By Zaffirini S.B. No. 1675
74R10504 CLG-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to powers and duties of the Health and Human Services
1-3 Commission.
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 (d) and adding Subsection (e) to
1-7 read as follows:
1-8 (d) All health and human services agencies shall submit
1-9 strategic plans and biennial updates to the commission on a date to
1-10 be determined by commission rule. The strategic plans and biennial
1-11 updates are subject to commission approval.
1-12 (e) Not later than January 1 of each even-numbered year, the
1-13 commission shall begin formal discussions with each health and
1-14 human services agency regarding that agency's strategic plan or
1-15 biennial update.
1-16 SECTION 2. Section 13, Article 4413(502), Revised Statutes,
1-17 is amended to read as follows:
1-18 Sec. 13. Consolidated Health and Human Services Budget.
1-19 (a) The commission has comprehensive budget and planning authority
1-20 for health and human services agencies in order to establish an
1-21 integrated eligibility determination and service delivery system.
1-22 (b) The commission shall prepare and submit to the
1-23 Legislative Budget Board and the governor by October 15 of
1-24 even-numbered years a consolidated health and human services budget
2-1 recommendation.
2-2 (c) <(b)> The commission shall base the consolidated budget
2-3 recommendation prepared under this article on priorities set in the
2-4 commission's coordinated strategic plan for health and human
2-5 services.
2-6 (d) <(c)> All health and human services agencies shall
2-7 submit to the commission a biennial agency legislative
2-8 appropriations request on a date to be determined by commission
2-9 rule.
2-10 (e) A health and human services agency may not submit to the
2-11 legislature or the governor its legislative appropriations request
2-12 until the legislative appropriations request is approved by the
2-13 commission.
2-14 SECTION 3. Article 4413(502), Revised Statutes, is amended
2-15 by adding Sections 13A-13E to read as follows:
2-16 Sec. 13A. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AGENCIES OPERATING
2-17 BUDGETS. (a) In addition to the provisions of the General
2-18 Appropriations Act, each agency subject to the provisions of this
2-19 article shall:
2-20 (1) obtain commission approval of its annual operating
2-21 budget prior to adoption of its annual operating budget;
2-22 (2) obtain commission approval of the transfer of
2-23 funds between budget strategies prior to the transfer of the funds;
2-24 (3) report to the commission, on a quarterly basis,
2-25 information regarding the agency's projected expenditures by budget
2-26 strategy, compared to the agency's operating budget approved by the
2-27 commission; and
3-1 (4) obtain commission approval for any adjustment to
3-2 the agency's operating budget.
3-3 (b) The commission shall adopt rules to implement this
3-4 section.
3-5 Sec. 13B. FEDERAL FUNDS. (a) Notwithstanding any other
3-6 state law and to the extent permitted by federal law, an
3-7 operational or funding plan or a modification to that plan prepared
3-8 by a health and human services agency designated as the single
3-9 state agency to administer federal funds is subject to commission
3-10 approval.
3-11 (b) The commission shall evaluate the feasibility of
3-12 designating the commission as the single state agency for federal
3-13 funds received for a health and human services purpose.
3-14 (c) For the purpose of promoting integrated, community-based
3-15 service delivery systems and to the extent permitted by federal
3-16 law, the commission may consolidate federal funds to be given to
3-17 local communities for the provision of health and human services.
3-18 Sec. 13C. AUTOMATED SYSTEMS. A health and human services
3-19 agency may not submit its plans to the Department of Information
3-20 Resources under Subchapter E, Chapter 2054, Government Code, until
3-21 those plans are approved by the commission.
3-22 Sec. 13D. INTERAGENCY TRANSFERS. (a) The commissioner may
3-23 transfer funds between the health and human services agencies
3-24 according to the provisions of the General Appropriations Act.
3-25 (b) The commission shall report to the governor's budget
3-26 office, the Legislative Budget Board, and the comptroller regarding
3-27 any transfer of funds the commissioner makes under this section.
4-1 Sec. 13E. COORDINATION AND APPROVAL OF CASELOAD ESTIMATES.
