AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
S.B. 901 amends the Health and Safety Code by prohibiting the grant recipients, which receive full funding for an ambulance under Section 773.122(a) or Section 780.004(a), from disposing of an ambulance without obtaining the approval of the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) during the first four years following the award of the grant.
This statutory change will ensure that grant monies are used for their intended purpose and that ambulances awarded under the grant are not prematurely sold for improper reasons. By allowing DSHS to review the disposal of an ambulance within four years of the grant date, the agency can make certain that the ambulance, which was purchased with state funding, stills serves the greater goal of increased access to quality of health care while also allowing for flexibility and not being unduly restrictive on individual grant recipients.
As proposed, S.B. 901 amends current law relating to approval from the Department of State Health Services for disposal of ambulances purchased with certain grant funds.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Section 773.122, Health and Safety Code, by adding Subsection (a-1), as follows:
(a-1) Prohibits a grant recipient, before the fourth anniversary of the date a grant is awarded under Subsection (a) (requiring the commissioner of state health services to use money in certain accounts to fund county and regional emergency medical services), from disposing of an ambulance for which the total costs of purchasing the ambulance were paid only from grants awarded under Subsection (a) or Section 780.004(a) (requiring the commissioner of health to use money appropriated from the account established under this chapter to fund designated trauma facilities, county and regional emergency medical services, and trauma care systems) unless the grant recipient obtains the Department of State Health Service's (DSHS) prior approval.
SECTION 2. Amends Section 780.004, Health and Safety Code, by adding Subsection (a-1), as follows:
(a-1) Prohibits a grant recipient, before the fourth anniversary of the date a grant is awarded under Subsection (a), from disposing of an ambulance for which the total costs of purchasing the ambulance were paid only from grants awarded under Subsection (a) or Section 773.122(a) unless the grant recipient obtains DSHS's prior approval.
SECTION 3. Makes application of Sections 773.122 and 780.004, Health and Safety Code, as amended by this Act, prospective.
SECTION 4. Effective date: September 1, 2011.