1-1     By:  Moncrief                                          S.B. No. 751

 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed February 25, 1997; February 27, 1997,

 1-3     read first time and referred to Committee on Health and Human

 1-4     Services; March 26, 1997, reported favorably by the following vote:

 1-5     Yeas 10, Nays 0; March 26, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-7                                   AN ACT

 1-8     relating to restrictions on providing transportation for certain

 1-9     health care purposes.

1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-11           SECTION 1.  Section 161.091, Health and Safety Code, is

1-12     amended by adding Subsections (g) and (h) to read as follows:

1-13           (g)  This section shall not be construed to prohibit

1-14     providing transportation for health care services to adult patients

1-15     as a community service if the transportation service is valued at

1-16     not more than $20 per one-way trip, is not provided by a mental

1-17     health provider, and does not involve transportation to a mental

1-18     health facility.

1-19           (h)  For the purpose of Subsection (g), "health care

1-20     services" means:

1-21                 (1)  services routinely provided in a hospital-based

1-22     outpatient clinic; or

1-23                 (2)  health-related community education services.

1-24           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

1-25           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-26     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-27     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

1-28     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

1-29     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

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