By:  Olivo                                                        H.B. No. 2479



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to criteria for voluntary admission to state schools for 
persons with mental retardation.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter B, Chapter 593, Health and Safety 
Code, is amended by adding Section 593.0225 to read as follows:
	Sec. 593.0225.  CRITERIA FOR VOLUNTARY ADMISSION; WAITING 
LIST.  (a)  The board by rule shall provide that a state school shall 
admit any person with mental retardation for whom an application 
for voluntary admission is filed, regardless of the recommendation 
of the interdisciplinary team, if:
		(1)  the state school has sufficient bed space for the 
person to be admitted for care;
		(2)  the person is eligible to receive Medicaid 
benefits; and        
		(3)  the state school would provide the least 
restrictive environment appropriate to the person's care.
	(b)  Each state school shall maintain a waiting list of 
persons who desire voluntary admission to a state school and who 
were denied admission because of lack of bed space.
	(c)  The department shall ensure that persons seeking state 
services for a person with mental retardation are informed of the 
criteria established in rules adopted under Subsection (a), of the 
waiting list required by Subsection (b), and of the addresses and 
telephone numbers of each state school.
	(d)  The board may adopt rules to facilitate the application 
process for voluntary admission to a state school, the maintenance 
of the waiting list required by Subsection (b), and the provision of 
information as required by Subsection (c).
	SECTION 2.  The Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental 
Retardation shall ensure that persons on a waiting list maintained 
by a mental retardation authority for admission to a state school 
are informed of:
		(1)  criteria established in rules adopted under 
Section 593.0225, Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act;
		(2)  the waiting lists required by that section; and                          
		(3)  the address and telephone number of each state 
school.                 
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2003, and 
applies to an application for voluntary admission filed on or after 
that date.  An application for voluntary admission filed before 
that date is governed by the law in effect on the date the 
application was filed, and that law is continued in effect for that 
purpose.