78R6772 KEL-D
By: Christian H.B. No. 2919
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the creation and operation of a Texas Certified
Retirement Community Program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter L, Chapter 481, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 481.175 to read as follows:
Sec. 481.175. TEXAS CERTIFIED RETIREMENT COMMUNITY
PROGRAM. (a) In this section, "program" means the Texas Certified
Retirement Community Program.
(b) The department shall, after appropriate research has
been conducted, establish and maintain a Texas Certified Retirement
Community Program in which retirees and potential retirees are
encouraged to make their homes in Texas communities that have met
the criteria for certification by the department as a Texas
certified retirement community. In support of the program, the
department shall identify issues of interest to retirees or
potential retirees to inform those persons of the benefits of
living in Texas. Issues of interest to retirees or potential
retirees may include:
(1) Texas' state and local tax structure;
(2) housing opportunities and cost;
(3) climate;
(4) personal safety;
(5) working opportunities;
(6) health care services and other services along the
continuum of care, including home-based and community-based
services, housing for the elderly, assisted living, personal care,
and nursing care facilities;
(7) transportation;
(8) continuing education;
(9) leisure living;
(10) recreation;
(11) the performing arts;
(12) festivals and events;
(13) sports at all levels; and
(14) other services and facilities that are necessary
to enable persons to age in the community and in the least
restrictive environment.
(c) The mission of the program is to:
(1) promote this state as a retirement destination to
retirees and potential retirees both in and outside of Texas;
(2) assist Texas communities in their efforts to
market themselves as retirement locations and to develop
communities that retirees would find attractive for a retirement
lifestyle;
(3) assist in the development of retirement
communities and life-care communities for economic development
purposes and as a means of providing a potential workforce and
enriching Texas communities; and
(4) encourage tourism to Texas in the form of mature
market travel to Texas in reference to retirement desirability for
the future and for the visitation of those who have chosen to retire
in Texas.
(d) The department shall coordinate the development and
planning of the program with the governor and any other state or
local entity interested in participating in and promoting the
program.
(e) To obtain certification as a Texas certified retirement
community, the following criteria must be met:
(1) a resolution endorsing the local retirement
recruitment effort must be adopted by the governing body of the
applicable local political subdivision;
(2) the program must have an official sponsoring
organization that fulfills the duties described by Subsection (f);
(3) a hospital and emergency medical services must be
readily accessible to the community;
(4) the community must maintain information on both
resale housing and rental housing to ensure that the quantity is
sufficient to meet the needs of potential new retiree residents;
and
(5) the community must conduct a retiree desirability
assessment that emphasizes appropriate factors, including medical
services, adult education opportunities, shopping, recreation,
cultural opportunities, safety, aging services, and other services
along a continuum of care, including home-based and community-based
services, housing for the elderly, assisted living, personal care,
and nursing care facilities.
(f) An official sponsoring organization shall:
(1) develop a community profile similar to that used
by chambers of commerce, to include facts regarding crime
statistics, tax information, recreational opportunities, and
housing availability;
(2) appoint an individual who will be accountable to
the community and to the state; and
(3) commit a minimum of $10,000 each year for the local
program.
(g) Each local political subdivision must have a general
retiree attraction committee and a minimum of four subcommittees as
follows:
(1) a community inventory/assessment subcommittee,
which shall conduct an unbiased inventory and assessment of whether
the community can offer the basics that retirees demand and develop
a professional portfolio containing brief biographies of
professionals in the community;
(2) a community relations/fund-raising subcommittee,
which shall locate retirees living in the community, act as
salespersons for the program, raise money necessary to run the
program, recruit subcommittee members, organize special events,
and promote and coordinate the program with local entities;
(3) a marketing and promotion subcommittee, which
shall establish a community image, evaluate target markets, develop
and distribute promotional material, and coordinate advertising
and public relations campaigns; and
(4) an ambassadors subcommittee, which shall serve as
the first contact with prospective retirees, provide tours and tour
guides when prospects visit the community, respond to inquiries,
log contacts made, invite prospects to special community events,
and maintain continual contact with prospects until the time the
prospects make a retirement location decision.
(h) A retiree attraction committee shall:
(1) submit a marketing plan detailing the mission, the
target market, the competition, an analysis of the community's
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and the
strategies the program will employ to attain its goals;
(2) work to gain the support of churches, clubs,
businesses, and the local media, as necessary for the success of the
program; and
(3) submit a commitment and long-term plan as
described by Subsection (j).
(i) During the certification process, a representative of
the retirement attraction committee shall attend state training
meetings.
(j) Before certification is awarded, the retiree attraction
committee shall submit a written three-year commitment to the
program and a long-term plan outlining steps the community will
undertake to maintain its desirability as a destination for
retirees. The long-term plan must outline plans to correct any
facility and service deficiencies identified in the retiree
desirability assessment required by Subsection (e)(5). The written
commitment and long-range plan shall be forwarded to the
department.
(k) Not later than the 90th day after the date of
certification, the governing body of a local political subdivision
shall submit a complete retiree attraction package to the
department.
(l) On the certification of a community as a Texas certified
retirement community under this section, the department shall
provide the following assistance to the community:
(1) assistance in the training of local staff and
volunteers;
(2) ongoing oversight and guidance in marketing, plus
updates on national retirement trends;
(3) inclusion in the state's national advertising and
public relations campaigns and travel show promotions, including a
prominent feature on the department's Internet website;
(4) eligibility for state financial assistance for
brochures, support material, and advertising; and
(5) an annual evaluation and progress assessment on
maintaining and improving the community's desirability as a home
for retirees.
(m) The department shall adopt rules to implement this
section.
SECTION 2. The Texas Department of Economic Development
shall implement the program created by Section 481.175, Government
Code, as added by this Act, not later than September 1, 2004.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.