78R4703 KLA-D

By:  Naishtat                                                     H.B. No. 1320



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the transfer of money appropriated to provide care for 
certain persons in nursing facilities to provide community-based 
services to those persons.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Chapter 22, Human Resources Code, is amended by 
adding Section 22.006 to read as follows:
	Sec. 22.006.  TRANSFER OF MONEY FOR COMMUNITY-BASED 
SERVICES.  (a)  The department shall:
		(1)  quantify the amount of money appropriated by the 
legislature that would have been spent during the remainder of a 
state fiscal biennium to care for a person who lives in a nursing 
facility but who is leaving that facility before the end of the 
biennium to live in the community with the assistance of 
community-based services;  and
		(2)  notwithstanding any other state law and to the 
maximum extent allowed by federal law, transfer at the time the 
person leaves the nursing facility the amount quantified under 
Subdivision (1) within the department's budget as necessary to 
comply with this section.
	(b)  The department shall ensure that the amount transferred 
under this section is redirected to one or more community-based 
programs to provide community-based services to the person after 
the person leaves the nursing facility.
	SECTION 2.  If before implementing any provision of this Act 
a state agency determines that a waiver or authorization from a 
federal agency is necessary for implementation of that provision, 
the agency affected by the provision shall request the waiver or 
authorization and may delay implementing that provision until the 
waiver or authorization is granted.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.