By Gray, Eiland, et al. H.B. No. 2456 77R12544 CBH-F A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to the authority of certain counties to implement a pilot 1-3 program to provide certain indigent health care services and to the 1-4 funding of the program. 1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-6 SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 324, Tax Code, is amended by 1-7 adding Section 324.002 to read as follows: 1-8 Sec. 324.002. APPLICATION OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS TO CERTAIN 1-9 COUNTIES. Sections 324.021, 324.022, 324.061, and 324.081 do not 1-10 apply to a county that implements an indigent health care pilot 1-11 program and adopts a sales and use tax under Subchapter E. 1-12 SECTION 2. Chapter 324, Tax Code, is amended by adding 1-13 Subchapter E to read as follows: 1-14 SUBCHAPTER E. INDIGENT HEALTH CARE PILOT PROGRAM 1-15 Sec. 324.101. APPLICATION. This subchapter applies only to a 1-16 county: 1-17 (1) with a population of more than 200,000; 1-18 (2) in which a hospital district is not located; and 1-19 (3) in which a public medical school or health science 1-20 center is located. 1-21 Sec. 324.102. PILOT PROGRAM FOR INDIGENT HEALTH CARE. (a) 1-22 The commissioners court of a county may implement a pilot program 1-23 in the county to provide: 1-24 (1) secondary and tertiary level services for 2-1 residents of the county whose family income is not greater than 100 2-2 percent of the federal poverty level; and 2-3 (2) primary level services for residents of the county 2-4 whose family income is not greater than 200 percent of the federal 2-5 poverty level. 2-6 (b) The services the county provides must include: 2-7 (1) primary and preventive medical services a county 2-8 is required or authorized to provide under Chapter 61, Health and 2-9 Safety Code; and 2-10 (2) secondary or tertiary services the state provides 2-11 as part of the medical assistance program under Chapter 32, Human 2-12 Resources Code. 2-13 (c) As part of the pilot program, the county may provide for 2-14 case management services, utilization review, patient outreach 2-15 services, patient education, and patient transportation. 2-16 (d) The county shall prescribe appropriate goals and 2-17 performance measures for the program. 2-18 (e) The county may implement the pilot program only if: 2-19 (1) the voters of the county approve imposition of a 2-20 sales and use tax under Section 324.103; or 2-21 (2) funding for the program is available under Section 2-22 324.107. 2-23 Sec. 324.103. SALES AND USE TAX. (a) A county may adopt or 2-24 abolish a sales and use tax authorized by this subchapter to 2-25 provide funding for an indigent health care pilot program if 2-26 imposition of the tax is approved at an election called and held 2-27 for that purpose as provided by Section 324.104. 3-1 (b) The tax authorized by this subchapter may be imposed in 3-2 increments of one-eighth of one percent, with a minimum tax rate of 3-3 one-eighth of one percent and a maximum tax rate of one percent. 3-4 (c) Sections 323.101(b), (d), and (e) do not apply to the 3-5 tax imposed under this subchapter. 3-6 Sec. 324.104. ELECTION PROCEDURE. (a) The commissioners 3-7 court of the county may call an election to adopt or abolish the 3-8 tax under this subchapter. The commissioners court shall call an 3-9 election to adopt or abolish the tax if it receives a petition 3-10 signed by a number of petitioners equal to at least five percent of 3-11 the number of registered voters in the county. 3-12 (b) At the election to adopt the tax, the ballot shall be 3-13 prepared to permit voting for or against the proposition: "The 3-14 adoption of a local sales and use tax in (name of county) at the 3-15 rate of ______ (insert rate) to provide revenue for an indigent 3-16 health care pilot program." 3-17 (c) At the election to abolish the tax, the ballot shall be 3-18 prepared to permit voting for or against the proposition: "The 3-19 abolishment of the local indigent health care pilot program sales 3-20 and use tax in (name of county)." 3-21 Sec. 324.105. REAUTHORIZATION OF PILOT PROGRAM AND TAX. (a) 3-22 Unless the imposition of the sales and use tax authorized by this 3-23 subchapter is reauthorized as provided by this section, the tax and 3-24 the pilot program expire on the sixth anniversary of the date the 3-25 tax originally took effect. 