
2-11 and (2) of this section available to the commission.
2-12 SECTION 2. Section 14(a), Article 4413(502), Revised
2-13 Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
2-14 (a) The commissioner shall:
2-15 (1) arbitrate and render the <a> final decision on
2-16 interagency disputes;
2-17 (2) facilitate and enforce coordinated planning and
2-18 delivery of health and human services, including compliance with
2-19 the coordinated strategic plan, co-location of services, integrated
2-20 intake, and coordinated referral and case management;
2-21 (3) at the request of a governmental entity identified
2-22 under Section 10(e) of this article, assist the governmental entity
2-23 in implementing a coordinated plan, which may include co-location
2-24 of services, integrated intake, and coordinated referral and case
2-25 management, tailored to the needs and priorities of that entity;
2-26 (4) request budget execution for the transfer of funds
2-27 from one agency to another;
3-1 (5) <(4)> establish a federal health and human
3-2 services funds management system and maximize the availability of
3-3 those funds;
3-4 (6) <(5)> develop with the Department of Information
3-5 Resources automation standards for computer systems to enable
3-6 health and human services agencies, including agencies operating on
3-7 a local level, to share pertinent data;
3-8 (7) <(6)> establish and enforce uniform regional
3-9 boundaries for all health and human services agencies;
3-10 (8) <(7)> carry out statewide health and human
3-11 services needs surveys and forecasting;
3-12 (9) <(8)> perform independent special outcome
3-13 evaluations of health and human services programs and activities;
3-14 (10) <(9)> adopt rules necessary to carry out the
3-15 commission's duties under this Act; and
3-16 (11) <(10)> develop a formula for distribution of
3-17 funds that considers such need factors as client base, population,
3-18 and economic and geographic factors within the regions of the
3-19 state.
3-20 SECTION 3. Article 4413(502), Revised Statutes, is amended
3-21 by adding Section 10A to read as follows:
3-22 Sec. 10A. USE OF AGENCY STAFF. To the extent requested by
3-23 the commission, a health and human services agency shall assign
3-24 existing staff to perform a function under this article.
3-25 SECTION 4. Section 533.044(a), Health and Safety Code, as
3-26 added by Chapter 905, Acts of the 73rd Legislature, Regular
3-27 Session, 1993, is amended to read as follows:
4-1 (a) The department<, Texas Department of Health,> and Texas
4-2 Department of Human Services by rule shall adopt a joint memorandum
4-3 of understanding that requires the use of a uniform assessment tool
4-4 to assess whether an elderly person, a person with mental
4-5 retardation, a person with a developmental disability, or a person
4-6 who is suspected of being a person with mental retardation or a
4-7 developmental disability and who is receiving services in a
4-8 facility regulated or operated by the department<, Texas Department
4-9 of Health,> or Texas Department of Human Services needs a guardian
4-10 of the person or estate, or both.
4-11 SECTION 5. (a) The commissioner of health and human
4-12 services, in collaboration with the state agencies listed in this
4-13 section, the Regional Administration for Children and Families Head
4-14 Start and Child Care Bureaus, the Texas Head Start Association, and
4-15 the Texas Association of Community Action Agencies, shall
4-16 coordinate the program services, eligibility requirements, funding,
4-17 enrollment periods, fees, and administrative functions of the
4-18 following programs by no later than December 1, 1996:
4-19 (1) the child-care programs of the Texas Department of
4-20 Human Services; and
4-21 (2) the prekindergarten programs of the Central
4-22 Education Agency.
4-23 (b) The commissioner of health and human services shall
4-24 report the results of the initiative prescribed by this provision
4-25 to the legislature on or before December 1, 1996.
4-26 (c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to transfer
4-27 funding for or the administration of child-care or prekindergarten
5-1 programs to the Health and Human Services Commission.
5-2 SECTION 6. The importance of this legislation and the
5-3 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-4 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-5 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-6 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
5-7 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
5-8 passage, and it is so enacted.