By: Lucio III (Senate Sponsor - Lucio) H.B. No. 1669
(In the Senate - Received from the House April 24, 2019;
April 29, 2019, read first time and referred to Committee on Health &
Human Services; May 19, 2019, reported adversely, with favorable
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0;
May 19, 2019, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 1669 By: Perry
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to increasing and improving the mental health and
substance use disorder workforce in this state and increasing the
capacity of local mental health authorities to provide access to
mental health services in certain counties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 531, Government Code, is
amended by adding Sections 531.0221 and 531.02253 to read as
follows:
Sec. 531.0221. INITIATIVE TO INCREASE MENTAL HEALTH
SERVICES CAPACITY IN RURAL AREAS. (a) In this section, "local
mental health authority group" means a group of local mental health
authorities established under Subsection (b)(2).
(b) Not later than January 1, 2020, the commission, using
existing resources, shall:
(1) identify each local mental health authority that
is located in a county with a population of 250,000 or less or that
the commission determines provides services predominantly in a
county with a population of 250,000 or less;
(2) in a manner that the commission determines will
best achieve the reductions described by Subsection (d), assign the
authorities identified under Subdivision (1) to regional groups of
at least two authorities; and
(3) notify each authority identified under
Subdivision (1):
(A) that the commission has identified the
authority under that subdivision; and
(B) which local mental health authority group the
commission assigned the authority to under Subdivision (2).
(c) The commission, using existing resources, shall develop
a mental health services development plan for each local mental
health authority group that will increase the capacity of the
authorities in the group to provide access to needed services.
(d) In developing a plan under Subsection (c), the
commission shall focus on reducing:
(1) the cost to local governments of providing
services to persons experiencing a mental health crisis;
(2) the transportation of persons served by an
authority in the local mental health authority group to mental
health facilities;
(3) the incarceration of persons with mental illness
in county jails that are located in an area served by an authority
in the local mental health authority group; and
(4) the number of hospital emergency room visits by
persons with mental illness at hospitals located in an area served
by an authority in the local mental health authority group.
(e) In developing a plan under Subsection (c):
(1) the commission shall assess the capacity of the
authorities in the local mental health authority group to provide
access to needed services; and
(2) the commission and the local mental health
authority group shall evaluate:
(A) whether and to what degree increasing the
capacity of the authorities in the local mental health authority
group to provide access to needed services would offset the cost to
state or local governmental entities of:
(i) the transportation of persons for
mental health services to facilities that are not local providers;
(ii) admissions to and inpatient
hospitalizations at state hospitals or other treatment facilities;
(iii) the provision of services by hospital
emergency rooms to persons with mental illness who are served by or
reside in an area served by an authority in the local mental health
authority group; and
(iv) the incarceration in county jails of
persons with mental illness who are served by or reside in an area
served by an authority in the local mental health authority group;
(B) whether available state funds or grant
funding sources could be used to fund the plan; and
(C) what measures would be necessary to ensure
that the plan aligns with the statewide behavioral health strategic
plan and the comprehensive inpatient mental health plan.
(f) In each mental health services development plan
produced under this section, the commission, in collaboration with
the local mental health authority group, shall determine a method
of increasing the capacity of the authorities in the local mental
health authority group to provide access to needed services.
(g) The commission shall compile and evaluate each mental
health services development plan produced under this section and
determine:
(1) the cost-effectiveness of each plan; and
(2) how each plan would improve the delivery of mental
health treatment and care to residents in the service areas of the
authorities in the local mental health authority group.
(h) Not later than December 1, 2020, the commission, using
existing resources, shall produce and publish on its Internet
website a report containing:
(1) the commission's evaluation of each plan under
Subsection (g);
(2) each mental health services development plan
evaluated by the commission under Subsection (g); and
(3) a comprehensive statewide analysis of mental
health services in counties with a population of 250,000 or less,
including recommendations to the legislature for implementing the
plans developed under this section.
(i) The commission and the authorities in each local mental
health authority group may implement a mental health services
development plan evaluated by the commission under this section if
the commission and the local mental health authority group to which
the plan applies identify a method of funding that implementation.
(j) This section expires September 1, 2021.
Sec. 531.02253. COMPREHENSIVE WORKFORCE PLAN FOR MENTAL
HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE. (a) The statewide behavioral health
coordinating council, under the direction of the commission, shall
develop and the commission shall implement a comprehensive plan to
increase and improve the workforce in this state to serve persons
with mental health and substance use issues. In developing the
plan, the council shall analyze and consider available studies,
reports, and recommendations regarding that segment of the
workforce in this state or elsewhere.
(b) The plan must include:
(1) a strategy and timeline for implementing the plan,
including short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals;
(2) a system for monitoring the implementation of the
plan; and
(3) a method for evaluating the outcomes of the plan.
SECTION 2. Not later than September 1, 2020, the statewide
behavioral health coordinating council shall develop and the Health
and Human Services Commission shall begin implementing the plan
required under Section 531.02253, Government Code, as added by this
Act.
SECTION 3. The statewide behavioral health coordinating
council and the Health and Human Services Commission are required
to implement a provision of this Act only if the legislature
appropriates money specifically for that purpose. If the
legislature does not appropriate money specifically for that
purpose, the council and the commission may, but are not required
to, implement the provision using other appropriations made to the
commission that are available for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
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