BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Research Center S.B. 286
80R4236 MSE-D By: Watson
AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
Currently, home-delivered meal services exist in almost every county in Texas. These services are paid for through the Department of Aging and Disability Services, local area agencies on aging, and private donations. New sources of funding are needed to serve eligible persons as the population of the elderly and persons with disabilities increases.
As proposed, S.B. 286 increases access to home-delivered meals for elderly persons and persons with disabilities through the creation of a home-delivered meal grant program in the Department of Agriculture.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Chapter 12, Agriculture Code, by adding Section 12.042, as follows:
Sec. 12.042. HOME-DELIVERED MEAL GRANT PROGRAM. (a) Requires the Department of Agriculture (department) to establish a home-delivered meal grant program (program) to benefit homebound elderly or disabled people. Requires the program to be designed to help defray the costs of providing home-delivered meals that are not fully funded by the Department of Aging and Disability Services or an area agency on aging.
(b) Requires the department to make grants to qualifying organizations that provide home-delivered meals to the homebound elderly and disabled from appropriated funds. Prohibits the department from using more than five percent of the appropriated funds for the administration of the grant program.
(c) Sets forth certain conditions that an organization applying for a grant must meet.
(d) Requires the county in which the organization provides meals to make a grant to the organization before an organization may receive a grant from the department. Provides that the maximum amount the department may provide to organizations in the county under Subsection (h) is reduced to an amount in proportion to the amount by which the county grant is less than 25 cents for each elderly resident if the county makes a grant to the organization in an amount less than 25 cents for each person at least 60 years of age who resides in the county.
(e) Requires the department to require an organization seeking a grant to file an application in a form approved by the department. Requires the application to be notarized and signed by the organization's executive director and board chair, be postmarked not later than November 1, and include certain criteria.
(f) Requires an organization that applies for a grant for meals delivered in more than one county to submit a separate application in each county.
(g) Requires the department to annually determine the total amount of money available for grants under this section, the number of residents at least 60 years of age in this state, and the number of residents at least 60 years of age in each county in this state.
(h) Set forth a specific formula to determine the limit on grants awarded to qualifying organizations in a state fiscal year.
(i) Requires the department to make a grant to each qualifying organization that has submitted an approved application under this section no later than December 1 of each year. Requires the department to make grants in an amount equal to one dollar for each meal that the organization delivered in the county in the preceding state fiscal year that was not fully funded by the Department of Aging and Disability Services or another area agency subject to Subsections (d) and (h). Requires the department to reduce the grants proportionally to each qualifying organization in that county so that the total amount of the grants to the organizations does not exceed the amount described by Subsection (h) if more than one organization delivers meals in a county.
(j) Requires the department to use unspent funds to proportionally increase the grants to each qualifying organization if the amount of the grants made by the department under Subsection (i) is less than the amount appropriated to fund the program under this section in a state fiscal year.
(k) Provides that the home-delivered meal fund is an account in the general revenue fund. Authorizes money in the account to be only appropriated to the department to award grants and to pay for the operation of the program.
SECTION 2. Requires the department to adopt rules required under Section 12.042, Agriculture Code, as soon as practical after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 3. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2007.