BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3219

By: Chavez

Human Services

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

According to the Legislative Budget Board's report entitled "Texas State Government Effectiveness and Efficiency," service-enriched housing is broadly defined as living arrangements that include health and social services provided in an accessible, supportive environment.  By 2010, seniors will represent 10 percent of the state's population, or 2.6 million, and by 2030, this demographic will represent 15.6 percent of the state's population, or 5.2 million.  The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs reports that there is a continuing need for affordable housing for seniors.  However, there are numerous barriers to increasing the number of service-enriched housing options for seniors. 

There is little formal communication between the federal and state governments' housing programs. This lack of coordination is reflected by the fact there are conflicting eligibility requirements, funding mechanisms, and regulations that inhibit the creation of service-enriched housing. 

C.S.H.B. 3219 creates a housing and health services council within the department responsible for increasing state efforts to offer service-enriched housing through improved coordination of housing and health services.

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

C.S.H.B. 3219 amends the Government Code to require the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs to establish a housing and health services coordination council.  The bill defines "council," establishes that it is to be composed of 15 members, and provides for its specific membership, organization, members' terms of service, operation, staffing, and compensation and reimbursement.  The bill requires members of the council to be appointed from specified agencies, subject to the approval of the head of the agency, and to have the authority to make decisions for and to commit resources of the agency that the member represents.  The bill requires a member to have administrative responsibility for agency programs for older adults, knowledge or experience regarding the implementation of projects that integrate housing and health services, or knowledge or experience regarding services used by older adults.

C.S.H.B. 3219 requires the council to develop and implement policies to coordinate and increase state efforts to offer service-enriched housing; to identify barriers preventing or slowing service-enriched housing efforts, including barriers attributable to the  regulatory requirements and limitations, administrative limitations, limitations on funding, and ineffective or limited coordination; to develop a system to cross-educate selected staff in state housing and health services agencies to increase the number of staff with expertise in both areas and to coordinate relevant staff activities of those agencies; to identify opportunities for state housing and health services agencies to provide technical assistance and training to local housing and health services entities about the cross-education of staff, coordination among those entities, and opportunities to increase local efforts to create service-enriched housing; and to develop suggested performance measures to track progress in the reduction or elimination of barriers in creating service-enriched housing, increasing the coordination between state housing and health services agencies, increasing the number of cross-educated or expert state housing and health services staff, and the provision of technical assistance to local communities by state housing and health services staff to increase the number of service-enriched housing projects. 

C.S.H.B. 3219 defines "service-enriched housing" to mean a living arrangement that provides health services or social services, or both, to older adults in an accessible, supportive environment. The bill requires the council to develop a biennial plan to implement the service-enriched housing goals and to deliver, not later than August 1 of each even-numbered year, a report of the council's findings and recommendations to the governor and the Legislative Budget Board.

C.S.H.B. 3219 authorizes the council to solicit and accept gifts, grants, and donations for the council and establishes the duties of department employees assigned to provide advisory support to the council with respect to sources of funding, financial models and information, communication between agencies, funding sources, and service providers, training, database development, biennial evaluations, recommendations for changes to applicable Medicaid waivers, best practices, and an information clearinghouse.

C.S.H.B. 3219 requires the governor and the heads of the applicable state agencies, as soon as possible after the effective date of the bill, to appoint members to the housing and health services coordination council.  The bill requires the governor, in making initial appointments to the housing and health services coordination council, to appoint two members to serve a term expiring September 1, 2011, three members to serve a term expiring September 1, 2013, and three members to serve a term expiring September 1, 2015.  The bill requires the council to submit its first report of findings and recommendations not later than September 1, 2010.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2009.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 3219 differs from the original by adding the definition for "service-enriched housing" and by removing administrative responsibility for agency programs for persons with disabilities and knowledge or experience regarding services used by persons with disabilities from the qualifications to be appointed as a member of the council by the head of certain state agencies.