By: Harris S.B. No. 1131
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to funding of certain emergency medical services, trauma
facilities, and trauma care systems.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 773, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 773.006 to read as follows:
Sec. 773.006. FUND FOR EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES, TRAUMA
FACILITIES, AND TRAUMA CARE SYSTEMS. (a) The fund for emergency
medical services, trauma facilities, and trauma care systems is
established as an account in the general revenue fund. Money in the
account may be appropriated only to the bureau for the purposes
specified by Section 773.122.
(b) The account is composed of money deposited to the
account under Article 102.0185, Code of Criminal Procedure, and the
earnings of the account.
(c) Sections 403.095 and 404.071, Government Code, do not
apply to the account.
SECTION 2. Section 773.122, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 773.122. PAYMENTS FROM THE ACCOUNTS [ACCOUNT].
(a) The commissioner, with advice and counsel from the
chairpersons of the trauma service area regional advisory councils,
shall use money in the accounts [account] established under
Sections [Section] 771.072(f) and 773.006 to fund county and
regional emergency medical services, designated trauma facilities,
and trauma care systems in accordance with this section.
(b) The commissioner shall maintain a reserve of $500,000
[$250,000] of money appropriated from the accounts [account] for
extraordinary emergencies.
(c) In any fiscal year the commissioner shall use 50 [at
least 70] percent of the appropriated money remaining from [in] the
accounts [account], after any amount necessary to maintain the
reserve established by Subsection (b) is deducted, to fund, in
connection with an effort to provide coordination with the
appropriate trauma service area, the cost of supplies, operational
expenses, education and training, equipment, vehicles, and
communications systems for local emergency medical services. The
money shall be distributed on behalf of eligible recipients in each
county to the trauma service area regional advisory council for
that county. To receive a distribution under this subsection, [if]
the regional advisory council must be [is] incorporated as an
entity that is exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(a),
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and its subsequent amendments, by
being listed as an exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of
the code. [For a county for which the regional advisory council is
not incorporated as such an entity, the money shall be distributed
to the county on behalf of eligible recipients.] The share of the
money allocated to the eligible recipients in a county's geographic
area shall be based on the relative geographic size and population
of the county and on the relative number of emergency or trauma care
runs performed by eligible recipients in the county. Money that is
not disbursed by a regional advisory council [or a county] to
eligible recipients for approved functions by the end of the fiscal
year in which the funds were disbursed may be retained by the
regional advisory council [shall be returned to the account] to be
used during the following fiscal year in accordance with this
subsection [Subsection (f)]. Money that is not disbursed by the
regional advisory council during the following fiscal year shall be
returned to the account.
(d) In any fiscal year, the commissioner may use not more
than 20 [25] percent of the appropriated money remaining from [in]
the accounts [account], after any amount necessary to maintain the
reserve established by Subsection (b) is deducted, for operation of
the 22 trauma service areas and for equipment, communications, and
education and training for the areas. Money distributed under this
subsection shall be distributed on behalf of eligible recipients in
each county to the trauma service area regional advisory council
for that county. To receive a distribution under this subsection,
[if] the regional advisory council must be [is] incorporated as an
entity that is exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(a),
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and its subsequent amendments, by
being listed as an exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of
the code. [For a county for which the regional advisory council is
not incorporated as such an entity, the money shall be distributed
to the county in which the chairperson of an area's regional
advisory council sits on behalf of eligible recipients.] A
regional advisory council's share of money distributed under this
section shall be based on the relative geographic size and
population of each trauma service area and on the relative amount of
trauma care provided. Money that is not disbursed by a regional
advisory council [or county] to eligible recipients for approved
functions by the end of the fiscal year in which the funds were
disbursed may be retained by the regional advisory council [shall
be returned to the account] to be used during the following fiscal
year in accordance with this subsection [Subsection (f)]. Money
that is not disbursed by the regional advisory council during the
following fiscal year shall be returned to the account.
