82R8353 EAH-F
By: Van de Putte, Rodriguez S.B. No. 1796
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the creation of the Texas Veterans Council.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 531, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter S to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER S. TEXAS VETERANS COUNCIL
Sec. 531.751. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Council" means the Texas Veterans Council.
(2) "Servicemember" has the meaning assigned by
Section 161.551, Health and Safety Code.
Sec. 531.752. TEXAS VETERANS COUNCIL. (a) The Texas
Veterans Council is established to:
(1) provide guidance to and coordinate health and
human services systems that assist servicemembers and their
families;
(2) ensure that servicemembers and their families are
aware of and have access to needed services;
(3) improve the efficiency and effectiveness of state,
federal, and local agencies and of advisory councils in addressing
issues affecting the health and well-being of servicemembers and
their families;
(4) prioritize and mobilize resources for
servicemembers, including state appropriations for veterans'
health and human services; and
(5) facilitate an integrated, efficient approach to
identifying and providing outreach to servicemembers and their
families, including web-based outreach and outreach through local
community events.
(b) The council shall:
(1) promote a common vision of desired outcomes for
servicemembers and their families and encourage shared
accountability for achieving those outcomes;
(2) align allocations of resources with
evidence-based policies that promote the health, well-being, and
community reintegration of servicemembers and their families; and
(3) sustain, formalize, and guide collaborative
relationships between state, federal, and private agencies and
veterans service organizations.
(c) Subject to Subsection (d), the council is composed of
the following:
(1) the executive commissioner;
(2) the executive director of the Texas Veterans
Commission;
(3) the commissioner of the General Land Office;
(4) the adjutant general;
(5) the director of the Texas Correctional Office on
Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments;
(6) a representative of the United States Veterans
Health Administration;
(7) at least one licensed physician, licensed
psychologist, or other licensed mental health professional, with
demonstrated expert knowledge in the evidence-based treatment of
trauma induced by war, appointed by the executive commissioner;
(8) one or more servicemembers appointed by the
executive commissioner who work in the delivery of services to
veterans, active servicemembers, or their families;
(9) a representative of the United States Department
of Defense stationed in this state with expert knowledge of the
treatment provided to servicemembers by federal agencies; and
(10) other representatives of health and human
services agencies, appointed by the executive commissioner.
(d) An individual listed in Subsections (c)(1)-(5) may
designate another individual as having authority to act on behalf
of the individual at council meetings and with respect to council
functions.
(e) An organization or agency not represented by an
individual listed in Subsections (c)(1)-(10) that provides
services to servicemembers and their families may participate in
and contribute to the performance of the council's duties through
procedures established by the council.
(f) The members of the council annually shall elect one
member to serve as the presiding officer.
(g) Council meetings are held at the call of the presiding
officer.
(h) The council is administratively attached to the
commission but is independent of direction by the commission or the
executive commissioner. The commission may provide administrative
support and resources to the council as necessary to enable the
council to perform its duties.
(i) The state agencies represented on the council may
provide staff support as needed to the council.
(j) The council is not subject to Chapter 2110.
(k) A member of the council is not entitled to compensation,
but is entitled to reimbursement of the member's travel expenses as
provided in the General Appropriations Act for state employees.
Sec. 531.753. DUTIES. (a) The council shall:
(1) identify appropriations, including appropriations
for initiatives that maximize access to United States Veterans
Health Administration resources, that may be modified in the next
legislative appropriation requests to eliminate waste or increase
available services and, not later than May 1 of each even-numbered
year, prepare a report recommending those modifications for
consideration during the development of the next biennial
legislative appropriations request;
(2) promote and coordinate initiatives that guide
servicemembers and their families to appropriate federal, state,
and local resources;
(3) identify methods to improve case management
services provided by a veterans county service officer through
additional training, increased productivity, and additional
resources;
(4) identify methods to ensure that servicemembers
receive appropriate assessment, diagnoses, and intervention
services;
(5) identify and promote effective methods of serving
the needs of female servicemembers, including the identification
and treatment of victims of military sexual trauma;
(6) identify methods to promote health and
sustainability of the families of servicemembers; and
(7) promote servicemember involvement in the planning
and provision of health and human services for servicemembers and
their families.
(b) The state agency members of the council may, as
appropriate, enter into memoranda of understanding with other
agencies to implement any method, process, policy, or
recommendation identified or developed under Subsection (a).
Before a method, process, policy, or recommendation is implemented,
the council shall:
(1) identify:
(A) the timeline and proposed outcome of
implementing the method, process, policy, or recommendation; and
(B) benchmarks that may be used to measure the
success of the implementation of the method, process, policy, or
recommendation; and
(2) assign to the appropriate members of the council
responsibility for implementing the method, process, policy, or
recommendation.
(c) The council may collect data necessary to conduct the
council's duties or implement the council's recommendations and
shall use any reports or information produced by other entities
related to servicemembers and their families to inform the council.
Sec. 531.754. GIFTS, GRANTS, AND DONATIONS. The council may
accept gifts, grants, and donations from any public or private
source, including grants and other money from the Texas Veterans
Commission, the Department of State Health Services, or other state
agencies and institutions of higher education, to pay expenses
incurred in performing its duties under this subchapter.
Sec. 531.755. REPORT BY COUNCIL. Not later than December 1
of each even-numbered year, the council shall submit a report to the
governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the house of
representatives, and members of the legislature that contains:
(1) the requests, plans, and recommendations of the
council, including recommendations of any legislation that is
needed to further develop and maintain a statewide system of
quality health care and human services for servicemembers and their
families; and
(2) information regarding the implementation by the
members of the council of any method, process, policy, or
recommendation, including information regarding whether the
implementation has proceeded in accordance with the timeline,
outcome, and benchmarks identified by the council.
Sec. 531.756. SUNSET PROVISION. The council is subject to
Chapter 325 (Texas Sunset Act). Unless continued in existence as
provided by that chapter, the council is abolished and this
subchapter expires September 1, 2017.
SECTION 2. (a) The executive commissioner of the Health
and Human Services Commission shall appoint the members of the
Texas Veterans Council as required by Sections 531.752(c)(7), (8),
and (10), Government Code, as added by this Act, not later than
September 30, 2011.
(b) The Texas Veterans Council established by Section
531.752, Government Code, as added by this Act, shall convene its
initial meeting not later than November 1, 2011.
SECTION 3. This Act does not make an appropriation. A
provision in this Act that creates a new governmental program,
creates a new entitlement, or imposes a new duty on a governmental
entity is not mandatory during a fiscal period for which the
legislature has not made a specific appropriation to implement the
provision.
SECTION 4. 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, 2011.