86R25734 AAF-D
 
  By: Hall, et al. S.B. No. 601
 
  (Flynn)
 
  Substitute the following for S.B. No. 601:  No.
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
 
  relating to the continuation and functions of the Texas Veterans
  Commission.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 434.002(a), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (a)  The Texas Veterans Commission is subject to Chapter 325
  (Texas Sunset Act).  Unless continued in existence as provided by
  that chapter, the commission is abolished September 1, 2031 [2019].
         SECTION 2.  Section 434.0061, Government Code, is amended by
  amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (d) to read as
  follows:
         (b)  The training program must provide the person with
  information regarding:
               (1)  the law governing commission operations
  [legislation that created the commission];
               (2)  the programs, functions, rules, and budget of the
  commission;
               (3)  the results of the most recent formal audit of the
  commission;
               (4)  the requirements of:
                     (A)  laws relating to open meetings, public
  information, administrative procedure, and disclosure of conflicts
  of interest; and
                     (B)  other laws applicable to members of a state
  policymaking body in performing their duties;
               (5)  any applicable ethics policies adopted by the
  commission or the Texas Ethics Commission; and
               (6)  the scope of and limitations on the rulemaking
  authority of the commission.
         (d)  The executive director of the commission shall create a
  training manual that includes the information required by
  Subsection (b).  The executive director shall distribute a copy of
  the training manual annually to each member of the commission.  Each
  member of the commission shall sign and submit to the executive
  director a statement acknowledging that the member received and has
  reviewed the training manual.
         SECTION 3.  Section 434.007, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 434.007.  DUTIES.  (a)  The commission shall:
               (1)  compile federal, state, and local laws enacted to
  benefit members of the armed forces, veterans, and their families
  and dependents;
               (2)  collect information relating to services and
  facilities available to veterans;
               (3)  cooperate with veterans service agencies in the
  state;
               (4)  inform members and veterans of the armed forces,
  their families and dependents, and military and civilian
  authorities about the existence or availability of:
                     (A)  educational training and retraining
  facilities;
                     (B)  health, medical, rehabilitation, and housing
  services and facilities;
                     (C)  employment and reemployment services;
                     (D)  provisions of federal, state, and local law
  affording rights, privileges, and benefits to members and veterans
  of the armed forces and their families and dependents; and
                     (E)  other similar, related, or appropriate
  matters;
               (5)  assist veterans and their families and dependents
  in presenting, proving, and establishing claims, privileges,
  rights, and benefits they may have under federal, state, or local
  law;
               (6)  cooperate with all government and private agencies
  securing services or benefits to veterans and their families and
  dependents;
               (7)  investigate, and if possible correct, abuses or
  exploitation of veterans or their families or dependents, and
  recommend necessary legislation for full correction;
               (8)  coordinate the services and activities of state
  departments and divisions having services and resources affecting
  veterans or their families or dependents;
               (9)  provide training and certification of veterans
  county service officers and assistant veterans county service
  officers in accordance with Section 434.038;
               (10)  through surveys or other reasonable and accurate
  methods of estimation, collect and maintain for each county in the
  state the number of servicemembers and veterans residing in the
  county and annually update and publish the information on the
  commission's website; [and]
               (11)  with the assistance and cooperation of the
  comptroller, inform and assist veterans and their families and
  dependents with respect to discovering and initiating claims for
  unclaimed property held by the United States Department of Veterans
  Affairs;
               (12)  annually evaluate and set priorities for each
  program administered by the commission to meet the changing needs
  of veterans in this state;
               (13)  annually set concrete goals for staff and measure
  the staff's performance; and
               (14)  establish success measures and corresponding
  targets for each program administered by the commission and report
  the program's progress in meeting the measures and targets in:
                     (A)  any annual internal report for that program;
  and
                     (B)  the commission's strategic plan under
  Section 2056.002.
         (b)  In setting priorities under Subsection (a)(12), the
  commission shall consider:
               (1)  the existing strategic plan under Section 2056.002
  and the needs assessment under Section 434.017(c-1);
               (2)  complaint data;
               (3)  performance outcomes;
               (4)  veteran survey results;
               (5)  staff input; and
               (6)  any other available information.
