By: Ogden S.B. No. 1580
(In the Senate - Filed March 11, 2011; March 23, 2011, read
first time and referred to Committee on Finance; April 26, 2011,
reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the
following vote: Yeas 11, Nays 4; April 26, 2011, sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1580 By: Ogden
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to state fiscal matters related to health and human
services and state agencies administering health and human services
programs.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
ARTICLE 1. REDUCTION OF EXPENDITURES AND IMPOSITION OF CHARGES AND
COST-SAVING MEASURES GENERALLY
SECTION 1.01. This article applies to any state agency that
receives an appropriation under Article II of the General
Appropriations Act and to any program administered by any of those
agencies.
SECTION 1.02. Notwithstanding any other statute of this
state, each state agency to which this article applies is
authorized to reduce or recover expenditures by:
(1) consolidating any reports or publications the
agency is required to make and filing or delivering any of those
reports or publications exclusively by electronic means;
(2) extending the effective period of any license,
permit, or registration the agency grants or administers;
(3) entering into a contract with another governmental
entity or with a private vendor to carry out any of the agency's
duties;
(4) adopting additional eligibility requirements
consistent with federal law for persons who receive benefits under
any law the agency administers to ensure that those benefits are
received by the most deserving persons consistent with the purposes
for which the benefits are provided, including under the following
laws:
(A) Chapter 62, Health and Safety Code (child
health plan program);
(B) Chapter 31, Human Resources Code (temporary
assistance for needy families program);
(C) Chapter 32, Human Resources Code (Medicaid
program);
(D) Chapter 33, Human Resources Code
(supplemental nutrition assistance and other nutritional
assistance programs); and
(E) Chapter 533, Government Code (Medicaid
managed care);
(5) providing that any communication between the
agency and another person and any document required to be delivered
to or by the agency, including any application, notice, billing
statement, receipt, or certificate, may be made or delivered by
e-mail or through the Internet;
(6) adopting and collecting fees or charges to cover
any costs the agency incurs in performing its lawful functions; and
(7) modifying and streamlining processes used in:
(A) the conduct of eligibility determinations
for programs listed in Subdivision (4) of this subsection by or
under the direction of the Health and Human Services Commission;
(B) the provision of child and adult protective
services by the Department of Family and Protective Services;
(C) the provision of services for the aging and
disabled by the Department of Aging and Disability Services;
(D) the provision of services to children and
other persons with disabilities by the Department of Assistive and
Rehabilitative Services;
(E) the provision of community health services,
consumer protection services, mental health services, and hospital
facilities and services by the Department of State Health Services;
and
(F) the provision or administration of other
services provided or programs operated by the Health and Human
Services Commission or a health and human services agency, as
defined by Section 531.001, Government Code.
ARTICLE 2. FEES ASSESSED BY CERTAIN HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
AGENCIES FOR LICENSING, REGISTRATION, AND OTHER SERVICES
SECTION 2.01. Section 12.0111, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law that places a
limit on the amount of a fee that the department or a regulatory
board or other agency under the jurisdiction of the department or
administratively attached to the department may charge for issuing
or renewing a license, the executive commissioner of the Health and
Human Services Commission, on or after September 1, 2011, may adopt
rules increasing fees for issuing or renewing a license by up to
five percent above the amount assessed immediately before September
1, 2011.
SECTION 2.02. Section 12.032, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (f) to
read as follows:
(c) A [The amount of a] fee charged for a public health
service must be set in an amount necessary to recover, at a minimum,
all costs [may not exceed the cost] to the department of
administering [providing] the service.
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of law that places a
limit on the amount of a fee charged for a public health service,
the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services
Commission, on or after September 1, 2011, may adopt rules
increasing fees for public health services administered by the
department by up to 12 percent above the amount assessed
immediately before September 1, 2011.
SECTION 2.03. Subsections (a) through (e), Section 42.054,
Human Resources Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The department shall charge an applicant a
nonrefundable application fee of $105 [$35] for an initial license
to operate a child-care facility or a child-placing agency.
(b) The department shall charge each child-care facility a
fee of $105 [$35] for an initial license. The department shall
charge each child-placing agency a fee of $150 [$50] for an initial
license.
(c) The department shall charge each licensed child-care
facility an annual license fee in the amount of $105 [$35] plus $3
[$1] for each child the child-care facility is permitted to serve.
The fee is due on the date on which the department issues the
child-care facility's initial license and on the anniversary of
that date.
(d) The department shall charge each licensed child-placing
agency an annual license fee of $300 [$100]. The fee is due on the
date on which the department issues the child-placing agency's
initial license and on the anniversary of that date.
(e) The department shall charge each family home that is
listed or registered with the department an annual fee to cover a
part of the department's cost in regulating family homes. The
amount of the fee is $60 [$20] for a listed home or $105 [$35] for a
registered home. The fee is due on the date on which the department
initially lists or registers the home and on the anniversary of that
date.
SECTION 2.04. Section 42.054, Human Resources Code, as
amended by this article, applies to an application filed with the
Department of Family and Protective Services, or an initial or
annual license fee assessed by the department, on or after the
effective date of this Act. An application filed or a licensing fee
assessed before that date is governed by the law in effect on the
date the application was filed or the licensing fee was assessed,
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
ARTICLE 3. EFFECTIVE DATE
SECTION 3.01. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
* * * * *