1-1     By:  Farabee (Senate Sponsor - Moncrief)              H.B. No. 1316
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House May 7, 2001;
 1-3     May 7, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on Health
 1-4     and Human Services; May 11, 2001, reported favorably by the
 1-5     following vote:  Yeas 6, Nays 1; May 11, 2001, sent to printer.)
 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-7                                   AN ACT
 1-8     relating to the consideration of a trust as property liable for the
 1-9     support of clients at mental health community centers or patients
1-10     at state hospitals.
1-11           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-12           SECTION 1. Section 534.0175(a), Health and Safety Code, is
1-13     amended to read as follows:
1-14           (a)  If a client is the beneficiary of a trust that has an
1-15     aggregate principal of $250,000 [$50,000] or less, the corpus or
1-16     income of the trust is not considered to be the property of the
1-17     client or the client's estate and is not liable for the client's
1-18     support.  If the aggregate principal of the trust exceeds $250,000
1-19     [$50,000], only the portion of the corpus of the trust that exceeds
1-20     that amount and the income attributable to that portion are
1-21     considered to be the property of the client or the client's estate
1-22     and are liable for the client's support.  
1-23           SECTION 2. Section 552.018(a), Health and Safety Code, is
1-24     amended to read as follows:
1-25           (a)  If a patient is the beneficiary of a trust that has an
1-26     aggregate principal of $250,000 [$50,000] or less, the corpus or
1-27     income of the trust is not considered to be the property of the
1-28     patient or the patient's estate and is not liable for the patient's
1-29     support.  If the aggregate principal of the trust exceeds $250,000
1-30     [$50,000], only the portion of the corpus of the trust that exceeds
1-31     that amount and the income attributable to that portion are
1-32     considered to be the property of the patient or the patient's
1-33     estate and are liable for the patient's support.
1-34           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
1-35     a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
1-36     provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
1-37     Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
1-38     Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
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