SRC-TJG S.B. 1247 78(R)   BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research Center   S.B. 1247
78R5408 KLA-DBy: Zaffirini
Finance
4/10/2003
As Filed


DIGEST AND PURPOSE 

Rider 37 of the Appropriations Act adopted by the 77th Texas Legislature
authorized the Texas Department of Human Services to transfer funds, only
within its budget, from nursing facilities to community-based programs to
serve individuals leaving a nursing facility to live in the community.  As
proposed, S.B. 1247 codifies Rider 37 and redirects money appropriated to
provide care for certain persons in nursing facilities to provide
community-based services to those persons. 

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 22, Human Resources Code, by adding Section
22.006, as follows: 

Sec. 22.006.  REDIRECTION OF MONEY TO PROVIDE COMMUNITY-BASED SERVICES.
(a) Requires the Texas Department of Human Services (TDHS) to develop a
mechanism by which TDHS identifies money appropriated to TDHS to provide
care for a person who lives in a nursing facility and redirects that money
within TDHS' budget to provide community-based services when a person
leaves the nursing facility to live in the community with the assistance
of those services. 

(b) Requires TDHS, using the mechanism developed under this section, to
redirect an amount of money that is equal to the amount required by TDHS
to provide community-based services during the state fiscal biennium to
persons who leave nursing facilities to live in the community with the
assistance of those services. 

SECTION 2.  Requires TDHS, not later than January 1, 2004, to develop and
implement the mechanism for redirecting money as required by Section
22.006, Human Resources Code, as added by this Act. 

SECTION 3.  Authorizes a state agency to delay implementing a provision of
this Act until a requested federal waiver or authorization necessary to
implement that provision is granted. 

SECTION 4.  Effective date: September 1, 2003.