SRC-LBB S.B. 1079 78(R) BILL ANALYSIS Senate Research Center S.B. 1079 78R8011 PB-DBy: Shapleigh Subcommittee on Higher Education 4/1/2003 As Filed DIGEST AND PURPOSE Texas has the highest percentage of uninsured population and uninsured children among all fifty states. A high number of uninsured individuals in a community may place a heavy burden on local and county hospital districts and health care providers. As proposed, S.B. 1079 requires The University of Texas School of Public Health at Houston (school) to conduct an ongoing study regarding persons in Texas who do not have health insurance coverage. This bill also requires the school to report the results of the study to the legislature every two years. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Chapter 73E, Education Code, by adding Section 73.203, as follows: Sec. 73.203. STUDY ON UNINSURED PERSONS. (a) Requires The University of Texas School of Public Health at Houston (school) to conduct an ongoing study regarding persons in this state who do not have health insurance coverage. Requires the study to include certain information. (b) Requires the school to report the results of the study in writing to the legislature not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year. Requires the report to include any policy recommendations developed by the school regarding effective ways for this state to deal with the issue of lack of health insurance coverage and authorizes the report to include proposed legislation designed to implement the policy recommendations. SECTION 2. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2003.