79R7552 CLG-D

By:  Uresti                                                       H.B. No. 2850



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to establishing a pilot program to provide nutritional 
supplements and products to certain elderly persons.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter D, Chapter 161, Human Resources Code, 
is amended  by adding Section 161.074 to read as follows:
	Sec. 161.074.  SENIOR NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PILOT PROGRAM.  
(a)  The executive commissioner by rule shall develop and the 
department shall implement a pilot program, to be known as the 
Senior Nutrition Assistance Pilot Program (SNAPP), to provide 
nutritional supplements and products to elderly persons to improve 
and maintain their health.
	(b)  The executive commissioner shall establish eligibility 
criteria for participation in the program.
	(c)  In developing the pilot program, the executive 
commissioner shall consult with the department, the Department of 
State Health Services, and local community health centers.
	(d)  The department shall operate the pilot program in at 
least two counties, one of which must be in a primarily rural area 
and one of which must have a population of less than 1.4 million and 
in which a municipality with a population of more than one million 
is located.
	(e)  The department may seek and accept gifts, grants, and 
donations of funds or property from public or private sources to 
develop and implement the pilot program.
	(f)  Not later than January 1 of each odd-numbered year, the 
department shall submit a report concerning the effectiveness of 
the pilot program to the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of 
the house of representatives, and the presiding officer of each 
house and senate standing committee having jurisdiction over health 
and human services issues.
	SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives 
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as 
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this 
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this 
Act takes effect September 1, 2005.