By:  Zaffirini                                                            S.B. No. 49



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the transfer of money appropriated for institutional 
care for certain children to provide community-based services to 
those children.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter B, Chapter 531, Government Code, is 
amended by adding Section 531.064 to read as follows:
	Sec. 531.064.  TRANSFER OF MONEY FOR COMMUNITY-BASED 
SERVICES.  (a)  In this section, "child" and "institution" have the 
meanings assigned by Section 531.151.
	(b)  The commission 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 child who lives in an 
institution but who is leaving that institution before the end of 
the biennium to live in the community;  and
		(2)  notwithstanding any other state law and to the 
maximum extent allowed by federal law, direct the comptroller at 
the time the child leaves the institution to transfer the amount 
quantified under Subdivision (1) between health and human services 
agencies as necessary to comply with this section.
	(c)  The commission shall ensure that the amount transferred 
under this section is redirected by the health and human services
agencies to one or more community-based programs to provide 
community-based services to the child after the child leaves the 
institution.
	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.