4-2 (a) The commission shall coordinate and approve caseload estimates
4-3 made for programs administered by health and human services
4-4 agencies.
4-5 (b) To implement this section, the commission shall:
4-6 (1) adopt uniform guidelines to be used by health and
4-7 human services agencies in estimating their caseloads, with
4-8 allowances given for those agencies for which exceptions from the
4-9 guidelines may be necessary;
4-10 (2) assemble a single set of economic and demographic
4-11 data and provide that data to each health and human services agency
4-12 to be used in estimating its caseloads; and
4-13 (3) seek advice from health and human services
4-14 agencies, the Legislative Budget Board, the governor's budget
4-15 office, the comptroller, and other relevant agencies as needed to
4-16 coordinate the caseload estimating process.
4-17 (c) The commission shall assemble caseload estimates made by
4-18 health and human services agencies into a coherent, uniform report
4-19 and shall update the report quarterly, with assistance from those
4-20 agencies. The commission shall publish the report and make it
4-21 readily available to state and local agencies and interested
4-22 private organizations.
4-23 (d) In the report prepared under Subsection (c) of this
4-24 section, the commission shall explain the caseload estimates using
4-25 monthly averages, annual unduplicated recipients, annual service
4-26 usage, and other commonly used measures.
4-27 (e) The commission shall attach a copy of the report
5-1 prepared under Subsection (c) of this section to the consolidated
5-2 health and human services budget recommendation submitted to the
5-3 Legislative Budget Board under Section 13 of this article and shall
5-4 also submit the report to the legislature when it convenes in
5-5 regular session.
5-6 SECTION 4. Section 14, Article 4413(502), Revised Statutes,
5-7 is amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (d) to
5-8 read as follows:
5-9 (a) The commissioner shall:
5-10 (1) arbitrate and render the <a> final decision on
5-11 interagency disputes;
5-12 (2) facilitate and enforce coordinated planning and
5-13 delivery of health and human services, including compliance with
5-14 the coordinated strategic plan, co-location of services, integrated
5-15 intake, and coordinated referral and case management;
5-16 (3) request budget execution for the transfer of funds
5-17 from one agency to another;
5-18 (4) establish a federal health and human services
5-19 funds management system and maximize the availability of those
5-20 funds;
5-21 (5) develop with the Department of Information
5-22 Resources automation standards for computer systems to enable
5-23 health and human services agencies to share pertinent data;
5-24 (6) establish and enforce uniform regional boundaries
5-25 for all health and human services agencies;
5-26 (7) carry out statewide health and human services
5-27 needs surveys and forecasting;
6-1 (8) perform independent special outcome evaluations of
6-2 health and human services programs and activities;
6-3 (9) adopt rules necessary to carry out the
6-4 commission's duties under this Act; and
6-5 (10) review health and human services agency formulas
6-6 <develop a formula> for the distribution of funds to ensure that
6-7 the formulas, to the extent permitted by federal law, consider such
6-8 need factors as client base, population, and economic and
6-9 geographic factors within the regions of the state.
6-10 (d) Not later than the end of the first month of each fiscal
6-11 year, the commissioner shall submit to the governor, the lieutenant
6-12 governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, the
6-13 comptroller, and the Legislative Budget Board a work plan outlining
6-14 the activities of the commission for that fiscal year. The work
6-15 plan must establish priorities for the commission's activities
6-16 based on available resources.
6-17 SECTION 5. Article 4413(502), Revised Statutes, is amended
6-18 by adding Section 14A to read as follows:
6-19 Sec. 14A. DELIVERY OF SERVICES. (a) To accomplish the goal
6-20 prescribed by Section 10(b)(3) of this article of integrating
6-21 health and human services to provide for the efficient and timely
6-22 delivery of services, each health and human services agency shall
6-23 streamline the manner in which services are delivered by that
6-24 agency in accordance with this section.
