| 1 | 1 | | By: Farias (Senate Sponsor - Van de Putte) H.B. No. 2562 |
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| 2 | 2 | | (In the Senate - Received from the House May 6, 2013; |
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| 3 | 3 | | May 7, 2013, read first time and referred to Committee on Veteran |
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| 4 | 4 | | Affairs and Military Installations; May 17, 2013, reported |
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| 5 | 5 | | favorably by the following vote: Yeas 4, Nays 0; May 17, 2013, |
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| 6 | 6 | | sent to printer.) |
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| 7 | 7 | | |
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| 8 | 8 | | |
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| 9 | 9 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 10 | 10 | | AN ACT |
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| 11 | 11 | | relating to an annual report on the Public Assistance Reporting |
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| 12 | 12 | | Information System. |
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| 13 | 13 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 14 | 14 | | SECTION 1. Section 531.0998(e), Government Code, is amended |
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| 15 | 15 | | to read as follows: |
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| 16 | 16 | | (e) Not later than October 1 of each year [, 2012], the |
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| 17 | 17 | | commission, the Texas Veterans Commission, the Veterans' Land |
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| 18 | 18 | | Board, and the Department of Aging and Disability Services |
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| 19 | 19 | | collectively shall submit to the legislature, the governor, and the |
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| 20 | 20 | | Legislative Budget Board a report describing: |
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| 21 | 21 | | (1) interagency progress in identifying [the |
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| 22 | 22 | | frequency] and obtaining Department of Veterans Affairs benefits |
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| 23 | 23 | | for veterans receiving Medicaid and other public benefit programs |
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| 24 | 24 | | [success with which state agencies have used the system]; |
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| 25 | 25 | | (2) the number of veterans benefits claims awarded, |
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| 26 | 26 | | the total dollar amount of veterans benefits claims awarded, and |
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| 27 | 27 | | the costs to the state that were avoided as a result of state |
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| 28 | 28 | | agencies' use of the system; [and] |
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| 29 | 29 | | (3) efforts to expand the use of the system and improve |
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| 30 | 30 | | the effectiveness of shifting veterans from Medicaid and other |
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| 31 | 31 | | public benefits to Department of Veterans Affairs benefits, |
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| 32 | 32 | | including any barriers and how state agencies have addressed those |
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| 33 | 33 | | barriers; and |
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| 34 | 34 | | (4) the extent to which the Texas Veterans Commission |
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| 35 | 35 | | has targeted specific populations of veterans, including |
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| 36 | 36 | | populations in rural counties and in specific age and |
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| 37 | 37 | | service-connected disability categories, in order to maximize |
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| 38 | 38 | | benefits for veterans and savings to the state [recommendations for |
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| 39 | 39 | | future use of the system by state agencies]. |
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| 40 | 40 | | SECTION 2. Section 531.0998(f), Government Code, is |
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| 41 | 41 | | repealed. |
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| 42 | 42 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 43 | 43 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 44 | 44 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 45 | 45 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 46 | 46 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2013. |
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| 47 | 47 | | * * * * * |
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