HBA-MPM, JRA H.B. 3126 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3126 By: Chisum Public Health 7/19/1999 Enrolled BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Prior to the 76th Legislative Session, Texas did not have any standardized evaluation criteria to measure the effectiveness of its anti-drug programs. H.B. 3126 requires state agencies that fund drug abuse prevention programs to develop a uniform evaluation system. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission, the Texas Youth Commission, and the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services in SECTION 1; and to any state agency that provides a grant to fund a drug abuse prevention program in SECTION 3 of this bill. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT OF CRITERIA. Requires the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission, the Texas Youth Commission, and the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services (agencies), by rule, to establish a uniform set of criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of a drug abuse prevention program that receives grant funding from the agency. SECTION 2. EVALUATION OF PROGRAM EFFECTIVENESS. Requires the agencies to develop the criteria in cooperation with other state agencies that provide grants to drug abuse prevention programs. Provides that the criteria must evaluate whether a program is targeting problems that are specific to a given community or school, providing social services to children who have a family member with a drug addiction, using strategies that are appropriate for children of different ages, and providing continuity in services and intervention strategies for all grade levels. SECTION 3. RULES; ANNUAL REPORT. Requires a state agency that provides a grant to fund a drug abuse prevention program to adopt rules for evaluating the effectiveness of the program that incorporate the criteria developed under SECTION 2 of this Act. Requires the agency, by rule, to require the program to submit to the agency an annual report that describes the program's effectiveness in meeting the established criteria. SECTION 4. EMERGENCY. Emergency clause. Effective date: upon passage.