6-25 (b) To integrate and streamline service delivery and
6-26 facilitate access to services, the commissioner may require a
6-27 health and human services agency to take a specific action and may
7-1 direct the manner in which the streamlining is to be accomplished,
7-2 including requiring each health and human services agency to:
7-3 (1) simplify agency procedures;
7-4 (2) automate agency procedures;
7-5 (3) coordinate service planning and management tasks
7-6 between and among health and human services agencies;
7-7 (4) reallocate staff resources;
7-8 (5) adopt rules;
7-9 (6) amend, waive, or repeal existing rules; and
7-10 (7) take other necessary actions.
7-11 SECTION 6. Article 4413(502), Revised Statutes, is amended
7-12 by adding Section 23 to read as follows:
7-13 Sec. 23. USE OF AGENCY STAFF. To the extent requested by
7-14 the commission, a health and human services agency shall assign
7-15 existing staff to perform a function under this article.
7-16 SECTION 7. Article 4413(502), Revised Statutes, is amended
7-17 by adding Section 24 to read as follows:
7-18 Sec. 24. REPORTS ON DELIVERY OF SERVICES. (a) Each
7-19 executive head of a health and human services agency shall report
7-20 quarterly to the governing body of that agency on that agency's
7-21 efforts to streamline and simplify the delivery of services as
7-22 required by Section 14A of this article. The agency shall submit a
7-23 copy of the report to the commission.
7-24 (b) The commission shall prepare and deliver a semiannual
7-25 report to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the
7-26 house of representatives, the comptroller, the Legislative Budget
7-27 Board, and appropriate legislative committees on the efforts of the
8-1 health and human services agencies to streamline the delivery of
8-2 services provided by those agencies.
8-3 (c) The commissioner shall adopt rules relating to the
8-4 reports required by Subsection (a) of this section, including rules
8-5 specifying when and in what manner an agency must report and what
8-6 information must be included in the report. Each agency shall
8-7 follow the rules adopted by the commissioner under this section.
8-8 SECTION 8. Section 3.08, Chapter 15, Acts of the 72nd
8-9 Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1991 (Article 4413(505), Vernon's
8-10 Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
8-11 Sec. 3.08. LOCATION <CO-LOCATION> OF OFFICES AND FACILITIES.
8-12 (a) As leases on office space expire, the commission shall
8-13 determine the needs for space and the location of health and human
8-14 services agency offices to enable the commission to achieve a
8-15 cost-effective one-stop or service center method of health and
8-16 human service delivery. <The administrative heads of the health
8-17 and human service agencies shall review the agencies' current
8-18 office and facility arrangements and study the feasibility of
8-19 co-locating offices or facilities located in the same geographic
8-20 area and shall report back to the commission not later than
8-21 September 1, 1992.>
8-22 (b) <On receiving approval from the commission, the
8-23 administrative heads of two or more health and human service
8-24 agencies with offices or facilities located in the same geographic
8-25 region shall co-locate the offices or facilities if the results of
8-26 the study conducted under this section show that client access
8-27 would be enhanced, the cost of co-location is not greater than the
9-1 combined operating costs of the separate offices or facilities of
9-2 those agencies, and the co-location would improve the efficiency of
9-3 the delivery of services.>
9-4 <(c)> In this section, "health and human service agencies"
9-5 includes the:
9-6 (1) Interagency Council on Early Childhood
9-7 Intervention Services;
9-8 (2) Texas Department on Aging;
9-9 (3) Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse;
9-10 (4) Texas Commission for the Blind;
9-11 (5) Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hearing
9-12 Impaired;
9-13 (6) Texas Department of Health;
9-14 (7) Texas Department of Human Services;
9-15 (8) Texas Juvenile Probation Commission;
9-16 (9) Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental
9-17 Retardation;
9-18 (10) Texas Rehabilitation Commission; and
9-19 (11) Department of Protective and Regulatory Services.
9-20 SECTION 9. Section 6.031(a), Article 6, State Purchasing and
9-21 General Services Act (Article 601b, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes),
9-22 is amended to read as follows:
9-23 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, the
9-24 <The> commission may not lease office space to service the needs of
9-25 any <a single> health and human service agency unless the Health
9-26 and Human Services Commission has approved the office space for the
9-27 agency <agency can provide the commission with a reason for not
10-1 sharing the office space with one or more other health and human
10-2 service agencies>.
