By: Bell, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Kolkhorst) H.B. No. 1794
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 10, 2017;
May 11, 2017, read first time and referred to Committee on Health &
Human Services; May 19, 2017, reported favorably by the following
vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 19, 2017, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the establishment of the Work Group on Mental Health
Access for First Responders.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. (a) In this section:
(1) "Executive commissioner" means the executive
commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission.
(2) "First responder" has the meaning assigned by
Section 421.095, Government Code.
(3) "First responder organization" means:
(A) an organization, including a fire
department, law enforcement agency, or emergency medical services
provider, of a political subdivision of this state that employs a
first responder; or
(B) a volunteer fire department.
(4) "Work group" means the Work Group on Mental Health
Access for First Responders.
(b) Not later than December 1, 2017, the Health and Human
Services Commission shall establish the Work Group on Mental Health
Access for First Responders to develop and make recommendations for
improving access to mental health care services for first
responders.
(c) The work group is composed of 15 members appointed by
the executive commissioner, unless otherwise provided, as follows:
(1) one member from the Health and Human Services
Commission with expertise in the field of mental health care;
(2) the dean of the Sam Houston State University
College of Criminal Justice or the dean's designee;
(3) three practicing mental health professionals, as
defined by Section 61.601, Education Code;
(4) one representative of volunteer fire departments;
(5) one representative of paid fire departments,
appointed from a list provided by a statewide association of paid
firefighters;
(6) two representatives of paid police departments,
appointed from a list provided by a statewide association of police
officers;
(7) one representative of a sheriff's department;
(8) two representatives of emergency medical services
providers and personnel licensed under Chapter 773, Health and
Safety Code, one of whom must be a representative of a fire
department that provides emergency medical services and must be
appointed from a list provided by a statewide association of paid
firefighters;
(9) one municipal government representative;
(10) one county government representative; and
(11) one representative of the Texas Department of
Insurance.
(d) The member described by Subsection (c)(1) of this
section is the presiding officer of the work group.
(e) A work group member is not entitled to compensation for
service on the work group or to reimbursement for any expenses
incurred in performing work group duties.
(f) The work group shall meet at least quarterly at the call
of the presiding officer. Work group meetings are subject to the
open meetings law, Chapter 551, Government Code, except that the
work group may meet by teleconference.
(g) The Health and Human Services Commission shall provide
administrative support for the work group. Funding for the
administrative and operational expenses of the work group shall be
provided from the commission's existing budget. The work group may
accept gifts, grants, and donations from any source to perform a
work group duty.
(h) The work group shall develop recommendations to
address:
(1) the difference in access to mental health care
services between:
(A) volunteer fire departments and small law
enforcement agencies, fire departments, and emergency medical
services providers; and
(B) large law enforcement agencies, fire
departments, and emergency medical services providers;
(2) potential solutions for state and local
governments to provide greater access to mental health care
services for first responders;
(3) the sufficiency of first responder organizations'
employee health insurance plans for obtaining access to mental
health care services for first responders;
(4) the sufficiency of first responder organizations'
human resources policies, including:
(A) whether guaranteed employment should be
offered for a first responder who self-reports a mental health
issue;
(B) the effectiveness of existing municipal
employee assistance programs for treating post-traumatic stress
disorder and whether those programs should be expanded;
(C) any policy modification necessary to improve
access to mental health care services for first responders; and
(D) the establishment of best practices for
municipalities, counties, and state agencies regarding legal
reporting duties for first responders anonymously seeking mental
health treatment;
(5) the effectiveness of workers' compensation and
other benefit claims for first responders, including determining:
(A) the process by which those claims for first
responders are handled and whether that process may be improved;
(B) the feasibility of requiring post-traumatic
stress disorder to be covered under workers' compensation for first
responders and if covered, the standards for diagnosing that
condition;
(C) the effectiveness of workers' compensation
benefits and related benefits under Chapter 607, Government Code,
and whether those benefits are excessively denied;
(D) the effectiveness of outsourcing workers'
compensation and other benefit claims to third parties; and
(E) methods for improving the appeals process for
workers' compensation and other benefit claims;
(6) the feasibility of mental health training during
the licensing or certification and renewal process for first
responders;
(7) the effectiveness of methods for assessing a first
responder's mental health care needs after a critical incident,
including determining:
(A) the feasibility of creating a standardized
post-critical incident checklist to assess a first responder's
mental health and of establishing minimum requirements for a first
responder to return to duty; and
(B) the effectiveness of critical incident
stress debriefing programs used by local governments in this state
and whether:
(i) those programs may be expanded
statewide; and
(ii) peer support may benefit those
programs;
(8) the opportunities for public-private partnerships
to provide mental health care services to first responders; and
(9) possible Texas-specific barriers, including
stigmas, for first responders seeking mental health care services.
(i) In developing the recommendations described by
Subsection (h) of this section, and for academic research related
to the recommendations, the work group may collaborate with the
Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas at Sam
Houston State University, the College of Criminal Justice at Sam
Houston State University, or any other academic institution
considered necessary by the presiding officer of the work group.
(j) The work group shall develop a written report of the
work group's recommendations described by Subsection (h) of this
section. The work group shall electronically deliver the report to
the governor, the lieutenant governor, and all members of the
legislature not later than January 1, 2019.
(k) The work group is abolished and this Act expires June 1,
2019.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.
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