Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2375 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

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1	1	By: Noble H.B. No. 2375
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to the transfer of authority regarding the review and
7	7	resolution of complaints against the Department of Family and
8	8	Protective Services to the Health and Human Services Commission's
9	9	office of inspector general.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 40.0041, Human Resources Code, is
12	12	amended by amending Subsections (a), (c), (d), (e), and (f) and
13	13	adding Subsections (a-1) and (g-1) to read as follows:
14	14	(a) The Health and Human Services Commission's office of
15	15	inspector general shall receive complaints against the department
16	16	from members of the public, consumers, department employees, and
17	17	recipients of department services regarding any investigation
18	18	conducted or action taken by the department. The office of
19	19	inspector general shall review and resolve each complaint against
20	20	the department filed with the office not later than the 45th day
21	21	after the date the office receives the complaint. The executive
22	22	commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission, in
23	23	consultation with the commissioner and the inspector general, by
24	24	rule shall develop and implement a uniform process for receiving
25	25	and resolving complaints against the department throughout the
26	26	state. The process shall include:
27	27	(1) statewide procedures through which the public,
28	28	consumers, department employees, and service recipients are
29	29	informed:
30	30	(A) of the right to make a complaint against the
31	31	department, including the mailing addresses and telephone numbers
32	32	of appropriate [department] personnel in the office of inspector
33	33	general who are responsible for receiving complaints and providing
34	34	related assistance; and
35	35	(B) of the office of inspector general's
36	36	[department's] procedures for resolving a complaint, including the
37	37	right to appeal a decision made at the local level;
38	38	(2) development and statewide distribution of a form
39	39	or telephone system that may be used to make a complaint;
40	40	(3) a requirement that the office of inspector general
41	41	[department] provide information by mail or telephone regarding the
42	42	office of inspector general's [department's] procedures for
43	43	reviewing [investigating] and resolving a complaint to each person
44	44	who makes a complaint; and
45	45	(4) a requirement that the office of inspector general
46	46	periodically [department] provide status information, orally or in
47	47	writing, [at least quarterly] to a person with a pending complaint
48	48	against the department, unless the information would jeopardize an
49	49	undercover investigation.
50	50	(a-1) In performing the functions described by Subsection
51	51	(a), the office of inspector general may:
52	52	(1) recommend corrective and remedial actions the
53	53	department shall take regarding a complaint and ensure the
54	54	department's compliance with the recommendations;
55	55	(2) obtain any department data necessary for reviewing
56	56	and resolving a complaint; and
57	57	(3) open any investigation the office determines
58	58	necessary to ensure the department's compliance with state and
59	59	federal law or department procedures and policies.
60	60	(c) The office of inspector general [department] shall keep
61	61	an information file about each complaint made against the
62	62	department that the office of inspector general [department] has
63	63	authority to resolve.
64	64	(d) The executive commissioner of the Health and Human
65	65	Services Commission, in consultation with the commissioner and the
66	66	inspector general, shall develop a consistent, statewide process
67	67	for addressing an appeal by a person dissatisfied with the
68	68	resolution of a complaint at the regional level. [The process shall
69	69	include an opportunity for appeal of a complaint without the
70	70	participation of the department's ombudsman office.]
71	71	(e) The office of inspector general [department] shall
72	72	develop and maintain a centralized tracking system to gather
73	73	information concerning all complaints made against the department
74	74	throughout the state. The office of inspector general [department]
75	75	shall require its personnel to provide information regarding each
76	76	complaint for inclusion in records maintained under the tracking
77	77	system at the Health and Human Services Commission's [department's]
78	78	state headquarters, regardless of the location or level at which
79	79	the complaint is initiated or resolved. The office of inspector
80	80	general [department] shall maintain [require at least] the
81	81	following information, at a minimum, [to be maintained] for each
82	82	complaint:
83	83	(1) the date the complaint is received;
84	84	(2) the name of the person making the complaint;
85	85	(3) the subject matter of the complaint;
86	86	(4) a record of all persons contacted by the office of
87	87	inspector general [department] in relation to the complaint;
88	88	(5) a summary of the results of the review [or
89	89	investigation] of the complaint; and
90	90	(6) for each complaint determined by the office of
91	91	inspector general [department] to require no corrective action, an
92	92	explanation of the reason that the complaint was closed without
93	93	action.
94	94	(f) The office of inspector general [department] shall
95	95	periodically prepare and deliver reports to the executive
96	96	commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission, [and] the
97	97	commissioner, the governor, and the chairs of the standing
98	98	legislative committees with primary jurisdiction over the
99	99	department regarding the number, type, and resolution of complaints
100	100	made in the state against the department.
101	101	(g-1) The department shall cooperate with the office of
102	102	inspector general regarding any review or corrective action to
103	103	resolve a complaint filed against the department. The department
104	104	shall provide any data or other information requested by the office
105	105	of inspector general in connection with a review not later than the
106	106	14th day after the date the department receives the request.
107	107	SECTION 2. Section 531.102, Government Code, is amended by
108	108	amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-9) to read as
109	109	follows:
110	110	(a) The commission's office of inspector general is
111	111	responsible for:
112	112	(1) the prevention, detection, audit, inspection,
113	113	review, and investigation of fraud, waste, and abuse in the
114	114	provision and delivery of all health and human services in the
115	115	state, including:
116	116	(A) services through any state-administered
117	117	health or human services program that is wholly or partly federally
118	118	funded; or
119	119	(B) services provided by the Department of Family
120	120	and Protective Services;
121	121	(2) [, and] the enforcement of state law relating to
122	122	the provision of [those] services described by Subdivision (1); and
123	123	(3) receiving, reviewing, and resolving complaints
124	124	against the Department of Family and Protective Services as
125	125	authorized by Section 40.0041, Human Resources Code. [The
126	126	commission may obtain any information or technology necessary to
127	127	enable the office to meet its responsibilities under this
128	128	subchapter or other law.]
129	129	(a-9) The commission may obtain any information or
130	130	technology necessary to enable the office to meet its
131	131	responsibilities under this subchapter or other law.
132	132	SECTION 3. (a) As soon as practicable after the effective
133	133	date of this Act, but not later than December 1, 2023, the
134	134	commissioner of the Department of Family and Protective Services
135	135	shall transfer any department funds, resources, including
136	136	information technology, documents, and personnel allocated for the
137	137	investigation of complaints to the Health and Human Services
138	138	Commission's office of inspector general to allow the office to
139	139	perform the functions described under Section 40.0041, Human
140	140	Resources Code, as amended by this Act.
141	141	(b) Notwithstanding the effective date of this Act, the
142	142	Health and Human Services Commission's office of inspector general
143	143	is not required to comply with changes to Section 40.0041, Human
144	144	Resources Code, and Section 531.102(a), Government Code, made by
145	145	this Act until the transfer required by Subsection (a) of this
146	146	section is completed.
147	147	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.