By Maxey                                        H.B. No. 1717

      75R2663 MCK-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to information on health and human services information

 1-3     provided through the Internet.

 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Subchapter B, Chapter 531, Government Code, is

 1-6     amended by adding Section 531.0315 to read as follows:

 1-7           Sec. 531.0315.  ELECTRONIC ACCESS TO HEALTH AND HUMAN

 1-8     SERVICES REFERRAL INFORMATION.  (a)  The commission shall develop

 1-9     with the Department of Information Resources an Internet site to

1-10     provide information to the public regarding the health and human

1-11     services provided by public or private entities throughout the

1-12     state.

1-13           (b)  A state agency that provides health and human services

1-14     shall provide the commission with information about the health and

1-15     human services provided by the agency for inclusion in the Internet

1-16     site.  The state agency shall update the information at least

1-17     quarterly.

1-18           (c)  The commission may work with the Texas Information and

1-19     Referral Network to develop a section of the commission's Internet

1-20     site containing information from the Texas Information and Referral

1-21     Network.  The material in the Texas Information and Referral

1-22     Network section must be geographically indexed and designed to

1-23     inform an individual about the health and human services provided

1-24     in the county where the individual lives.  The material in the

 2-1     Texas Information and Referral Network section of the Internet site

 2-2     must be further indexed by type of service provided within each

 2-3     geographic area.

 2-4           (d)  The Internet site may contain links to the Internet

 2-5     sites of any local provider of health and human services and may

 2-6     contain:

 2-7                 (1)  the name, address, and phone number of

 2-8     organizations providing health and human services in a county;

 2-9                 (2)  a description of the type of services provided by

2-10     those organizations; and

2-11                 (3)  any other information to educate the public about

2-12     the health and human services provided in a county.

2-13           (e)  In this section, "Internet" means the largest

2-14     nonproprietary nonprofit cooperative public computer network,

2-15     popularly known as the Internet.

2-16           SECTION 2.  (a)  The Health and Human Services Commission

2-17     shall establish a task force to investigate the use of the Internet

2-18     to provide information to the public about the health and human

2-19     services available in the state and to make recommendations to the

2-20     commission and other agencies providing health and human services.

2-21     The task force shall consist of representatives from the state's

2-22     health and human services agencies, the Texas Association of

2-23     Information and Referral Services, the United Way, and public and

2-24     private community-based organizations involved in providing health

2-25     and human services.

2-26           (b)  The task force shall report its findings and

2-27     recommendations to the Health and Human Services Commission not

 3-1     later than March 1, 1998, and the commission and other affected

 3-2     agencies shall seek to implement those recommendations, with the

 3-3     assistance of the task force, not later than July 1, 1998.  The

 3-4     task force shall make a follow-up report to the legislature not

 3-5     later than December 1, 1998.  That report shall include an

 3-6     evaluation of the progress toward implementation of the

 3-7     recommendations, and shall include any recommendations for

 3-8     statutory changes.

 3-9           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

3-10     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

3-11     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

3-12     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

3-13     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,

3-14     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its

3-15     passage, and it is so enacted.