S.B. No. 601
AN ACT
relating to the continuation and functions of the Texas Veterans
Commission.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 434.002(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) The Texas Veterans Commission is subject to Chapter 325
(Texas Sunset Act). Unless continued in existence as provided by
that chapter, the commission is abolished September 1, 2031 [2019].
SECTION 2. Section 434.0061, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (d) to read as
follows:
(b) The training program must provide the person with
information regarding:
(1) the law governing commission operations
[legislation that created the commission];
(2) the programs, functions, rules, and budget of the
commission;
(3) the results of the most recent formal audit of the
commission;
(4) the requirements of:
(A) laws relating to open meetings, public
information, administrative procedure, and disclosure of conflicts
of interest; and
(B) other laws applicable to members of a state
policymaking body in performing their duties;
(5) any applicable ethics policies adopted by the
commission or the Texas Ethics Commission; and
(6) the scope of and limitations on the rulemaking
authority of the commission.
(d) The executive director of the commission shall create a
training manual that includes the information required by
Subsection (b). The executive director shall distribute a copy of
the training manual annually to each member of the commission. Each
member of the commission shall sign and submit to the executive
director a statement acknowledging that the member received and has
reviewed the training manual.
SECTION 3. Section 434.007, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 434.007. DUTIES. (a) The commission shall:
(1) compile federal, state, and local laws enacted to
benefit members of the armed forces, veterans, and their families
and dependents;
(2) collect information relating to services and
facilities available to veterans;
(3) cooperate with veterans service agencies in the
state;
(4) inform members and veterans of the armed forces,
their families and dependents, and military and civilian
authorities about the existence or availability of:
(A) educational training and retraining
facilities;
(B) health, medical, rehabilitation, and housing
services and facilities;
(C) employment and reemployment services;
(D) provisions of federal, state, and local law
affording rights, privileges, and benefits to members and veterans
of the armed forces and their families and dependents; and
(E) other similar, related, or appropriate
matters;
(5) assist veterans and their families and dependents
in presenting, proving, and establishing claims, privileges,
rights, and benefits they may have under federal, state, or local
law;
(6) cooperate with all government and private agencies
securing services or benefits to veterans and their families and
dependents;
(7) investigate, and if possible correct, abuses or
exploitation of veterans or their families or dependents, and
recommend necessary legislation for full correction;
(8) coordinate the services and activities of state
departments and divisions having services and resources affecting
veterans or their families or dependents;
(9) provide training and certification of veterans
county service officers and assistant veterans county service
officers in accordance with Section 434.038;
(10) through surveys or other reasonable and accurate
methods of estimation, collect and maintain for each county in the
state the number of servicemembers and veterans residing in the
county and annually update and publish the information on the
commission's website; [and]
(11) with the assistance and cooperation of the
comptroller, inform and assist veterans and their families and
dependents with respect to discovering and initiating claims for
unclaimed property held by the United States Department of Veterans
Affairs;
(12) annually evaluate and set priorities for each
program administered by the commission to meet the changing needs
of veterans in this state;
(13) annually set concrete goals for staff and measure
the staff's performance; and
(14) establish success measures and corresponding
targets for each program administered by the commission and report
the program's progress in meeting the measures and targets in:
(A) any annual internal report for that program;
and
(B) the commission's strategic plan under
Section 2056.002.
(b) In setting priorities under Subsection (a)(12), the
commission shall consider:
(1) the existing strategic plan under Section 2056.002
and the needs assessment under Section 434.017(c-1);
(2) complaint data;
(3) performance outcomes;
(4) veteran survey results;
(5) staff input; and
(6) any other available information.
SECTION 4. Section 434.0078, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (c), (d), (e), and
(f) to read as follows:
(a) The commission shall adopt procedures for administering
claims assistance services under Section 434.007(a)(5)
[434.007(5)]. The procedures shall include:
(1) criteria for determining when a veteran's initial
claim is substantially complete and basic eligibility requirements
are met as provided by federal law;
(2) a process for expediting a claim based on
hardship, including whether the veteran:
(A) is in immediate need;
(B) is terminally ill;
(C) has a verifiable financial hardship; or
(D) has a disability that presents an undue
burden;
(3) a procedure for counseling veterans on the
potential merits or drawbacks of pursuing a claim;
(4) a process to ensure adequate documentation and
development of a claim or appeal, including early client
involvement, collection of needed evidence and records, and
analysis of actions necessary to pursue and support a claim or
appeal;
(5) criteria for evaluating whether a decision of the
United States Department of Veterans Affairs contains sufficient
cause for filing an appeal;
(6) a requirement that a claims counselor report to
the United States Department of Veterans Affairs if the counselor
has direct knowledge that a claim contains false or deceptive
information; and
(7) a procedure for prioritizing a claim, when
appropriate, or providing an alternative source for obtaining
claims assistance services when it is not appropriate to
prioritize.
(c) The commission shall regularly evaluate claims
assistance services staffing to determine where counselors and
special team staff are most needed. The evaluation must include
the:
(1) workload of staff;
(2) number of veterans denied claims assistance
services; and
(3) quality of claims prepared at each of the claims
assistance services offices.
(d) The commission shall regularly evaluate the needs and
performance of any special claims assistance resources provided by
the legislature, including the state strike force team and the
fully developed claims team, and request to adjust staffing for
those resources as appropriate.