         SECTION 4.  Section 434.0078, Government Code, is amended by
  amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (c), (d), (e), and
  (f) to read as follows:
         (a)  The commission shall adopt procedures for administering
  claims assistance services under Section 434.007(a)(5) 
  [434.007(5)].  The procedures shall include:
               (1)  criteria for determining when a veteran's initial
  claim is substantially complete and basic eligibility requirements
  are met as provided by federal law;
               (2)  a process for expediting a claim based on
  hardship, including whether the veteran:
                     (A)  is in immediate need;
                     (B)  is terminally ill;
                     (C)  has a verifiable financial hardship; or
                     (D)  has a disability that presents an undue
  burden;
               (3)  a procedure for counseling veterans on the
  potential merits or drawbacks of pursuing a claim;
               (4)  a process to ensure adequate documentation and
  development of a claim or appeal, including early client
  involvement, collection of needed evidence and records, and
  analysis of actions necessary to pursue and support a claim or
  appeal;
               (5)  criteria for evaluating whether a decision of the
  United States Department of Veterans Affairs contains sufficient
  cause for filing an appeal;
               (6)  a requirement that a claims counselor report to
  the United States Department of Veterans Affairs if the counselor
  has direct knowledge that a claim contains false or deceptive
  information; and
               (7)  a procedure for prioritizing a claim, when
  appropriate, or providing an alternative source for obtaining
  claims assistance services when it is not appropriate to
  prioritize.
         (c)  The commission shall regularly evaluate claims
  assistance services staffing to determine where counselors and
  special team staff are most needed. The evaluation must include
  the:
               (1)  workload of staff;
               (2)  number of veterans who requested claims assistance
  services at a claims assistance services office and failed to
  receive assistance the same day;
               (3)  percentage of veterans described by Subdivision
  (2) who received assistance at a later date; and
               (4)  quality of claims prepared at each of the claims
  assistance services offices.
         (d)  The commission shall regularly evaluate the needs and
  performance of any special claims assistance resources provided by
  the legislature, including the state strike force team and the
  fully developed claims team, and request to adjust staffing for
  those resources as appropriate.
         (e)  The commission shall regularly collect detailed
  information on the outcome of claims and use that information to
  evaluate and improve claims assistance services.  The commission,
  at a minimum, shall track and evaluate the following information by
  claims district:
               (1)  the quality of claims submitted to the state
  strike force team;
               (2)  the percentage of claims developed through claims
  assistance services that are processed as fully developed claims by
  the United States Department of Veterans Affairs;
               (3)  the success rate of claims and appeals developed
  through claims assistance services; and
               (4)  the average processing time for claims and appeals
  by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
         (f)  In documenting the success rate of claims and appeals as
  required by Subsection (e), the commission shall include in a
  consolidated report each claim, the corresponding decision by the
  United States Department of Veterans Affairs, and the status and
  outcome of any appeal.
         SECTION 5.  Section 434.017, Government Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (c-4) to read as follows:
         (c-4)  The commission shall publish the most recent needs
  assessment under Subsection (c-1) on the commission's Internet
  website.
         SECTION 6.  Section 434.033, Government Code, is amended by
  amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (c-1), (c-2), and
  (c-3) to read as follows:
         (b)  Except as provided by Subsection (c-2), to [To] be
  appointed as an officer a person must:
               (1)  be qualified by education and training for the
  duties of the office;
               (2)  be experienced in the law, regulations, and
  rulings of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs
  controlling cases that come before the commission; and
               (3)  have the service experience specified by
  Subsection (c) or be:
                     (A)  a widowed Gold Star Mother or unremarried
  widow of a serviceman or veteran whose death resulted from service;
                     (B)  the spouse of a disabled veteran who has a
  total disability rating based either on having a service-connected
  disability with a disability rating of 100 percent or on individual
  unemployability; or
                     (C)  the spouse of a retired veteran who served a
  minimum of 20 years on active duty.
         (c-1)  Before selecting an individual for appointment as an
  officer, a commissioners court described by Subsection (a) shall
  solicit applications from individuals interested in being
  appointed as an officer, including by posting notice for at least 30
  consecutive days on:
               (1)  the commission's Internet website; and
               (2)  the online system for listing state agency
  employment openings maintained by the Texas Workforce Commission.
