By West                                                S.B. No. 303
         76R4680 MCK-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the Texas Information and Referral Network.
 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-4           SECTION 1.  Section 531.0312(b), Government Code, is amended
 1-5     to read as follows:
 1-6           (b)  A health and human services agency and at the request of
 1-7     the commission, a person that receives state-appropriated funds to
 1-8     provide health and human services shall provide the Texas
 1-9     Information and Referral Network with information about the health
1-10     and human services provided by the agency or the person, as
1-11     applicable, for inclusion in the statewide information and referral
1-12     network.  The agency and the person shall update the information at
1-13     least quarterly.
1-14           SECTION 2.  Subchapter B, Chapter 531, Government Code, is
1-15     amended by adding Section 531.0315 to read as follows:
1-16           Sec. 531.0315.  TELEPHONE ACCESS TO HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
1-17     REFERRAL INFORMATION.  (a)  Subject to the availability of funds,
1-18     the Texas Information and Referral Network shall develop a single
1-19     telephone number to provide information to the public regarding the
1-20     health and human services provided by public or private entities
1-21     throughout the state.
1-22           (b)  The Texas Information and Referral Network shall
1-23     organize the information by geographic region to inform an
1-24     individual calling the telephone number about the health and human
 2-1     services provided in the area where the individual lives.  The
 2-2     material must be further indexed by type of service provided within
 2-3     each geographic area.
 2-4           SECTION 3.  (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
 2-5     section, this Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
 2-6           (b)  The changes in law made by Section 1 of this Act take
 2-7     effect December 1, 1999.
 2-8           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the
 2-9     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-10     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-11     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-12     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.