BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 4421

By: Rose

Public Health

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

According to Mental Health America, peer support has been found to help improve a person's quality of life and increases and improves engagement with services while lowering the cost of mental health services by reducing the prevalence of emergency visits and hospitalizations. Furthermore, the Council of State Governments Justice Center, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Justice, has found that peer-run organizations promoted more sustainable job opportunities for their participants. The bill author has informed the committee that, despite these benefits, peer recovery organizations, which are nonprofit entities governed and managed by members of the local community that provide peer support services, face challenges in Texas due to the lack of statutory recognition and dedicated funding streams. The bill author has further informed the committee that, while the state has invested in recovery-oriented programs, most funding has gone to treatment and prevention organizations rather than peer-led recovery groups, resulting in limited access to these cost-effective, evidence-based services.
C.S.H.B. 4421 defines peer recovery organizations in statue to facilitate the mobilization resources inside and outside of the community to support recovery services and peer recovery services provided by those in recovery or with lived experience with a mental health condition. The bill also requires certain state agencies to identify available funding, training, or technical assistance to support and sustain peer-recovery organizations in Texas.

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 this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 4421 amends the Government Code to require the following state agencies to identify available resources, including funding, training, or technical assistance, to support and sustain peer-recovery organizations in Texas:

· the Health and Human Services Commission;

· the Department of State Health Services;

· the Department of Family and Protective Services;

· the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs;

· the Texas Department of Criminal Justice;

· the Texas Juvenile Justice Department; and

· the Texas Veterans Commission.

C.S.H.B. 4421 requires each such state agency, not later than August 1 of each even-numbered year, to prepare and submit a written report to the legislature describing and detailing the state agency's available resources to support and sustain peer-recovery organizations in Texas and defines the following terms:

· "peer-recovery organization" as a nonprofit organization that:

o is wholly or partly operated and governed by members of the community, with at least 51 percent of those members identifying as persons recovering from a substance use disorder or lived experience with a mental health condition;

o mobilizes resources from inside and outside of a community to increase the prevalence and quality of recovery services for persons with mental health conditions or substance use disorders and their affected family members; and

o delivers peer support services provided by persons recovering from a substance use disorder or lived experience with a mental health condition who are managed or supervised only by persons recovering from a substance use disorder or lived experience with a mental health condition;

· "substance use disorder" as the recurrent use of alcohol or drugs that causes significant clinical and functional impairment, such as health problems, disability, and failure to complete major responsibilities at work, school, or home; and

· "mental health condition" as a condition, other than a single diagnosis of an intellectual or developmental disability or a substance use disorder, that substantially impairs an individual's:

o thoughts, perception of reality, emotional process, or judgment;

o behavior; or

o ability to participate in daily routines.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2025.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 4421 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

Both the introduced and the substitute define "peer-recovery organization." However, the substitute specifies that the persons recovering from a substance use disorder or lived experience with a mental health condition who provides peer support services for such an organization are those who are managed or supervised only by persons recovering from a substance use disorder or lived experience with a mental health condition and additionally specifies that such an organization only delivers peer support services provided by such persons, whereas the introduced did not include such specifications.