         (c-2)  If the commissioners court is unable to appoint an
  individual who meets the requirements under Subsection (b)(3), the
  commissioners court may apply to the commission for approval to
  appoint an individual who does not meet those requirements.  The
  commission shall approve the appointment if the commissioners court
  provides to the commission:
               (1)  a certified letter from a local chapter of the
  Veterans of Foreign Wars and from a local chapter of the American
  Legion stating that the commissioners court solicited applications
  from members of those chapters; and
               (2)  proof that the commissioners court posted notice
  soliciting applications on the commission's Internet website and
  the online system described by Subsection (c-1)(2) for at least 90
  days.
         (c-3)  An individual whose appointment is approved by the
  commission under Subsection (c-2) is eligible for certification
  under Section 434.038 if the individual satisfies the requirements
  provided by that section.
         SECTION 7.  Section 434.352(c), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (c)  Subject to Section 434.3525, the [The] executive
  director of the commission shall appoint a program director to
  administer the mental health program for veterans.
         SECTION 8.  Subchapter H, Chapter 434, Government Code, is
  amended by adding Section 434.3525 to read as follows:
         Sec. 434.3525.  MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAM DIRECTOR ELIGIBILITY.
  To be eligible for appointment under Section 434.352(c), an
  individual must:
               (1)  have at least a master's degree in a recognized
  mental health field;
               (2)  be licensed in this state to practice a mental
  health profession;
               (3)  have multiple years of postgraduate experience in
  a human services setting, such as a community mental health center,
  chemical dependency rehabilitation center, or residential
  treatment facility;
               (4)  have experience in providing mental health
  services with primary care teams, with preference given to a
  candidate with at least four years of that experience;
               (5)  have experience in providing population-based
  care, with preference given to a candidate with at least two years
  of that experience; and
               (6)  have experience in providing trauma-informed
  care, with preference given to a candidate with at least two years
  of that experience.
         SECTION 9.  (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (b) of
  this section, Section 434.0061, Government Code, as amended by this
  Act, applies to a member of the Texas Veterans Commission who is
  appointed before, on, or after the effective date of this Act.
         (b)  A member of the Texas Veterans Commission who, before
  the effective date of this Act, completed the training program
  required by Section 434.0061, Government Code, as that law existed
  before the effective date of this Act, is required to complete
  additional training only on subjects added by this Act to the
  training program as required by Section 434.0061, Government Code,
  as amended by this Act. A commission member described by this
  subsection may not vote, deliberate, or be counted as a member in
  attendance at a meeting of the commission held on or after December
  1, 2019, until the member completes the additional training.
         SECTION 10.  Not later than December 1, 2019, the Texas
  Veterans Commission shall complete the initial annual evaluation of
  and set priorities for each program administered by the commission
  as required by Section 434.007(a)(12), Government Code, as added by
  this Act.
         SECTION 11.  (a)  Not later than December 1, 2019, the Texas
  Veterans Commission shall establish success measures and
  corresponding targets for each program administered by the
  commission as required by Section 434.007(a)(14), Government Code,
  as added by this Act.
         (b)  Not later than February 1, 2020, the commission shall
  include the success measures and corresponding targets described by
  Subsection (a) of this section and any preliminary data from those
  measures in any annual internal reports for those programs.
         (c)  Not later than June 1, 2020, the commission shall
  include in the commission's strategic plan under Section 2056.002,
  Government Code, the success measures and corresponding targets
  described by Subsection (a) of this section.
         SECTION 12.  The changes in law made by this Act to Section
  434.033, Government Code, apply only to the appointment of a
  veterans county service officer that occurs on or after the
  effective date of this Act.  A person who is serving as a veterans
  county service officer immediately before the effective date of
  this Act may continue to serve for the remainder of the officer's
  term, and that officer's qualifications for serving as an officer
  for that term are governed by the law in effect immediately before
  the effective date of this Act.
         SECTION 13.  Regardless of when an individual was first
  appointed to the position, an individual is not eligible to hold the
  position of program director under Section 434.352(c), Government
  Code, as amended by this Act, after December 1, 2019, unless the
  individual satisfies the eligibility requirements under Section
  434.3525, Government Code, as added by this Act.
         SECTION 14.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.