79R2640 JJT-D
By: Carona S.B. No. 361
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to criteria for voluntary admission to state schools for
persons with mental retardation.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 593, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 593.0225 to read as follows:
Sec. 593.0225. CRITERIA FOR VOLUNTARY ADMISSION; WAITING
LIST. (a) The executive commissioner of the Health and Human
Services Commission by rule shall provide that a state school shall
admit any person with mental retardation for whom an application
for voluntary admission is filed if:
(1) the state school has sufficient bed space for the
person to be admitted for care;
(2) the person is eligible to receive Medicaid
benefits; and
(3) the state school would provide the least
restrictive alternative, as that term is defined by Section
591.005.
(b) Each state school shall maintain a waiting list of
persons who desire voluntary admission to a state school and who
were denied admission because of lack of bed space.
(c) The Department of Aging and Disability Services shall
ensure that persons seeking state services for a person with mental
retardation are informed of the criteria established in rules
adopted under Subsection (a), of the waiting list required by
Subsection (b), and of the addresses and telephone numbers of each
state school.
(d) The executive commissioner of the Health and Human
Services Commission may adopt rules to facilitate the application
process for voluntary admission to a state school, the maintenance
of the waiting list required by Subsection (b), and the provision of
information as required by Subsection (c).
SECTION 2. The Department of Aging and Disability Services
shall ensure that persons on a waiting list maintained by a mental
retardation authority for admission to a state school are informed
of:
(1) criteria established in rules adopted under
Section 593.0225, Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act;
(2) the waiting lists required by that section; and
(3) the address and telephone number of each state
school.
SECTION 3. The executive commissioner of the Health and
Human Services Commission shall adopt rules to implement Section
593.0225, Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act, as soon as
practicable.
SECTION 4. Section 593.0225, Health and Safety Code, as
added by this Act, applies to an application for voluntary
admission to a state school that is filed on or after September 1,
2005, or that is pending on that date.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.