3-26 (b) An election to reauthorize the tax is called and held in 3-27 the same manner as an election to adopt the tax under Section 4-1 324.104, except the ballot proposition shall be prepared to permit 4-2 voting for or against the proposition: "The reauthorization of the 4-3 local sales and use tax in (name of county) at the rate of ______ 4-4 (insert rate) to continue providing revenue for indigent health 4-5 care." 4-6 (c) If an election to reauthorize the tax is not held before 4-7 the tax expires as provided by Subsection (a), or if a majority of 4-8 the votes cast in an election to reauthorize the tax do not favor 4-9 reauthorization, the county may not call an election on the 4-10 question of authorizing a new tax under this subchapter before the 4-11 first anniversary of the date on which the tax expired. 4-12 (d) Not later than the 10th day after the date the county 4-13 determines that the tax will expire as provided by Subsection (a), 4-14 the county shall notify the comptroller of the scheduled 4-15 expiration. The comptroller may delay the scheduled expiration date 4-16 if the comptroller notifies the county that more time is required. 4-17 The comptroller must provide a new expiration date that is not 4-18 later than the last day of the first calendar quarter occurring 4-19 after the notification to the comptroller. 4-20 Sec. 324.106. EFFECT OF STATE TAX RATE INCREASE. 4-21 Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter, if the rate 4-22 of the state sales and use tax imposed under Chapter 151 is 4-23 increased over the rate of the tax on January 1, 2001, the rate of 4-24 a tax imposed under this subchapter is automatically decreased on 4-25 the date the state rate increase takes effect to the highest rate 4-26 that will not result in a tax rate of more than 7-1/4 percent when 4-27 the state sales and use tax and a tax imposed under this subchapter 5-1 are combined. 5-2 Sec. 324.107. SUSPENSION OF TAX UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES. 5-3 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter, a 5-4 county shall suspend collection of the tax imposed under this 5-5 subchapter during any state fiscal year for which the state 5-6 legislature appropriates at least $6 million to fund the indigent 5-7 health care pilot program in that county. 5-8 (b) The county shall notify the comptroller if the tax will 5-9 be suspended under this section. The suspension takes effect on 5-10 the first day of the fiscal year for which the legislature 5-11 appropriates money and ends on the last day of that fiscal year. 5-12 Sec. 324.108. STATE AUDITOR REVIEW. The state auditor shall 5-13 review a pilot program created under this subchapter and report the 5-14 auditor's findings to the legislature. 5-15 Sec. 324.109. USE OF TAX REVENUE. Revenue from the tax 5-16 imposed under this subchapter may be used only to provide funding 5-17 for an indigent health care pilot program created by the county as 5-18 provided by this subchapter. 5-19 Sec. 324.110. EXPIRATION. This subchapter expires September 5-20 1, 2007. 5-21 SECTION 3. Chapter 26, Tax Code, is amended by adding Section 5-22 26.0435 to read as follows: 5-23 Sec. 26.0435. EFFECTIVE TAX RATE IN COUNTY IMPOSING INDIGENT 5-24 HEALTH CARE PILOT PROGRAM SALES AND USE TAX. (a) Except as 5-25 provided by Subsection (b), in the tax year in which a county has 5-26 set an election on the question of whether to impose a local sales 5-27 and use tax under Subchapter E, Chapter 324, the officer or 6-1 employee designated to make the calculations provided by Section 6-2 26.04 may not make those calculations until the outcome of the 6-3 election is determined. If the election is determined in favor of 6-4 the imposition of the tax, the representative shall subtract from 6-5 the county's rollback and effective tax rates the amount that, if 6-6 applied to the county's current total value, would impose an amount 6-7 equal to 50 percent of the amount the county spent on health care 6-8 services under Sections 61.028 and 61.0285, Health and Safety Code, 6-9 during the previous tax year, as reported to the Texas Department 6-10 of Health under Section 61.041, Health and Safety Code. 6-11 (b) If the election to impose the local sales and use tax 6-12 under Subchapter E, Chapter 324, is scheduled to be held after 6-13 October 1, the county shall apply the provisions of Subsection (a) 6-14 during the next tax year. 6-15 (c) In a tax year to which this section applies, a reference 6-16 in this chapter to the county's effective or rollback tax rate 6-17 refers to that rate as adjusted under this section. 6-18 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives 6-19 a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as 6-20 provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this 6-21 Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this 6-22 Act takes effect September 1, 2001.