H.B. No. 2303
AN ACT
relating to the scope of services of and the persons who may be
provided services by a community center.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 531.002, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Subdivision (13-a) to read as follows:
(13-a) "Person with a developmental disability" means
an individual with a severe, chronic disability attributable to a
mental or physical impairment or a combination of mental and
physical impairments that:
(A) manifests before the person reaches 22 years
of age;
(B) is likely to continue indefinitely;
(C) reflects the individual's need for a
combination and sequence of special, interdisciplinary, or generic
services, individualized supports, or other forms of assistance
that are of a lifelong or extended duration and are individually
planned and coordinated; and
(D) results in substantial functional
limitations in three or more of the following categories of major
life activity:
(i) self-care;
(ii) receptive and expressive language;
(iii) learning;
(iv) mobility;
(v) self-direction;
(vi) capacity for independent living; and
(vii) economic self-sufficiency.
SECTION 2. Section 534.001(e), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(e) Except as provided by this section, a [A] community
center operating under this subchapter may operate only for the
purposes and perform only the functions defined in the center's
plan. The executive commissioner [board] by rule shall specify the
elements that must be included in a plan and shall prescribe the
procedure for submitting, approving, and modifying a center's plan.
In addition to the services described in a center's plan, the center
may provide other health and human services and supports as
provided by a contract with or a grant received from a local, state,
or federal agency.
SECTION 3. Section 534.0015(b), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) It is the policy of this state that community centers
strive to develop services for persons who are mentally ill or
mentally retarded, and may provide requested services to persons
with developmental disabilities or with [a] chemical dependencies
[dependency], that are effective alternatives to treatment in a
large residential facility.
SECTION 4. Section 534.0155(a), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) This subtitle does not prevent a community center from
providing services to a person with a chemical dependency, [or] to a
person with a developmental disability, or to a person with a mental
disability, as [that term is] defined by Section 535.001.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2303 was passed by the House on April
29, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 144, Nays 0, 1 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2303 was passed by the Senate on May
19, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor