By: Farias (Senate Sponsor - Van de Putte) H.B. No. 2562
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 6, 2013;
May 7, 2013, read first time and referred to Committee on Veteran
Affairs and Military Installations; May 17, 2013, reported
favorably by the following vote: Yeas 4, Nays 0; May 17, 2013,
sent to printer.)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to an annual report on the Public Assistance Reporting
Information System.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 531.0998(e), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(e) Not later than October 1 of each year [, 2012], the
commission, the Texas Veterans Commission, the Veterans' Land
Board, and the Department of Aging and Disability Services
collectively shall submit to the legislature, the governor, and the
Legislative Budget Board a report describing:
(1) interagency progress in identifying [the
frequency] and obtaining Department of Veterans Affairs benefits
for veterans receiving Medicaid and other public benefit programs
[success with which state agencies have used the system];
(2) the number of veterans benefits claims awarded,
the total dollar amount of veterans benefits claims awarded, and
the costs to the state that were avoided as a result of state
agencies' use of the system; [and]
(3) efforts to expand the use of the system and improve
the effectiveness of shifting veterans from Medicaid and other
public benefits to Department of Veterans Affairs benefits,
including any barriers and how state agencies have addressed those
barriers; and
(4) the extent to which the Texas Veterans Commission
has targeted specific populations of veterans, including
populations in rural counties and in specific age and
service-connected disability categories, in order to maximize
benefits for veterans and savings to the state [recommendations for
future use of the system by state agencies].
SECTION 2. Section 531.0998(f), Government Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 3. 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, 2013.
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