AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
Of the 16 task force or advisory committees that were repealed in S.B. 277 as introduced, 13 will be repealed by the appropriate Sunset legislation. The committee substitute for S.B. 277 removes those 13 committees from the original bill and repeals the remaining three advisory committees from statute. The substitute also repeals the Interagency Task Force on Electronic Benefits Transfers.
C.S.S.B. 277 amends current law relating to the abolition of certain health-related task forces and advisory committees.
[Note: While the statutory reference in this bill is to the Texas Department of Human Services (TDHS), the following amendments affect the Health and Human Services Commission and the Department of Aging and Disability Services, as the successor agencies to TDHS.]
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. (a) Provides that the Interagency Task Force on Electronic Benefits Transfers is abolished.
(b) Repealer: Section 531.045 (Interagency Task Force on Electronic Benefits Transfers), Government Code.
SECTION 2. (a) Provides that the Medicaid and Public Assistance Fraud Oversight Task Force is abolished.
(b) Amends Section 22.028(c), Human Resources Code, to require the comptroller of public accounts of the State of Texas (comptroller) to promptly review the report and, as appropriate, may solicit the advice of the office of the inspector general regarding the results of the Texas Department of Health Services (TDHS) enforcement actions.
(c) Repealer: Section 531.107 (Medicaid and Public Assistance Fraud Oversight Task Force), Government Code.
SECTION 3. (a) Provides that the Advisory Committee on Inpatient Mental Health Services is abolished.
(b) Repealer: Section 571.027 (Advisory Committee on Impatient Mental Health Services), Health and Safety Code.
SECTION 4. (a) Provides that the Interagency Inspection Task Force is abolished.
(b) Amends Section 42.0442(c), Human Resources Code, as follows:
(c) Requires each state agency that inspects a facility listed in Subsection (a) to use an inspection checklist established by the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) in performing an inspection. Requires a state agency to make a copy of the completed inspection checklist available to the facility at the facility's request to assist the facility in maintaining records. Deletes existing text requiring the Interagency Inspection Task Force to establish an inspection checklist based on the inspection protocol developed under Subsection (b).
(c) Repealer: Section 42.0442(b) (relating to requiring DFPS to form an interagency task force with the Department of Health, the Texas Department of Human Services, and the Texas Workforce Commission to develop an inspection protocol that will coordinate inspection by those agencies), Human Resources Code.
SECTION 5. Requires HHSC, if an entity that is abolished by this Act has property, records or other assets, to take custody of the entity's property, records, or other assets.
SECTION 6. Effective date: September 1, 2015.