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79R505 MSE-D

By:  Nelson                                                       S.B. No. 52 



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to competitive grant programs for certain nursing 
institutions.    
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter B, Chapter 242, Health and Safety 
Code, is amended by adding Section 242.0695 to read as follows:
	Sec. 242.0695.  USE OF ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY.  Money from an 
administrative penalty assessed under this subchapter may be 
appropriated to fund grant programs under Section 242.405.
	SECTION 2.  The heading to Section 242.405, Health and 
Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 242.405.  [BEST PRACTICES/QUALITY OF LIFE] COMPETITIVE 
GRANT PROGRAMS FOR INSTITUTIONS [PROGRAM].
	SECTION 3.  Section 242.405, Health and Safety Code, is 
amended by amending Subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e) and adding 
Subsections (a-1) and (d-1) to read as follows:
	(a-1)  The department shall establish a competitive grant 
program for an institution to promulgate quality of life 
innovations developed for its residents that serve as a model of 
best practices for the industry.  The purpose of the grant program 
is to pay part of the costs for an institution to advise other 
institutions on implementing quality of life innovations at their 
respective facilities.  The grant recipient may use grant money 
only to pay for activities directly related to the purpose of the 
grant program as described by this subsection, and may not use grant 
money for fees or other activities such as advertising the 
availability of a quality of life program at the institution or 
implementing the program for the institution's residents.  The 
department shall monitor the expenditure of grant money to ensure 
that the money is being used for the intended purpose.
	(b)  The legislature may appropriate money collected under 
Section 242.066, including unexpended and unobligated amounts 
collected under Section 242.066 during a previous state fiscal 
biennium, to fund the grant programs [program].
	(c)  The department shall establish guidelines for the grant 
programs [program] by rule, including guidelines that specify:
		(1)  the procedures for submitting a grant proposal;                          
		(2)  the criteria the department will follow in 
evaluating the proposals, including:
			(A) [which must include as] a criterion that 
institutions with a demonstrated need for improvement will receive 
priority consideration under the grant program; and
			(B)  a criterion that grant proposals be evaluated 
on academic soundness and proven, quantifiable effectiveness; and
		(3)  the reports that a grant recipient must file to 
allow the department and the industry to evaluate the feasibility 
and success of the project.
	(d)  The department shall award each grant under a contract 
authorizing the department to recoup grant money and impose 
administrative penalties for failure of a grant recipient to comply 
with the program guidelines and the grant contract.  A contract must 
[may] further detail:
		(1)  reports that the grant recipient must file; and                          
		(2)  monitoring of the project that the grant recipient 
must allow.         
	(d-1)  The department shall develop procedures to enforce 
the grant recipient's compliance with the program guidelines and 
the grant contract, and shall monitor grant recipient compliance on 
a quarterly basis.
	(e)  The department shall post a summary on its Internet site 
of best practices under the programs authorized by this section 
[this program] and shall advise the industry of the location of this 
best practices Internet site.
	SECTION 4.  It is the intent of the legislature that the 
Department of Aging and Disability Services shall administer the 
grant programs authorized by Section 242.405, Health and Safety 
Code, as amended by this Act, with the employees and resources 
available on the effective date of this Act.
	SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.