By:  Zaffirini                                                    S.B. No. 1742


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)  In this section, "health and human services 
agencies" has the meaning assigned by Section 531.001, Government 
Code.
	(b)  For each person who lives in a nursing facility but who 
is leaving that facility to live in the community with the 
assistance of community-based services provided by the department, 
the department shall:
		(1)  quantify the amount of money needed for the person 
to live in the community with the assistance of community-based 
services for the remainder of the state fiscal biennium; and
		(2)  notwithstanding any other state law and to the 
maximum extent allowed by federal law, transfer from the money 
appropriated by the legislature that would have been spent to care 
for that person in a nursing facility the amount quantified under 
Subdivision (1) within the department's budget as necessary to 
comply with this section.
	(c)  For each person who lives in a nursing facility but who 
is leaving that facility to live in the community with the 
assistance of community-based services provided by a health and 
human services agency other than the department, the department 
shall:
		(1)  quantify the amount of money appropriated by the 
legislature that would have been spent during the remainder of the 
state fiscal biennium to care for the person in a nursing facility; 
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) to other health and human services agencies as 
necessary to comply with this section.
	(d)  The department or another health and human services 
agency to which money is transferred under this section shall 
ensure that the amount transferred under Subsection (b)(2) or 
(c)(2), as applicable, 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.