BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 1762

By: Otto

Defense & Veterans' Affairs

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Interested parties note that the Texas Veterans Commission has recently been called upon to help Texas veterans and their families as crises have arisen within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). H.B. 1762 seeks to give the commission more tools to help resolve issues related to medical care access at VA health care facilities.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Texas Veterans Commission in SECTION 1 of this bill.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 1762 amends the Government Code to require the Texas Veterans Commission, as soon as practicable after the bill's effective date but not later than January 1, 2016, to establish and implement, by rule, a health care advocacy program to assist veterans in gaining access to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs health care facilities and to adopt any rules necessary to implement the program. The bill prescribes the manner by which the program is required to provide such assistance to veterans, requires the executive director of the commission to appoint a program coordinator to administer the program, and requires the commission to provide facilities as appropriate to support the program to the extent funding is available for that purpose.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2015.