By Ogden                                               S.B. No. 465
         76R5031 KKA-F                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to requiring parental consent before medical services are
 1-3     provided to a child under the state Medicaid program.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 32.002, Human Resources Code, is amended
 1-6     by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
 1-7           (c)  This chapter may not be construed to require the use of
 1-8     state money to provide medical care to a child without the consent
 1-9     of the child's parent, guardian, or other person standing in
1-10     parental relation to the child when that consent is required by
1-11     this chapter or other law.
1-12           SECTION 2.  Section 32.024, Human Resources Code, is amended
1-13     by amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (v) to
1-14     read as follows:
1-15           (a)  The department shall provide medical assistance to all
1-16     persons who receive financial assistance from the state under
1-17     Chapter 31 of this code and to other related groups of persons if
1-18     the provision of medical assistance to those persons is permitted
1-19     under state law and required by federal law and rules as a
1-20     condition for obtaining federal matching funds for the support of
1-21     the medical assistance program.
1-22           (b)  The department may provide medical assistance to other
1-23     persons who are financially unable to meet the cost of medical
1-24     services if the provision of medical assistance to those persons is
 2-1     permitted under state law and federal matching funds are available
 2-2     for that purpose.  The department shall adopt rules governing the
 2-3     eligibility of those persons for the services.
 2-4           (v)  The department may not use state money to provide
 2-5     prescription drugs to a child eligible for medical assistance
 2-6     without the consent of the child's parent, guardian, or other
 2-7     person standing in parental relation to the child.  This section
 2-8     does not apply to a child who:
 2-9                 (1)  has had the disabilities of minority removed for
2-10     general purposes under Chapter 31, Family Code; or
2-11                 (2)  is authorized to consent to medical treatment
2-12     under Section 32.003, Family Code.
2-13           SECTION 3.  If the Health and Human Services Commission or a
2-14     state agency operating part of the medical assistance program under
2-15     Chapter 32, Human Resources Code, determines that implementation of
2-16     a provision of this Act will result in a loss of federal funds, the
2-17     commission or state agency may modify or suspend implementation of
2-18     that provision as necessary to prevent the loss of federal funds.
2-19     If the commission or a state agency modifies or suspends
2-20     implementation of a provision as authorized by this section, the
2-21     commission or state agency shall report the modification or
2-22     suspension immediately to the governor and the Legislative Budget
2-23     Board.
2-24           SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
2-25           SECTION 5.  The importance of this legislation and the
2-26     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-27     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
 3-1     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
 3-2     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.