BILL ANALYSIS
By: Lucio
Committee Report (Substituted)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Worksite wellness programs have been used in the private sector to promote improved nutrition, increase fitness, and manage stress. Regular medical exams, screenings of employees, and smoking cessation programs are ways to decrease health related expenses for employees and employers, in addition to reducing employee absenteeism. Under current law, state agencies are allowed to create health and fitness programs for employees but are not provided with any resources or incentives to do so. As a result, there are very few worksite wellness programs in state agencies. At the same time, obesity related costs are increasing, and health care costs associated with state employees have increased approximately 53 percent since 2000.
This bill provides the infrastructure, guidance, and resources necessary to create a wellness program in every state agency. In promoting health maintenance, nutrition, and physical fitness, this bill seeks to address both health-related expenses and the costs and concerns related to obesity.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Department of State Health Services in SECTION 4 of this bill.
ANALYSIS
The bill amends the Government Code by establishing the Worksite Wellness Program (program) and Worksite Wellness Advisory Board (board). The bill sets forth the composition of the worksite wellness advisory board (board) and defines for the purposes of the bill "board," "commissioner," "department," and "state agency." The bill also specifies that the board is administratively attached to the Department of State Health Services (department) and authorizes the board to request the department to establish advisory committees to address certain priorities.
Likewise, the bill requires the department to provide staff necessary for the board to perform its duties and authorizes the department to adopt rules as necessary to implement the program and the board, including rules setting the frequency and location of board meetings. The bill sets forth the required duties of the board and specifies that current law regulating state agency advisory committees does not apply to the size, composition, or duration of this board. Additionally, the bill authorizes the board to receive in-kind and monetary gifts, grants, and donations from public and private donors to be used for the defined purposes of the program and board.
The bill also requires the commissioner of the department to make an effort to appoint at least one member from each of the health and human services regions and to consider input from state agency employees in appointing members to the board. Also the bill requires the members of the board to elect a presiding officer.
The bill specifies that each member of the board who is not a state officer or employee will serve a two-year term expiring on February 1 of each odd-numbered year and that those members may be reappointed. Moreover, the bill specifies that members who are state officers or employees serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority and requires the appropriate authority to appoint a person should a vacancy arise. The bill also specifies that a state officer or employee appointed to the board serves on the board ex officio as an additional duty of their office or employment.
The bill prohibits members of the board from receiving compensation for services as a board member, but entitles members to reimbursement for travel expenses under the rules for reimbursement of a member's office or employment if the member is a state officer or employee, or as provided by the General Appropriations Act for the other members.
Furthermore, the bill requires each state agency with more than 150 employees to facilitate the development of a wellness council (council) composed of employees and managers of the agency to promote worksite wellness and as such, the bill authorizes a state agency with 150 or fewer employees to establish a wellness council under this section. The bill also requires each council to work to increase employee interest in worksite wellness, to develop and implement intra-agency policies to allow for increased worksite wellness, and to involve employees in worksite wellness programs. Requires each council to annually identify best practices for worksite wellness in the agency and to report those practices to the board and requires the department to provide technical support to each council and to provide financial support if funds are available.
The bill requires members of each council to review recommendations from the board and to develop a plan to implement said recommendations. The bill also requires each state agency to allow each employee to participate in council activities for at least two hours each month.
In addition the bill requires each state agency to allow each employee 30 minutes for exercise three times a week, to allow all employees to attend on-site wellness seminars when offered, and to provide eight hours of additional leave time each year to employees who receive a physical examination and who complete a health risk assessment.
The bill repeals section 664.006 of the Government Code and makes conforming changes.
EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2007.
COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE
The original bill required state agencies with the equivalent of 5,000 or more full-time employees to hire one full-time worksite wellness coordinator with certain employee health-related duties; whereas the substitute does not.