By Naishtat H.B. No. 1431
74R2351 MLR-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the automation of eligibility determination for the
1-3 state's welfare programs.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. INTEGRATED CLIENT ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION. (a)
1-6 In this Act:
1-7 (1) "Assistance programs" means the:
1-8 (A) financial assistance program (AFDC);
1-9 (B) medical assistance program (Medicaid); and
1-10 (C) nutritional assistance programs, including
1-11 food stamps.
1-12 (2) "Commission" means the Health and Human Services
1-13 Commission.
1-14 (3) "Health and human services agencies" has the
1-15 meaning assigned by Section 19, Article 4413(502), Revised
1-16 Statutes.
1-17 (b) Not later than September 1, 1996, the commission shall
1-18 implement an automated, fully integrated system to determine client
1-19 eligibility for use by health and human services agencies. The
1-20 system must have:
1-21 (1) decision-making components based on the rules of
1-22 the state's assistance programs; and
1-23 (2) the capability of simultaneously determining
1-24 eligibility for the state's multiple assistance programs.
2-1 (c) The commission may automate the determination of client
2-2 eligibility by contracting with a private firm to conduct
2-3 application processing. The commission shall study the automation
2-4 methods used by other states to determine if and when private
2-5 contracting is effective.
2-6 SECTION 2. WORKLOAD STANDARDS AND EDUCATION. (a) Not later
2-7 than February 1, 1996, the commission shall develop workload
2-8 standards and educational requirements for the health and human
2-9 services agency staff members that manage client eligibility
2-10 determination and certification. The workload standards shall
2-11 address caseload, training, and other relevant factors and must be
2-12 consistent with practices in the private sector.
2-13 (b) The educational requirements for the clerical staff who
2-14 process applications under an automated system shall provide that a
2-15 high school diploma or high school equivalency certificate is
2-16 sufficient. The commission shall phase out more qualified and
2-17 higher-paid eligibility workers through worker attrition and
2-18 replacement at an annual rate of not less than 20 percent.
2-19 (c) The commission shall examine cost-effective methods,
2-20 including the use of more experienced caseworkers on a limited case
2-21 review basis, to address:
2-22 (1) fraud in the assistance programs; and
2-23 (2) the error rate in eligibility determination.
2-24 SECTION 3. INTEGRATED SERVICE DELIVERY. (a) Not later than
2-25 September 1, 1997, the commission shall develop, using existing
2-26 state, local, and private resources, an integrated approach to the
2-27 health and human service delivery system that includes a
3-1 cost-effective one-stop or service center method of delivery to a
3-2 client. The commission shall determine the feasibility of using
3-3 hospitals, schools, mental health and mental retardation centers,
3-4 health clinics, commercial locations in malls, and other
3-5 appropriate locations to achieve this integrated approach.
3-6 (b) The health and human services agencies shall cooperate
3-7 with the commission in developing the integrated approach
3-8 prescribed by Subsection (a) of this section.
3-9 SECTION 4. AMENDMENT. Section 3.08, Chapter 15, Acts of the
3-10 72nd Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1991 (Article 4413(505),
3-11 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
3-12 Sec. 3.08. LOCATION <CO-LOCATION> OF OFFICES AND FACILITIES.
3-13 (a) As leases on office space expire, the commission shall
3-14 determine the needs for space and the location of health and human
3-15 services agency offices to enable the commission to achieve a
3-16 cost-effective one-stop or service center method of health and
3-17 human service delivery. <The administrative heads of the health
3-18 and human service agencies shall review the agencies' current
3-19 office and facility arrangements and study the feasibility of
3-20 co-locating offices or facilities located in the same geographic
3-21 area and shall report back to the commission not later than
3-22 September 1, 1992.>
3-23 (b) <On receiving approval from the commission, the
3-24 administrative heads of two or more health and human service
3-25 agencies with offices or facilities located in the same geographic
3-26 region shall co-locate the offices or facilities if the results of
3-27 the study conducted under this section show that client access
4-1 would be enhanced, the cost of co-location is not greater than the
4-2 combined operating costs of the separate offices or facilities of
4-3 those agencies, and the co-location would improve the efficiency of
4-4 the delivery of services.>
4-5 <(c)> In this section, "health and human service agencies"
4-6 includes the:
4-7 (1) Interagency Council on Early Childhood
4-8 Intervention Services;
4-9 (2) Texas Department on Aging;
4-10 (3) Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse;
4-11 (4) Texas Commission for the Blind;
4-12 (5) Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hearing
4-13 Impaired;
4-14 (6) Texas Department of Health;
4-15 (7) Texas Department of Human Services;
4-16 (8) Texas Juvenile Probation Commission;
4-17 (9) Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental
4-18 Retardation;
4-19 (10) Texas Rehabilitation Commission; and
4-20 (11) Department of Protective and Regulatory Services.
4-21 SECTION 5. AMENDMENT. Section 6.031(a), State Purchasing
4-22 and General Services Act (Article 601b, Vernon's Texas Civil
4-23 Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
4-24 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, the
4-25 <The> commission may not lease office space to service the needs of
4-26 any <a single> health and human service agency unless the Health
4-27 and Human Services Commission has approved the office space for the
5-1 agency <agency can provide the commission with a reason for not
5-2 sharing the office space with one or more other health and human
5-3 service agencies>.
5-4 SECTION 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. (a) This Act takes effect
5-5 September 1, 1995.
5-6 (b) Sections 1-3 of this Act expire September 1, 1997.
5-7 SECTION 7. EMERGENCY. The importance of this legislation
5-8 and the crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-9 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-10 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-11 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.