LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD Austin, Texas FISCAL NOTE 74th Regular Session April 10, 1995 TO: Honorable Hugo Berlanga, Chair IN RE: House Bill No. 2377 Committee on Public Health By: Delisi House of Representatives Austin, Texas FROM: John Keel, Director In response to your request for a Fiscal Note on House Bill No. 2377 (Relating to the provision and administration of mental health and mental retardation services.) this office has determined the following: The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of the bill. This bill makes numerous changes in the authority/provider relationships affecting the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, community centers, private providers and consumers. It designates the MHMR board, rather than the commissioner, as the state's mental health and mental retardation authority, and provides that the board may delegate its authority to a single entity in each region of the state when appropriate. The bill allows the implementation of pilot projects to study authority structures for service delivery and to evaluate them and report the evaluation results to the legislature in January 1997 and 1999. The bill adds the Health and Human Services Commission, as the single state agency for Medicaid, to the participants in review and discussion of ICF-MR rules. The bill allows the Department to lease out any property regardless of whether it is surplus property, but specifies this does not give the Department authority to close or consolidate a facility used to provide MH or MR services without legislative approval. The bill removes the prohibition against competitive bidding in the renewal of MH or MR services contracts and but mandates requirements that continuity of services be facilitated and disruption prevented. This bill has the potential effects on the efficiency and effectiveness of MH and MR service delivery. The fiscal impact cannot be measured until the pilot projects are implemented and evaluated. The fiscal implication to the State or units of local government cannot be determined. Source: Health and Human Services Commission, Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation LBB Staff: JK, GT, DF