| TO: | Honorable José Menéndez, Chair, House Committee on Defense & Veterans' Affairs |
| FROM: | Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB781 by Farias (Relating to the allocation of certain grants from the fund for veterans' assistance.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted |
The bill would implement a recommendation in the report, "Conduct a Needs Assessment to Improve the Efficiency of Veterans Grant Allocations" in the Legislative Budget Board's Government Effectiveness and Efficiency Report, submitted to the Eighty-third Texas Legislature, 2013.
The bill would require the Texas Veterans Commission (TVC) to conduct a needs assessment that would direct the allocation of grants from the Fund for Veterans Assistance (FVA). TVC awards FVA reimbursement grants to entities that offer direct services to veterans and their families. TVC would conduct the assessment every two years to identify the specific high priority needs of veterans, and gaps between those needs and services available to veterans. The agency would use assessment results in its process for awarding grants by developing appropriate grant categories. The first assessment would be conducted no later than May 1, 2014.
Based on the LBB’s analysis of TVC, duties and responsibilities associated with implementing the provisions of the bill could be accomplished using existing resources.
| Source Agencies: | 403 Veterans Commission
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| LBB Staff: | UP, KJo, SD, JI, RN
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