10-3 SECTION 10. (a) The Health and Human Services Commission
10-4 shall expand its existing integrated eligibility pilot programs to
10-5 include the Harris County Hospital District and The University of
10-6 Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.
10-7 (b) A contract with the Harris County Hospital District or
10-8 The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston shall:
10-9 (1) specify performance-based measures to ensure error
10-10 rates are kept within acceptable federal limits;
10-11 (2) assure that the contractor assumes all liability
10-12 for any penalty incurred as a result of failure to meet federal
10-13 standards; and
10-14 (3) authorize the district and medical branch to
10-15 simplify processes as much as possible and to use proprietary
10-16 software.
10-17 (c) Subject to approval by the Health and Human Services
10-18 Commission, the Texas Department of Human Services shall establish
10-19 standards for other automated systems to allow other entities to
10-20 file information directly.
10-21 (d) The Health and Human Services Commission shall study the
10-22 feasibility of enabling contractors or agencies other than the
10-23 Texas Department of Human Services to provide or assist in the
10-24 provision of client eligibility studies, determinations, and
10-25 certifications. In determining feasibility, the commission shall
10-26 consider:
10-27 (1) error rates;
11-1 (2) the state's potential liability;
11-2 (3) expansion of the client population; and
11-3 (4) the federal single state agency restrictions.
11-4 SECTION 11. (a) Not later than September 1, 1996, the
11-5 Health and Human Services Commission, subject to the availability
11-6 of funds to the commission and to health and human services
11-7 agencies, shall have completed the development and substantial
11-8 implementation of a plan for an integrated eligibility
11-9 determination and service delivery system for health and human
11-10 services at the local and regional levels. The plan shall specify
11-11 the dates by which all elements of the plan must be implemented.
11-12 (b) The integrated eligibility determination and service
11-13 delivery system shall be developed and implemented to achieve at
11-14 least a one percent savings in the cost of providing administrative
11-15 and other services and staff resulting from streamlining and
11-16 eliminating duplication of services. The commission shall use the
11-17 resulting savings to further develop the integrated system and to
11-18 provide other health and human services.
11-19 (c) The commission shall examine cost-effective methods to
11-20 address:
11-21 (1) fraud in the assistance programs; and
11-22 (2) the error rate in eligibility determination.
11-23 (d) In consultation and coordination with the State Council
11-24 on Competitive Government, the commission shall make and implement
11-25 recommendations on services or functions of the integrated
11-26 eligibility determination and service delivery system that could be
11-27 provided more effectively through the use of competitive bidding or
12-1 by contracting with local governments and other appropriate
12-2 entities. If the commission determines that private contracting
12-3 may be effective, the commission may automate the determination of
12-4 client eligibility by contracting with a private firm to conduct
12-5 application processing.
12-6 (e) Not later than October 1, 1996, the commission shall
12-7 develop a plan to consolidate administrative and service delivery
12-8 functions in addition to the integrated eligibility determination
12-9 and service delivery system in order to minimize duplication. The
12-10 commission shall prepare a report of the plan for submission to the
12-11 governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of
12-12 representatives, the comptroller, and the 75th Legislature when it
12-13 convenes.
12-14 SECTION 12. (a) Not later than September 1, 1997, the
12-15 Health and Human Services Commission shall develop, using existing
12-16 state, local, and private resources, an integrated approach to the
12-17 health and human service delivery system that includes a
12-18 cost-effective one-stop or service center method of delivery to a
12-19 client. The commission shall determine the feasibility of using
12-20 hospitals, schools, mental health and mental retardation centers,
12-21 health clinics, commercial locations in malls, and other
12-22 appropriate locations to achieve this integrated approach.
12-23 (b) The health and human services agencies shall cooperate
12-24 with the commission in developing the integrated eligibility
12-25 determination and service delivery system.
12-26 (c) This section expires September 1, 1997.
12-27 SECTION 13. The changes in law made by this Act apply
13-1 beginning with appropriations made for the fiscal year beginning
13-2 September 1, 1995.
13-3 SECTION 14. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
13-4 SECTION 15. The importance of this legislation and the
13-5 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
13-6 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
13-7 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
13-8 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.