(e) The commission shall regularly collect detailed
information on the outcome of claims and use that information to
evaluate and improve claims assistance services. The commission,
at a minimum, shall track and evaluate the following information by
claims district:
(1) the quality of claims submitted to the state
strike force team;
(2) the percentage of claims developed through claims
assistance services that are processed as fully developed claims by
the United States Department of Veterans Affairs;
(3) the success rate of claims and appeals developed
through claims assistance services; and
(4) the average processing time for claims and appeals
by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
(f) In documenting the success rate of claims and appeals as
required by Subsection (e), the commission shall include in a
consolidated report each claim, the corresponding decision by the
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, and the status and
outcome of any appeal.
SECTION 5. Section 434.017, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (c-4) to read as follows:
(c-4) The commission shall publish the most recent needs
assessment under Subsection (c-1) on the commission's Internet
website.
SECTION 6. Section 434.033, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to read as
follows:
(b) To be appointed as an officer a person must:
(1) be qualified by education and training for the
duties of the office; and
(2) be experienced in the law, regulations, and
rulings of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs
controlling cases that come before the commission[; and
[(3) have the service experience specified by
Subsection (c) or be:
[(A) a widowed Gold Star Mother or unremarried
widow of a serviceman or veteran whose death resulted from service;
[(B) the spouse of a disabled veteran who has a
total disability rating based either on having a service-connected
disability with a disability rating of 100 percent or on individual
unemployability; or
[(C) the spouse of a retired veteran who served a
minimum of 20 years on active duty].
(b-1) In appointing an officer, the commissioners court
shall give preference to a veteran who qualifies for a veteran's
employment preference under Chapter 657. A commissioners court
shall adopt and implement a county policy to give preference in
appointing officers to veterans.
SECTION 7. Section 434.352(c), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(c) Subject to Section 434.3525, the [The] executive
director of the commission shall appoint a program director to
administer the mental health program for veterans.
SECTION 8. Subchapter H, Chapter 434, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 434.3525 to read as follows:
Sec. 434.3525. MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAM DIRECTOR ELIGIBILITY.
To be eligible for appointment under Section 434.352(c), an
individual must:
(1) have at least a master's degree in a recognized
mental health field;
(2) be licensed in this state to practice a mental
health profession;
(3) have multiple years of postgraduate experience in
a human services setting, such as a community mental health center,
chemical dependency rehabilitation center, or residential
treatment facility; and
(4) have experience in providing trauma-informed
care, with preference given to a candidate with at least two years
of that experience.
SECTION 9. Section 434.033(c), Government Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 10. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of
this section, Section 434.0061, Government Code, as amended by this
Act, applies to a member of the Texas Veterans Commission who is
appointed before, on, or after the effective date of this Act.
(b) A member of the Texas Veterans Commission who, before
the effective date of this Act, completed the training program
required by Section 434.0061, Government Code, as that law existed
before the effective date of this Act, is required to complete
additional training only on subjects added by this Act to the
training program as required by Section 434.0061, Government Code,
as amended by this Act. A commission member described by this
subsection may not vote, deliberate, or be counted as a member in
attendance at a meeting of the commission held on or after December
1, 2019, until the member completes the additional training.
SECTION 11. Not later than December 1, 2019, the Texas
Veterans Commission shall complete the initial annual evaluation of
and set priorities for each program administered by the commission
as required by Section 434.007(a)(12), Government Code, as added by
this Act.
SECTION 12. (a) Not later than December 1, 2019, the Texas
Veterans Commission shall establish success measures and
corresponding targets for each program administered by the
commission as required by Section 434.007(a)(14), Government Code,
as added by this Act.
(b) Not later than February 1, 2020, the commission shall
include the success measures and corresponding targets described by
Subsection (a) of this section and any preliminary data from those
measures in any annual internal reports for those programs.
(c) Not later than June 1, 2020, the commission shall
include in the commission's strategic plan under Section 2056.002,
Government Code, the success measures and corresponding targets
described by Subsection (a) of this section.
SECTION 13. The changes in law made by this Act to Section
434.033, Government Code, apply only to the appointment of a
veterans county service officer that occurs on or after the
effective date of this Act. A person who is serving as a veterans
county service officer immediately before the effective date of
this Act may continue to serve for the remainder of the officer's
term, and that officer's qualifications for serving as an officer
for that term are governed by the law in effect immediately before
the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 14. (a) Subject to Subsection (b) of this section,
Section 434.3525, Government Code, as added by this Act, applies
only to an individual appointed to the position of program director
under Section 434.352(c), Government Code, as amended by this Act,
on or after the effective date of this Act.
(b) An individual appointed to the position of program
director under Section 434.352(c), Government Code, before the
effective date of this Act is not eligible to hold that position
after September 1, 2021, unless the individual satisfies the
eligibility requirements under Section 434.3525, Government Code,
as added by this Act, on or before September 1, 2021.
SECTION 15. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 601 passed the Senate on
April 4, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0;
May 20, 2019, Senate refused to concur in House amendments and
requested appointment of Conference Committee; May 22, 2019, House
granted request of the Senate; May 26, 2019, Senate adopted
Conference Committee Report by the following vote: Yeas 31,
Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 601 passed the House, with
amendments, on May 15, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 145,
Nays 0, two present not voting; May 22, 2019, House granted request
of the Senate for appointment of Conference Committee;
May 26, 2019, House adopted Conference Committee Report by the
following vote: Yeas 144, Nays 0, one present not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor