Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1794 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	By: Bell, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Kolkhorst) H.B. No. 1794
2		-	(In the Senate - Received from the House May 10, 2017;
3		-	May 11, 2017, read first time and referred to Committee on Health &
4		-	Human Services; May 19, 2017, reported favorably by the following
5		-	vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 19, 2017, sent to printer.)
6		-	Click here to see the committee vote
	1	+	H.B. No. 1794
7	2
8	3
9		-	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
10	4		AN ACT
11	5		relating to the establishment of the Work Group on Mental Health
12	6		Access for First Responders.
13	7		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
14	8		SECTION 1. (a) In this section:
15	9		(1) "Executive commissioner" means the executive
16	10		commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission.
17	11		(2) "First responder" has the meaning assigned by
18	12		Section 421.095, Government Code.
19	13		(3) "First responder organization" means:
20	14		(A) an organization, including a fire
21	15		department, law enforcement agency, or emergency medical services
22	16		provider, of a political subdivision of this state that employs a
23	17		first responder; or
24	18		(B) a volunteer fire department.
25	19		(4) "Work group" means the Work Group on Mental Health
26	20		Access for First Responders.
27	21		(b) Not later than December 1, 2017, the Health and Human
28	22		Services Commission shall establish the Work Group on Mental Health
29	23		Access for First Responders to develop and make recommendations for
30	24		improving access to mental health care services for first
31	25		responders.
32	26		(c) The work group is composed of 15 members appointed by
33	27		the executive commissioner, unless otherwise provided, as follows:
34	28		(1) one member from the Health and Human Services
35	29		Commission with expertise in the field of mental health care;
36	30		(2) the dean of the Sam Houston State University
37	31		College of Criminal Justice or the dean's designee;
38	32		(3) three practicing mental health professionals, as
39	33		defined by Section 61.601, Education Code;
40	34		(4) one representative of volunteer fire departments;
41	35		(5) one representative of paid fire departments,
42	36		appointed from a list provided by a statewide association of paid
43	37		firefighters;
44	38		(6) two representatives of paid police departments,
45	39		appointed from a list provided by a statewide association of police
46	40		officers;
47	41		(7) one representative of a sheriff's department;
48	42		(8) two representatives of emergency medical services
49	43		providers and personnel licensed under Chapter 773, Health and
50	44		Safety Code, one of whom must be a representative of a fire
51	45		department that provides emergency medical services and must be
52	46		appointed from a list provided by a statewide association of paid
53	47		firefighters;
54	48		(9) one municipal government representative;
55	49		(10) one county government representative; and
56	50		(11) one representative of the Texas Department of
57	51		Insurance.
58	52		(d) The member described by Subsection (c)(1) of this
59	53		section is the presiding officer of the work group.
60	54		(e) A work group member is not entitled to compensation for
61	55		service on the work group or to reimbursement for any expenses
62	56		incurred in performing work group duties.
63	57		(f) The work group shall meet at least quarterly at the call
64	58		of the presiding officer. Work group meetings are subject to the
65	59		open meetings law, Chapter 551, Government Code, except that the
66	60		work group may meet by teleconference.
67	61		(g) The Health and Human Services Commission shall provide
68	62		administrative support for the work group. Funding for the
69	63		administrative and operational expenses of the work group shall be
70	64		provided from the commission's existing budget. The work group may
71	65		accept gifts, grants, and donations from any source to perform a
72	66		work group duty.
73	67		(h) The work group shall develop recommendations to
74	68		address:
75	69		(1) the difference in access to mental health care
76	70		services between:
77	71		(A) volunteer fire departments and small law
78	72		enforcement agencies, fire departments, and emergency medical
79	73		services providers; and
80	74		(B) large law enforcement agencies, fire
81	75		departments, and emergency medical services providers;
82	76		(2) potential solutions for state and local
83	77		governments to provide greater access to mental health care
84	78		services for first responders;
85	79		(3) the sufficiency of first responder organizations'
86	80		employee health insurance plans for obtaining access to mental
87	81		health care services for first responders;
88	82		(4) the sufficiency of first responder organizations'
89	83		human resources policies, including:
90	84		(A) whether guaranteed employment should be
91	85		offered for a first responder who self-reports a mental health
92	86		issue;
93	87		(B) the effectiveness of existing municipal
94	88		employee assistance programs for treating post-traumatic stress
95	89		disorder and whether those programs should be expanded;
96	90		(C) any policy modification necessary to improve
97	91		access to mental health care services for first responders; and
98	92		(D) the establishment of best practices for
99	93		municipalities, counties, and state agencies regarding legal
100	94		reporting duties for first responders anonymously seeking mental
101	95		health treatment;
102	96		(5) the effectiveness of workers' compensation and
103	97		other benefit claims for first responders, including determining:
104	98		(A) the process by which those claims for first
105	99		responders are handled and whether that process may be improved;
106	100		(B) the feasibility of requiring post-traumatic
107	101		stress disorder to be covered under workers' compensation for first
108	102		responders and if covered, the standards for diagnosing that
109	103		condition;
110	104		(C) the effectiveness of workers' compensation
111	105		benefits and related benefits under Chapter 607, Government Code,
112	106		and whether those benefits are excessively denied;
113	107		(D) the effectiveness of outsourcing workers'
114	108		compensation and other benefit claims to third parties; and
115	109		(E) methods for improving the appeals process for
116	110		workers' compensation and other benefit claims;
117	111		(6) the feasibility of mental health training during
118	112		the licensing or certification and renewal process for first
119	113		responders;
120	114		(7) the effectiveness of methods for assessing a first
121	115		responder's mental health care needs after a critical incident,
122	116		including determining:
123	117		(A) the feasibility of creating a standardized
124	118		post-critical incident checklist to assess a first responder's
125	119		mental health and of establishing minimum requirements for a first
126	120		responder to return to duty; and
127	121		(B) the effectiveness of critical incident
128	122		stress debriefing programs used by local governments in this state
129	123		and whether:
130	124		(i) those programs may be expanded
131	125		statewide; and
132	126		(ii) peer support may benefit those
133	127		programs;
134	128		(8) the opportunities for public-private partnerships
135	129		to provide mental health care services to first responders; and
136	130		(9) possible Texas-specific barriers, including
137	131		stigmas, for first responders seeking mental health care services.
138	132		(i) In developing the recommendations described by
139	133		Subsection (h) of this section, and for academic research related
140	134		to the recommendations, the work group may collaborate with the
141	135		Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas at Sam
142	136		Houston State University, the College of Criminal Justice at Sam
143	137		Houston State University, or any other academic institution
144	138		considered necessary by the presiding officer of the work group.
145	139		(j) The work group shall develop a written report of the
146	140		work group's recommendations described by Subsection (h) of this
147	141		section. The work group shall electronically deliver the report to
148	142		the governor, the lieutenant governor, and all members of the
149	143		legislature not later than January 1, 2019.
150	144		(k) The work group is abolished and this Act expires June 1,
151	145		2019.
152	146		SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.
153		-	* * * * *
	147	+	______________________________ ______________________________
	148	+	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
	149	+	I certify that H.B. No. 1794 was passed by the House on May 9,
	150	+	2017, by the following vote: Yeas 145, Nays 0, 2 present, not
	151	+	voting.
	152	+	______________________________
	153	+	Chief Clerk of the House
	154	+	I certify that H.B. No. 1794 was passed by the Senate on May
	155	+	24, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
	156	+	______________________________
	157	+	Secretary of the Senate
	158	+	APPROVED: _____________________
	159	+	Date
	160	+	_____________________
	161	+	Governor