BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1169

By: Martinez, "Mando"

Public Health

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The federally qualified health center incubator program was created in 2003 to provide seed money to community primary care organizations seeking to become federally qualified health centers, and to assist existing health centers to expand to new locations or to offer new services.  Funded at $5 million per year, the incubator program has brought more than $40 million in renewable, ongoing federal funds to Texas each year.  The program’s grantees have leveraged state funds to take full advantage of federal community health center expansion initiatives.

The incubator program has enabled the number of health center patients served by federally qualified health centers to increase by 41 percent since 2003.  This expansion would not have been possible without the state-funded seed dollars critical to making new and existing federally qualified health centers more competitive in the grant awards process. 

C.S.H.B. 1169 reauthorizes the program, currently set to expire on September 1, 2009, and modifies the program to authorize the Department of State Health Services to make grants to support new or expanded services at facilities that can qualify as federally qualified health centers in addition to grants to establish new or expand existing facilities.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

Section 531.0055, Government Code, as amended by Chapter 198 (H.B. 2292), Acts of the 78th Legislature, Regular Session, 2003, expressly grants to the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission all rulemaking authority for the operation of and provision of services by the health and human services agencies.  Similarly, Sections 1.16-1.29, Chapter 198 (H.B. 2292), Acts of the 78th Legislature, Regular Session, 2003, provide for the transfer of a power, duty, function, program, or activity from a health and human services agency abolished by that act to the corresponding legacy agency.  To the extent practicable, this bill analysis is written to reflect any transfer of rulemaking authority and to update references as necessary to an agency's authority with respect to a particular health and human services program.

C.S.H.B. 1169 amends the Health and Safety Code to authorize the Department of State Health Services to make grants to support new or expanded services at facilities that can qualify as federally qualified health centers, in addition to the department's authority to establish new or expand existing facilities.  The bill removes the September 1, 2009, expiration date from provisions relating to grants for federally qualified health centers.

EFFECTIVE DATE

August 31, 2009.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 1169 differs from the original by adding to the authority of the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) to make grants for facilities that can qualify as federally qualified health centers the authority to make grants to support new or expanded services at those facilities, whereas the original added the authority for DSHS to make grants to maintain existing facilities.