BILL ANALYSIS
By: Coleman
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
The Office for the Elimination of Health Disparities (OEHD) at the Texas Department of State Health Services addresses health disparities affecting the total population of Texas, especially addressing the needs of special and underserved populations. Most of the strategies and public health interventions are multi-year efforts, and actual health status statistics rarely change over the course of a single year. This Act requires a change in reporting from annual to biennial, which will help to ensure the OEHD has ample time to collect and provide accurate data in the reports.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS
This bill requires the Health Disparities Task Force to submit a biennial instead of annual report to the governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of representatives.
EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2005.