(e) In any fiscal year, the commissioner may use not more
than three percent of the appropriated money from the accounts
[remaining in the account] after any amount necessary to maintain
the reserve established by Subsection (b) is deducted to fund the
administrative costs of the bureau of emergency management of the
department associated with administering the state emergency
medical services program, the trauma program, and the accounts
[account] and to fund the costs of monitoring and providing
technical assistance for those programs and the accounts [that
account].
(f) In any fiscal year, the commissioner shall use at least
27 [two] percent of the appropriated money remaining from [in] the
accounts [account] after any amount necessary to maintain the
reserve established by Subsection (b) is deducted and the money
from [in] the accounts [account] not otherwise distributed under
this section to fund a portion of the uncompensated trauma care
provided at facilities designated as state trauma facilities by the
department. The administrator of a designated facility may request
a [A] regional advisory council chairperson to [may] petition the
department for disbursement of funds to a designated trauma
facility [center] in the chairperson's trauma service area that has
provided [suffered deleterious effects due to] uncompensated
trauma care. Funds may be disbursed under this subsection based on
a proportionate share of uncompensated trauma care provided in the
state and may be used to fund innovative projects to enhance the
delivery of patient care in the overall emergency medical services
and trauma care system.
(g) The department shall review the percentages for
disbursement of funds in the accounts [account] on an annual basis
and shall make recommendations for proposed changes to ensure that
appropriate and fair funding is provided under this section.
SECTION 3. Section 773.123, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 773.123. CONTROL OF EXPENDITURES FROM ACCOUNTS [THE
FUND]. Money [(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), money]
distributed from the accounts [account] established under Sections
[Section] 771.072(f) and 773.006 shall be used in accordance with
Section 773.122 on the authorization of[:
[(1)] the executive committee of the trauma service
area regional advisory council[, in those regions where the money
is distributed on behalf of eligible recipients to the regional
advisory council; and
[(2) the chief executive of the county to which the
money is disbursed on vouchers issued by the county's treasurer].
[(b) In a county with a population of 291,000 or more for
which money distributed from the account is not distributed to a
trauma service area regional advisory council, the money shall be
used in accordance with Section 773.122 on the joint authorization
of the chief executive of the county to which the money is disbursed
and the mayor of the principal municipality in that county on
vouchers issued by the county's treasurer.
[(c) For the purposes of this section, "principal
municipality" means the municipality with the largest population in
a county to which this section applies.]
SECTION 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 102, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended by adding Article 102.0185 to read as
follows:
Art. 102.0185. ADDITIONAL COSTS ATTENDANT TO INTOXICATION
CONVICTIONS: EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES, TRAUMA FACILITIES, AND
TRAUMA CARE SYSTEMS. (a) In addition to the costs on conviction
imposed by Articles 102.016 and 102.018, a person convicted of an
offense under Chapter 49, Penal Code, except for Sections 49.02 and
49.031, shall pay $100 on conviction of the offense.
(b) Costs imposed under this article are imposed without
regard to whether the defendant is placed on community supervision
after being convicted of the offense or receives deferred
disposition or deferred adjudication for the offense.
(c) Costs imposed under this article are collected in the
same manner as other costs collected under Article 102.075.
(d) The officer collecting the costs under this article
shall keep separate records of the money collected and shall pay the
money to the custodian of the municipal or county treasury.
(e) The custodian of the municipal or county treasury shall:
(1) keep records of the amount of money collected
under this article that is deposited with the treasury under this
article; and
(2) not later than the last day of the first month
following each calendar quarter:
(A) pay the money collected under this article
during the preceding calendar quarter to the comptroller; or
(B) if, in the calendar quarter, the custodian of
the municipal or county treasury did not receive any money
attributable to costs paid under this article, file a report with
the comptroller stating that fact.
(f) The comptroller shall deposit the funds received under
this article to the credit of the account established under Section
773.006, Health and Safety Code.
SECTION 5. (a) Article 102.0185, Code of Criminal
Procedure, as added by this Act, applies only to an offense
committed on or after the effective date of this Act. For purposes
of this section, an offense is committed before the effective date
of this Act if any element of the offense occurs before that date.
(b) An offense committed before the effective date of this
Act is governed by the law in effect at the time the offense was
committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.